F1BC Classic 1 - Wizard vc.Chiara em Spa Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Disputa pela ponta da etapa de Spa...mod 1991



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ra_voeVAYk&hl=en

grand prix of belgium 2007

spa-francorchamps 2007



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji9CDz1BykQ&hl=en

Gershwin - The Man I Love / Clarinet ensomble Sonorite

Gershwin - The Man I Love ガーシュインwww.barks.jp www.barks.jp 青山秀直HP www.hidenao-aoyama.com 青山映道HP terumichi.bakufu.org クラリネット四重奏団アンサンブル・ソノリテは１９９５年ベルリンで結成。１９９９年より日本での活動を開始、親しみやすい曲目を集めた「名曲コンサートシリーズ」が好評を博し、２００１年（株）コンフォートよりＣＤ「アンサンブル・ソノリテ」を発売。青山秀直（１ｓｔ Ｃｌ）・小俣静香（２ｎｄ Ｃｌ）・村西俊之（３ｒｄ Ｃｌ）・青山映道（Ｂａｓｓ Ｃｌ）。 www.barks.jp www.barks.jp Bachelor of Music from Osaka Kyoiku University, studied with Hisahiro Wada (former principal clarinet player of Osaka Century Orchestra), Granted Haward=Hanson scholarship from Eastman School of Music at Eastman Summer Seminar in Hamamatsu Japan to study with Kenneth Grant (principal clarinet player of Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) at Eastman school of Music( Rochester, NYUSA), Master of Music from Eastman School of Music, granted Performer's Certificate, Substitute Player for New World Symphony (Florida, USA) for 2003-2006, Granted Scholarship from Flanders Government to study Bass clarinet with Jan Guns(bass clarinet player of Vlaamse Radio Orkest) at Royal Academy of Music in Antwerp, Belgium, studied Bb soprano clarinet privately with Pascal Moragues(super soloist of Orchestre de Paris), guest appearance for Vlaamse Radio Orkest, Tokyo Kosei Wind Ensemble, Osaka Symphoniker, Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra. participated for recordings for TV commercial Advertisement of Doctor ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgHBp-LopL8&hl=en

Brussels, Belgium: Thon Hotel Brussels City Centre Saturday, December 18, 2010

This video from Thon Hotel Brussels City Centre inBrussels is brought to you by Eurobookings.com to make your hotel selection decision easier. Here, you can get a better idea of room types, the lobby, exterior and interior of Thon Hotel Brussels City Centre to provide you with information before you make a reservation. Book a room here through Eurobookings.com to receive up to 75% off! www.eurobookings.com Eurobookings: Your European Hotel Specialist



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKWaeWkXDKo&hl=en

The Self-Appointed Altruists Friday, December 17, 2010

Their arrival portends rising local prices and a culture shock. Many of them live in plush apartments, or five star hotels, drive SUV's, sport $3000 laptops and PDA's. They earn a two figure multiple of the local average wage. They are busybodies, preachers, critics, do-gooders, and professional altruists.

Always self-appointed, they answer to no constituency. Though unelected and ignorant of local realities, they confront the democratically chosen and those who voted them into office. A few of them are enmeshed in crime and corruption. They are the non-governmental organizations, or NGO's.

Some NGO's - like Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Amnesty - genuinely contribute to enhancing welfare, to the mitigation of hunger, the furtherance of human and civil rights, or the curbing of disease. Others - usually in the guise of think tanks and lobby groups - are sometimes ideologically biased, or religiously-committed and, often, at the service of special interests.

NGO's - such as the International Crisis Group - have openly interfered on behalf of the opposition in the recent elections in Macedonia. Other NGO's have done so in Belarus and Ukraine, Zimbabwe and Israel, Nigeria and Thailand, Slovakia and Hungary - and even in Western, rich, countries including the USA, Canada, Germany, and Belgium.

The encroachment on state sovereignty of international law - enshrined in numerous treaties and conventions - allows NGO's to get involved in hitherto strictly domestic affairs like corruption, civil rights, the composition of the media, the penal and civil codes, environmental policies, or the allocation of economic resources and of natural endowments, such as land and water. No field of government activity is now exempt from the glare of NGO's. They serve as self-appointed witnesses, judges, jury and executioner rolled into one.

Regardless of their persuasion or modus operandi, all NGO's are top heavy with entrenched, well-remunerated, extravagantly-perked bureaucracies. Opacity is typical of NGO's. Amnesty's rules prevent its officials from publicly discussing the inner workings of the organization - proposals, debates, opinions - until they have become officially voted into its Mandate. Thus, dissenting views rarely get an open hearing.

Contrary to their teachings, the financing of NGO's is invariably obscure and their sponsors unknown. The bulk of the income of most non-governmental organizations, even the largest ones, comes from - usually foreign - powers. Many NGO's serve as official contractors for governments.

NGO's serve as long arms of their sponsoring states - gathering intelligence, burnishing their image, and promoting their interests. There is a revolving door between the staff of NGO's and government bureaucracies the world over. The British Foreign Office finances a host of NGO's - including the fiercely "independent" Global Witness - in troubled spots, such as Angola. Many host governments accuse NGO's of - unwittingly or knowingly - serving as hotbeds of espionage.

Very few NGO's derive some of their income from public contributions and donations. The more substantial NGO's spend one tenth of their budget on PR and solicitation of charity. In a desperate bid to attract international attention, so many of them lied about their projects in the Rwanda crisis in 1994, recounts "The Economist", that the Red Cross felt compelled to draw up a ten point mandatory NGO code of ethics. A code of conduct was adopted in 1995. But the phenomenon recurred in Kosovo.

All NGO's claim to be not for profit - yet, many of them possess sizable equity portfolios and abuse their position to increase the market share of firms they own. Conflicts of interest and unethical behavior abound.

Cafedirect is a British firm committed to "fair trade" coffee. Oxfam, an NGO, embarked on a campaign targeted at Cafedirect's competitors, accusing them of exploiting growers by paying them a tiny fraction of the retail price of the coffee they sell. Yet, Oxfam owns 25% of Cafedirect.

Large NGO's resemble multinational corporations in structure and operation. They are hierarchical, maintain large media, government lobbying, and PR departments, head-hunt, invest proceeds in professionally-managed portfolios, compete in government tenders, and own a variety of unrelated businesses. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development owns the license for second mobile phone operator in Afghanistan - among other businesses. In this respect, NGO's are more like cults than like civic organizations.

Many NGO's promote economic causes - anti-globalization, the banning of child labor, the relaxing of intellectual property rights, or fair payment for agricultural products. Many of these causes are both worthy and sound. Alas, most NGO's lack economic expertise and inflict damage on the alleged recipients of their beneficence. NGO's are at times manipulated by - or collude with - industrial groups and political parties.

It is telling that the denizens of many developing countries suspect the West and its NGO's of promoting an agenda of trade protectionism. Stringent - and expensive - labor and environmental provisions in international treaties may well be a ploy to fend off imports based on cheap labor and the competition they wreak on well-ensconced domestic industries and their political stooges.

Take child labor - as distinct from the universally condemnable phenomena of child prostitution, child soldiering, or child slavery.

Child labor, in many destitute locales, is all that separates the family from all-pervasive, life threatening, poverty. As national income grows, child labor declines. Following the outcry provoked, in 1995, by NGO's against soccer balls stitched by children in Pakistan, both Nike and Reebok relocated their workshops and sacked countless women and 7000 children. The average family income - anyhow meager - fell by 20 percent.

This affair elicited the following wry commentary from economists Drusilla Brown, Alan Deardorif, and Robert Stern:

"While Baden Sports can quite credibly claim that their soccer balls are not sewn by children, the relocation of their production facility undoubtedly did nothing for their former child workers and their families."

This is far from being a unique case. Threatened with legal reprisals and "reputation risks" (being named-and-shamed by overzealous NGO's) - multinationals engage in preemptive sacking. More than 50,000 children in Bangladesh were let go in 1993 by German garment factories in anticipation of the American never-legislated Child Labor Deterrence Act.

Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, observed:

"Stopping child labor without doing anything else could leave children worse off. If they are working out of necessity, as most are, stopping them could force them into prostitution or other employment with greater personal dangers. The most important thing is that they be in school and receive the education to help them leave poverty."

NGO-fostered hype notwithstanding, 70% of all children work within their family unit, in agriculture. Less than 1 percent are employed in mining and another 2 percent in construction. Again contrary to NGO-proffered panaceas, education is not a solution. Millions graduate every year in developing countries - 100,000 in Morocco alone. But unemployment reaches more than one third of the workforce in places such as Macedonia.

Children at work may be harshly treated by their supervisors but at least they are kept off the far more menacing streets. Some kids even end up with a skill and are rendered employable.

"The Economist" sums up the shortsightedness, inaptitude, ignorance, and self-centeredness of NGO's neatly:

"Suppose that in the remorseless search for profit, multinationals pay sweatshop wages to their workers in developing countries. Regulation forcing them to pay higher wages is demanded... The NGOs, the reformed multinationals and enlightened rich-country governments propose tough rules on third-world factory wages, backed up by trade barriers to keep out imports from countries that do not comply. Shoppers in the West pay more - but willingly, because they know it is in a good cause. The NGOs declare another victory. The companies, having shafted their third-world competition and protected their domestic markets, count their bigger profits (higher wage costs notwithstanding). And the third-world workers displaced from locally owned factories explain to their children why the West's new deal for the victims of capitalism requires them to starve."

NGO's in places like Sudan, Somalia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Albania, and Zimbabwe have become the preferred venue for Western aid - both humanitarian and financial - development financing, and emergency relief. According to the Red Cross, more money goes through NGO's than through the World Bank. Their iron grip on food, medicine, and funds rendered them an alternative government - sometimes as venal and graft-stricken as the one they replace.

Local businessmen, politicians, academics, and even journalists form NGO's to plug into the avalanche of Western largesse. In the process, they award themselves and their relatives with salaries, perks, and preferred access to Western goods and credits. NGO's have evolved into vast networks of patronage in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

NGO's chase disasters with a relish. More than 200 of them opened shop in the aftermath of the Kosovo refugee crisis in 1999-2000. Another 50 supplanted them during the civil unrest in Macedonia a year later. Floods, elections, earthquakes, wars - constitute the cornucopia that feed the NGO's.

