Unione Siciliana - (Italo-American National Union)

For many years, people have assumed that the Sicilian crime faction called the Mafia and the Unione Siciliana were one and the same. However, this assumption is not entirely true. At least, not at the beginning.

The Unione Siciliana, a fraternal organization of Sicilian Americans, was first created in 1893 in New York City, and almost simultaneously in Chicago, by legitimate Sicilian businessmen. The original concept of the Unione Siciliana was to provide life and health insurance to Sicilians, who had recently emigrated from Sicily. This insurance was needed because the working conditions at that time were abominable for all workers, but especially for the alien newcomers, who were desperate for work of any kind, no matter how dangerous.

For a small dues, members were able to receive this insurance, as well as other social benefits desired by strangers in a foreign land, who were, by nature, extremely clannish. These social benefits included dances, friendly card games, and a social network where Sicilian men could meet Sicilian women, with the intention of eventually getting married. Soon branches (lodges) of the Unione Siciliana sprung up all over America, in any place that had a sizable Sicilian community. By the 1920, Chicago alone had 38 lodges, and over 40,000 members.

The Unione Siciliana also had a very sizable voting block, which made it attractive to politicians, especially the corrupt political machines in Chicago, and the notoriously crooked Tammany Hall hacks in New York City. The Unione Siciliana threw frequent fund-raising activities for politicians in both cities, making these politicians, when elected, deeply indebted to the leaders of the Unione Siciliana, who were increasing morphing from honest businessmen into criminals of the highest order.

If there was a buck to be made, or a politician to be bought, the Mafia, which also originated in Sicily, knew how to take advantage of the opportunity. At the turn of the 20th Century, the Mafia moved in, both in Chicago and in New York City, to take control of the Unione Siciliana.

In the early 1900's in New York City, the elected President of the Unione Siciliana was a beast-of-a-Mafioso named Ignazio Saietta, also known as "Lupo the Wolf." How a man like Saietta could be elected by honest businessmen to a position of such great influence can only be attributed to Saietta and his followers exerting tremendous pressure on the voters to elect Saietta, or suffer grave consequences.

Saietta, originally from Corleone, Sicily, was also one of the leaders of a Sicilian extortion group known as the Black Hand, which operated exclusively in New York City. Saietta was so feared in the Sicilian communities, Sicilian immigrants were known to make the sign of the cross at the mere mention of his name. The leadership of the Black Hand consisted of the Morello Brothers, Joe and Nick, and Ciro Terranova, who was known as the "Artichoke King." So at the time Saietta became the president of the Unione Siciliana, the Black Hand and the Unione Siciliana became basically one and the same.

Through the membership rolls of the Unione Siciliana, the Black Hand gang members were able to ascertain which Sicilian immigrants were generating income, thereby making these members ripe for a shakedown. Before any violence was perpetrated, the Black Hand sent threatening notes to Sicilian businessmen. On the bottom of the extortion notes, was the imprint of a "Black Hand," which was made by a hand dipped in black ink. However, due to the inroads law enforcement was making with fingerprinting at the time, the "Black Hand" was later drawn instead. If the person who was being extorted did not pay the Black Hand's demands, they were brutally tortured, and sometimes even murdered. If they were lucky, only their places of business was destroyed by explosives.

In 1905, a butcher named Gaetano Costa, got a Black Hand extortion letter, demanding $1,000. Costa was instructed to put the $1,000 into a loaf of bread, and to give it to a man who came into his shop to buy meat, and pulled out a red handkerchief. Costa refused, and the very next day, two men came into his butcher shop and shot Costa to death. No one was charged with the murder, but the police were sure the orders were given by Saietta.

One of the Italians being extorted by the Black Hand was the famous opera singer Enrico Caruso. Caruso was, at first, given an ultimatum to pay $2,000 for his safety. Caruso, knowing the murderous reputation of the Black Hand, agreed to pay that amount. However, before he could pay, Caruso received another letter now demanding $15,000.

The nemeses of the Black Hand was a short, barrel-chested police lieutenant named Joseph Petrosino. Knowing Petrosino was hot on the trail of the Black Hand, Caruso immediately took the second letter to Petrosino. Petrosino told Caruso to make arrangements to drop the money off at a prearranged place. When two Italian men showed up to pick up the money, Petrosino arrested them on the spot.

The magnitude of the atrocities perpetrated by the Black Hand was uncovered, when in 1901, acting on a tip from an informant, Petrosino discovered the infamous "Murder Stables" located at 304, 108th Street in Harlem. Petrosino directed his men to dig up the grounds of the entire stables. He was horrified to discover that 60 bodies were buried there. The landlord of record of the stables was none other than Ignazio Saietta, president of the supposedly respectable Unione Siciliana. When Petrosino questioned Saietta as to the slight problem of so many dead bodies being buried on his property, Saietta played dumb, saying he was only the landlord, and not responsible for the work of his tenants. Saietta provided Petrosino with a bogus list of the tenant's names, all of Italian decent, but Petrosino was not able to locate any of these tenants, if indeed they existed at all.

While investigating the Black Hand's roots in Sicily, on March 12, 1909, Police Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino was shot to death in the piazza of the Garibaldi Garden in Palermo. Petrosino's murder was ordered by the Black Hand members in America, and orchestrated by the head of the Mafia in Sicily - Don Vito Cascio Ferro.

However, Saietta was not so lucky himself. Saietta owned operated, with his partner Joe Morello, a bar/restaurant, at 8 Prince Street, in Manhattan's Little Italy. The joint was actually a front for an extensive counterfeiting operation. Counterfeit two and five-dollar bills were shipped to the restaurant from Sicily, in containers of olive oil, or in crates of spaghetti, cheese, and wine. These counterfeit bills were sold throughout the United States for as little as 30 cents on the dollar. Soon, the U.S. Secret Service caught wind of their operation, and in 1909, both Morello and Saietta were arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

After Saietta's incarceration, the presidency of the New York Chapter of the Unione Siciliana changed hands from one thug to another, when in 1918, the crown settled on the head of Brooklynite Frankie Yale, real name Uale. Yale's ascension to the throne put an end to the misguided impression that the Unione Siciliana was an Sicilian-only organization. Yale was born in Calabrian town of Longobucco, Italy, and had no Sicilian roots whatsoever. Not only was Yale president of the New York Chapter of the Unione Siciliana, but due to the influence of his friend Johnny Torrio, a Brooklyn boy who was running Chicago with another Brooklynite Al Capone, in 1925, Yale also became National President of the Unione Siciliana.

But more on Frankie Yale later.

While Ignazio Saietta's Unione Siciliana was prospering in New York City, the Chicago chapters of the Unione Siciliana were also going to the wolves.

In 1902, the Chicago boss of the Mafia was Antonio D'Andrea, an ex-priest who in 1902 was also arrested for counterfeiting. After his release from prison, D'Andrea decided to go straight; at least somewhat straight. D'Andrea got a job as a professional translator, than later as a court translator. In 1919, using his legitimate position in the courts, D'Andrea ran for the presidency of the Unione Siciliana. D'Andrea was somehow elected, despite his criminal record, which tells you all you need to know about the crooked path the Unione Siciliana had taken in Chicago.

In 1921, D'Andrea decided to also run for Alderman in the 19th Ward against entrenched incumbent, John "Johnny de Pow Pow" Powers. That turned out to be not such a great idea.

Powers was an incorrigible saloonkeeper, who was known for his attachments to Chicago's more infamous Irish criminals. The Chicago hoods loved "Johnny de Pow Pow," but those not so-in- love with Powers called him "The Prince of Boodlers." Powers had been the powerful Alderman in the 19th Ward of Chicago since 1888, when almost all his constituents were Irish.

According to the Chicago Times, "The only way Powers can get votes is by hypocritical posing as a benefactor by filling the role of a friend in need when death comes. He has bowed with aldermanic grief at thousand of biers. He is bloodless; personally unattractive. His demeanor is one of timid alertness and anxiety to please, but he is actually autocratic, arrogant, and insolent."

One detractor said, "Johnnie Powers distributed turkeys on Christmas Day, but he has robbed the people 364 days in the year and he can afford to give them a little back on the 365th".

The Chicago Herald also wrote, "Powers is as fit to be an Alderman as an elephant is to take part in a roller-skating match."

By 1921, Italian immigrants had steamrolled into Chicago, so much so, Powers' 19th Ward was now 80% Italian, all with equal voting rights with the Irish. Powers still was successful in getting out the Irish vote, but until this time he had also been very successful with the Italian community.

"I can buy the Italian vote with a glass of beer and a compliment," Powers told his pals.

However, running against the Italian powerhouse D'Andrea, president of the powerful Unione Siciliana, changed the equation considerably for Powers. He decided it was time for more drastic actions.

The campaigning by both men was exciting, to say the least. As both pleaded to their constituents for votes, bombs started exploding at an alarming rate; one on Power's front porch, another at a D'Andrea rally (seriously injuring five people), two more on D'Andrea's front porch, and a final one at D'Andrea's election headquarters.

Councilman James Bowler, a fast pal of Powers, told the press, "Gunmen are patrolling the streets. Alderman Powers' house is guarded day and night. Our men have been met, threatened and slugged. Gunmen and cutthroats have been imported from New York City and Buffalo. It's worse than the Middle Ages."

