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This mysterious cat is originally from the country of Siam, now known as Thailand. Siamese cats were highly esteemed by generations of Siamese monarchs,
even to the extent that they resided in the royal palace. You wanna talk about the royalty of the cat world! They were trusted to protect the palace as well as monasteries from evil spirits and were also thought to bring good fortune.

In the year 1884, the first Siamese cats made their way to England when the current Monarch of Siam decided to gift them to a top general in the British Army. They made their way from there to America. The Siamese cat is now one of the most
recognized domestic cat breeds around. According to the Cat Fancy Association they are the single most popular shorthair cat and the 3rd most popular breed of cat overall.

Although this breed features a variety of different colors, there are some disagreements concerning what makes a true Siamese cat and what does not Still, these delightful felines are well known for bodies that are mostly light in color with darker areas called points. The darker points are generally (but not always) around the face, legs, feet and the tail.
Weighing in at between about 8 and 15 lbs, this blue eyed sensation of the cat world has 2 distinct body types.

The modern Siamese have long and elegant bodies with very refined tapering lines and wedge-shaped heads to match.

Conversely the traditional Siamese cat is a robust and round-headed creature with a muscular physique
These particular cats are as well-known for their distinct personalities as for their color points. They have a great talent for communicating with people that other cats simply do not have. If you like to come home to peace and quiet, then you may want to consider another cat altogether. These are the most social cats in existence.

Since Siamese cats believe the world revolves around them, they want lots and lots attention. They are also quite dependant on their human owners. They crave interaction and they really love their games! These cats are simply not meant to be left alone for too long.

While this cat may be high maintenance emotionally, they are generally not in any other area. For example they need only a minimum of grooming.

Because their coats are so close as to appear painted on, a gentle weekly brushing is usually enouph. Like all other types of cats, they have a few minor genetic faults, such as occasional crossed eyes and kinked tail, which are primarily cosmetic concerns.

In terms of life expectency, these cats are blessed with above-average life spans compared to other cats, generally between fiften to twenty years and sometimes longer. The reward for such a cat is well worth it as you can have a staunch supporter for a substantal amount of time.

Just imagine having a cat that can help teach your kids on the art of speech and then live long enough to see them go to college. For information on cats and cat nutrition visit Premium Cat Food from Life’s Abundance and learn more.

Ryan Joseph is a writer researcher. For more information visit http://www.dog-food-nutrition.com/

From early childhood and throughout the schooling system, we learn the “3R’s”: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic – the science of numbers. (Nowadays, you need to add a fourth “R”- gRaphing!).
Later, we reach a certain level in our education where were may feel rightly or wrongly (often complacently) that our levels of mastering reading and writing are satisfactory.

However… What about numbers? Generally, we do not fully realize the extent to which numbers control and regulate our lives. We are all identified by innumerable numbers from birth to the very last moments of our lives. Just reflect only on some of our important dates: birth, starting school, finishing primary school, finishing secondary school, the admission to university and then also with every stage of our education imprinted with our marks, marks and marks (percentages!). Then other numbers: the first love (the date, some of us remember!), dates of: marriage, birth of children, the first work, salaries, divorce, then blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels, the first operation, the passing away (not yet?) and so on. These numbers are unique to you and unique to me. They all identify you and identify me.

Some numbers quantify information. These are essential to understanding facts, events, processes, laws etc… The US novelist, Nathanel West, 1903-1940, stated aptly: “Numbers constitute the only universal language”.

Studies have shown that even rhesus monkeys can understand the relation between numbers 1 to 9 i.e., they are able to judge whether the specified number is smaller or bigger than the other number.

So, what is the present state of arithmetic? Unfortunately, most of the people satisfy themselves on a very low level of its cognizance. (As an anecdote, I may tell you that I was approached by a lawyer who asked me: “I have to assign a plaintiff 15% of the amount demanded by defendant; how much is it?”). Most people fear numbers if they require any further calculations: making fractions, multiplying, using proportions or inverse proportions, converting to percentages or substituting to formulas. What are the implications of this fact? It often leads to impaired judgement of the average citizen regarding handling their home economics, investment and, as the case may be, the events in their own country and on our globe. As the citizens of a “global village”, we are all affected by events not only in our place or country but even in far-away-countries. Consider these numbers: people affected by HIV, bird flu, tsunami, price of a barrel of oil, tsunami in financial markets, increasing ozone hole, decreasing shoals of fish in oceans, decreasing number of polar bears, the increase in the average yearly temperature, increasing extinction of species of animals and plants. One can present endless number of examples.