NGO's are proponents of Western values - women's lib, human rights, civil rights, the protection of minorities, freedom, equality. Not everyone finds this liberal menu palatable. The arrival of NGO's often provokes social polarization and cultural clashes. Traditionalists in Bangladesh, nationalists in Macedonia, religious zealots in Israel, security forces everywhere, and almost all politicians find NGO's irritating and bothersome.

The British government ploughs well over $30 million a year into "Proshika", a Bangladeshi NGO. It started as a women's education outfit and ended up as a restive and aggressive women empowerment political lobby group with budgets to rival many ministries in this impoverished, Moslem and patriarchal country.

Other NGO's - fuelled by $300 million of annual foreign infusion - evolved from humble origins to become mighty coalitions of full-time activists. NGO's like the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and the Association for Social Advancement mushroomed even as their agendas have been fully implemented and their goals exceeded. It now owns and operates 30,000 schools.

This mission creep is not unique to developing countries. As Parkinson discerned, organizations tend to self-perpetuate regardless of their proclaimed charter. Remember NATO? Human rights organizations, like Amnesty, are now attempting to incorporate in their ever-expanding remit "economic and social rights" - such as the rights to food, housing, fair wages, potable water, sanitation, and health provision. How insolvent countries are supposed to provide such munificence is conveniently overlooked.

"The Economist" reviewed a few of the more egregious cases of NGO imperialism.

Human Rights Watch lately offered this tortured argument in favor of expanding the role of human rights NGO's: "The best way to prevent famine today is to secure the right to free expression - so that misguided government policies can be brought to public attention and corrected before food shortages become acute." It blatantly ignored the fact that respect for human and political rights does not fend off natural disasters and disease. The two countries with the highest incidence of AIDS are Africa's only two true democracies - Botswana and South Africa.

The Centre for Economic and Social Rights, an American outfit, "challenges economic injustice as a violation of international human rights law". Oxfam pledges to support the "rights to a sustainable livelihood, and the rights and capacities to participate in societies and make positive changes to people's lives". In a poor attempt at emulation, the WHO published an inanely titled document - "A Human Rights Approach to Tuberculosis".

NGO's are becoming not only all-pervasive but more aggressive. In their capacity as "shareholder activists", they disrupt shareholders meetings and act to actively tarnish corporate and individual reputations. Friends of the Earth worked hard last year to instigate a consumer boycott against Exxon Mobil - for not investing in renewable energy resources and for ignoring global warming. No one - including other shareholders - understood their demands. But it went down well with the media, with a few celebrities, and with contributors.

As "think tanks", NGO's issue partisan and biased reports. The International Crisis Group published a rabid attack on the then incumbent government of Macedonia, days before an election, relegating the rampant corruption of its predecessors - whom it seemed to be tacitly supporting - to a few footnotes. On at least two occasions - in its reports regarding Bosnia and Zimbabwe - ICG has recommended confrontation, the imposition of sanctions, and, if all else fails, the use of force. Though the most vocal and visible, it is far from being the only NGO that advocates "just" wars.

The ICG is a repository of former heads of state and has-been politicians and is renowned (and notorious) for its prescriptive - some say meddlesome - philosophy and tactics. "The Economist" remarked sardonically: "To say (that ICG) is 'solving world crises' is to risk underestimating its ambitions, if overestimating its achievements."

NGO's have orchestrated the violent showdown during the trade talks in Seattle in 1999 and its repeat performances throughout the world. The World Bank was so intimidated by the riotous invasion of its premises in the NGO-choreographed "Fifty Years is Enough" campaign of 1994, that it now employs dozens of NGO activists and let NGO's determine many of its policies.

NGO activists have joined the armed - though mostly peaceful - rebels of the Chiapas region in Mexico. Norwegian NGO's sent members to forcibly board whaling ships. In the USA, anti-abortion activists have murdered doctors. In Britain, animal rights zealots have both assassinated experimental scientists and wrecked property.

Birth control NGO's carry out mass sterilizations in poor countries, financed by rich country governments in a bid to stem immigration. NGO's buy slaves in Sudan thus encouraging the practice of slave hunting throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Other NGO's actively collaborate with "rebel" armies - a euphemism for terrorists.

NGO's lack a synoptic view and their work often undermines efforts by international organizations such as the UNHCR and by governments. Poorly-paid local officials have to contend with crumbling budgets as the funds are diverted to rich expatriates doing the same job for a multiple of the cost and with inexhaustible hubris.

This is not conducive to happy co-existence between foreign do-gooders and indigenous governments. Sometimes NGO's seem to be an ingenious ploy to solve Western unemployment at the expense of down-trodden natives. This is a misperception driven by envy and avarice.

But it is still powerful enough to foster resentment and worse. NGO's are on the verge of provoking a ruinous backlash against them in their countries of destination. That would be a pity. Some of them are doing indispensable work. If only they were a wee more sensitive and somewhat less ostentatious. But then they wouldn't be NGO's, would they?

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for Central Europe Review, PopMatters, and eBookWeb , a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory Bellaonline, and Suite101 .

Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

Visit Sam's Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com; palma@unet.com.mk

17: Moments

This is how it looks when you live a bohemian life from country to country. I love to travel. It just started in 2006 and I've been going ever since. These clips are of people and other living things I filmed in the world of 2006-2008. Clips from Korea, China, Vietnam, Canada, England, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and maybe some other places too.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v1sJQakD6A&hl=en

Beer Sheva Hotels, Negev Hotels, Leonardo Hotel Negev, Israel Hotels, Hotel Video Friday, December 10, 2010

www.leonardo-hotels.com - All over Europe, Leonardo Hotels are synonymous for excellent houses with regional and individual character, at attractive destinations. Currently, the group comprises 30 hotels in the 3-4-star category, in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Israel. Each one of these houses is expressive of a hospitality that includes individual service to meet individual requirements. No matter which hotel you choose you will discover „The Art to Feel at Home.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH8FKplDcWU&hl=en

Learn English Idioms: Vent Your Spleen - try it if you dare! Sunday, December 5, 2010

Learn English Idioms: Vent Your Spleen - try it if you dare! Hello. Welcome Do you want to learn English with a native speaker?... I am sure you do! Many more videos will be uploaded to help you improve your English. Shot and edited by Brian a BBC producer and director and English writer. These videos aim to teach you some relevant expressions which you are able to use in your conversations when you want or need to speak English. Hopefully you will enjoy your time with us, let's become YouTube friends and subscribe to each other accounts. Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "world language", the lingua franca of the modern era.[15] While English is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language around the world. Some linguists (such as David Graddol) believe that it is no longer the exclusive cultural property of "native English speakers", but is rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures worldwide as it continues to grow.[15] It is, by international treaty, the official language for aerial and maritime communications.[55] English is an official language of the United Nations and many other international organisations, including the International Olympic Committee. English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union (by 89% of schoolchildren), followed by French (32%), German (18%), Spanish (8%), and Russian; while the ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLVRRhPqJ8Q&hl=en

Great Customer Service Monday, November 29, 2010

Recently, my colleague and I made one of our bi-monthly training trips to California. We considered it a "normal trip," until something began to happen that quickly caught our attention: terrific customer service.

We have made this trip so many times we have our routine down. She picks me up on the way to the airport; we park, go in and immediately are able to go our gate thanks to Alaskan Web Check-in. For you who haven't tried it, I urge you to go to your airline's website, enter in your confirmation number and print out your own gate pass. There's a special line for you to go to get your bags checked. We have yet to run into anyone helping us at the baggage check-in who is not only efficient, but also very upbeat.

At the airport we headed to our rental car...Dollar Rent a Car in this case. We checked in, got the keys and went to our car. Our first response is to put our luggage in the trunk. Only this time, we could find the keyhole to open the truck. Like I said, we had no wine and were beginning to think we had lost our grip on the world around us. I went to the attendant, he grinned and said, "Oh, a number of the new cars do not have keyholes now, you have to use the release inside." He walked over to help us.

We get in the car and the key doesn't work. Hmmmm. An attendant saw our plight, checked the numbers on the key and said "This is the wrong car, they wrote the wrong number on your rental slip. Here let me go get the correct one for you." He drove the car right in front of where we were and graciously transferred the luggage to the new one. We settled in, smiled and said, "Hmmm, there seems to be a trend on this trip."

We arrived at our hotel The Adlon in San Jose. As soon as we walked in the door the receptionist said, "Welcome, Ms. Condon. Great to have you back again." This was only our third stay there and they were all a month apart so we were impressed. Noticed I said we were impressed "They used my name."

The hotel has a dining room where guests eat breakfast and dinner-all part of your room rate. The chef comes out personally to greet you as you are seated. He explained that he had both Cod and Pork loin on the menu tonight. He said, "I remember you ladies are adventurous and last time I gave you small portions of both because you enjoy fine food. I suggest the same tonight." Now how could we turn that down?

Near the end of the meal, he looked at me and said "I took tiramisu out of the freezer just for you." He had remembered that was the one dessert that I said that I truly enjoyed.
I'm not sure who was smiling he or I more.

We went up to our rooms, settled in and talked about how gracious everyone had been during the whole trip. Then we started talking about more customer service stories.

RETAIL SERVICE

My window needed a fresh look, so I bought drapes from Bed Bath and Beyond at our local Vancouver store. The clerk was extremely gracious and checked to see if any other store had another one, just in case that, indeed, I need it. He found out that Beaverton store had two in stock.

When I got home, it was apparent I did need the third one. I called the Beaverton store and Justin at the other end was great. He said "Yes, we have it, and you know what, the manager is coming over today, I'll send to the Vancouver store with him." At the end of the day, Justin called to say, "Ms. Condon, I'm sorry the manager didn't come over today. I will put it in the mail first thing in the morning." Now that's customer service.

TRANSPORTATION SERVICE

Finally, my daughter and her significant other were here for a visit from Brussels, Belgium. We were out and came home to a message from our Vancouver train station. Ms. Condon just calling to tell you that the 4:30 train is running three hours late. I suggest your guests come down and exchange the tickets at 6:00 and get on the 6:30 train. Now that's customer service.