The election was extremely close, but in the end Powers prevailed by a tiny margin of 435 votes.

However, D'Andrea turned out to be a sore loser, and as a result, the body count began to pile up in the Chicago streets.

Paul Labriola was one of the Italians who had backed Powers. On March 9, 1921, Angelo Genna, of the terrible Genna brothers and an ally of D'Andrea, shot Labriola full on holes on the corner of Halstead and Congress streets. On that same day, cigar store owner Harry Raimondi, who had switched sides from D'Andrea to Powers, was shot five times in the back, behind the counter of his cigar store.

In quick succession, D'Andrea had his men eliminate Powers' loyalists, Gaetano Esposito, Nicolo Adamo, and Paul Notte. Powers' faction countered back by killing Joe Marino and Johnny Guardino, two of D'Andrea's most capable men.

On May 11, 1921, while D'Andrea was playing cards at a local restaurant, three men drove past the entrance to the apartment building where D'Andrea lived with his wife and two daughters - 902 South Ashland Avenue. After the driver parked the car in a narrow alley on the side of the building, the two other men quietly exited the car. They pried open an alley window with a chisel, then crept through a coal bin to the basement stairs. Up the stairs they went, until they stopped at a vacant ground floor apartment right across the hall from D'Andrea's apartment; an apartment they knew was vacant, because they had told the occupant, Abraham Wolfson, to move out, or die.

Shortly after, they watched from an open window facing the street, as D'Andrea's car, driven by his bodyguard Joe Laspisa pulled up to the entrance. D'Andrea got out and walked into the building as Laspisa drove away. As soon as D'Andrea reached the front door of his apartment, the two men opened fire with two shotguns. D'Andrea took the two blasts full in the chest, but he would not go down without a fight. As his two killers exited the building the way they had entered, D'Andrea, lying in a pool of his own blood, fired five times at the fleeing men. But to no avail.

D'Andrea died a few hours later in Jefferson Park Hospital, after telling his wife and daughters, "God bless you."

D'Andrea's demise left a vacancy at the top of the Chicago chapter of the Unione Siciliana, which was quickly filled by Mike Merlo, who was on vacation in Italy when he heard his good friend D'Andrea had run into some bad luck. Merlo was considered a conciliator; someone who felt peaceful negotiations was better than blasting someone with holes. Still, that did not stop Merlo from immediately ordering the murder of the men involved in D'Andrea's killing.

Irishman Dion O'Banion was the head of the notorious North Side Gang, which was in constant conflict with the Italian mob led by Johnny Torrio and Al Capone, over who had the right to sell their illegal booze in which bars in Chicago, and in the surrounding rural areas. However, Merlo, for some unknown reason, liked O'Banion and as long as Merlo, who as president of the Unione Siciliana was as powerful in Chicago as Capone and Torrio, kept O'Banion under his wing, O'Banion life was secure.

Still, O'Banion, who owned and operated a Chicago flower shop on the side, couldn't wait to stick to his supposed Italian friends.

With a broad smile on his handsome Irish face, O'Banion approached Torrio and Capone, and offered to sell them his Sieben Brewery, on the North side of Chicago. The Sieben Brewery, which was under the protection of the North Side cops, had the reputation of producing the best quality beer in the entire state. O'Banion told the two Italian mob bosses that he had made enough money in the illegal hootch business, and that he was quiting completely, and settling with his lovely wife on a obscure ranch in Colorado. Capone and Torrio were delighted at the prospect of buying the brewery, and they didn't even flinch when O'Banion told them the price was half a million dollars. As a gesture of good will, O'Banion offered to assist in the delivery of one last shipment. Then he said he was out and gone for good.

On May 18, 1924, thirteen trucks stood inside the Sieben Brewery, manned by twenty two men. Each truck was loading up to their full capacity with cases of beer, which due to the fact the half a million dollars had already changed hands, now belonged to Torrio and Capone. Two policemen on O'Banion's pad, stood guard to make sure everything went hunky dory. Also on the premises supervising the operation were Torrio, O'Banion, and O'Banion's right hand man Hymie Weiss. Capone was absent because he was on the lam for killing a thug named Joe Howard.

All of a suddenly, before the first truck had left the brewery, an avalanche of cops descended upon the brewery like roaches swarming a loaf of bread. The cop in charge of the raid was a Chief Collins, and in minutes, the beer trucks had been seized, and Torrio, O'Banion, and Weiss were arrested.

The three men were soon released on bail, but Torrio, who was known as "The Fox," smelled a rat. He had cops on his payroll too, and one of them informed Torrio that O'Banion was in on the raid, and only agreed to be arrested to cast suspicion away from himself.

Torrio was further incensed when he was informed that O'Banion was bragging about how he set up the Sieben Brewery raid, saying, "I guess I rubbed that pimp's nose in the mud alright."

Torrio immediately set up a meeting with O'Banion nemeses Angelo Genna and his brothers Mike and Tony, Capone, and himself, to discuss what to do about O'Banion. The group unanimously voted to whack O'Banion. However, Torrio did caution the group that Mike Merlo, the powerful president of the Unione Siciliana, was still in O'Banion's corner. Angelo Genna told Torrio not to worry. Merlo was deathly sick with cancer, and, in fact, would die on Saturday, November 8, 1924, less than a week after the meeting. Frankie Yale, still the head of the National Unione Siciliana, flew in from New York City, and he appointed Angela Genna the new head of the Chicago chapter of the Unione Siciliana. Yale also renamed the group the "Italo-American National Union," thereby justifying the fact that he, a Calabrese, could rightfully be the president of the former Sicilian-only organization.

With Merlo out of the way, the Chicago mob, with the blessing of the Italo-American National Union, planned O'Banion's demise.

Merlo's funeral was, up until that time, the biggest funeral in Chicago history. More than $100,000 worth of flowers were ordered, and as a result, O'Banion's flower shop was bombarded with requests for numerous flower displays. On Sunday, November 9, O'Banion and his partner William Schofield spent the entire day in their flower shop weaving lilies, roses, orchids, and carnations into wreaths of various sizes. Capone had ordered $8,000 worth of red roses, and Torrio placed an order for $10,000 worth of various types of flowers and floral displays

Near closing time on Sunday, Angelo Genna phoned the flower shop and told Schofield that he needed to order another wreath, and that he would come to pick it up the following day. The vast amount of orders necessitated Schofield and several of his employees to stay up almost the entire night fulfilling their floral obligations.

At around noon on Monday, O'Banion was alone in the back room of the flower shot clipping the stems off chrysanthemums. The only other person in the flower shop was a black porter named William Crutchfield, who was busy sweeping up the mess from the day before. Suddenly, three men entered the shop. Two of Torrio's men, John Scalise and Albert Anselmi, were familiar to O'Banion, but the third man was a total stranger.

O'Banion came out of the back room and said, "You boys here for Merlo's flowers?"

The stranger was none other than Frankie Yale, who had been imported to Chicago once before, to eliminate Torrio's uncle-through-marriage and Chicago mob boos "Big Jim" Colosimo. Colosimo's sudden demise paved the way for Torrio and Capone to take over the town.

Yale extended his hand to O'Banion, "Yes, we are here for the flowers."

O'Banion took Yale's hand, when suddenly, Yale yanked O'Banion's hand toward him, and pinned both of O'Banion arms to O'Banion's sides. Before O'Banion could extricate himself, Scalise and Anselmi fired six bullets into O'Banion. Two blasted into O'Banion's chest, another hit him in the cheek, and two more buried themselves into O'Banion's larynx. The final shot, which was the capper, embedded itself in O'Banion's brain. The guns had been fired at such close range, there were scorch marks on O'Banion's face.

O'Banion's funeral was even bigger than Merlo's funeral. O'Banion's coffin, which was made of solid silver with bronze double walls, cost $10,000 alone; four times more than the average yearly pay of a Chicago wage-earner.

After Merlo's death, being the head of the Chicago chapter of the Italo-American National Union (formerly the Unione Siciliana), was the kiss of death. Within a year, Angelo Genna was murdered by members of O'Banion's North Side mob. Genna's place was taken by Samuzzo "Samoots" Amatuna, who was killed within a few months after he took Genna's place, by another North Side mobster, Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci.

After Amatuna's demise, Capone, who was now the Chicago boss due to Torrio's retirement, inserted one of his pals, Antonio Lombardo, as boss of the Chicago chapter of the Italo-American National Union. This was done without the blessing of Frankie Yale, who would not be Capone's friend much longer. It seemed that Yale had wanted to appoint Joe Aiello as the new boss of the Italo-American National Union in Chicago. Aiello was not too friendly with Capone, and in Yale's opinion, was more likely to pay the proper tribute to Yale in New York city rather than Lombardo, who was closely aligned with Capone.

Yale and Capone were now at cross-purposes, and if Capone needed another excuse to whack Yale it was presented to him in the spring of 1928. Capone and Yale were partners in the distribution of illegal whiskey, which was sold in the Chicago speakeasies, and speakeasies in the rural suburbs. The booze would arrive from Canada, and was transported through New York in trucks, on it's way to Capone in Chicago. It was Yale's duty to ensure the safety of those shipments. However, Capone was dismayed to discover that some of his trucks were being hijacked on route from New York City to Chicago by none other than Yale himself.

