first class travel: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

With 'God on their side,' Romney and Republicans may very well prevail

Mitt Romney's Texas primary win secured him the Republican nomination. Now the GOP wants the support of every major US religion. Mormons, Jews, and Catholics identify with the party in increasing numbers. That helps Republicans erode the Democratic base.

By Kyle Scott / May 30, 2012

Mitt Romney prays before his commencement address May 12 at Liberty University, an evangelical Christian college in Lynchburg, Va. Romney clinched the Republican nomination for president Tuesday with a win in the Texas primary. Op-ed contributor Kyle Scott says 'the Republican Party may be able to successfully add to its base by taking from the traditional religious bases of Democrats.'

Jae C. Hong/AP

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Now that Mitt Romney has officially secured enough delegates with his Texas primary victory to clinch the Republican nomination, Mormons seem like a block of voters the Republicans can count on come November. This isn?t just because Mr. Romney is Mormon.

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It?s because the Republican Party is now securing support from voters of every major religion in the United States, with the exception of Islam.

For nearly three decades Christian Evangelicals have tended to be reliably Republican. (Today, 70 percent of white evangelical Protestants support the GOP.) But now Mormons, Jews, and Catholics are getting on board with the party in increasing numbers. If the GOP is able to consolidate the support of the major religions in the US, Romney and other Republican candidates stand to win big at the polling booth in 2012 and well beyond.

Certainly, voters of a certain religion don?t always vote as a bloc, and recent trends indicate that some young Evangelicals are rejecting the ?partisan pulpit? and embracing traditionally liberal or Democratic values. But these religious groupings have had historic party allegiances that played out on election day as confirmed by the Pew Research Center Survey in 2009 following the 2008 presidential election.

Seeing a Mormon frontrunner in Romney may have helped earn Mormon support for the GOP, but the social conservative dimensions of the Republican platform also fit nicely within the Mormon faith. A strong commitment to traditional family values is the bedrock of both Mormonism and Republicanism.

At the graduation ceremony at Liberty University, founded by Jerry Falwell, Romney spoke of a worldview shared by his religion and Evangelicals; one committed to traditional family values ? a direct refutation of President Obama?s stance on same-sex marriage. A recent Pew survey found that Mormon support for the Republican party has grown from 68 percent in 2008 to 80 percent in early 2012.

Traditionally Democrats have been able to count on the support of Jewish voters. But when Barack Obama came out in support of a proposal that would return Israel to its 1967 borders, there was clear backlash among the Jewish and pro-Israeli communities. Republicans were able to align themselves with Jews and Israeli leaders in denouncing the proposal as a threat to Israel?s security.

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Defense of Marriage Act heads to US Supreme Court

FILE - In this June 23, 2009 file photo, Keegan O'Brien of Worcester, Mass., leads chants as members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community protest the Defense of Marriage Act outside a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Boston. A battle over the federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman appears headed for the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled Thursday, May 31, 2012, that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2011 file photo, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley speaks to reporters at a news conference in Boston. A battle over the federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman appears headed for the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled Thursday, May 31, 2012, that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional. The ruling came in two lawsuits, one filed by the Boston-based legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the other by Coakley. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, File)

BOSTON (AP) ? A battle over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman appears headed for the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled Thursday that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional.

In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.

The court didn't rule on the law's more politically combustible provision ? that states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it's legal. It also wasn't asked to address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.

The law was passed at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved the practice, led by Massachusetts in 2004.

The court, the first federal appeals panel to rule against the benefits section of the law, agreed with a lower court judge who in 2010 concluded that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns. The ruling came in two lawsuits, one filed by the Boston-based legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the other by state Attorney General Martha Coakley.

"For me, it's more just about having equality and not having a system of first- and second-class marriages," said plaintiff Jonathan Knight, a financial associate at Harvard Medical School who married Marlin Nabors in 2006.

"I think we can do better, as a country, than that," said Knight, a plaintiff in the GLAD lawsuit.

Knight said the Defense of Marriage Act costs the couple an extra $1,000 a year because they cannot file a joint federal tax return.

Opponents of gay marriage blasted the decision.

"This ruling that a state can mandate to the federal government the definition of marriage for the sake of receiving federal benefits, we find really bizarre, rather arrogant, if I may say so," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute.

Since Congress passed the law, eight states have approved gay marriage, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, Washington state and the District of Columbia. Maryland and Washington's laws are not yet in effect and may be subject to referendums.

Last year, President Barack Obama announced that the Department of Justice would no longer defend the constitutionality of the law. After that, House Speaker John Boehner convened the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to defend it. The legal group argued the case before the appeals court.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the appeals court ruling is "in concert with the president's views." Obama, who once opposed gay marriage, declared his unequivocal personal support on May 9.