The numbers can be puzzling, depressing, shocking, fascinating, mystifying or upsetting. Well, they can be… An educated, intelligent and honest person will perceive them this way. A Polish film director Jerzy Konwicki (renown for his “Ashes and Diamonds”) used to say: “only a cow does not care”.

True, a cow does not know, for example, about the “mad cow” disease and does not understand what it means that a certain percentage of cows are affected by foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue virus. There are however, unfortunately, also some examples among educated as well as decision making persons, institutions and governments who do not care. They have dubious motives to ignore some numbers (and related facts) they do not like. What will be the consequences of their arrogance to human beings in the future? A Japanese proverb says that more intelligent are those who see further…

Below there are several examples of numbers compiled from the Internet, Time and Trumpet. They may not be exact; however you may find them interesting and worthy of your attention:

65 000 – estimated population of Africa’s black rhinos in 1970
3 600 – estimated population of Africa’s black rhino in 2007
2 000 000 000 000 USD – US cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, so far

3 500 000 – Jews murdered in Poland by German Nazis

32 000 000 – population of Poland before II WW; 24 000 000 after the war

1500 – new HIV infections a day in South Africa

1 000 000 – Americans killed yearly by heart attacks (cardiacnetwork.net)

7:2 – ratio of average number of TV sets to children in the USA

1500 – number of hours, the average USA teenager spends watching TV

67% – percentage of Australian and USA men are overweight

1 in 12- South Africans who had access to the Internet in 2007

15-30 000 000 – men suffering from erectile dysfunction (NIH, USA government statistics)

690 000 000 – number of Asians living on $1 or less per day (Asian Dev. Bank)

142.8 – number of women raped per 100 000 in South Africa; 150 per day

66 000 000 – number of people in the USA suffering with arthritis, the most common chronic health problem in the USA

3% – rate of the green gas increasing per year

7 600 000 – number of cancer death worldwide in 2007

5 200 000 – Americans suffer from full-blown diabetes and don’t know it…yet.

14 000 – dolphins killed annually in Japan

400 000 000 – number of people in the world suffering from depression and mental disorders (WHO).

Look again at the numbers. They alone are meaningless. However, together with the descriptive information, they carry powerful information, obviously to those who are intelligent enough to understand them. Unfortunately, it does not mean yet, that those who understand them and have authority to make decision/s to change some of the numbers/trends are willing to act…

Are you already feeling depressed? You should be… You are intelligent…
Till the next time… (2).

P.S.: While proofreading, my wife counsels me that I have omitted three other important R’s. During a whole life one should learn: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for your own actions. She is absolutely Right!

Wacek Kijewski is the author of stimulating and entertaining resource material on experimental science: “SI Units, Conversion and Measurement Skills” (the 2007 edition, IBN 0629340584, 186 pp, USD97. The book is recommended for students and lecturers science and engineering courses. Visit website: http://www.wacek.co.za and http://www.wacek.co.za/review.html Read seven reviews: UNESCO, UK, South Africa, Botswana, United States, Hungary. His other ezines:”The Travellers Temperature Tips”, “Is IQ a Metric Unit of Intelligence and…Stupidity”, “Al-Gebra and Illuminati Links Discovered”, “How to Measure Cultural Differences in Metric Units”, “The Traveller’s Temperature Predicaments (2). NB: The book is being sold by Amazon and other booksellers illegally.

You can of course buy one of the heavily advertised automated forex trading systems online – but this one is simple to understand, free and made savvy traders millions and all you need to know about it is enclosed…

Let’s start with the ones you can buy and most have nothing to offer apart from fancy packaging and hyped copy, to appeal to greed.

They lack the basic requirement you need and that’s having made a profit. Check the track records and there normally just paper simulations done backwards!

Well that’s not real dollars and if you want a robot you want one that’s Made real dollars and the free one we are going to look at has.

Real Profits for Over 20 Years

The system has been used since the late seventies by serious traders and was devised by Richard Donchian who is considered the grandfather of trend following.

He left some great free info for traders to use and his 4 Week Rule automated trading system, is simple – but don’t believe it doesn’t make profits it has and still does. Let’s take a look at it.

The Rule

This is a one rule trading system which holds a position in the market at all times and this is the rule to execute your trading signals to.

Buy a new 4 week calendar high and reverse this position to a short position on a new 4 week calendar low – that’s the rule and it’s very simple!