On Sunday afternoon, July 1, 1928, Frankie Yale was sitting comfortably in his Sunrise Club, located on 14th Avenue and 65th Street in Brooklyn. Suddenly the phone rang and Yale was informed that his new wife Lucy was in some sort of predicament concerning their year-old daughter. Yale associate Joe Piraino offered to drive Yale home, but Yale refuse the offer. Instead he jumped into his new light-brown Lincoln and headed down New Utrecht Avenue. The Lincoln had been bullet-proofed, but not the windows, which turned out to be a fatal mistake.

At 44th Street, Yale stopped at a red light, and he noticed that a black Buick occupied by four men were following him. Yale jumped on the gas, turned down 44th Street, and a wild chase ensued. The Buick managed to pull alongside Yale's car and the four men opened fire. Yale was hit by a barrage of bullets fired through the window of his car. The weapons used were two.45 caliber revolvers, two sawed-off shotguns, and a new invention called the Tommy Gun, or Thompson Submachine Gun, which fired bullets from a.45 caliber, 20-round magazine. Yale's car swerved out of control and crashed into the stoop of a house located at 923 44th Street. When the police arrived minutes later, Yale was indeed very dead.

The death of Frankie Yale greatly reduced the need for and the influence of the Italo-American National Union. In Chicago, Capone ran the town, and he soon eliminated both Lombardo and Aiello with bullets. In 1930, Capone put in Agostino Loverdo as the new president of the Italo-American National Union. Loverdo lasted until 1934, which by this time, Capone had already been sent to prison in 1932 on an income tax evasion charge. In 1934, former Capone bodyguard Phil D'Andrea was appointed boss of the Chicago Italo-American National Union by Frank Nitti, who was now running Capone's old crew.

In New York City, after the death of Yale, there was no real boss of the Italo-American National Union. After the Castellamarese War eliminated both Joe "The Boss" Masseria and his successor Salvatore Maranzano, Lucky Luciano became the head of the Italian Mafia and his used the concept of the Italo-American National Union to start a National Crime Syndicate, which included Jewish mobsters, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, and Louis Lepke. Irishman Owney Madden was also part of the Syndicate. So in effect, in New York City the Italo-American National Union, formerly the Unione Siciliana, ceased to exist.

In Chicago, Phil D'Andrea kept the Italo-American National Union loosely in place until he dissolved it in 1941, due to the lack of interest from it's members. However, after the dissolution of the Italo-American National Union, the Mafia continued to remain strong in New York City and in Chicago, as well as in other major cities throughout America. The Mafia continues to thrive today as it did in the Roaring Twenties heyday of the Unione Siciliana.

You can view my Author website with all my fiction and non fiction writings at:
http://josephbrunowriter.com.

In addition, you can view my blog Joe Bruno on the Mob at:
http://joebrunoonthemob.wordpress.com/

Producing a Healthy Populace on a Budget - Who in the World is Getting the Job Done? Part 2

The debate on health care reform in Congress continues. Who's right and who's wrong? Are those who oppose some of the proposed reforms evil, selfish people who delight in seeing their fellow man suffer? Are those who staunchly support the proposed reforms living in a dream-world?

I am not qualified to give a definitive answer. But what I am qualified to do is poke around online and see who in the world is achieving the objective of health care reform explicitly laid out by President Obama - providing a way for all individuals to receive health care without fear that they are "one illness away from bankruptcy", and reducing costs in the process.

So, who is doing the best job in the world achieving this goal?

The answer might surprise you.

In this relatively small island-nation, you can be treated to views of towering skyscrapers, mosques and temples of ancient Malay and Hindu civilizations, as well as innumerable Western-style shopping malls. Welcome to Singapore!

Singapore boasts the 6th best health care system in the world with an infant morality rate almost 1/3 of that of the U.S. (there are just 2.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in Singapore as opposed to 6.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in the U.S.). Its populace is the fourth longest-lived in the world, with an average life expectancy of 81.98 years.

And Singapore accomplishes this by spending only 3.7 percent of its GDP (only $381 per capita) on health, as opposed to America's 15.4 percent expenditure!

What can account for Singapore being a shining example of a functional, frugal health care system? How does this system work?

In Singapore, individuals are required to set aside 6-8% of their income into what is essentially a health savings account (employers contribute to these accounts as well). This money earns interest, is tax-free, and can be withdrawn at any time to cover the health care expenses of ones' self or family members. Unspent money accrues and rolls over from year to year. This program is called Medisave.

Citizens of Singapore may purchase additional coverage for catastrophic events with Medishield (or Medishield Plus which offers even more coverage), and their premium payments may come out of their Medisave accounts.

The government subsidizes the health care of those who cannot cover their expenses with either Medisave or Medishield through the Medifund program. For the elderly and disabled, government-subsidized ElderShield pays for health care expenses that the individual cannot cover himself.

Here are some important points:

o Singapore's vision as a state is "adding years of healthy life," by focusing less on healing sickness, and in the words of the Singapore Health Ministry, more on "the more difficult but infinitely more rewarding task of preventing illness and preserving health and quality of life."

o The people of Singapore willingly take responsibility for their own health by spending their own money to fund most of their health care costs.

o "The reason the system works so well is that it puts decisions in the hands of patients and doctors rather than of government bureaucrats and insurers. The state's role is to provide a safety net for the few people unable to save enough to pay their way, to subsidize public hospitals, and to fund preventative health campaigns."

o 75% of the populace of Singapore uses less-expensive holistic/complementary medicine at least once per year in preventing and treating illness.

o Complementary medicine is widely accepted by the medical community at large as an important contributor to the nation's health.

Phua Kai Hong, associate professor of health policy and management at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore gives the following reasons for Singapore's successful health care system:

o "the creation of incentives for responsible behavior and the efficient delivery of services;

o the discouragement of overconsumption through cost-sharing;

o the regulation of hospital beds, doctors, and the use of high-cost medical technology;

o the promotion of personal responsibility;

o targeted government subsidies;

o and the injection of competition through a mix of public- and private-sector providers.'"

What can we in the United States of America learn from Singapore? Why don't we try to emulate some of the things that have worked in Singapore in our own health care reform?

Before I discuss this in a subsequent post, in my next post I will outline the health care system of a part of the world where a push to give health insurance to all is doing just that, but costs are continuing to skyrocket and hardships for middle class citizens in obtaining health care continue in full force.

Unfortunately, the latter is the system we are emulating, and it appears that almost no-one is paying attention!

Julie Behling invites you to become a follower of her blog at http://www.juliebehling.com.

States Offering Millions in Interest Free Loans to Film Producers & Their Investors?

Anyone following the news these days is well aware that US investors are taking a beating. While some analysts talk of "picking up bargains in an oversold market" most investors seem to be looking quietly for a way to get their money out of the hands of banks and investment houses and into businesses they have some real control over. Money invested in a company's stock today can turn into executive parachutes tomorrow. What started as problem in mortgage-backed securities is swiftly turning into a serious deflationary spiral. States, like investors, are well aware that businesses are facing very hard times. Store closures, plant closures, layoffs, falling wages all translate in falling tax revenues and very angry voters. Which is why states are now working overtime to bring jobs and outside investment directly to their constituents.

Almost all fifty states offer incentives to film producers because film is a relatively clean industry that creates high paying, technically skilled jobs. Its the kind of industry than can come into a state quickly, and it can stay for a very long time. Because it is mostly a service-based business, film generates good tax revenues. Film also beats opening a coal mine or building automobile plant when it comes to dealing with activist citizens who do not want to live next to either.

As an example, New Mexico's film loan investment program has turned the state into a Mecca for producers and their investors. New Mexico offers an interest free loan of up to $15,000,000 for up to three years in return for a share in a film's profits. Investors who invest in a New Mexico production may receive a portion of gross profits just for providing collateral for the loan. Someone with $5 million in property can elect to use it as collateral for a film and in return receive money before, during and after production. The investor gets to keep his property and the revenues it generates and still receives a return. That's a pretty attractive deal for property owners who now have a rather non-liquid asset on their hands.

What happens if the film goes south? The collateral provider has to finish paying off the loan which will have been partially paid for by any revenues the film has generated. And if the film hasn't generated any revenues? Well, that's why its good to have a state as your investment partner.

New Mexico and Michigan vett films extensively prior to making the loans, and their contracts make "Hollywood-style" accounting impossible. So a project they choose to fund has a very, very good chance of covering its production costs and generating a profit. The shortfall, if there is a shortfall, is very, very unlikely to be the kind of absolute "crash and burn" one sometimes sees in film investment. The state, like investors, expects to get a return on its investment, so it works very hard to insure a film they fund is produced by competent professional filmmakers with a track record of success.

Loans are not the only upside to film as an investment. New Mexico and Michigan offer substantial rebates on production undertaken in their states. In New Mexico you get up to 25% of the money spent on production back in the form of a rebate when the production is complete. In Michigan its 40%.