Carney wouldn't say whether the government would actively seek to have the law overturned if the case goes before the Supreme Court.

"I can't predict what the next steps will be in handling cases of this nature," Carney said.

The 1st Circuit said its ruling would not be enforced until the Supreme Court decides the case, meaning that same-sex married couples will not be eligible to receive the economic benefits denied by the law until the high court rules.

That's because the ruling only applies to states within the circuit ? Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire ? and Puerto Rico. Only the Supreme Court has the final say in deciding whether a law passed by Congress is unconstitutional.

Until Congress passed the law, "the power to define marriage had always been left to individual states, the appeals court said in its ruling.

"One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage," Judge Michael Boudin wrote for the court. "Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress' denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest."

Several times in its ruling, the appeals court noted that the case will probably end up before the high court, at one point saying, "only the Supreme Court can finally decide this unique case."

Carl Tobias, a constitutional law professor at the University of Richmond, said the court kept its ruling narrow, declaring unconstitutional only the section of the law on federal benefits. Although supporters and opponents of gay marriage may depict the ruling as the beginning of the end of the law, he said, the Supreme Court is likely to limit its ruling to the benefits issue as well.

"I think lawyers could argue that the arguments are equally applicable to the other sections of the law, but you have to stretch. You have to take those out of the context in which it's being applied, and I don't think the court will do that," Tobias said.

During arguments before the court last month, a lawyer for gay married couples said the law amounted to "across-the-board disrespect." The couples argued that the power to define and regulate marriage had been left to the states for more than 200 years before Congress passed the law.

Paul Clement, a Washington, D.C., attorney who defended the law on behalf of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, argued that Congress had a rational basis for passing the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, when opponents worried that states would be forced to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.

The group said Congress wanted to preserve a traditional and uniform definition of marriage and has the power to define terms used to federal statutes to distribute federal benefits.

"But we have always been clear we expect this matter ultimately to be decided by the Supreme Court, and that has not changed," he said in a statement.

Two of the three judges who decided the case Thursday were Republican appointees, while the other was a Democratic appointee. Boudin was appointed by President George H.W. Bush. Judge Juan Torruella was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Chief Judge Sandra Lynch is an appointee of President Bill Clinton.

In California, two federal judges have found this year that the law violates the due-process rights of legally married same-sex couples.

In the most recent case, a judge found the law unconstitutional because it denies long-term health insurance benefits to legal spouses of state employees and retirees. The judge also said a section of the federal tax code that makes the domestic partners of state workers ineligible for long-term care insurance violates the civil rights of people in gay and lesbian relationships.

___

Associated Press writers Jay Lindsay and Shannon Young contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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10 Benefits of Using Veterans Administration Home Loans - Yapperz

? Personnel on active duty are eligible for veterans affairs home loans.

? Some reservists together with National Guard members might qualify.

? Surviving partners of military personnel who lose their own lives while on active service are eligible.

Benefits of Veterans Affairs Mortgage loans

There are numerous benefits of VA loans for veterans so that it extremely popular.

? For starters, you can purchase your personal property without any down charge.

? Prime mortgage insurance or PMI bills are excluded for entitled to veterans.

? Origination costs and closing prices are limited by the us government which will lessen your general home price.

? A VA inspector has to inspect the property which often protects him from purchasing a bad property.

? Military personnel can get cash VA loans for veterans close to 103. 15% of your home value.

? A veteran can re-finance to reduce the interest.

? If the borrower defaults, VA can provide some help.

? There is no penalty for prepayment.

? VA will permit selling your stuff and the new veteran can assume your aged mortgage.

? VA loan low interest rates are fixed for 30 years and are very low.

Processing a VA Loan

This is an uncomplicated process. Even now, a few steps ought to be followed for veterans administration mortgage loans.

? A certificate of eligibility or COE ought to be obtained for the financial loan.

? Request for your home loan by providing the COE.

? The income and consumer credit documents are reviewed by the lender which is next forwarded for approval to the VA underwriter. This process will require about a month.

? The veteran may then find a suitable property.

? A VA appraiser should inspect your home for the lender to finally approve the financial loan.
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visit us, loans camarilloFor military veterans, returning to civilian life can get difficult. Not only do they have to find employment, but the expenses involving life and living ought to be met. Finding a brand-new home then, with this specter of bad credit ratings hanging over them, is a challenge, just as it is for ordinary people. Getting VA home financial loans with bad credit would make the transition that minute easier.

Although it is never easy to get personal or home funds with bad credit, VA home loans offer several breaks that make buying a home when out of your military much more possible. But, although home loans guaranteed by way of the VA may give veterans some sort of well-earned boost, there are definite criteria that needs to be met too.