Now you may be saying that’s too simple to work but all the best forex trading systems are simple but it works on logic which is valid and here it is.

Trade Breakouts

Almost all the big trends start or continue from new market highs or lows and by getting in on them, you are getting in on the big trends.

Currencies Trend Long Term

They reflect the underlying health of the country they represent so this means long trends of months or years and this system will get you a good chunk of the profits they produce.

You then have a couple of other very important advantages:

- Its objective you don’t have to think about the signal you just do it

- Its extremely time efficient and only takes about 15 minutes a day

So is the system perfect?
Of course not all systems have a weakness and this one is no exception.

When currencies don’t trend, it will generate losing signals but you can add a filter and exit on a one or two week high or low, go flat and wait for the next signal or you can use a short term moving average. This smoothes the equity curve but whichever way you choose long term this system makes profits.

The best forex trading systems are simple and this one is and don’t believe the vendors who try and sell you software with fancy names, clever packaging and a made up track record, go for the real deal and that’s a system, that’s still used after 25 years and is at the heart of many a successful forex trading strategy.

You don’t get much for free in life but Richard Donchian has left something for free, that is valuable, easy to understand and can help any trader seek currency trading success in just 15 minutes a day.

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For free 2 x trading Pdf’s and more on the best FREE Forex Trading System and an exclusive risk free Currency trading Course visit our website.

These trends relate to the increasing cost of retirement which in turn is linked to longer life expectancy and the effects of a massive ageing population.

Firstly, as we know, most major employers are moving away from the final-salary pension schemes of old. The promises made by employers are proving to be very expensive to keep and as such, current corporate management is trying to lower or remove this burden.

The second major trend is the devaluing of state retirement benefits. Of course, this differs from country to country, but the trend is for pensioners to receive less, not more benefits.

Whilst the masses appear to be completely unaware of this trend, the clock to retirement age is ticking and each passing month without action is one less in which preparation can be made.

Suddenly, investors need to decide whether they want to focus on alpha or beta. For the lay person, this means either trusting in the skill of an investment management to outperform the market, or, relying on the market and investing passively in an index. This is a very difficult call to make.

Should an investor stick with the more traditional unit linked funds investing on the stock exchange and bond markets, or look to more adventurous areas such as hedge funds, property and commodities? Can an investor protect themselves from the potential swings in the market by diversification?

For those that wish to avoid the complexities and rely on a managed fund, choosing a manager can be hard to do. Even the legendary Bill Miller who had beated the S&P 500 for an incredible 15 consecutive years has just had 2 poor years in a row.

In fact, the average US mutual fund investor averages much lower returns than are possible. This is in part due to the unfortunate habit of private investors to jump onto an investment bandwagon and buy into hot funds at the top of the market. Some studies suggest that this causes most investors to earn a massive five percent less each year than the S&P 500 index.

Such mistakes are primarily due to a lack of understanding. Private investors often lack economic, business, political, financial or stock exchange knowledge – and this can prove to be very expensive. This – of course – is understandable. Not everyone has the desire or capacity to become an expert in economics or geopolitics. And yet, this is what these changes essentially require. At the most extreme, this may prove to be the difference between a prosperous or a poor old age.

All these things really prove is that the private investor needs to understand the stock exchange and it’s workings more and more – and that an ever greater number of people need to become private investors. This will be a massive change in how individuals are responsible for their own affairs.

Stuart Langridge is a financial advisor and personal finance columnist. He shows people why they need to invest on the stock exchange and why we all need to Invest on the stock exchange for a more comfortable retirement.

Tax reduction and tax deferral are the primary benefits of obtaining a cost segregation study. Income taxes are a substantial burden for most real estate investors. Tax deductions help with this burden. While some level of taxation is necessary, it is both inappropriate and imprudent to pay more than your fair share.

Income tax is based on net profit or taxable income. The basic formula for calculating taxable income is revenue less expenses (tax deductions). Expenses can include both direct payments to third parties (labor, rent, supplies, etc.) and non-cash deduction. The primary non-cash deductions are depreciation and amortization. Tax reduction (tax cuts) are a direct result of increasing tax deductions.

The tax deduction benefit real estate owners gain from cost segregation is a higher level of depreciation. This non-cash tax deduction reduces taxable income and income taxes. For example, if the amount of depreciation increased by $100,000 (as result of a cost segregation study), taxable income would decrease by $100,000, and the owner experiences a $35,000 reduction in taxes (based on 35% tax rate).