Notice it didn't take much effort on anyone's part to do the things I have talked about, yet notice how good I feel about it. I'm proud to give them a little publicity because they were "caught in the act" of being helpful.

When are we going to learn that good customer service and business communication is truly all about "the little things?"

Kathy Condon is an Executive Coach Certified in Performance Coaching-Positioning Others for Success." Globally Certified Career Facilitator (GCDF), Speaker and Trainer. She is an expert on business communications and regularly speaks and trains on building relationships, including Intergenerational Communications in the Workplace.

Kathy also has a contract with the State of California State Department of Mental Health and Department Of Rehabilitation -- teaching people who work with people with disabilities how to talk/work with the business community.

Networking--Connecting People --- two-hour CD provides over 100 simple tips to make your next networking meeting more enjoyable and profitable.

Her presentation style for her keynotes and trainings are in demand for she presents with humor, storytelling and provides concepts that are easy to implement.

Sign up for Weekly Wisdom--A Positive way to start your week. http://www.kathycondon.info (360) 695-4313 kathy@kathycondon.info

Magics..., more in http://www.funworld.be/ Sunday, November 28, 2010

Magics..., filmed by Thaddeus Hutyra, www.funworld.be



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKtStcQdo3U&hl=en

Create Tasteful Gift Baskets From the Dollar Store Wednesday, November 24, 2010

'Tis the season for frantic holiday shopping and credit card meltdowns. Or not. We do have a choice. We can surrender to the worry that this year's gifts should measure up to the bounty of Christmas' past or we can relax and realize that even Santa will have to tighten that iconic black belt of his for Christmas 2009.

Maybe it's clichéd, but it really is true that it's the thought put into a gift and not the price tag, that matters most. Making your own gift baskets is a terrific way to offset cost while personalizing a present that your recipient will truly appreciate.

The following suggestions are just that, suggestions. There are as many ways to put together presents, as there are people to give them to. So take a gander at these ideas to get you thinking about what the dollar store can do to help relieve both your stress levels and the strain on your wallet.

We'll start with a perennial favorite, the ever-popular spa gift. Maybe you know a mom or grandma somewhere who loves to soak in the bathtub. This is just the ticket. Include a bath fizzer, a three-pack of scented soaps, a loofah bath sponge and a scented candle. All together, this particular combination cost under $6 to make and that price includes an attractive wire and plastic container. All it needs now is some basket wrap and a pretty ribbon to complete it for gift giving.

Mmmm, chocolate! A tray of tasty treats is just the thing for those who like to exchange gifts between families. The total cost of this gift, including a metal Christmas tray to sit it on, is around $11.

Include something for everyone, for example, four individually sized Hersey's chocolate packs, a chocolate chip cookie in an embossed tin, some Belgium truffles, a box of chocolate-coated cookies and some After Eight chocolates. Use some wrapped pieces of Belgium chocolate that come in a bag of 11 pieces for $2 and scatter the balls and bells around the tray to fill in gaps. Then add a couple of jingle bell ornaments, just for fun. The ornaments cost $1 for a pack of four large ones. Don't forget to add a little tape in concealed spots to keep everything in place before you cover it in basket wrap.

Here's something that would make a nice hostess gift. Start with a small silver-colored tray. Tape a paper Christmas doily onto it and add two wine glasses, one standing and one laying down. Position some cocktail napkins between the glasses and put some After Eight mint sticks to one side of the upright glass. A flat reindeer ornament leaning up against the napkins, add a little holiday sparkle. Each piece here was only a buck, even the After Eights, so this gift cost only $6.00.

Marlene Alexander is a freelance writer and dollar store diva. She writes tips and ideas for home decorating using only items from the dollar store. http://www.dollarstorestyle.com. Marlene is also the author of an Ebook, Christmas - Dollar Store Style, http://www.dollarstorestyle.com/christmas-dollar-store.html which shows you how to decorate, entertain and give.

To Brussels Sunday, November 21, 2010

Small Belgium is an embodiment of the Old Europe with its cozy cities, small houses and quite life rhythm. It's a country with great cultural heritage, architectural monuments, and delicious national cuisine.

Brussels is a capital of Belgium and with its population of about 1 million is a relatively big city. It's a cultural and political center of the country. Brussels is called "main gates" to the country. Here cross all the main routs inside the country and abroad.

The name of Brussels means "marsh city". The first settlement was founded here in VI century on the way between Cologne and Bruges. During Hasburg rule it was the capital of the Spanish Holland. In XIX it became the capital of the independent Belgium.

Nowadays Brussels is mainly a city of businessmen and diplomats, a headquarter of European Union and NATO, it an interesting place for tourists too. It's luxurious, cozy and historical city. The center of the city can be divided into two parts - Upper and Down. Upper town is full of broad boulevards and magnificent buildings. In contrary, downtown presents a labyrinth of narrow medieval streets around one of the most beautiful squares in Europe - Grand Place.

Almost all the attractions are situated within four blocks. Here you can see one of the most unusual and discussed fountains of the world - "Peeping boy", visit numerous museums devoted to the history, art or something else. Various shops offer the most traditional Belgian souvenirs - chocolate and lace.

Brussels is a bilingual city - both French and Flemish are in use. In fact the French is used mush wider, but nevertheless all road signs and signboards should be duplicated.

On the outskirts of the city raises Atomium - a sophisticated structure covered with the aluminium panels. From its top on approximately 100-meters height opens an unforgettable panorama of Brussels and its suburbs. This building was established for the international fair of 1958 and symbolizes the structure of atom.

City hall building appeared in XV century - it took almost 50 years. A century later Royal palace was created. Now it houses municipal museum. Saint Michael is considered to be a saint patron of Brussels - its statue crown the spire on city hall roof and the most respected temples in Belgian capital is Saint Michael's Cathedral.

For booking a hotel in Brussels, please, go to Brussels hotels page.

For booking a hotel in any other city, please, go to Hotel reservation site.

Caravan And Motorhome Campsites, What Makes The Perfect Site? Friday, November 19, 2010

As I write this I am sitting in the awning of my ageing Eccles Amethyst caravan. It is the caravan that my wife and I bought in 2001 when we decided to live in the French Alps for a winter ski season. We never meant to become caravan enthusiasts, but here we are for the sixth time in our favourite camp site on the Costa del Azahar in Valencia, Spain. I am not going to reveal the exact name of this camp site as I do not want to spoil one of the many reasons why we love it here. If you do need to know, contact me at ricklomas.com and I will tell you.

Location

Well it certainly is not perfect, it is 0.5km to the nearest beach, but that is a pebble beach that my daughter does not really like, "too hard", she says. The nearest sandy beach is 4km. There is the very scary N340 road right next to it with trucks thundering up and down all the time, but to be honest we do not really notice the noise, it is all hidden away from us. There are three excellent supermarkets within 'spitting' distance and there is a busy town just 4km away.

The camping pitches

There are lots of great size pitches (parcelas) each surrounded by hedges and palm trees, each pitch has 6A mains hook up and a small stone sink so that you do not have to carry any water from the water supply. The ground is level and covered with small stones. You can easily manoeuvre a caravan or motorhome into the pitches and you can specify sun or shade. If you do not have a caravan, you can rent one of the wooden chalets very cheaply too.

Toilets and washing facilities

There are two toilet and shower blocks. The toilets have seats and toilet paper, quite rare for a Spanish campsite. The showers are hot at all times of the day. The sinks all have mirrors and liquid soap. The cleaning lady seems to hover about all day keeping them immaculate.

The bar and restaurant

At the time of writing a pint of St Miguel costs 1.50EUR and you can have a slap up meal for 2 for just 30EUR, unbelievable! There is even a free wireless internet connection or if you do not have your own computer there are two PCs that are just available to use. Brilliant!

The swimming pool

A 25m pool and smaller baby pool is open from Easter until November, it is not heated, so can be cool sometimes, but is thoroughly refreshing when the sun is baking down.

The ambiance

Well, like any bargain priced European camp site, out of season it is full of retired folk from Britain, Belgium and Holland who are escaping the grey wet miserable weather at home to have a long rest in the sun. We have got to know people here who stay here for 8 months of the year and everyone is very chilled and laid back. It is never too busy and I have never complained about it being too quiet either.

The price

We have always found staying here to be cheaper than staying at home. At the time of writing (which is 'low season') a 'parcela' with 6A electricity for a caravan plus car or motorhome is 10.70EUR/per night if you stay for more than 8 days. No problem there, the first time we came here we booked for 3 nights, but stopped for 5 weeks!!

Rick Lomas lives in Serre Chevalier in the Southern French Alps. Rick is putting together a new site at the moment http://www.worldtraveldirect.co.uk where he is encouraging authors to get in touch and make contributions to the site by blog entries, photos and videos, see the site for more details. Rick is also currently working on various websites selling mortgage protection insurance, as an affiliate for British Insurance.

Vadeia Mundo Vadeia 2010 Thursday, November 18, 2010

We like to inform you that th 4th edition of Vadeia Mundo Vadeia - Liga Mundial Da Camaradagem will take place in the city of Prague - Czech Republic.The reason for the change in location is that the sleeping-accommodation of Don Bosco, wwhich we have used in the previous editions in Ghent - Belgium, will be occupied by the Catholic Church in the period of the event (Easter 2010). Prague was selected by the organization for its excellent structure of sleeping-accommodations and training rooms. What the quality and success guarantees of Vadeia Mundo Vadeia. Thanks in advance for your understanding and we count on everyone's participation. Vadeia Mundo Vadeia is the name of the international capoeira event, that already took place three years in a row in the city of Ghent -Belgium, during the Easter holidays. The event brings together, the capoeira angola, capoeira regional and contemporânea, besides other afro-brazilian manifestations. Allowing a true miscegenation and unification of the art as a whole. Vadeia Mundo Vadeia configures itself as a partner of the capoeira masters, public institutions and those who seek to enable the most durable way to transfer the civilizing values of Brazil, via popular culture, abroad, with the prospect of expanding the margin of camaraderie and to promote a culture of peace among people. The fourth edition is expected to happen in the period of 02 and 05 of April 2010, in the city of Prague - Czech Republic. Prague is the capital and the ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS_MPWFx1xk&hl=en

How a Governor Stopped the Beet Sugar Industry in Its Tracks Sunday, November 14, 2010

Historians generally agree that Michigan Sugar Company constructed the first beet sugar factory built in Michigan in 1898 in Essexville, a suburb of Bay City, Michigan. It isn't entirely true. The first beet sugar manufactured in the United States occurred simultaneously in the states of Massachusetts and Michigan in 1839. The earlier Michigan effort preceded the Essexville endeavor by sixty years but was doomed to failure when a future governor declared that Michigan was unsuitable for growing sugarbeets.