Film loans are the first of what will be many state-based "incentives" designed to bring investors into collaboration with business owners and governments to make rational, trackable, accountable investments. New Mexico and Michigan have two very aggressive film incentive programs, while states like Hawaii have technology incubators which work along similarly profitable lines.

Some experts, like George Soros, have compared the financial crisis the nation is facing to the market in 1928. The difference is that today's investor can invest in projects nationwide, and states are willing and able to facilitate that process. As bad as this market is, and as unattractive as it is about to become, investors will still be able to find financially profitable projects in the months and years to come.

Nancy Fulton is a writer, publisher and filmmaker. You can find more about her work by visiting http://www.nobetterfriendmovie.com and [http://www.bluestatefilms.com]

Is Nevada The Best Gold Producing Area?

Is Nevada the largest gold producer in the US? The answer to this question is definitely yes. In fact Nevada is the region that produces almost 80 % of the gold from the United States. The quantity of gold mined from this area along the history, since the first rush in 1835 is worth about 180 billion Dollars. This sum is calculated at 2010' price per ounce of the precious metal.

On a worldwide level, Nevada is the third gold producer. It comes immediately after Australia and South Africa, two other regions with great history in gold mining. The three regions benefited a great deal in the past from the discovery of this yellow metal, which changed their history for good. Gold turned the economies of these countries into flourishing ones and helped create new identities. Even nowadays Australia, South Africa and the United States in general are really powerful nations because of the wealth the active mines still bring.

In Nevada famous mine areas are still producing huge quantities of the rare metal each year. Carlin Trend alone has made rich many people over the years, since 1961 the Newmont Mining Corporation discovered the precious metal in large deposits. In fact this area also called by the geologists the Carlin Unconformity is considered the richest mining district from all the regions of the United States. In the recent years other deposits were revealed in this area thanks to the new technologies.

The mirage of gold has attracted people from all over the world in Nevada. Even if they worked in organized teams or they tried their luck on their own, the gold rush seems to never stop. Because of this, business people created a gamblers' haven in the middle of the desert, Las Vegas. Those who do not have the courage to go looking for the precious metal in the heart of the desert can choose to gamble in one of the casinos this city is widely known for. They say that the chances of winning the roulette are practically the same as finding gold on your own.

Because of the fact that Nevada is the top producer of the precious metal, most business people know that investing in gold bullion is a wise decision. In fact that is the main reason why mine owners are among the richest people on the planet. Gold insures them a safe way to keep their money and big profits.

When deciding to invest in gold have into consideration buying Gold Bullion coins, which have 99.9% purity.

Producing a Healthy Population on a Budget - Who in the World is Getting the Job Done? Part 1

Are you familiar with the saying that if you want to become successful at something, find someone who has what you want and do what they do?

Applying this simple wisdom to the healthcare debate, I decided to see what I could turn up. Out of all the countries in the world, which nations have the populations with the best health measured by the highest life expectancy, and how is this accomplished?

I was hoping to come across a comprehensive study by some think-tank or prominent university giving detailed statistical analysis of factors affecting life expectancy and health, showing which nations around the world have the healthiest populations, and how they accomplish this, but I couldn't find anything substantial.

I will attempt to provide some rudimentary findings in this article.

I started with searching for life expectancy rates in the different nations. I figured that life expectancy was the simplest measurement of the health of a populace. Here is the Top 10 List:

Countries with Highest Life Expectancy

Macau (part of China) -- 84.36
Andorra -- 82.51
Japan -- 82.12
Singapore -- 81.98
San Marino -- 81.97
Hong Kong -- 81.86
Australia -- 81.63
Canada -- 81.23
France (metropolitan) -- 80.98
Sweden 80.86

50. United States 78.11

Why do people living in these countries on average outlive the rest of the world?Does universal health care coverage play a key role? What about the lifestyle of these groups? What about factors that can't be changed, but still play a role such as wealth and demographics of the populations?

Wouldn't it be important to have an in-depth understanding of why these populations are so long-lived before undertaking any expensive, extensive, and potentially revolutionary changes to our own health care system?

As it turns out, each of the nations that made the top ten are relatively wealthy when compared with many other parts of the world, but those with the highest life expectancy are certainly not the wealthiest. From this, I must conclude that wealth may play a role in life expectancy, but there are clearly other factors involved.

Japan is noted for its extraordinarily low obesity rate - only 3% of Japanese citizens are obese (while in the United States, a full 32% of the populace is obese)! Since several of the top killers of Americans are chronic illnesses that occur with a significantly greater prevalence in the obese (heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes), it would make sense that America's portly and out-of-shape populace is a literal drag on the nations's life expectancy. Japan's relatively lower rates of these chronic diseases gives further credence the significant role of obesity in life expectancy.

An interesting side note about Japan's low obesity rate is how they avoid this modern plague - Japanese children are taught to eat only until 80% full, fresh vegetables and fish are eaten in abundance, sweets are eaten occasionally, and more people in Japan get exercise in their daily lives than in America. I think we can learn a lot about a healthy lifestyle from the Japanese!

In terms of demographics, some of the countries in this top-ten list have a tiny population size with a racially homogenous populace (such as San Marino, Andorra, Macau, and even Sweden). Others have larger populations, but still a very homogenous population such as Japan and Australia (92% of the Australian population is of European descent). But Canada, France, and Singapore all have a good degree of racial diversity.

A quick look at demographics reveals that having a small, homogenous populations may be positively associated with higher life expectancy, but it is clearly not the main player in the life expectancy game.

Next I wanted to look at the health care systems of each of the countries on this top-ten list. Unfortunately, a complete statistical analysis of the health care systems of nations with high life expectancies is beyond the ability of my poor little brain, and beyond the scope of a blog entry. But here's what I can say so far:

Each of the nations and nation-states with the highest life expectancies appear to give access of at least basic health care to even the poorest of their citizens. If someone is having a heart attack, they won't be turned away. If someone is mauled in an accident of some type, they will receive care. Any person with a chronic illness will receive at least basic care in a public clinic of some kind.

I have much more research to do to compare how this differs from what is currently offered to the poor in the United States under the Medicaid and Medicare program. I'm sure there are may be some significant differences, and I would like to know what they are.

In my research on health care systems, I made a very surprising find that I want to share. Did you know that in the list of countries with highest life expectancies that there is a country that is less affluent than the U.S. that has an infant mortality rate one-third less than that of the U.S., that spends one-seventh of what the U.S. government spends on health care for its populace, and its population lives an average of almost four years longer?

What country is this, and what are they doing right?

And did you know that there is a part of the world where a push to give each and every citizen health insurance has succeeded at insuring almost everyone, but has increased the cost of health care for many of its citizens while showing little or negligible increases in their actual health, while practically bankrupting its government in the process?

Stay tuned for the scoop. Julie Behling invites you to become a follower of her blog at http://www.juliebehling.com.

Truck Insurance and a License: No Longer Enough Regulation for Small Motor Carriers?

Having a good-standing license and appropriate commercial truck insurance used to be enough for shippers to contract motor carriers, but new information made public by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, (FMCSA), is causing many small trucking companies to worry that an already-stifled economy could get even worse.

Thanks to the FMCSA's new CSA 2010 program, information regarding company accident history, driver fitness, equipment upkeep and several other safety-related categories is now available to shippers and other freight companies alike by simply logging into the FMSCA website and viewing a comprehensive score.

What is CSA 2010?

CSA 2010, which stands for "compliance, safety and accountability," is a system proposed by the FMCSA in December of 2010 to publish a safety score for motor carriers and independent truckers to prospective employers, as well as their competition.

According to the FMCSA, an agency formed in January of 2000 that regulates the national trucking industry, the goal of CSA 2010 is to increase safety standards and reduce accidents that occur during commercial transit.

Arguments against CSA 2010

Several trucking associations that represent over 2,700 small trucking companies are challenging the FMCSA on the grounds that current CSA 2010 standards produce overall safety scores that may not be accurate. They're worried the scores will cost motor carriers jobs unfairly by increasing false conclusions based on speculation.

Trucking company spokesmen have gone on record expressing concerns for the methods by which safety scores are calculated, stating that accidents caused by other drivers will sky-rocket the scores of smaller companies, costing them jobs because motor carriers will be making false assumptions from the CSA 2010 data.

The scoring system is set on a scale of 1-100, 100 being the worst, that's derived from several categories including several possibly subjective categories such as "Unsafe driving, fatigued driving, driver fitness, controlled substance abuse, vehicle maintenance, cargo-related accidents and an overall crash indicator."

Effect on Independent Truckers

The Owner Operator Independent Driver Association, (OOIDA), has expressed concerns about the system on record as well, claiming the standards for arriving at scores is weighted against independent drivers by counting 3 years of violations and infractions as opposed to the 2 required for motor carriers.

Furthermore, the organization expresses concerns about counting all infractions including warning tickets as opposed to just convictions.

Some speculate the commercial truck insurance industry might unfairly spike rates based on the public information as well.

Official Stance and Current State of CSA 2010

According to the FMCSA official website, the initiative is meant to "improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicles." They further contend CSA 2010 "establishes a new nationwide system for making the roads safer for motor carriers and the public alike!!"

As of January 4th, 2010, CSA 2010 information is currently public and available to view on the FMCSA official site.