Most real estate owners depreciate real estate based upon splitting the cost basis between land and improvements. The property owner or tax preparer typically estimates the portion for the land and attributes the balance to long-life improvements. Long-life improvements depreciate over 27.5 years for rental residential property and 39 years for commercial property

While this simplistic method is lawful, it cheats the real estate owner of tax deductions. A cost segregation study identifies up to 130 short-life components. (Cost segregation is different than component depreciation, which was available until the early 1908s. However, the result of both is to increase depreciation and tax deductions during the early years of ownership.) These short-life components typically comprise 20-50% of the improvement cost basis and are depreciated over 5 years (20.0% per year), 7 years (14.29% per year) and 15 years (6.67% per year).

Depreciation effectively changes the character of income from ordinary income to capital gains income. While the maximum income tax rate for ordinary income is 35%, the maximum rate for capital gains is 15% (less than half the ordinary income tax). This affects substantial income tax reduction.

Increasing depreciation also affects deferral of payment of income taxes. Instead of paying taxes (at the ordinary income tax rate) in the year income is earned, taxes are paid (at the capital gain rate) in the year the property is sold. Cost segregation effectively generates an interest free loan (until the property is sold) and reduces the tax rate (from 35% to 15%).

Cost segregation produces tax deductions and reduces federal income taxes across the country and in every size market. Below are just a few examples of where cost segregation generates meaningful tax deductions.

City:

• Miami, FL
• Bridgeport, CT
• Washington, DC
• San Francisco, CA
• Atlanta, GA
• Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
• New Orleans, LA
• New York, NY
• Baltimore, MD
• Hartford, CT
• Indianapolis, IN
• Wichita, KS
• Detroit, MI
• Charleston, SC
• Providence, RI
• Grand Rapids, MI
• Jacksonville, TN
• Boise, ID
• Santa Rosa, CA
• Columbia, SC
• Columbus, OH
• Oxnard, CA
• Greensboro, NC
• Allentown, PA
• Harrisburg, PA
• Louisville, KY
• Fresno, CA
• Akron, OH
• Chicago, IL
• Portland, OR

Cost segregation produces tax deductions for virtually all property types.

Property Type:

• Manufacturing/processing
• Tennis club
• Retirement home
• Auto service garage
• Mini-warehouse
• Single-tenant retail
• Medical facility
• Hotel
• Retail
• Vacant land

Almost every industry, including the following, can generate cost-efficient tax deductions by using cost segregation.

Industry:

• Wood product manufacturing
• Warehousing and storage
• Truck transportation
• Transportation equipment manufacturing
• Textile product mills
• Textile mills
• Real estate lesser
• Publishers
• Printing activities
• Plastic and rubber products manufacturing

O’Connor & Associates is a national provider of investment property consulting services including cost segregation studies, due diligence, insurance valuations, tax reduction, property tax, market research,expert witness,private bond activity,taxes,residential property appraisals,Tarrant Central Appraisal District,Tips and Tricks for Appealing Your Property Taxes in Dallas,Dallas county appraisal and Federal tax reduction. Our appraisers are competent to appraise virtually all types of property including land, neighborhood shopping centers, warehouses, bowling alleys, motels, mobile home parks, self-storage units, retirement homes, multifamily housing, movie theatres, veterinary clinics, single-tenant retail centers, funeral homes, bars, amusement parks, hospitals, schools, night clubs, apartments and medical facilities.

Forex, the foreign exchange market, is the global market that trades currency and is largely influenced by the products and portfolios of a person or businesses country. Large financial institutions, businesses, and some individuals, earn millions each day by making careful decisions on what currency to buy or sell.

The foreign exchange market is similar to the stock markets that exist in many countries but instead involves one global market making it the largest market in the world. Forex speculation is necessary because the rate of currency never stays the same. The value of the United States dollar changes each minute in response to the current and foreign events. The same is true for currencies world wide making the entire market move quickly and requiring quick decisions that can make millions.

Many new foreign exchange traders have been attracted by the opportunity to make large amounts of money in a relatively short amount of time. What many do not realize, or chose to overlook, is that there is always the chance that an investor will lose a great deal of money because of bad investments. To avoid making bad choices in the foreign exchange market a great deal of Forex speculation is necessary. This speculation is used to help determine which currencies should be bought and which must be sold.

In the foreign exchange market the major currencies are the United States dollar, the British Pound, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, and the Swiss Franc. These are only a few of the currencies being traded on the global market but they are the ones most often traded. In the Forex market you decide which currency you wish to sell based on its current value and potential to make money while buying currency that you believe will later make you money. Since foreign currency trading is done 24 hours a day with time changes world wide causing overlaps that will eventually affect foreign currencies leading to Forex speculation.