By the 1830s, the new European practice of extracting sugar identical to cane sugar from beets had captured the interest of like-minded small groups of investors in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Michigan. The latter group took the name "White Pigeon" after the town in which the company was organized when establishing the White Pigeon Sugar Manufactory.

The Michigan and Massachusetts enterprises predated the construction of factories in Michigan beginning in 1898 that today provide a direct annual contribution of approximately $298 million to the Michigan economy. Adding the indirect effects, the total contribution to business activity approaches nearly one billion dollars annually. Those first factories averaged a modest five tons of sliced sugarbeets per day, an amount processed in less than sixty seconds in today's modern factories.

Early experiments in sugarbeet processing in America were directly related to the formative stages of a bold new economic paradigm taking root in Europe-one which held that commerce and free trade between nations might generate more revenue for governments and more prosperity for the governed than simple taxation. For commerce to demonstrate its superior power as an economic driver, governments dissolved two pivotal institutions, protectionism and slavery.

The realization that commerce could replace taxation as the fount from which governments would draw their means of support did not, however, come without a price. The price was war, actually a series of wars that began with the American Revolution and ended with the American Civil War. The leaders of America's Sons of Liberty, those who first raised the specter of war against England, were men engaged in commerce as traders, warehouse owners, bankers, and lawyers. Their goal was to put an end to trade practices that favored England to the disadvantage of the colonies and to taxation that either limited or prohibited trade. The French Revolution, hard on the heels of the American Revolution, similarly began as a tax revolt before blazing out of control into a bloodbath that turned that nation's aristocracy into fugitives from the guillotine.

When presenting the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies listed among injuries experienced at the hand of King George III "... cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world" and "imposing Taxes on us without our consent." The obstacle to fair trade was protectionism, a practice whereby a country uses tariffs or import quotas to shield its internal commerce from competition by more efficient producers.

Protectionism became a pervasive practice in England in the mid-seventeenth century. At that time a series of parliamentary acts controlled trade by decreeing that only British-owned vessels would convey imported goods from Asia, Africa, and America. Worse yet, the British Navigation Act of 1660 specifically prohibited the colonies from shipping tobacco, sugar, cotton, and other named products to any country other than England.

The American colonies had enjoyed a flourishing trade in the enumerated goods with a number of countries, and strict enforcement of these acts would have caused economic ruin. Fortunately, because England lacked sea dominance, its bark was worse than its bite. In addition to financial losses experienced by the colonists, was the idea that the British could so severely affect the fortunes of nearly two million people in the colonies. It rankled. Nonetheless, in succeeding decades England enacted a succession of additional trade suppression measures, including laws that outlawed the export of corn to England, sharply limited the production of some goods outside of England, and prohibited entirely the manufacture of steel in the American colonies.

The harshest suppression on colonial trade was the Molasses Act of 1733, a law that placed prohibitive duties on molasses and sugar deliveries from the French West Indies to the colonies. The measure held potentially dire consequences for the New England colonies where prosperity relied upon the importation of those commodities. Had England the sea power to enforce the act, the colonies would have been left without a market for the flour, lumber, and fish that was exchanged in trade with the French West Indies. America's war of independence and later the War of 1812 (called by some, the war for "Free Trade and Sailors Rights") ultimately broke the stranglehold of British protectionism.

One further obstacle to the realization of international fair trade remained. That was the institution of slavery. If governments were to achieve the goal of securing recurring revenues from the manufacture and sale of products-sugar for example-then slavery would have to go the way of protectionist measures.

Those who operated sugar plantations in the world's tropical and subtropical regions held a marketing advantage in that the labor-intensive process of planting, harvesting, and manufacturing sugar was provided without labor cost other that which was associated with acquiring and maintaining slaves. The terrible human cost notwithstanding, from the point of view of an economist slavery retarded technological advancement of every kind and thus deterred the establishment of sugarbeets in the northern latitudes of Europe and North America.

On the European continent, a twenty-two year struggle between France and England that began in 1793, during which each tried to starve the other of foreign trade, showed the wastefulness of protectionist policies. It was that struggle, however, that gave sugarbeets the opportunity to climb onto the world stage when, in response to an embargo, France began to extract sugar from sugarbeets which until then had been confined to laboratory experiments. For the first time in world history, sugar, the only commodity that grows with equal success in both temperate and tropical regions, could cleanse itself of the twin blemishes of protectionism and slavery. Europeans, having learned during the Napoleonic era, the disadvantages of depending upon imported cane sugar, adopted with enthusiasm the new sugarbeet technology.

Attracted by reports of new settlers that sugarbeets had gained popularity in France, some Pennsylvania investors headed by James Ronaldson organized the Beet Sugar Society of Philadelphia and in 1830 sent James Pedder to France to study the industry. Pedder subsequently shipped six hundred pounds of seed for distribution to farmers near Enfield, Pennsylvania, where for the first time in American history, the sugarbeet was grown. Nonetheless, while Ronaldson and Pedder vigorously promoted the idea, they were unable to develop a sufficient number of adherents to support a manufacturing process.

In Massachusetts, attorney David Lee Child acquired a farm in Northhampton which became the nucleus for the sugar factory he organized in partnership with others. Child visited Europe in 1836 to study the sugarbeet industry. He came away from the experience filled with enthusiasm that led to the founding of the factory in partnership with Edward Church and Maximin Isnard, an early developer of the beet sugar industry in France. Child, however, was handicapped in his effort to persuade prospective investors of the promise he had seen in the European sugarbeet factories because of a reputation for personal improvidence. For an income, he relied upon his wife, Lydia B. Child, at the time the country's foremost woman author who was noted for penning, in addition to more serious works, the still popular poem that begins "Over the river and through the woods to grandfather's house we go." Equally troubling was his altruistic preference for defending clients who could not pay a fee--not to mention a six-month stint once spent in jail on a charge of libel.

Perhaps of greater concern to potential creditors was Child's inclination to take up causes that were ahead of the times or in opposition to public sentiment and then meld these social concerns with his business interests. He fought on the side of Spain in that country's war with France, opposed ill treatment of Native Americans, and protested the annexation of Texas. More pertinent to Child's promotion of a sugarbeet enterprise, both Childs made known their ardent opposition to slavery and in public speeches, writings, and personal actions amply demonstrated a determination to help dismantle an evil system. Child aimed to secure the freedom of slaves in the South then take them to Massachusetts where he would employ them in his sugar factory, thus relieving the North's dependence on slave-labored cane sugar while at the same time providing a means of independence for freed slaves. Confidence in the Childs couple withered. Lydia's brilliant writing career dived into oblivion; David's less spectacular presence in the business community became unwelcome.

David Lee Child's inability to secure financial support caused the Northhampton sugar factory to close after two seasons of operation. Eventually Child authored a technical book on sugar manufacture, corresponded with other Americans who shared his interest, proposed a school in which he would train technicians, and in 1839 won a silver medal at the Massachusetts State Exposition for the first manufacture of beet sugar in the United States, having produced thirteen hundred pounds of sugar.

The Northhampton factory, short of capital and a credible manager, struggled for two years before closing its doors forever in 1841, ending the dream of David Lee Childs and those who had come to depend upon him. Childs' struggles rung a familiar note in Michigan where investors sought to found an industry that would enjoy success similar to that enjoyed by the French. The White Pigeon firm announced the Niles Intelligencer, that it would commence operations on March 14, 1839, confidently promising the availability of sugar for coffee the following morning.

Michigan achieved statehood in January 1837 and immediately found itself in desperate need of an economic underpinning. A tripling of the state's population between 1830 and 1834 caused by the westward movement of New Englanders created new demands for economic activity, demands that would not be met by the state's primary industries, agricultural, mining and fur trapping. It cast about for new industries. One which was showing great potential in Europe was the manufacture of sugar from sugarbeets.

In its 1838 session, the Michigan legislature adopted a bill introduced by Representative Thomas Gidley of Jackson that provided a bounty of two cents for each pound of sugar manufactured from beets in Michigan. The bill was the first of its kind in the United States. (Sponsorship of private industry with public funding was a common practice adopted by several states but would fall into disfavor in a later era and regain favor in still another.) The House of Representatives' Agriculture and Manufacturing Committee placed Gidley's bill under consideration.

The committee's report stated:

The manufacture of sugar from the beet, has for many years past been considered a subject of great importance, and has directly or indirectly received governmental patronage, from many of the governments of the old world, but has not, until within the last few years excited much attention or interest in this country, from the impression that in the manufacture of sugar, the beet could not come in successful competition with the sugar of the south. Recent experiments, however, in the middle and eastern states, fully demonstrate that such an impression was an erroneous one.... The Committee, from their acquaintance, with the nature of the soil and climate of this state, and from their experience in the growth of the beet, do not hesitate to express the opinion, that no part of the United States, or perhaps of the world is more favorable to the growth of the raw material for the manufacture of beet-sugar, than the greater portion of the state... [Since it is our aim] to be as independent of the other states or countries as possible, and liberally to encourage the agriculture and manufacturing interests of the state...[support is advocated]."

Stimulated by the support of the legislature, investors Chapman Yates, Samuel Chapin, and several others formed the White Pigeon Beet-Sugar Manufactory, the only manufacturing firm of its kind in the United States with the exception of David Lee Child's Northhampton, Massachusetts, factory.