Patrick Winchester is a freelance writer who tells it like it is. He can also save you rates while upping your commercial truck insurance coverage. Don't buy it? Visit http://www.royaltytruckinsurance.com to find out how.

Modern Debt Management Systems Can Produce Tremendous Savings

Consumer and personal debt is, perhaps, the number one problem facing most American families today. The reasons behind the tremendous surge in debt have been related to emerging socio-economic patterns suggesting that we've become a nation obsessed with lifestyles and consumerism.

America has always been a nation of consumers and the American people have always enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world. Something else has contributed to this national crisis.

What has changed in the last several decades is that we have developed very sophisticated technology to acquire debt. Debt acquisition is as close as your cell phone or personal computer and can be accomplished in a matter of seconds.

However, we have been slow in developing such sophisticated systems to manage that debt at the consumer level. We have been the victims of a technological gap between debt acquisition and debt reduction.

If you do not manage your debt, it will manage you. Or more precisely, your creditors will manage your debt for you and they will, of course, manage it in a way that is most favorable to them, not necessarily you.

At the consumer level, we tend to keep our debts separated, divided, and isolated in separate accounts, making it impractical, until recently, to strategically manage that debt.

Automated debt management systems have been in use by banks, insurance companies, and other institutions as needed to maintain cash reserve requirements but, until recently, have not been available at the consumer level due to the cost of developing and supporting these specialized cash flow management systems.

Many people in other parts of the world have had access to various debt reduction systems. In this country, however, it is a relatively new opportunity to systematically manage our personal and consumer debt. We now have access to affordable technology to manage our debt rather than allowing it to manage us.

First, let me explain what a modern debt management system is not.

It is not a set of instructions or a "How To..." book available from a variety of well intentioned sources which simply overstate the obvious; instructing us to "stop spending so much money", or "cut up our credit cards". It is not a "makeover" system which painfully rearranges our daily spending patterns.

It is not a static spreadsheet or plan for debt reduction which does not consider our day to day personal financial circumstances.

It does not involve the refinancing of existing debt or consolidating smaller short term debts into larger long term debts. It is not a self administered or pre-calculated repayment acceleration plan. It does not involve negotiating with your creditors or any means of debt reduction which avoids the repayment of legitimate debt on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Just like the bank model, modern debt management systems are integrated with your daily and monthly financial transactions. They are dynamic. Modern debt management systems have the ability to analyze and manage all of your debt, including your mortgage debt, side by side in a single environment and make strategic adjustments based on your daily or monthly cash flow.

A modern debt management system is programmed for liquidity. Liquidity is to debt what water is to fire. If you have an abundance of liquidity, you could be out of debt in very short order. On the other hand, if you have a shortage of liquidity, it could take decades to get out of debt.

A modern debt management system focuses on ways to harness current liquidity and seeks to fully develop your potential future liquidity. It utilizes that liquidity to systematically eliminate debt. It can develop multiple sources of liquidity and utilize that liquidity as leverage against debt.

Because of the importance of liquidity, modern and effective debt management and debt reduction systems are fully integrated with your current monthly income and expense cash flows. That is not to say that increasing your income and/or reducing your expenses is a requisite. A good debt management system takes advantage of existing cash flow, not necessarily changing it.

A modern debt management system is relatively painless to follow and does not require significant changes to your established spending patterns. It can be set to aggressively pay down debt, to maintain a certain level of debt but reduce the carrying cost, or fund a retirement or college savings plan.

Today's sophisticated, versatile, and effective debt management systems are not inexpensive. However, in terms of future interest savings, they can make up the cost of the system in the first few months of use and, over time, produce interest savings in excess of the total amount of current and future debt.

An inexpensive or do-it-yourself system is probably not a good alternative. While you might be able to redirect some liquidity and do some good, you would not be able to recreate the integrated mathematical algorithms which drive a more sophisticated system producing the best possible results.

Any current financial plan worth its' weight in paper should address both sides of the balance sheet and include a modern debt management system.

David Haslett is Senior National Director of the Freedom Equity Group. To discover how modern debt management technology can help you pay off your mortgage and other debt, go to: http://www.fastestmortgagepayoffplan.com

National Nurses Day Celebration - May 6 Every Year- Thank Your Nurses And Nominate Them To Win Award

National Nurses Day on May 6 in the USA is a wonderful opportunity to honor Nurses throughout the profession. This is a profession that proliferates our lives from birth to death and with bittersweet emotions. Hospital Nurses work long arduous hours to cure the ill without the honor and benefits of many other occupations. They are often silent in their endeavors; yet, they are there when your Doctor is not!

We are all dependent on Nurses in many areas of our lives; school nurses help us, occupational nurses are there for our immediate injuries, emergency room nurses offer stat care to reverse many dangerous traumatic situations for us and our relatives and relieve our worries, home care nurses offer the opportunity to remain in our environment during illness, amusement park nurses provide first aid services, case managers are to act as our advocates with insurance companies, legal nurses can offer opinions on care or after care and even on lawsuits for poor care.

Some Nurses are visible in health newspaper columns such as some that I have written for newspapers and even on television as producers and hosts to inform the public. Some nurses are authors such as on the book" Nurses On Our Own" IUniverse publishers offering a unique perspective into the mystical land of the psychiatric unit, movie sets and home care visits as well as professional relationships with Doctors and the Police.

Where would we be without Nurses from the moment we are born to the moment we pass on , they hold a special place in the hearts of soldiers, children and the senior communities. We could remember them with awards such as Nurse of the Year Contests at AmericaNurse.com (not AmericanNurse) or by recognizing them on Calendars, sending flowers, sending special Nurses Day Cards and Thanking them for their dedication and sacrifice with their knowledge and emotions which enrich all of our lives. You may nominate a special Nurse at asktvnurse@yahoo.com who may be chosen for a TV appearance with Karon Gibson, R.N. on Outspoken with Karon TV Show in Chicago and California. Phone is 815 773 4497. Karon is a speaker on this issue and others. Info at AmericanTVProductions.com

Karon Gibson, R.N. CCM is a Registered Nurse with entrepreneurial skills. She has been the ER Charge Nurse and Psychiatric Head Nurse in Hospitals as well as the creator and President of an Independent Nursing Practice Business in Home Care and Consulting. As an occupational health Nurse, she worked with many TV stations and major motion pictures such as Risky Business, Doctor Detroit and others. She has written newspaper columns in Chicago. As winner of many awards in business and Nursing, she has provided a forum for the public to learn new and innovative health care trends and options in natural health health on TV and radio. As coauthor of NURSES ON OUR OWN, she offers inside information and insight on the health care system. As a speaker on Nursing and Business as well as A CPR for crime, she has taught men, women, children and seniors much information on wellness as well as illness. She has a wealth of information on alternative care treatments such as endermology, reflexology and irology. She is available at http://AmericanTVProductions.com or call 815 773 4497. A TV/HOST & SPEAKER!

Unclaimed Assets: Stocks, Bonds, Utility Deposits, FHA Insurance Refunds, Etc. Could Belong To You

Stocks, bonds, utility deposits, FHA insurance refunds, paychecks, safe deposit box contents, etc. - in the U.S. there are Billions of dollars in unclaimed money and property ready to be claimed. Many people do not know that each state in the nation has a specific department which was established for sole purpose of receiving unclaimed money and property, and that they have the right to inquire about what could rightfully be theirs.

The vast majority of this unclaimed money and property originates from banks, insurance companies, utility companies, and various other institutions. In accordance with the law, this unclaimed money and property is generally held for anywhere between 2 to 5 years before being turned over to the state.

For over 5 years United Refund Services has been helping reunite people with their unclaimed money and property.

You can conduct a 100% free, instant search for unclaimed money and property by visiting: http://www.united-refund-services.com/unclaimed-searches.html.

In the event you do have unclaimed money and/or property, the claims process is quite simple and in most cases only requires you to produce a general form of identification and complete a simple form. Please note that unclaimed property is often auctioned to the general public if the state deems it to be abandoned, so if you are serious about inquiring, you don't want to delay.

United Refund Services continues to provide top level advice, materials and resources regarding unclaimed assets and residual income at: http://www.united-refund-services.com.

FOX News Logic Knows No Bounds, Even When It Comes to National Security

The recent uproar from the right over the T.S.A.'s tight security measures should come as no surprise, staggering as it may seem. When conservative commentators started calling Afghanistan "Obama's Vietnam" at the very beginning of his presidency, well before he even drew up his war strategy, it became clear to me that there's nothing he can do to avoid hypocritical and vicious attacks from the right. I loved to say at the time that theoretically, even if Obama were to embrace conservative policies, capture Bin Laden, kill every member of Al Qaeda and usher in an era of everlasting peace, conservatives would still paint him as soft on terror, a friend of terrorists, indecisive, and obsessed with expanding the reach of big brother.

As it happens, history has borne me out. The right has ridiculed him for implementing many supposedly conservative policies such as tax cuts, a hawkish counterterrorism agenda, aiding small businesses, building on Bush's No Child Left Behind, creating high risk insurance pools, cutting health care costs and organizing a bi-partisan budget deficit committee. Nothing matters. The only pretense of an exception is that the Republicans have largely voted in support of the Afghanistan war, but, true to form, they managed to do so in a way that opposes the President's plan by criticizing him for developing an exit strategy and pledging to withdraw troops as early as possible.