While the Internet and home computer access has made it possible for anyone to enter the world of foreign exchange trading Forex speculation is not something that should be attempted by just anyone. Even with the many classes, courses, and seminars available through the Internet and in real life learning the art of Forex speculation takes time, practice, and experience. Well known foreign exchange brokers have been known to make a mistake from time to time and inexperienced individuals can find themselves in financial ruin if they are not careful.

If you are interested in Forex trading and have no experience in the foreign exchange market it is in your best interest to find an experienced Forex broker to handle your trades. Finding a broker that is experienced in Forex speculation can help make your venture a success. Keep in mind, the foreign exchange market is not a guaranteed way to make money. Research your potential broker and begin with cautious investments. Investing a great deal of money into the fast paced world of foreign currency exchange could lead to a great loss if one is not careful.

This article brought to you courtesy of http://www.privatefxclub.com. We publish the trade desk thoughts of a team of real institutional traders. Visit now for more on forex speculation. Link: Private FX Club online.

So you want to host a wine tasting? Make it fun! Wine tasting doesn’t have to be a stuffy affair. After all, wine is first and foremost about pleasure. So even if you are trying to organize an education tasting, you should keep it enjoyable. One of the best ways to keep your guests interested and focused on the wine while having a great time is to plan a fun wine tasting theme. A cohesive theme helps keep the tasting focused and helps to get guests involved, drawing them out to comment on and discuss the wines. After all, the discussion is what is really the most fun and educational, not just tasting the wines. Otherwise you could just have wine tastings all alone at home!

Some of the themes listed below are not mutually exclusive. Mix it up, make it interesting in any way that seems entertaining to you and your guests. You can even throw in some wine tasting party games to really turn up the excitement.

Blind Wine Tastings:

A blind wine tasting is a fun way to get everyone involved and keep your guests guessing. In a blind tasting, the tasters are blinded to the wines. Generally, the bottles are covered with a brown bag to hide their identity and then numbered with a marker. That way your guests are not biased based on the label, producer, price or anything else. You can share your unbiased thoughts and impressions about the wines. You can have random wines or they can all have some theme, such as a vertical or horizontal tasting (see below). It can even be fun to incorporate a game such as scoring each wine to see which wine gets the most votes. Or you can award prizes for the person who guesses the the most wines correctly (vintage, producer, region, grape varieties, etc.). At the end you reveal the wine and can discuss further once you know what the wines were. It is a good idea to reveal the wines while everyone still has a bit of each wine left to taste so they can go back and reassess their impressions after finding out what they were drinking.

Vertical Wine Tasting:

A vertical tasting is an assortment of the same wine, from the same producer and vineyard, across several vintages. It is a great way to begin to understand both the style and specific characteristics of a producer or vineyard as well as the subtle differences that result from the different growing conditions of different vintages. While this can be difficult to arrange for someone new to wine, who only has access to the newest wines that are on the current market, if you have friends who collect wine and can help source the bottles this type of tasting can be very educational.

Horizontal Wine Tasting:

A horizontal wine tasting theme is much easier to put together. It is a tasting of various wines from the same vintage. Ideally, wines from the same region and general style are tasted from one vintage to compare the different producers and vineyards. This helps to learn about the characteristics of the vintage as well as the differences between the various producers or vineyards the wines come from. This type of tasting is much easier to put together than a vertical tasting because the wines all come from the same vintage. If you stick to a current vintage then you will have many options you can find in the marketplace. While it is generally best to stick to one region or style of wine, if you really want to challenge your guests you can include several wines from the same vintage but from different regions, grapes or countries to help learn about the, sometimes dramatic, differences between them.

Wine Region Theme:

A great way to learn a lot about a particular wine region is to host a tasting where the theme is just one wine producing area. Choose several wines produced in that region, from different producers, vineyards and sub-regions within the area. As you and your guests taste through them, pay attention to the similarities as well as the differences. Can you identify any characteristics that unify the wines? What sets them apart? Ask these questions to your guests. If you draw people out to talk, discuss and argue, your tasting will be more fun and educational.