White Pigeon lies on the edge of a vast prairie in St. Joseph County, a few miles north of the Indiana border. In 1837, the year of its formation, White Pigeon was a stopping off point for Indians traveling to Chicago for distributions of treaty goods. Its name honored an Indian chief named Wahbememe, or White Pigeon, who had run several miles on foot in 1830 to warn settlers of an impending attack by an unfriendly tribe, thus saving them from certain destruction. The effort cost him his life. He collapsed from exhaustion and died at the feet of those he had saved.

The nearby prairie supported an abundance of whatever farmers decided to plant: corn, wheat, oats, and, during the years 1838-1841, sugarbeets. Proximity to the rapidly developing Chicago market assured success for farmers and manufacturers. For that reason, many small manufacturing firms would eventually set up shop in or near White Pigeon.

Lucius Lyon, an early observer of the beet industry, believed the White Pigeon experiment relied upon technology expounded by Count Jean Antoine Chaptal (1756-1832), former president of the French sugar commission. If so, the technology was twenty-five years out of date in 1839 when the White Pigeon Sugar Manufactory was constructed.

In 1839, the White Pigeon investors sent John S. Barry to Europe for the purpose of studying and reporting on the prospects for sugarbeets. He visited a number of factories in France, Belgium, and Germany during which he collected information about operating costs, sugar recovery, and the political climate in those countries. An attorney with a reputation for thorough attention to detail, Barry appeared to be ideally suited to the role of investigator. To his credit, this reputation would lead the people of Michigan to elect him governor in 1842. The future governor's lack of business experience, however, and his complete lack of prior knowledge about the properties and economic potential of sugarbeets, put him at a disadvantage when interviewing French sugar manufacturers-with whom he spent the greater part of his time-including many who had become dispirited by the political clout of cane sugar importers who had gained political ascendancy in France. Barry arrived in France at the very moment the French beet sugar industry was confronting governmental pressure to cease domestic production of beet sugar in favor of slave-produced cane sugar. By 1836 there were 436 factories in operation. This alarmed the importers of cane-sugar and led to legislation which was unfavorable to beet sugar producers. This legislation caused the abandonment in 1837 and 1838 of 166 factories. Beet sugar production in France continued to be spasmodic until 1873.

Barry approached his task much in the manner of the cautious attorney taking depositions on behalf of a litigant. He compiled careful notes and wrote memorandums even before leaving the factories he visited and interviewed those he met with the aid of written interrogatories prepared in advance. To his credit, he collected ample information about the operating costs, sugar recovery, and the political climate of the countries he visited. The use to which he put it is another matter.

In forming his opinion, Barry assumed conditions and experiences in Europe would transfer to America in whole. For example, he gave no credence to lower land and labor costs then prevailing in America and assumed the French answered his questions with the candor equal to his own. He did not consider that those who advised him had little or no information about America's markets, agriculture, or economics, nor did he seem to realize that those advisors, burdened with competition from cane sugar, saw little need to give encouragement to prospective competitors. Unlike David Lee Child who had visited the European factories three years earlier when conditions were more favorable to French sugar manufacturers and returned home in a state of great enthusiasm, Barry returned from his visit disheartened.

Perhaps Barry was unaware that hundreds of sugarbeet factories had sprung up like wildfire across Europe in the quarter century preceding his visit with locations in every European country except Norway. Similarly, he seemed unaware that in each of the countries hosting factories to process the new crop, the climate, terrain, soil conditions, and cultural appetites of the people were remarkably similar to features found in Michigan. Barry solemnly entered into his notebook as gospel, viewpoints that would doom the new Michigan industry at birth. His report, conveying the advice of his French counselors that sugarbeets were unworthy of the time and investment of Michigan farmers, was devastating.

Although there was an outcry in opposition to John Barry's opinion during which many suggested that productivity in America was greater than in France and that Barry had been duped, investors and farmers lost heart and set aside their dreams. An economic depression (described as a "panic" in the public media of the day) beginning in 1837 increased investor caution and shriveled the nation's money supply. The least cloud of doubt chased money away from new ideas. The future governor met accusations that the Europeans hoodwinked him by showing compassion for his detractors. In reply, he wrote, "It is possible, though not probable, that I might have been imposed upon and deceived by those engaged in the business of making sugar, of whom my inquiries were made, and from whom my information was obtained. I think, however, that such was not the fact, as the information obtained at one establishment was always in the main, of a character similar to that obtained at another."

An earlier decision by the owners of White Pigeon Sugar Manufactory to employ outdated French machinery reinforced support for Barry's opinion that sugarbeet factories in America would fare badly in any effort to compete with cane sugar. The absence of trained technicians added considerably to the factory's poor performance, with the result that it tended to produce a large amount of molasses but little crystallized sugar. Molasses is a byproduct of beet sugar manufacturing. A processed sugarbeet results in some sugar, some pulp (The remains of the sugar beet after the sugar has been separated.), and some molasses. The molasses represents all the impurities present in the beet when it arrived at the factory's door plus actual sugar that escaped during the process only to end up in the molasses tanks. Even a well managed factory will experience high ratio of sugar lost to the molasses stream resulting in a sugar content of 50% in the molasses. A poorly managed factory will allow much more sugar to enter the molasses stream, thus causing the molasses to have a high purity. Its brackish nature caused by the presence of salts makes it unfit for the human palette but ideal for cattle. The molasses found in the kitchen cupboard is blackstrap molasses, produced as a byproduct of cane sugar.

John Barry noted that the molasses was not "tolerable to the taste", an observation that betrayed his lack of understanding of the beet sugar production process. Had he but asked, his French advisors would have revealed that molasses had an outlet as livestock feed.

One year after the Michigan legislature approved the sugar bounty, Samuel Chapin, who in addition to serving as an officer of White Pigeon Sugar Manufactory also served as a legislative representative from St. Joseph County, sponsored a bill to loan five thousand dollars to the struggling company. The measure was referred to a select committee of which Chapin was named chairman. The committee reminded the legislature Michigan was committed to ventures in economic development, including agricultural experimentation, and that the White Pigeon effort would establish, once and for all, the practicability or impracticability of sugarbeets in Michigan. The proposal passed both houses but conditions were attached that would make it highly unlikely the loan would ever become reality. The first of the conditions was that the company secure a mortgage in an amount equal to twice the value of the loan. Second, the appropriation would occur only if in the opinion of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction it would not lessen sums distributed among the state's school districts. The probability of the state granting the loan, especially during a period when Michigan was still in the grip of the 1837 financial panic, was on the far side of remote. Despite failure to receive state assistance, the White Pigeon company, having started at exactly the wrong time, with outdated equipment, a lack of technical knowledge, and too little capital, held on for two years.

When the doors closed forever in June 1841, concluding an experiment that met a fate made even more ignominious by the fact of the White Pigeon Sugar Manufactory became a lost chapter in the state's history. It would not again come to the public's attention until 1939 when the Detroit Free Press made passing mention of White Pigeon in its "A Hundred Years Ago" column, where it was observed that the company had opened its doors a century before. A sugar executive of the day, astounded by the account, immediately wrote the Free Press, suggesting an error and that to his certain knowledge no sugar company existed in Michigan until 1898.

Sugarbeets would have their day but that would come only after all those who had struggled to make the industry a reality had passed from the scene.

By 1841, when Michigan farmers were casting about for anything that could serve as a cash crop (including a short-lived scheme to process cornstalks for sugar production), another crop emerged that would hold the attention of investors for nearly three-quarters of a century. The crop was timber and for the next fifty-nine years pushed all thoughts of beet sugar from the minds of investors. It wasn't until lumber petered out toward the end of the century that Michigan once again expressed an interest in sugarbeets, an interest that would result in the formation of a credible industry that continues to thrive more than a century later. The Michigan Legislature, acutely aware of the need of industry to replace lumber, in 1897 passed Act Number 48 which provided a bounty of one cent for each pound of sugar produced in Michigan from sugarbeets. Although the bounty would have a short life after failing to overcome legal hurdles, it succeeded in sparking the founding of an industry that still serves the people of Michigan.

Copyright, 2009, All Rights Reserved

Thomas Mahar served as Executive Vice President of Monitor Sugar Company between 1984 and 1999 and as President of Gala Food Processing, a sugar packaging company, from 1993-1998. He authored, Sweet Energy, The Story of Monitor Sugar Company in 2001, and Michigan's Beet Sugar History (Newsbeet, Fall, 2006) and is a two time winner of writing awards from the Southwestern Writers Conference for his work with historical novels set in the South and Southwest during the War Between the States era.

Gifts For the Mother - Some Innovative Ideas to Treat the Special Woman in Your Life Saturday, November 6, 2010

When you are choosing gifts for the mother, it is important to keep in mind that while receiving the gift your mother should feel that you care about her deeply and you want to make her feel special. Just to give you an idea, if you gift her something in her favorite color, it tells her that you think enough of her to remember such minute details about her. Not only your mother, if you want to build a special bond with your mother-in-law, it is important to keep in mind her interests while choosing gifts for mother in law. Below mentioned are some innovative ideas to treat these special women in a special way.

o If your mother loves knitting, then gifting her knitting kit or her favorite wool would be a good idea.

o If she is a creative artist, then she would appreciate a sketchpad with some watercolors.

o Whatever be the occasion, flowers are women's best friends (after diamonds). They are also the best feel-good gifts for mother to be (apart from baby quilts, scrapbooks and diaper showers) during pregnancy. You can make your mother feel special by giving her a colorful bouquet of her favorite flowers.

o If your mother is a pet lover then she would really enjoy an item related to a particular breed of cat or dog [that is of course if she has a pet at home!]

o If she loves to decorate her house then gifting her different types of candles would be great idea to warm the living room in chilly winter evenings.

o If you really want to gift your mother a classy and special gift then gift baskets filled with custom selected luxuries that she will love would be one of the best gifts for the mother. Following are some suggestions for items to create the gift basket with:

1. Generally all women love to have a cup of hot steaming tea or coffee in the afternoon. You can assemble some of the finest brands of tea and coffee in different flavors with cookies to go along. You can create a similar basket with boxes of some special coffee. Include a coffee mug or a tea cup that says "World's Best MOM".

2. If your mother loves to eat fine Belgium or Swiss chocolates or imported cookies or dried fruits then this is one of the tastiest gifts for the mother. If she is a wine lover, then you can also include a bottle or two of wine to make the basket more attractive.