In this vein, a New York Times Op-Ed called "Politicizing Airport Security" describes how this form of FOX News logic is playing out in the pseudo-debate over the T.S.A.'s efforts to secure our airports. Mike Huckabee has called the scanners and pat-downs "unconstitutional," audaciously challenging the President to subject his family to the intrusive procedures, and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas thinks T.S.A. agents belong at the Mexican border instead of at airports.

In addition, a popular conservative talking point has it that we should implement racial profiling in place of the "degrading" practices currently in use. This idea has been embraced by Huckabee, Pete Hoekstra, who will become the chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence in January, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin. The latter, one of the most disgraceful figures America has ever produced, eloquently expressed her support for profiling via Twitter, as the Times reports: "TSA: why politically incorrect 2 'profile' anyone re: natl security issues? We profile individuals/suspects in other situations! Profile away."

I characterize all these "objections" as FOX News logic because they are all shamefully lacking in consistency and/or truth. Although there is a real debate over whether the T.S.A.'s behavior is unconstitutional, was it any less unconstitutional before Obama became president? Though the searches may be more prevalent now, the constitutional argument remains as strong or weak as it ever was, and the issue was never a mainstream concern for conservatives like Huckabee before.

As for Rick Perry's urging the T.S.A. to prioritize securing the Mexican border over airports, leaving aside the fundamental absurdity of such a suggestion, the government currently has 20,000 Border Patrol agents deployed (compared to 9,000 in 2001) as a result of Bush's Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which has added 2,000 new agents per year since it was initiated. In addition, Obama has not only upheld that total while cutting costs for the program but has also ordered 1,200 additional National Guard troops to help.

The racial profiling line is particularly laughable because aside from being abhorrent, the T.S.A. already engages in profiling, as The Times explains.

As always, the real issue is that conservatives will attack everything Obama does. There was once a time when politicians understood that national security should trump petty politics. But, as the Republicans' blatantly partisan resistance to the START treaty with Russia further attests, that ideal, much like the existence of moderate Republicans, is a thing of the past.

For source and more articles check out my blog:

http://scholarlywritingreviewed.com/

A recent graduate of NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, I consider myself a student of Melville and Shakespeare. Particularly, my fascination with Moby Dick has sparked a broader interest in many fields such as politics, history, science, economics, etc, since that novel deals with disparate disciplines and issues in an encyclopedic, yet accessible manner.

My blog is designed to direct readers to cool articles and books about a wide range of topics such as climate change, financial crisis, terrorism, Obama, etc that are well worth checking out. My commentary is meant to stand on its own, even for readers who have not looked at the works upon which my analyses are based. The ultimate goal is to generate engaging discussions...

[http://scholarlywritingreviewed.com/]

The National Federation of Roofing Contractors

Like many other countries, the United Kingdom has its own association for roofing contractors. The National Federation of Roofing Contractors is a London-based group founded by 40 slate merchants and slaters. It has branches all over the United Kingdom and is divided into eight regions. They strive to provide industrial-level roofing for the houses and buildings of the country. It only applies to Englandn and has no branches in other countries. We will discuss the history and mission of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, including how it was formed and how it came to be what it is today.

The federation was originally formed by a group of slaters and slate merchants all the way back in 1892. The first meeting of the group was the next year, and a couple of months after they decided to make themselves an official association. At first they called called themselves the London Association of Slate Merchants and Master Slaters. But, after a few years of consistent and steady growth, they changed their name. It grew past the local level as the years went by and the association ultimately became a national federation.

Now, it is a major roofing company in the United Kingdom. It contains eight different regions of the United Kingdom with its headquarters located in London. The association has a mission to ensure the best quality roof work available in the country as well as providing the proper insurance and warranties. It has proven itself to be a very reliable roofing association over the years.

In value, the National Federation of Roofing Contractors holds over 60 precent of the country's roofing industrial work and contractors. It is the biggest supplier of tiles and shingles in the nation. They constantly strive to produce industrial-grade tiles and hire only the best contractors. The Federation has come a long way from the original group of 40 slaters and slate merchants back in 1892.Starting as a humble meeting of slaters and slate merchants, they have grown to a nationally recognized association. It controls 60% of the United Kingdom's roofing industry and it provides proper insurance and warranties as well as hires quality roofing contractors. The association is based in London, but it controls eight regions across the United Kingdom. For anybody living in the United Kingdom, the National Federation of Roofing Contractors is the place to go for all his or her roofing needs.

Gottlieb Wendehals owns and operates http://www.roofing-contractor-search.com
Roofing Contractor

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, also referred to as the NHTSA, is a government agency that is part of the United States Department of Transportation. The NHTSA was formed in 1970 with the passage of the Highway Safety Act of 1970. The NHTSA also dates back to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the Highway Safety Act of 1966. It also has ties to the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1971. The NHTSA's mission statement on their website states that their main focus is "to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce traffic-related health care and other economic costs."

The NHTSA operates under three main areas; research, information and education, and funding other research. The NHTSA is responsible for writing and enforcing safety, theft-resistance, and fuel economy standards for motor vehicles. It is also responsible for licensing vehicle manufacturers and importers, allows or blocks the import of vehicles and safety regulated vehicle parts, administers the VIN system, develops the dummies used in crash test safety as well as the standards for those tests, and provides vehicle insurance cost information.

Since the inception of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration highways deaths in the United States have declined almost annually. Since the year 1960, the number of deaths per miles travelled has declined incredibly. The current number of deaths per year on United States roads hovers around 40,000. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also expanded to include consumer information programs as well. One of the main reasons for the creation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was due to public pressure in the United States to create safer automobiles. One of the provisions by Congress made it a law to install safety belts in all newly manufactured vehicles. The meetings held by Congress occurred in 1966 and those same meetings produced the creation of the United States Department of Transportation.

Prior to the creation of the NHTSA, all vehicles being imported to the United States had to meet standards that were set by the ECE. The ECE is short for the Economic Commission for Europe. They are called the ECE Regulations for vehicle design, construction, and safety performance. Once the United States government created and placed into effect the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards, any vehicles meeting the ECE safety standards but not the United States standards were no longer permitted to be imported into the country for sale.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also responsible and is legally allowed to perform safety investigations of any safety problems with vehicles imported into the country as well as vehicles that are manufactured within the United States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also works in conjunction with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to provide American drivers with the most safety information about their vehicles and the roadways as possible. The NHTSA is working on a proposal to mandate that all vehicles by the model year 2012 have Electronic Stability Control equipped on them.

Car Rental Durham

Rent Car Durham

Procrastinators Nation - The Trick About Tomorrow

Ok, so there is this trick about tomorrow. It never really comes. Now that seems like a silly thing to say. Of course tomorrow will come, and when it's over we will be one day older, hopefully one day wiser. But the way we use the idea of tomorrow when we procrastinate does not really exist.

There is no tomorrow in which today's tasks will some how be less scary or difficult. So why do so many of us believe in this idea of tomorrow as some magical place where we will with minimal effort sail through tasks which today fill us with such anxiety we can not even bring ourselves to start?

But we all engage in this type of day dreaming, we imagine ourselves eagerly cleaning every nook and cranny of our house smiling all the while, spending four hours at the gym we haven't been inside for months, easily balancing our budget though we haven't looked at our bank statement for weeks. Though we know nothing has or probably will happen between today and tomorrow to significantly change the way we feel about these tasks. We some how rationalize that tomorrow for no apparent reason we will jump out of bed bubbling over with enthusiasm to tackle these tasks.

How is it that our minds manage to trick us into believing in this fantasy tomorrow again and again? We fall for it even though we know from experience our task will be more difficult the longer we procrastinate.

Inevitably, we must at some point clean our house, exercise our bodies, and manage our finances, but often we put these things off to the very last moment. We justify our procrastination by imaging that at some point in the near future our drive to complete these tasks will do such a 180 that we will merrily over compensate for what we failed to do today. The problem is that day never comes.

It is true that you can wait till the day when your back is up against the wall and you hurriedly attempt to get done what you should have started many yesterdays ago. If you are lucky you produce something of acceptable quality - if you're lucky. If you're not so lucky, that last day may include the bank repossessing your house, a diagnosis of diabetes or something even worse.

When we think of procrastination the obvious scenarios pop into our minds. "This report at work was a little late" or "I meant to go over those bills today but I just don't feel like it. I'll do it tomorrow". These are the small things that come into our minds when we think about the negative consequences of procrastination. But this small seemingly insignificant habit of putting things off one more day or one more month can affect our health, relationships and financial futures in ways most people don't realize.

For example, what is the cost of procrastinating when it comes to putting our finances in order? A wise man once said, "Ignorance is expensive indeed". Do you know the rate of interest you pay on your credit cards? Have you shopped around for the ones with the lowest interest rates or ones that give you the most sensible money saving rewards for your situation? Is the yield on your savings account competitive with other banks and financial institutions? Is your bank or credit union federally insured by the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) or the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)?