Wine Scoring Party:

Another fun way to get your guests all personally involved is to ask everyone to score each wine. While most tasters find it easy to say if they like or don’t like a wine, it requires much more attention to the details of the wine to give it a specific score. There are different ways to do this. One of the best is to supply your guests with a wine tasting score sheet which serves as a template to score wines. You can have sections with room for notes on the wine name, color and appearance, aroma, flavor and mouthfeel and overall impressions and conclusions. For the standard 100 point score they can give up to 5, 15, 20, and 10 points each for the color/appearance, aromas, flavors and overall impression/finish, respectively. The scores for each are added and added to 50 to create the final score between 50 and 100. You can then compare scores across guests and figure out how the wines ranked.

Wine and Food Pairing Dinner Party Theme:

Traditionally, wine is not meant to be enjoyed alone. Throughout history wine has accompanied food and many people believe that alongside food is where you should enjoy and judge wine. While tastings of wine alone is a lot of fun, a full dinner can really make the food and wine shine, bringing out nuances of each that were missing before. If you or your friends love to cook, pairing wine with each dish or course is a great way to both learn about the wines but also to learn about what types of wines work with specific foods. You can serve several wines alone with a given course and vote on which paired the best with the food. A fun way to do this is to choose a country or region and pair that area’s cuisine with the wines produced there. For example, you can pair traditional Spanish cuisine with Spanish wines. The cuisine and wine of these old cultures grew up alongside each other over centuries and therefore they often create some of the most profound food and wine pairings. There are so many other options, from the general (like French wine with French food) to the specific (like Provençal cuisine with Bandol wine or Southwestern French cuisine with Bordeaux). If you are really enthusiastic you can even decorate the room and table in the style of that region to get everyone in the mood. Get creative and make it fun!

Josh Dusick is the editor of the Wine Tastings Guide at http://www.wine-tastings-guide.com where you can get information about how to host a wine tasting party, how to serve and taste wine and even about pairing wine and food.

Frederick H. Ecker became President of the Metropolitan on March 26, 1929, and associated with him as Vice Presidents were Robert L. Cox and Leroy A. Lincoln. Mr. Cox died in January of the following year, and Mr. Lincoln immediately assumed the position of second in command. He succeeded to the Presidency in March 1936, when Mr. Ecker became Chairman of the Board. When the new administration took office in 1929, the country was enjoying what appeared to be great prosperity.

Many men in business and in public life believed that we had attained a depression less economy. Corporate earnings were at a high level. There was frenzied activity in the stock market and in the flotation of new securities. Prices of common stocks reached dizzy peaks. Credit was easy to obtain. The growth of the Metropolitan and of other life insurance companies reflected the optimistic spirit of the times. All prospered as a result of the great business activity and the high rate of employment at good wages then prevalent throughout the country.

The first hundred billion dollars of life insurance rates in force had been attained; predictions were being confidently made that within another 10 years the second hundred billion would be added. But in October 1929 came the first manifestation of a series of cataclysms which shook the country and the world. The first stock market crash came almost out of a clear sky. The full significance of this indication of economic distress was little understood at the time. Many people suffered immediate losses. Many held on to their securities while prices were dropping sharply, only to sell them at even lower figures at a later date, or to be closed out for lack of margin.

Nevertheless, there were many in high places that refused to believe that this was more than a temporary financial setback. Although the national income fell in 1930 and 1931, it was still at a fairly high level. Because of the low prices to which common stocks had fallen, various recommendations were made in the late autumn of 1929 urging the life insurance companies to make such purchases in anticipation of rapid economic recovery.

The State laws governing life insurance investments specifically forbade such venturing. Undoubtedly great havoc would have been wrought in the financial structures of many companies and great losses suffered by policy holders if such advice could have been taken. The market quotations as they dropped from month to month thoroughly confirmed the prophetic warnings of Mr. Ecker, and justified his insistence that the law limiting the character of the investment portfolio of Life insurance companies should remain essentially unchanged.

The life insurance companies stood firm. Because of the character of their portfolios, they were not seriously affected by the declining values. In some respects, the very nature of the upset at the close of 1929 reacted favorably upon the companies. Many individuals who had lost heavily in the stock market felt called upon to increase their Life insurance in order to make good the losses to the estates which they had hoped to build up for their families.

Thus, in the years immediately following the first stock market crash, ordinary insurance made unparalleled gains and was becoming closer and closer to offering term life insurance without exam. In 1930 the Metropolitan issued, exclusive of business revived or increased, close to $1,400,000,000 of ordinary insurance, the highest annual figure in the history of this department up to that time. But even this figure was exceeded by a considerable margin the following year, when a total of more than $1,460,000,000 was achieved. In fact, 1931 has remained the banner year for the writing of ordinary insurance in the Metropolitan.