3. If you want your mother to relax with luxurious bath and body treats then gift her spa basket. This basket can contain all those things that make her personal spa experience the most special one. Try aromatic candles or musical CD to offer her a relaxing treat.

Gifts for the mother have to be something that she may not buy for herself. By giving her those special gifts you will make her feel that she is important.

At our site, you can find the best gifts for the special women in your life. You can get a wide range of gifts for the mother [http://www.zazzle.com/for+the+mother+gifts], gifts for mother in law as well as gifts for mother to be [http://www.zazzle.com/mother+to+be+gifts].

Antwerp, Belgium: Carlton Antwerpen Thursday, November 4, 2010

This video from CarltonAntwerpen in Antwerp is brought to you by Eurobookings.com to make your hotel selection decision easier. Here, you can get a better idea of room types, the lobby, exterior and interior of Carlton Antwerpen to provide you with information before you make a reservation. Book a room here through Eurobookings.com to receive up to 75% off! www.eurobookings.com Eurobookings: Your European Hotel Specialist



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CQw0MLMEYM&hl=en

The History of Airsoft Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Airsoft is a contemporary sport based in combat and tactical warfare. It is a leisure pursuit where players eliminate enemies by hitting each other with rounded non-metallic pellets using an air gun. Air Guns or Airsoft guns are usually powered by a manual spring-load, gas or sometimes electrically powered gearbox.

Members of airsoft organizations systematize an engagement whether in an indoor or outdoor event committed to airsoft combat zone to play different games in a variety of interim skirmishes, military simulations, battle scenarios and even historical battle re-enactments.

Military warfare on the combat zone often includes the employment of military tactics and fighting methods to accomplish missions set in every game. The use of different types of military weaponry fabricated as replicas of the real tactical gears, firearms as well as accessories use in contemporary armed services.

Airsoft games started late 1950s particularly in East Asia, exactly in Japan. During that time, Japanese laws were strict that it is hard to possess a firearm; however, airsoft enthusiasts found a legal alternative to owning a gun in order for them to pursue and enjoy their passion. Until then airsoft became so popular in the said region following countries like China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Airsoft pistols, guns and their accessories and upgrades were also manufactured in these regions.

The game, also gaining popularity in western front as the likes of United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Finland, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Lithuania, Poland, Ireland are joining the bandwagon of growing airsoft enthusiasts. Dutch players visited these counties for the playing experience as the game is banned in Netherlands.

During the 1990s, springer kits became so widely available in the hobby stores that it enabled enthusiasts to customize their airsoft guns to suit their needs. Also during that era, Japan developed airsoft guns that gradually replaced the Automatic Electric Guns (airsoft AEG) and at the same alteration on different gun models were introduced.

The first airsoft guns were air powered guns, spring-driven pellet guns and cap-type guns. The Japanese type of these airsoft pistols were of semi-automatic, and spring powered. The pellets were thrusts into the air after the releasing of the spring piston. However, in the cap-type airsoft guns, they are utilizing an explosive cap that mimic a gunfire sound. While in spring driven pellet guns, which is mainly spring-based, was a spring that was used to boost the pellet stuck between two locks that were small and released only as the gun fires.

Only during the 1990s that the United States and the rest of Europe would catch up with the growing popularity of the said sport, and continue to spread all throughout the region. In 2003, the company, Daisy, started to produce airsoft guns specifically aimed for the American market with their brand name as "PowerStrike." Other businesses follow the trail of Daisy and soon came up with the different kinds of airsoft gun to supply the growing market of enthusiasts, local and abroad. A host of different models and prices soon added to the demand on the airsoft gun market.

Alexander Malroy has been playing airsoft for over 15 years. With an arsenal of over 150 airsoft guns, Alex has first hand knowledge of top brands like ICS, Tokyo Marui, Classic Army and Echo 1. Alex is also a certified airsoft gunsmith for airsocom.com and enjoys both fixing, writing about and reviewing any gun he can get his hands on. When not playing airsoft, Alex enjoys spending time with his two dogs Hugo and Abby.

What Are the Best Offers For Sky Talk Telephone Service? Friday, October 29, 2010

I believe most of the people will never link television service with telephone service. But in today's fast changing world, Sky TV has made things easier for people in UK by providing both services to their subscribers. You will not only enjoy your favorite television programs, but you will also enjoy UK award-winning call packages at a very low cost.

Currently, the new Sky Talk packages offer great savings on line rental and unlimited landline calls within the UK. At certain fixed period, the subscribers are rewarded with free talk time too. In general, there are 2 types of packages offered, i.e. Sky Talk Free Time and Sky Talk Unlimited.

For customers who sign up any of Sky TV packs, Sky Talk Free Time is given for FREE. There is no monthly subscription fee. The Sky TV subscribers can make phone calls to their beloved family members and friends in the evenings and during weekends on complimentary basis. The calling time for evening period is from 7pm to 7am and the calling time for weekend is from midnight on Friday to midnight on Sunday. Besides enjoying a wide variety of TV channels, you are able to save your money on telephone bills during economy downturn. Furthermore, you will also be enjoying free 20MB broadband service every month. You can go online 24 hours.

For people who do not own any landline at home, how do you enjoy this call package? No worries. You can "rent" the talk line from Sky. It costs you only £11 a month when you take up Sky call package. By having the talk line, you will be enjoying some great calling features such as call diversion, call waiting and voicemail. You can also see who is calling you before you answer through the call display.

On the other hand, if you always make a lot of phone calls every day and you don't like to be limited by the time set, you can choose to have Sky Talk Unlimited plan. You can make free calls at any time you like. With this specific plan, you are able to get UNLIMITED UK landline calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, you are allowed to make unlimited calls to 20 international countries without paying any single cent. The countries include United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Holland, Luxembourg, Greece, Sweden, Norway and Spain. Is that sufficient for you? Here is another great surprise for you! You are entitled for 100% and unlimited calls to mobile phones in United States and Canada!

From now onwards, you will not have financial burden making phone calls to your family members, relatives, friends and others who are staying outside UK. You can keep in touch with them anytime with the monthly cost of £5 only.

To sum up, after going through the offers mentioned above, besides Sky, who else can provide you such great offer?

For more information about sky talk and broadband offers, visit http://www.SkyTVPackages.org/

Birmingham, Alabama - A Culinary Tour

After my Montgomery visit, I joined the group from Travel Media Showcase (TMS) that traveled north by bus to Birmingham. This city is a little larger than Montgomery proper, at about a 230,000 population, but the total Birmingham area has about a one million population. Its largest employer is the University of Alabama at Birmingham and several significant banks and life insurance companies are also headquartered there. Historically, Birmingham, the largest Alabama city, was noted as the "Pittsburgh of the South."

During our Birmingham stay, our hotel was the Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort and Spa. This majestic hotel, on the city outskirts, was designed similar to the Fairmont of Banff, Canada. Due to its several outstanding golf courses, and resulting Scottish tie-in, Ross Bridge features in the late afternoon, just before sunset, a bagpipe player who tours the grounds, while serenading guests with unmistakable tones from his instrument. It is considered the golfers warning to finish their round.

Some of our group took a civil rights tour. Just as in Montgomery, Birmingham endured turmoil, violence and murder during the struggles that eventually ended racial segregation during the 1950s and 1960s. Several locations serve as reminders of these events and the ability today to focus on growth and progress for Birmingham.

The first phase of our culinary tour involved a series of stops at three vineyards, Ozan Vineyard and Cellars, Vizzini Farms Winery and Morgan Creek Vineyards. At these three establishments, we tasted a variety of wines, ranging from peach to red to dry red Muscadine.

Backgrounds of the three vineyard owners were quite interesting. For example, the Vizzini ancestors, emigrating from Sicily, but faced with Ellis Island overloads, were forced to enter the U.S. from New Orleans. As a result, Alabama eventually gained talent that would otherwise have been a plus for the Northeast. Ozan is owned by the Patrick family and Morgan Creek is owned by Mr. Brammer. Since all three are relatively small, they are able to produce quality wine with small staffs.

I especially enjoyed a chocolate raspberry wine offering at the Vizzini locale. As a result, we ordered ½ case of it as well as ½ case of the Paulina variety.

At Morgan Creek, it was pointed out to us that one of the vineyard's prominent customers is actress Pauley Perrette, one of the stars of the TV series NCIS.

Later that night, our group enjoyed dinner at Frank Stitt's Highland's Bar & Grill. This establishment is highly rated, not only in Alabama, but nationwide. Chef Stitt has received the James Beard award as the top American chef. My dinner of braised pork shoulder, chowder and vanilla ice cream with a dash of Makers Mark, was preceded by an opening orange martini specialty drink that I thoroughly enjoyed.

On Saturday morning, our group started with breakfast at the Jones Valley Urban Farms. This location featured breakfast prepared by Chef Clayton Sherrod. Chef Sherrod is very personable and dynamic and serves as an able ambassador for Alabama cuisine around the world. He served breakfast highlighted by shrimp and grits and entertained us with a cooking demonstration.

Jones Valley Urban Farms is a nonprofit organization that utilizes vacant downtown property to grow organic produce and flowers.

After breakfast, we had two stops on the culinary tour. First was the Pepper Place Saturday Market. Booths showed off a variety of foods, such as peaches, fresh produce and very tasty cheese as well as arts and crafts. Next was the Peanut Depot, where traditional roasting methods produce thousands of pounds of peanuts each week. Although Virginia peanuts are used here, the establishment is part of an Alabama tradition. Some of the roasting equipment dates back more than 100 years.

We lunched at Niki's West. It is renowned for its fast paced cafeteria line, featuring offerings such as pork barbecue, yams, grits and other good traditional Southern food.

Our Saturday culinary tour was topped off nicely by dinner at the Hot and Hot Fish Club, owned by Chef Chris Hastings and his wife Idie Hastings. Chris has also received a James Beard award as the top Southern chef. I started dinner with a chocolate martini. Following this drink, I selected chowder, shrimp and grits (well worth it, even after the same choice at breakfast) and dessert of apple ganauche and ice cream. Our waitress, Evelyn, was absolutely outstanding with her service and knowledge of every facet of the Fish Club menu.