Today more than ever we are seeing the consequences of financial ignorance. Many people would not immediately link financial irresponsibility to procrastination. But what is procrastination but understanding we should take action to do, to know or to change a current situation but fear stops us in our tracks. And what type of information do we fear more than the truth about our finances? Many people would rather have their appendix removed than sit down and take an honest look at their finances. We know we should learn more about money and take better care of our finances but we put it off till tomorrow. We're still ok, right?

We see something similar happening with obesity. We know what we should eat, we know how much we should exercise but we are scared to change. We are scared no matter how hard we try we will never achieve that ideal weight; we will never become that confident beautiful person we imagine we might be if we could over come our fear and stop procrastinating. Health issues are also one of the last things that may come to mind when the word procrastination is mentioned. But at the heart of many peoples daily struggle with health or weight gain is procrastination. It's the idea that tomorrow we will go on a diet. Tomorrow we will take the time to prepare nutritious food and stop eating unhealthy snacks. Tomorrow we will go to the gym and do cardio and resistance training until it hurts. Tomorrow we will have the will, desire, and strength to make the changes we could be making today.

Hopefully what you have taken from this short essay is a better understanding of the many ways procrastination can adversely affect your daily life. The question remains, now that we know how harmful procrastination can be, what can we do to stop ourselves from procrastinating?

I think a common misconception that people have is that we can not do things in fear or discomfort , we can not with shaking hands or tight throats do a financial inventory of our household, we can not dredge through an exhausting work-out or eat a meal that is less than appetizing until our tastes change. And yes, cravings and tastes are learned and will change with time.

In this country we abhor discomfort and pain and that's not always a bad thing, but it creates a misconception. And that misconception is that emotion must come before action and that everything that is good for us and important should feel good as we are doing it. In reality it is action that is taken in spite of emotion that has the power to set us free and unlock our greatest potential. In truth we are more than capable of acting in fear and discomfort and I believe that some of the world's greatest accomplishments were acted out under such circumstances. It is after we have gone through the uncomfortable process of changing our habits and facing our fears that we feel the joy, pleasure, and contentment that comes with taking action.

Sure we could wait until tomorrow to start unlocking this potential, but then, there is that trick about tomorrow.

© Malaika Baxa enjoys writing and speaking about personal development. For more procrastination tips and articles visit the Stop Procrastination Info website: http://www.stopprocrastinatinginfo.com

Could You Improve Your Insurance Sales Watching a Guy Selling Cookware at a County Fair?

Even though there are big differences between selling products and selling a service when someone does a superior job of selling there are lessons to be learned. When you watch a top producer selling anything there are tremendous lessons to be learned from the obvious to the subtle nuances.

At the end of each summer there's a local county fair that's one of the better ones in the nation. This year my husband and I went, and while there my husband purchased a collection of cookware for me that was so obscenely expensive that many people have purchased cars for less. So, how did this guy selling cookware sell my husband on such an expensive totally impulsive and unnecessary sale? It wasn't like I didn't already have cookware, it wasn't like we left for the fair that morning thinking we needed to find cookware, and it certainly wasn't like either of us even knew cookware could cost that much money. Read and learn.

It had been a long morning at the fair when I noticed this guy had some kind of cooking demonstration going on that involved chairs for the audience, so we happened to sit down in his audience. One thing you noticed immediately beyond the fact that the guy was just likable was that he wasn't just demonstrating his cookware he was actually teaching people about cooking, nutrition, and healthy eating. And he was doing it in a way that had the audience spell bound. This guy had a group of about 50 people completely focused on him and what he was saying. Why? All ears and eyes were trained on him because he was providing added value beyond what they expected.

He disqualified non-buyers from the start, but he did so in a way that wasn't insulting. He told the audience often, and with no shame that his cookware was very expensive. All throughout his demonstration he was preparing the future buyers and the non-buyers alike.

He focused on what he knew the people in his audience wanted. His focus was on fast, easy, and healthy cooking made simple in both preparation and cleanup. He had one of the future buyers sold within about 10 minutes of the start of his sales demonstration. In fact, this guy was so enthusiastic I thought he was a plant until I verified for myself that he wasn't.

He focused on the real decision maker. Few women would spend that kind of money on cookware without involving the husband, and this guy focused on selling the cookware to the husband and left it to the husband to close the wife. Nearly everyone in his audience was forty plus, and it's at that point that most people start to have a reality check about their health. My husband is extremely health conscious, and evidently so were a lot of other people in the audience. Now of the fifty or so people in the audience about a dozen were kids. Many were couples, so there were probably about a dozen real decisions makers at most. Yet at the end of his demonstration the cookware guy had sold three very expensive cookware collections. Perhaps you can take a lesson from the cookware guy to improve your career sales training, and it may not hurt to use the free sales skill analysis below to do a spot check to see how your skills measure up.

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Could you sell more with a few Time Management Tips?

Most Expensive Cars to Insure

If you have a car, it's probably safe to say that you have car insurance. If you don't, you should. The main point of having car insurance is to protect you from the losses and liability associated with a car accident. Insurance can also protect you from the costs associated with theft, vandalism and damage caused by natural disasters.

As you know, auto insurance premiums can be more expensive for those who buy luxury cars or zippy sports cars. So if you are thinking about buying a new car, you definitely want to find out how much your insurance will increase by depending on the make and model.

If you're wondering what the most expensive cars to insure are, here are just a few:

Porsche 911 Carrera GT2 2 Door Coupe The Porche 911 Carerra GT2 hit the market in 1994. Its design was based on the 911 Turbo, but it is significantly lighter. This model has a twin-turbocharged engine, larger brakes, stiffer suspension and rear-wheel drive. It can go from zero to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. So how much does it cost to insure this vehicle? According to Insure.com, the average national premium for the Porsche 911 Carrera GT2 is $2,943.78.

Mercedes S65 AMG 4 Door Sedan The Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG is the brand's most powerful sedan. This vehicle hit the market in 2006 and sells for around $201,150. The car features a twin turbocharged V12 engine that produces 612 horsepower at 4,800 rpm. The S65 can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds. The average national premium for this vehicle is $2,863.03

Dodge Viper SRT-10 2 Door Coupe The Dodge Viper SRT-10 is the third generation model of this vehicle. It hit the market in 2003. The Viper SRT-10 has a 8.4 liter V10 engine and can go from zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds. Its top speed has be reported to be between 197 and 202 mph. The MSRP for the 2010 viper is around $90,255. The average national premium for this vehicle is $2,851.89

Your car might not cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but if you need replacement keys or keyless car remotes we have what you're looking for. Visit us today to see our selection of keyless remotes, replacement car keys and more.

Kris Carlson is an employee at YourKeylessRemote.com, a leading provider of keyless entry remotes, replacement car keys, key fobs and keyless entry remote accessories. The company is located outside of Chicago and carries keyless remotes for both foreign and domestic models. YourKeylessRemote.com's goal is to always provide quick and thorough customer service.

I Feel Fat - Can I Get My Insurance to Pay For Liposuction?

Liposuction (also known as lipoplasty and suction lipectomy) sounds like a dream come true to some people. To be able to get significant amounts of fat removed from exactly the places on your body that you want, and to get it now, without months of dieting and exercise--well, it can sound fairly tempting.

Some people go a little further with this line of thinking and start to wonder whether they could get this surgery without really having to pay for it themselves--after all, insurance companies pay for surgeries, right? Maybe they'd be willing to pay to help you lose weight?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is virtually always no. Lipoplasty is first and foremost a cosmetic surgery, and it only very rarely produces true health benefits. As such, insurance companies are understandably reluctant to pay for this surgery.

If you are going to get the surgery, you'll most likely have to pay for it yourself, without any assistance from insurance. The surgery will most likely cost somewhere between $1000 and $10,000, depending somewhat on factors like which surgeon you go with, where you live, and what gender you are (liposuction for men tends to cost more).

If the surgery sounds amazing to you, but you don't think you can afford the price out of pocket, you may be able to find someone to offer financing. Many surgeons either offer in-house financing, or they have strong connections with local or national corporations which offer financing for cosmetic surgery.

There is, however, one very notable exception to the "no liposuction rule." Some insurance companies are willing to pay for lipoplasty breast reductions. If a woman experiences back neck and shoulder pain due to excessively large and heavy breasts, or if the size of her breasts interfere with getting mammograms, sometimes an insurance company will decide that a lipectomy can count as an actual health surgery. In these cases, they are sometimes willing to pay.

However, it certainly isn't a given that they will OK your lipoplasty breast reduction. You definitely want to speak with representatives from your insurance company beforehand, as well as getting any appropriate paperwork filled out. Before making your decisions, you want to know what sort of financial assistance you can count on.

For people whose weight problems don't center around their breasts, well, I guess it's time to start saving pennies. It doesn't look like insurance is going to help very much.

Christian Heftel is a staff writer at http://www.liposuctionguide.com

For more information on Christian and Liposuction, please visit http://www.liposuctionguide.com

July 2010 - Monthly Insurance Q&A

Q: What the meaning of equal employment opportunity?

A: Typically applies to a business with 15 or more employees that prohibits discrimination in any aspect of employment and harassment in the workplace based on race, color, age (40 and cover), sex, pregnancy, gender, religion, disability, national origin, ethnic background, military service and/ or citizenship.