Even in the industrial department there was an issue of $1,110,000,000 in 1930, only 8% less than in its peak year of 1929. In 1931 the industrial insurance issued still exceeded $1,000,000,000. In both the ordinary and the industrial departments, the total insurance in force continued to increase without interruption through the year 1931. Apparently, the economic situation up to that time had not yet seriously affected the ability of the American people to purchase or maintain life insurance.

Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in finance, business, and different types of insurance. For a free term life insurance quote, please visit http://www.equote.com/.

PT, for those of you who are not familiar with the initials, stands for many things. Some of the more popular are Perpetual Traveler or Permanent Tourist. Others are Prior Taxpayer, Privacy Thinker, or Prepared Thoroughly. But what is PT all about?

In a nutshell, a PT arranges his or her business and personal affairs as a Sovereign Individual, by unfurling various ‘flags’ or country bases and by treating governments as service providers instead of rulers. For example, there would be a citizenship flag (“second passport”), an official residence flag, a banking flag and so on. Each of these would be from different jurisdictions. That way, you are not bound to any particular country.

The ultimate PT goal is not to be resident anywhere! That is how you become a Permanent Tourist, at least on paper. You might for example spend five months of the year in one home, five months in another, and a couple of months vacationing, visiting friends or taking a cruise in between. That way each country treats you as a tourist and does not consider you a tax resident. You then keep all your assets stashed safely offshore, earn your money over the internet in other countries, and live totally tax free completely legally. If you drive cars, own real estate etc they are all held in company names, or simply rented or leased. So you don’t appear on any government ‘Big Brother’ style databases.

PT is based on the theory that most countries treat tourists better than citizens.

In fact, the beauty of this idea is its simplicity. As a ‘PT’ wherever you are, you always appear to be from somewhere else!

You can usually live and travel in better style and for less money than it costs to remain where you are. You can also chose to enjoy places that encourage the lifestyle and social norms you have always wanted to live.

PT will appeal to a wide spectrum of people who dream of being able to disappear when events and times in life make it convenient to do so. As a PT, a Perpetual Tourist, you run your own life. Using freedom tools such as the flags theories you can put a significant distance between yourself and bureaucrats that want to determine what is best for you, ‘for your own good’ of course!

A Brief History of the PT Theory

The PT theory was, according to urban legend propogated in the books, inspired by Harry Schultz, a Monaco-based newsletter publisher of North American origin who first coined the “three flags” theory back in the 1960s. Schultz’s claim to fame is that he is quoted in The Guinness Book of Records as the world’s highest paid investment consultant.

Later, a writer using the pseudonym W.G. ‘Bill’ Hill wrote a series of books including PT1, PT2 and The Passport Report which were published by Scope International Books in Hampshire, England. This same company published books by authors including Adam Starchild, Reinhard Stern and Jon Golding and Bob Beckman, also under the imprint ‘Milestone Publications.’

Scope went out of business in the mid nineties and was absorbed by an American direct marketing company who are still using much of the material today. The majority of it however has been toned down somewhat, not surprisingly as it is published from within the USA.

Other writers have taken up the PT theme in books like The International Man by Doug Casey, The Internationalist by Nicholas Pullen, and most recently in 2006 by a group mysteriously calling themselves “Grandpa and Others.” They wrote an attractive-leather bound three-volume set of limited edition books known as Bye Bye Big Brother. Or simply “BBBB.”Bye Bye Big Brother is also available in an abridged, paperback version from Vera Verba, a Chicago-based imprint. But hardcore readers should be aware that the abridged version has edited out some of the more cutting edge, controversial material included in the original.

From Three Flags to Six Flags

 The original theory espoused by Harry Schultz and Harry Browne (“How to Find Freedom in an Unfree World”) talked about three flags:

• Have your citizenship somewhere that does not tax income earned outside the country.  
• Have your businesses and speculations in stable, low or no tax countries.
• Live as a tourist in countries where what you esteem is valued, not outlawed.

Later W.G. Hill added two more flags – business havens where you make your money, and playgrounds where you spend your time, as a separate flag to your official residence – thereby creating a five flag theory – the level of complication or sophistication is up to you! Finally, in Bye Bye Big Brother, a sixth flag was added – cyberspace, where all the other five flags come together, a place where you can be everywhere and nowhere at the same time!

Shortcomings and Concerns about the PT Theory – and the Dangers of Camouflage Passports!

View on the PT theory is that it’s a great idea, provided you treat it as what it is: a slightly tongue in cheek knock at the establishment with a wicked sense of humor. A client of mine recently read it and said it was riveting, like reading a novel.