On Sunday, our final day, we started with breakfast at Brock's Restaurant in Ross Bridge. I ended the tour with a facial (yes, a man's facial) at the Ross Bridge Spa. This was described to me as a "deep cleansing therapeutic facial..." that "...removes impurities." After the treatment, I felt that this was a very accurate description.

The spa provides an interesting array of massages, related therapy and facials for both men and women.

In summary, we thoroughly enjoyed our Birmingham tour. We believe the city is an outstanding example of the forward-looking new South.

Be sure to visit www.visitbirmingham.com for more information.

Norman E. Hill frequently writes business articles. His book, "Winner and Final Chairman," was released in 2008. An Expose of an American Corporate Power Struggle and $138 Million Golden Parachute If you read Barbarians at the Gates or followed Enron, you will enjoy this fictionalized version of a corporate power struggle. It shows how a visionary business plan, not followed through, and never-ending corporate politics, undid a promising turnaround.

Also, Norm has written numerous articles on travel, emphasizing the history and culture of places he has experienced. Sometimes, he ventures into the food aspect and how it relates to its surroundings.

You can read more of Norm's thoughts at http://www.noralyn.com on his blogs and http://www.ifwtwa.org/public_profiles/norman_e_hill/

Barcelona Hotels Friday, October 22, 2010

Barcelona is home to various types of hotels ranging from simple rooms all the way up to five-star luxury suites. Barcelona also offers apartments for tourists to rent. No matter what kind of Barcelona hotel you choose to book, expect the best service. After all they want your tourism dollars and will go to great lengths to keep you coming back.

One of the most popular five-star luxury hotels in the city is Hotel Arts Barcelona, which is owned by the Palace Carlton group. It offers modern, high-quality accommodation right on the sea front.

The Meridien is based on the Ramblas, which is a very central location in Barcelona.

The Palace Hotel Barcelona is only a 10-minute walk to Placa Catalunya, which is an ideal location to explore the city.

The five-star Hotel Melia Barcelona is a little further out from the center than the other hotels. However, it has a metro stop only 10 minutes away, which will take one to anywhere in the city.

The Majestic Hotel is a deluxe 4-star hotel and offers fantastic facilities with high standards, but what adds to the overall excellence of the hotel are the location, tradition and gourmet cuisine it offers. It is located on the Paseo de Gracia, one of Barcelona's most beautiful avenues, and is close to some of the city's main tourist spots.

The Ambassador is a two-minute walk from the sights and sounds of the Ramblas, yet located within a quiet street.

The top three-star hotels in Barcelona are the Abba Sant, Hotel Fiira Palace Barcelona and the Prestige Paeo De Gracia.

Barcelona [http://www.z-Barcelona.com] provides detailed information on Barcelona, Barcelona Hotels, Barcelona Soccer, Barcelona Weather and more. Barcelona is affiliated with Spain Golf [http://www.z-Spain.com].

Part 1 - Elk Lake School French Class Dimock Pennsylvania Sunday, October 17, 2010

Part 1 of 4 - www.hobotraveler.com --- French speaking Nathalie from Belgium talks with French Students from Elk Lake School, in Dimock, Pennsylvania, then the students proceeded to ask me questions about my 12 years of continuous world travel. If your School Class wants to talk with Andy Graham a world travelers please contact me at: www.hobotraveler.com Thank you, Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com www.hobotraveler.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHgLMMb4lW0&hl=en

Orlando Airport - Hints and Tips For Finding Cheap Flights to Orlando and Airport Information Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Orlando Airport - Planning your Orlando Vacation and finding cheap flights to Orlando and car rental.

One of the most important things to remember when planning your Orlando vacation and researching hotels in Orlando, cheap flights to Orlando and car rental in Orlando, is that the city actually has two airports! The Orlando International Airport has the airport code of MCO, and the smaller Sanford Airport has the airport code of SFB. Most of the international and local flights will fly into MCO.

Orlando International Airport is located 11 miles South east of the central business district and serves most of the world's major airlines, including many direct international flights. There are regular shuttles to places like International Drive and Disney (Disney's Magical Express offers complimentary transportation to guests staying at Disney hotels) and Universal, as well as good public transport links. There are also many rental car companies that operate from the airport. The International Airport is currently the 27th busiest airport in the world.

Sanford Airport (SFB) is the home to charter airlines from the United Kingdom and Europe, namely Monarch Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways. Iceland Air and Iceland Express also use Sanford Airport, and Allegiant Air and Direct Air provide local services within the USA. The airport is very well prepared for the flood of tourists that visit the area every year, and if you are looking for car rental or shuttles into Orlando, you will be pleasantly surprised as Sanford airport is consistently in the top 30 airports in the world and is serviced by Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty. There is also a large number of hotels serving the airport, and some have free shuttles.

Both airports offer cheap flights to Orlando and MCO has many of the USA's budget carriers flying there. SFB has the cheaper charter airlines from Europe that usually carry passengers on a package holiday that includes their hotels and park tickets.

To find out more about and to book cheap flights to Orlando and hotels in Orlando, as well as booking discounted tickets for Orlando attractions, log onto www.orlandohotelsandtraveldeals.com!

Graeme Watson is an Orlando expert and promotes the destination through the website http://www.orlandohotelsandtraveldeals.com.

When an Offshore Bank Fails Monday, October 11, 2010

Introduction - What we are going to do is describe the legal and mechanical process relating to offshore bank failures. We will discuss what leads up to them, what happens if they fail, and how do the depositors get their money back. The terms and scenarios we depict are generally what happens in the world of offshore banking. In some jurisdictions the terminology and procedures may be slightly different but the general way things proceed will be in line with the scenarios depicted in this article.

Offshore Banks - A brief definition of this term is in order. These are banks that are located in various countries around the world many being in Caribbean Island Nations. These banks have a license that enables them to only do business with people and entities (trusts and corporations) that are not from that country. The offshore jurisdiction does not trust the offshore bank to accept deposits from its citizens or corporation filed in that country. This right away should tell a moderately astute investor that he or she is perhaps not exercising the correct amount of caution when it comes to selecting a bank and an offshore jurisdiction. So the first warning sign is be careful of offshore banking licenses. A bank can be in an offshore jurisdiction and not have an offshore banking license, instead be a regularly licensed bank. Offshore bank licenses can be had in some jurisdictions with as little as a $50,000 deposit with the country issuing the license. Usually this amount is never more than $500,000 and many countries require less. As a point of comparison a regular bank operating in Panama is required to post $10,000,000 cash deposit and the owners go through a rigorous background investigation.

Bank Failure - This is a term relating to the offshore bank being unable to fulfill the demand for funds from their depositors. This can occur for a number of reasons, some bad and some not so bad. The offshore bank may have been found to be below its protective ratios and the government bank auditors or financial ministry may decide to shut the bank down in terms of money going out for a limited period of time to see if the bank can return their ratios quickly to an acceptable level. In the event the ratios return to an acceptable level the bank operation resumes normally and the depositors may not even know anything occurred.

Complaints - The way offshore bank failures generally start is with complaints to the licensing authority of the country where the bank is located stating that requests to withdraw funds are not being met by the bank. To document this the account holder generally retains legal counsel in the country where the offshore bank is located and files a formal demand for the funds to bank with a very short deadline. When this demand is not met the law firm will file a formal complaint to the offshore bank licensing authority who will generally conduct an investigation. They may have their own auditors or hire an independent team of auditors to go through the offshore bank records. They will look to see if there are any loans on the books that do not meet the guidelines for lending such as writing uncollateralized loans is usually considered an offense. Loans to the principals of the bank are another red flag. Real estate acquisitions like mansions on the island where the offshore bank is located for the bank executives to live in is another red flag as well. Usually without loans the bank would not fail to meet its ratios. When these loans go bad and there is no collateral to go after then the banks get into trouble. The complaint process is possibly the only way the government is going to know their offshore bank is in trouble and by then it may be too late, but it may not be too late. Remember we are talking about offshore banks here, not regularly licensed regular banks which are audited and watched way more closely by the government and usually by a different government agency than the agency supervising offshore banks. We as a Panama Law firm do not introduce clients to offshore banks which should tell you something.

Loss of Correspondent Bank - Sometimes the offshore bank has just lost one or more of its correspondent banks and can not execute wire transfers until it replaces the correspondent with another correspondent bank which may take several weeks. When the complaints hit the government they will investigate, see that the funds are in place and allow the offshore bank a reasonable period of time to secure another correspondent bank, checking with them for progress reports. This is a not so bad problem that will only serve to scare and inconvenience the depositors.

Offshore Bank Receivership - This is a process whereby the government agency that licenses the offshore bank takes over the offshore bank to control its operation with an eye towards saving the bank. Sometimes they are successful and well sometimes not. Often a team of professionals from a large auditing or accounting firm are brought in. Receivership practices can frequently mean that a percentage of your funds will be unavailable for withdrawal for sometime. This is to prevent a run on the offshore bank which would for sure topple it and thus cost the depositors substantial losses. You may be only able to take out say 25% of your funds. What can often happen is the depositors lose faith and take as much money out as they can and avoid putting in any more money. This usually results in the offshore bank failing totally and being shut down.

Suing the Offshore Bank - What often happens in these offshore bank receivership scenarios is some depositors get scared and act jumpy and sue the bank. The lawsuits generally involve having the court encumber or tie up an amount equal to their deposit. To accomplish this the depositors generally have to resort to deceit or twisting the truth minimally, to make the court think they were not ordinary depositors or the amount in question consisted of funds to be handled in a special exceptional manner. The way the depositors are playing their hand is get the court to hold my money before the bank goes down completely and then my funds get mixed in with all the depositors in the fracas. If one files such a lawsuit they are generally excluded from filing claims as regular creditors (depositors) of the bank in the event of a liquidation and if they lose their lawsuit (an expected occurrence if based on fraud or deceit) they can lose all. Usually several depositors will file such lawsuits if there is any official action taken against the offshore bank and this could push the offshore bank into greater difficulty and if there is a bank liquidation it will be a most complex one with a lot of depositors funds eaten up in legal fees.