Q. What is the ballpark estimate for directors & officer liability insurance?

A. Can be as low as $1200 for a small business to millions for a public company

Q. What is the typical annual premium for D&O in small business?

A. $1200 to $5000

Q. What is the cost for errors and omissions coverage?

A. This depends on limits, the industry, geographic location, and past claims experience. Some of the most expensive professions would be MD's, Real Estate Brokerages and Appraisal Firms, Insurance Brokerages, Engineering Firms and Law Firms.

Q. How do you apply for errors and omissions insurance?

A. You contact an insurance broker with expertise in E and O (it is an insurance specialty). She/he will have you complete an application; if you have coverage currently they will obtain your loss runs for the past 5 or 10 years. The broker will shop your coverage to multiple insurers.

Q. How much is a $100,000 of general liability?

A. Assuming you are not in something risky, an estimate would be $100 to $500 a year. Most companies buy this coverage with limits in the millions.

Q. What is product professional liability?

A. As it implies in its name, it protects you from suits relating to the products that you produce or a private label.

Q. Can an employer stop group health benefits during workers compensation claims?

A. Yes and the employer should. You have to check with your health insurer to see what the contract dictates, but most have a limitation that coverage is for full time employees working 25 or 30 hours a week. If an employee is on Workers Compensation, he/she is not working so therefore he/she is no longer eligible for group health insurance. You should offer him/her COBRA. If you do not do this, the health insurer can deny the claims of the employee. We know of an employer, not our client, who kept an employee on his/her group health insurance while the employee was on Workers Compensation. The employee had a massive heart attack while disabled. The employee mentioned to the doctor, which was entered into his medical record that he was out on a Workers Compensation claim. The employee was given open heart surgery that yielded a big bill, which the insurer denied since the employee was not eligible for health insurance at the time of the claim. The employer was sued for the bill and lost in court.

Q. Can you run a CA family rights act with the federal family and medical leave act?

A. Yes, CFRA and FMLA can run concurrently.

Q. Is excess workers compensation a liability policy?

A. Not the word Excess which usually refers to reinsurance - a self insured Workers Comp. However if the question is, can you buy excess coverage or umbrella insurance to supplement the liability portion of Workers Compensation, the answer is yes. This is one of the reasons why one buys an umbrella for one's company. If the Workers Comp limits are breached or used up, then the umbrella may respond. Note: most states limit the liability for the employer to the limits of the Workers Comp policy unless there is gross negligence.

Q. What is worker's comp aggregate retention?

A. If you self insure your Workers Comp and say if the past 5 years show your average claims with inflation is $3,000,000 then a reinsurer may sell you an aggregate reinsurance policy that will pay all claims that exceed the expected claims of $3,000,000. The $3 million is the aggregate retention or deductible.

Q. Where can you buy medical malpractice coverage while on US rotation?

A. If you are a resident of the US, you can buy it from a typical malpractice insurer. The problem is the policy will be for 1 year, so if you are here for less than 1 year you will want to pay the premium and request a refund for any unused premium and buy tail insurance. Tail insurance is to cover you for any claims that occurred during the time you were covered. If you are returning to your home country and never plan to live in the US, you will want to consult an attorney to see what your exposure is versus buying tail insurance. When in doubt buy tail insurance.

About HCP National Insurance Services

HCP National is a one-stop shop for all your insurance needs. We provide all lines of insurance coverage including employment risk management, ASO and Stop Loss Insurance, Fully Insured Managed Care Programs, Medical Malpractice E & O and D & O, Reinsurance, Product Liability, BOP's, Workers Compensation, All Forms of Property and Casualty Insurance. Come visit our website at HCP National Insurance.

Note: the above is a general discussion about how coverages may work. Your insurance policy and all addendum are the only authority of how your coverage works. Do not rely on this article as an explanation of your coverage. Have your attorney review your entire policy with you to determine what is and isn't covered.

How To Produce Taxi Driver Accounts Plus Tax Returns In Less Than 2 Hours

Since the majority of taxi drivers, but certainly not all, have little accounting or bookkeeping knowledge the lower the level of expertise required the more suitable such an accounts package will be. Data entry basically consists of just 3 records, being an excel spreadsheet for taxi receipts; another for taxi expenses plus a further worksheet in which assets such as a vehicle can be recorded.

Taxi receipts are entered on a series of excel worksheets within the taxi income work book preset with each day of the financial year. Weekly and monthly totals are added and transferred through the linking system from the taxi bookkeeping sheets to the taxi financial accounts sheet.

Taxi expenses are listed on a series of twelve monthly spreadsheets which have preset columns with appropriate headings for taxi drivers to record office and rental costs, fuel bills, other vehicle costs and licence fees. The total of each expense is entered on each row and a single letter used to then analyse the taxi expense to the column required. As with the taxi income sheet the columns are then automatically added which includes a check on data entry accuracy before being transferred to the taxi driver accounts sheet.

Cash and bank spreadsheets are not provided as not required by taxi drivers as taxi drivers do not need to produce a balance sheet.

In addition to entering purchases on the taxi expense sheet the only other entries required from the taxi driver to produce a set of taxi driver accounts is to also enter vehicle and any other assets purchased on the fixed asset spreadsheet. The fixed asset spreadsheet having already been preset with both depreciation rates and the capital allowances that taxi drivers can claim. The taxi accounts software is then complete.

The financial accounts file contains formulae to produce a monthly profit and loss account that includes the taxi capital allowances from the fixed asset schedule.

A unique feature is that both mileages covered and vehicle running costs can be entered. The tax rules in the UK state that drivers cannot claim both mileage allowances and vehicle running costs. It has to be one or the other and only at the end of the financial year when it becomes clear which is the most tax efficient.

This taxi accounts package compares both the mileage cost and the vehicle running cost and automatically selects the most expensive. This ensures the highest costs are selected into the calculation of the net taxable profits and highest cost equals lowest tax bill.

Also in the taxi accounts file is an excel spreadsheet designed with the same layout, colour codes and box numbers as the inland revenue self assessment tax return. The taxi self assessment tax return is completed automatically by the cabsmart taxi accounts software. No entries are required leaving the taxi driver only to click print to produce the self assessment tax return.

Finally having calculated the net taxable profit for the year the accounting package also has a tax calculator that calculates the amount of income tax and national insurance to be paid.

The taxi driver accounts package has been tested many times and the annual receipts and expenses for a full year take approximately 2 to 3 hours to enter, and have been completed in less than 2 hours. The end product is a full set of taxi driver accounts including the self assessment tax return.

Both couriers and van drivers have similar businesses to taxi drivers in that they move items from one place to another in a similar way in which taxi drivers move people from one location to another. And because of the similarity in business activity then this taxi accounting package would be equally suitable for couriers and van drivers.

Terry Cartwright, a qualified accountant in the UK, designs Taxi Accounts software on excel spreadsheets specifically for the Taxi Driver wishing to save money and prepare the Taxi Driver Accounts and produce the self assessment tax return in the process.

Insuring The Older Worker With Workers Compensation

In many globalized countries these days, including much of Europe and America, there is a problem of an aging workforce. In Germany many of the workers in auto plants are near retirement age, and the specialized labor force to replace them is in critical shortage. There are similar challenges in US, within the next decade workers compensation laws will continue to change and adapt to theses new situations.

According to data from the U.S. Census, employees in the United States are rapidly aging and many people over the age of 55 are still working. These numbers have increased by more than 50% over the last six years. With this in mind, there's a way for employers and employees to prepare by actually changing the work environment, as well as taking caution with more safety initiatives. This is where employers and workers unions have a rare situation where they can genuinely work together for the betterment of both parties. Furthermore, as commodity and labor prices in the marketplace will fluctuate, worker's compensation policy trends will also have to change as well. Group health insurance plans will increase, forcing workers compensation insurance to also change as the larger corporations force the insurance industry to also adapt.

Together with the problem of worker maturation, this presents a new field of pitfalls, which then cause finance problems essential in insurance policy formation. In addition to their employers, aging workers need to learn new methods to use modern assisted technology. If incidents do occur then, they're more successfully dealt with in the workers compensation statements. While older personnel are more experienced and have less workplace injuries, they are from a financial standpoint, more expensive than newly hired younger staff. This provides an incentive and opportunity for employers to find younger workers to replace them. However, with the changes in broad demographic trends, the gap between the aging labor force and their replacements continues to grow. The growth of age-related health issues will also produce changes in work compensation.

In accordance with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2004, the states paid out over $56 million to assist workers; annually that amount continues to increase. In almost all of theses cases the injuries were physical incidents while the worker was attending to his official work duties at the assigned work place. Nearly half of the insurance budget set aside by the states is used for health care bills alone, and throughout 2007, workers compensation payouts rose to nearly $70 million. The statistics also stress the number one issue in worker's compensation claims were again, physical related injuries.

The most beneficial way for the system to improve is to actually favor the older workers. However, as trends Indicate, the system needs some serious revision. For some employers, what might have been adequate in the past will certainly not suffice in the future. If workers compensation laws favor assisted technology, costs will go up for employers. This may reflect in the national economy as more regulations are applied in the different states. Assisted technology may have higher costs for the employers, but they will benefit society as a whole by reducing our government payouts in the form of injury compensation.

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