PT is a well thought out idea to break free and escape, especially if you like international living and the traveling lifestyle. It’s probably aimed more at those with well over a million safely tucked away in a Swiss bank seeking the kind of asset protection arrangements that their lawyers would not tell them about… while being less useful (but nonetheless interesting reading) for those who are just starting out on their quest for offshore wealth building opportunities.

PT is certainly not a step-by-step plan you should follow blindly. Indeed, it’s clearly not for everybody. We say, “by all means read the literature.” It’s an idea you can read about, absorb and enjoy… and then adjust to your own situation.

 always had a slightly different vision, and still do today.  What’s the difference? Well it’s not easy to live out of a suitcase, or to have to worry about counting the days you are in a certain country due to limited tourist visas or the concern that you will become a tax-resident. There are more sophisticated plans available today, and we write about them in our newsletter for members. We also tend to focus more on opportunities for creating wealth.

An Important Warning about the Legalities of the PT ‘Six Flags’ Theory

Here’s an important warning. Some of the tactics in the original PT books might have seemed like harmless fun back in the eighties, but in today’s world they could get you into hot water.

By way of example, one of the products frequently promoted was the so-called camouflage passport. Camouflage passports are booklets that look like passports from countries that used to exist but don’t any more – the intention being to fool anyone who might have learned about countries like Ceylon, Dutch Guiana, British Honduras or the U.S.S.R. in their school history classes, but who didn’t know that those countries today are called Sri Lanka, Suriname, Belize and Russia. Camouflage passports were promoted as a way to avoid terrorist attacks, by confusing terrorists in a hijacking situation into thinking that you came from a neutral country rather than a target country like the USA, UK or Israel. However in the current environment merely having a camouflage passport in your possession is more likely to get you labeled as a terrorist than anything else!

Indeed, it has been said that ‘Big Brother’ thinks PT stands for Potential Terrorist!

Peter Macfarlane is an author and lecturer on offshore finance, investment, due diligence and wealth creation matters. He is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report http://www.qwealthreport.com

This mysterious cat is originally from the country of Siam, now known as Thailand. Siamese cats were highly esteemed by generations of Siamese monarchs,
even to the extent that they resided in the royal palace. You wanna talk about the royalty of the cat world! They were trusted to protect the palace as well as monasteries from evil spirits and were also thought to bring good fortune.

In the year 1884, the first Siamese cats made their way to England when the current Monarch of Siam decided to gift them to a top general in the British Army. They made their way from there to America. The Siamese cat is now one of the most
recognized domestic cat breeds around. According to the Cat Fancy Association they are the single most popular shorthair cat and the 3rd most popular breed of cat overall.

Although this breed features a variety of different colors, there are some disagreements concerning what makes a true Siamese cat and what does not Still, these delightful felines are well known for bodies that are mostly light in color with darker areas called points. The darker points are generally (but not always) around the face, legs, feet and the tail.
Weighing in at between about 8 and 15 lbs, this blue eyed sensation of the cat world has 2 distinct body types.

The modern Siamese have long and elegant bodies with very refined tapering lines and wedge-shaped heads to match.

Conversely the traditional Siamese cat is a robust and round-headed creature with a muscular physique
These particular cats are as well-known for their distinct personalities as for their color points. They have a great talent for communicating with people that other cats simply do not have. If you like to come home to peace and quiet, then you may want to consider another cat altogether. These are the most social cats in existence.

Since Siamese cats believe the world revolves around them, they want lots and lots attention. They are also quite dependant on their human owners. They crave interaction and they really love their games! These cats are simply not meant to be left alone for too long.

While this cat may be high maintenance emotionally, they are generally not in any other area. For example they need only a minimum of grooming.

Because their coats are so close as to appear painted on, a gentle weekly brushing is usually enouph. Like all other types of cats, they have a few minor genetic faults, such as occasional crossed eyes and kinked tail, which are primarily cosmetic concerns.

In terms of life expectency, these cats are blessed with above-average life spans compared to other cats, generally between fiften to twenty years and sometimes longer. The reward for such a cat is well worth it as you can have a staunch supporter for a substantal amount of time.

Just imagine having a cat that can help teach your kids on the art of speech and then live long enough to see them go to college. For information on cats and cat nutrition visit Premium Cat Food from Life’s Abundance and learn more.

Ryan Joseph is a writer researcher. For more information visit http://www.dog-food-nutrition.com/