Offshore Bank Liquidation - This is of course the sword of gloom in the world of offshore banking. For things to reach this level the government had to have felt that the offshore bank is not salvageable. Generally a bunch of depositors filing lawsuits and jamming up the court system of some island jurisdiction is going to encourage the government there to liquidate the offshore bank in hopes of freeing up their courts. Imagine an offshore tax haven island court system. A small building with one to three courtrooms and maybe three or four judges. These courts hear divorce, child custody, personal injury as in auto accidents, bankruptcy, collection cases, resident disputes with building contractors, traffic court cases, and criminal cases. The court is there to enable the island jurisdiction to function as an independent governing state. It is not going to jam up its courts increasing the wait times for its citizens that are trying to deal with vital matters like child custody where one of the parents is an abusive drunk hurting the children. When the offshore bank gets put into liquidation generally the court cases can be disposed of quickly or even by summary dismissal. The government knows that the people behind these lawsuits are trying to get more money than they would if they just waited for the liquidation to proceed and are not amused by their litigious behavior.

The Offshore Bank Liquidation Process - So now the bank is in liquidation. What does this mean? Basically a liquidator will be appointed to determine what assets the bank has, liquidate what can be profitably liquidated and then see how much money is left. The remaining money will be divided up amongst the depositors fairly depending on how much they had on deposit in the offshore bank. They will get a percentage of their deposit back. What would be a good return in a liquidation, 75%. What would be a bad return well there was a liquidation in Latvia a few years ago where the depositors got 2%. What is a typical return? There is no number but it should be 33% to 60% unless the bank has been really mismanaged.

The Offshore Bank Liquidator - This is generally a person with an accounting, legal or banking background. They can understand the books of the offshore bank and the laws pertaining to the offshore bank and the liquidation. If the offshore bank had secured loans that went bad (payments not be made according to written loan documents) they will analyze the worth of going after the collateral. If there was a farm in Argentina posted as collateral for a three million dollar loan he may order an appraisal of the farm to see if it really worth that much. If the value of the farm is more than the legal expense of securing and liquidating the asset the liquidator should go ahead and liquidate it. This process may take a year or longer. If a loan was made to a trucking company in Belgium for a fleet of trucks the same liquidation process may occur. This sort of liquidation may take even two or three years depending on what type of liquidation processes may need to be followed. The borrower may file bankruptcy making the liquidation of the secured assets difficult and time consuming in some countries. The bankruptcy court might let the borrower continue making payments and keep the asset which can make for a rather problematic liquidation because now the loan must be sold to reduce it to a net value. Generally such a loan is going to go for a deep discount at best. The liquidator may have to sell the banks real estate, computers, office equipment and furniture, cars, boats, planes etc. All this is time consuming and the assets should be sold at an auction to keep things fair avoiding accusations of selling under the market for kickbacks. There is an inherent conflict of interest in the liquidation process. The bank liquidator generally gets paid handsomely. Think perhaps $150 to $300 an hour or maybe $10,000 to $30,000 per month. It is in his best interest to keep things going for as long as possible. The lawyers the bank liquidator uses are also under this same conflict of interest. How honest and upright these people are going to be is something for which there is no rule but there is generally a control element in the form of a creditors committee. In an honest liquidation the liquidator may elect to distribute the readily available assets the offshore bank has right away. These assets would be the actual cash deposits. This is an encouraging sign to the creditors. Money would usually be held back to allow the liquidation to proceed further allowing for legal expenses etc. Then as real estate and other assets are sold further distributions would be made. Not all liquidations are done so directly.

The Ugly Side of Offshore Bank Liquidations - Sometimes the offshore bank assets are deposited by the liquidator in another bank. Whether or not this is in an interest bearing account is always a good question. If there is $12,000,000 in cash in a bank the interest at 4% a year is a serious amount of money that will tempt people. Legal fees can be padded and kickbacks made to the liquidator from the law firm located on the island jurisdiction the offshore bank is in. Some of these islands where these offshore banks are have less than 100,000 people living in the country. You are foreigners and don't expect such honest treatment in these tourist island jurisdictions. They may view these offshore bank liquidations as a feast for the locals courtesy of all the rich foreigners. Excessive travel can be run up by the liquidator. He can travel abroad going first class all the way even bringing the lawyers along, all on the clock. The liquidator can reach crooked settlements with people who posted collateral for loans with the offshore bank. Depositors of the offshore bank can file lawsuits for special treatment and the liquidator can settle with them in a crooked manner for an illegal kickback and then they get all their back while you only get a fraction back. Real estate owned by the offshore bank can be sold under market value for a kickback to a friend or relative of the liquidator. Same can be done with cars, computers etc. The liquidator can elect to chase assets not worth chasing to continue his high paying job some years longer than it should require. Remember offshore bank liquidations do not come along every day and the liquidator has no idea where his next job is going to come from. There is a check and balance usually in the bank liquidation process which is described below.

Offshore Bank Liquidation Creditors Committee - A creditor of the offshore bank is generally a depositor but it could be the electric company or the phone company. Generally, the employees are considered priority creditors when it comes to their wages and they get paid off first and fast. The depositor is owed money by the offshore bank based on their deposits, thus he or she is a creditor as far as the offshore bank liquidation is concerned. An offshore bank liquidation is sort of like a bankruptcy proceeding. In an offshore bank liquidation a creditors committee is formed which is something done in many bankruptcy proceedings. The creditors committee could possibly have been formed before the liquidator came into office and they appoint the liquidator with or without the approval of the court, rules vary some depending on the offshore jurisdiction involved. The creditors committee generally is voted into existence by the creditors, the creditors with the most dollars on deposit having the most votes is one way to look at it. All creditors are generally not treated equal. The creditors committee members are all on the same side and that side is interested in getting as much money back as they can. Decisions as to how to spend money chasing assets or potential assets are usually made by the liquidator but the creditors committee can exert control over the liquidator even replacing the liquidator in extreme circumstances. Some bank liquidations have taken place without creditor committees in place. These are generally less than above board liquidations.

Creditor Claims in Offshore Bank Liquidations - When the liquidator is in office the depositors are generally required to file claims. The claims process involves filing identity documents with the liquidator and identifying your account and how much money was in it. Offshore bank liquidations are conducted in open court and these claims wind up as exhibits in the public domain. What I am saying is bank secrecy is not in place once the bank is in liquidation. What one can expect to see is a fair number of depositors failing to file claims because of various reasons often relating to bank secrecy. Of course this means a greater recovery for those who do file the claims while the other folks walk away with a total loss of their funds by choice.

What to do if you are in an Offshore Bank Liquidation - If you are already involved in a bank liquidation you made a mistake and you are going to get hurt. How badly hurt is the question so you should be trying to mitigate your damages. If a creditors committee is forming try to get involved actively, even try to sit on the committee. If the liquidator has not yet been appointed do get involved in that process. Try to find ways to meet other depositors. Call lawyers on the island and ask them to represent a group of creditors collectively. Rest assured other depositors will be calling lawyers on the island and the lawyer can be a contact point to form a creditors committee. The idea may not occur to a lot of these lawyers so help them out a bit. If you can get a creditors committee in place and have it appoint a liquidator you will probably have a honest liquidation, probably. That having been said one must still leave room for the offshore bank itself having been intrinsically dishonest and the bank owners have since ran away with the funds. When you read the offshore bank liquidation horror stories you see that the money trail goes from country to country, bank to bank and then it ends up with a large cash withdrawal which is usually the end of the trail. The offshore jurisdiction may fail to ever prosecute them or file charges which of course make one wonder what was going on. So the key here is to get involved actively. It is real important to open communications with other creditors and get organized.

How to Avoid Being in Offshore Bank Liquidations - The answer is of course simple, avoid offshore banks. Stick to banks with full banking licenses that can conduct banking business with the residents of the country as well as with entities not located in the country.

Offshore Bank Alternatives - The best alternative to these tax haven island offshore jurisdictions is Panama. Panama is a solid offshore tax haven jurisdiction that does not tax offshore derived income and has no capital gains tax or tax on stock market gains. Panama has fully anonymous bearer share corporations where the owners are not recorded in any registry or database. Panama has anonymous foundations which are able to have generally non-freezable bank accounts. Panama has no tax treaties with any country so fishing expeditions are not going to happen. Panama has the tightest bank secrecy laws in the world and when coupled with an anonymous bearer share corporation it becomes the most secure and private structure one could have in the world today. Panama has 400,000 corporations registered there as well as many of the merchant marine vessels and cruise ships in the world. Panama has about 150 banks many of which are large multi-billion dollar international conglomerates, yet the banking operation in Panama is a separate bank corporation operating under Panama bank secrecy laws. Panama has not had a bank failure in over five years. Panama has had only a few bank failures in its history whereas Switzerland had over 15 bank failures during the years 1999 to 2000. Panama tightly regulates its banks. Every Panama Bank must submit monthly auditing reports to Panama's Banking Superintendent, which is under direct supervision by the Banco Nacional de Panama (BNP), the National Bank of Panama. A list of prominent international banks in Panama includes: Citibank, HSBC, Dresdner Bank, Bank of Tokyo, Bank of Boston, Banco Nacional de Paris, International Commercial Bank of China, Societe Generale, Banque Sudameris, BBVA, Banco Uno, Banco General, PriBanco, Banco del Istmo, Global Bank, MultiCredit Bank, PanaBank, ABN Amro, Banco Aliado, Banco Continental, BancoLat, BIPAN, Lloyds TLB Bank, and the Bank of Nova Scotia. Many of the Panama banks own office building skyscrapers 40+ stories tall with their name on the building. These are not grocery store sized banks found in the island jurisdictions. The Panama Stock Exchange has an average trading volume of $900,000,000.

Panama is free of hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, and earthquakes which is why the Panama Canal was built there. Panama uses the US dollar as their national currency. Panama has modern telephones, cell phones and internet being a country having been built by the Americans which left Panama in 2000. Panama has a treaty with the USA calling for the USA to protect the Panama Canal if it was threatened. This means the peace and security of the Republic of Panama is protected by the USA which could have jet fighters there in minutes. Panama is the new Switzerland of the world.

For more information regarding Offshore Bank Failures go to: www.panamalaw.org