Exactly why VA Loans Exist

VA loans have been completely around since the end with the Second World War, when the government needed to provide a means by which veterans might get ahead once they had returned to civilian lifetime. The range of loans is extensive, from VA personal loans to VA home funds, with bad credit whatever applicants need not worry too much about.

The reality that the VA, or that Department of Veteran Extramarital affairs, guarantees a quarter in the loan sum means that the risk is considerably lessened. As a result, these types of loans can be secured at low rates of interest, and with a below what usual down payment in the property.

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In Relation To Making Cash Online With Internet Marketing And ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUhfAwBvNZY>>> A picnic custom to get a date with a woman is to lead her to go to you

Something you may possibly not understand is that with regards to Internet Advertising and marketing there are myths floating around that make folks think this is really a perfect business for them. Take into account that simply because you hear something does not make it true, and as you can imagine these myths are just that, a thing that cannot be believed. Just so you understand what the simple truth is when it comes to these myths we are going to be talking about a couple of them in this post and telling you what the reality is.

One of the primary myths you have probably already heard is that individuals can wind up getting rich quickly by starting up an online business. There?s been individuals who have started online businesses and found instant success becoming very wealthy, but this is a thing that is very few and far between when it comes to Internet Marketing and advertising. Another reason many individuals believe this is mainly because of all the different programs online that actually promise men and women that they?re going to get rich quickly, but you should realize that these are only scams. If you take the time to think about it you?re going to see that getting rich quick isn?t something you?re going to be able to accomplish with Internet Advertising.

Plenty of folks will also try and convince you that making money on the web is just one of the easiest things you could ever possibly do, but in relation to Internet Advertising and marketing the opposite is actually true. Despite what anybody may ever tell you, you have to realize that Internet Advertising is in fact a business, and as a result of this you?re going to need to dedicate loads of time and hard work into making it successful. With that said I should also mention that if you decided to start an online business it is going to be comparatively easier than if you were to start a regular brick and mortar type business.

Something else you will most likely heard is that anybody can actually wind up becoming extremely successful on the internet, but the reality is some men and women are just not built for finding success online. Mainly because this kind of business takes time, energy and dedication, you?re going to find that there are a vast amount of men and women throughout the planet who do not possess these qualities in order to achieve success. If somebody happens to be a lazy sort of person who is not willing to put forth everything required in order to make their web based business successful they?re obviously going to fail.

A primary reason plenty of men and women actually enter the Internet Marketing and advertising field is mainly because they believe it is something which has no costs involved, but again this is also a myth. If you take the time to think about it I ought to mention that there are specific methods of Internet Marketing that are free, but only utilizing these free strategies aren?t going to provide you with the success you are trying to find. If you are fad up with traditional means of seeking a match for your life, then you should come to online dating sites where you will find dozens of compatible singles to choose from.

If you are looking to discover success with your Internet Marketing venture you should comprehend that it is going to take work and also some sort of investment.

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Natural Finance - 21st century venture capital: Natural Finance's ...

The only disadvantage to borrowers of replacing equity financing with natural finance loans is that they lose opportunities for deception. ?Even though common shareholders hold a theoretical right to receive dividends and to influence/control management through a board of directors, there is no obligation to pay dividends, or high enough dividends, and management regularly controls enough shares and board seats to control the firm's direction. ?This can especially affect the powerlessness of minority shareholders. ?Natural finance's key advantages over owning shares is that investors are repaid when the funds are available, and management and insiders can keep complete control, and benefits of long term profitability, over the enterprise.

I will show how natural finance can benefit a copper mine, and a large company that doesn't strictly need financing.

A mining operation, at its early stages, cannot use traditional hard loans (bonds or bank loans) because project and production delays are common. ? Mining projects simply lack the reliability to commit to fixed repayment terms, especially early on.

A copper mine will usually be financed with an offer similar to "$10M invested in common shares will result in $20M of profits attributable to those shares over 10 years, and a bit more profit over some more years until the hole empties out." ?Even if the metal and profits estimates turn out to be accurate, the investor is extremely unlikely to be paid those future profits, because management is very likely to use those profits to drill more holes and scoop more rocks, and then with those profits, start even more mining projects. ?Most public companies behave like mining companies, preferring to expand over repaying its shareholders. ?Owning public shares is inherently a pyramid scheme unlikely to pay out on investment, which although carries the option to sell out, the information necessary to have the proper timing in selling out is only available to insiders. ?Another issue worth emphasizing with the $20M expected value of a $10M common share offering is that it is very similar to a political?campaign?promise: ?The goal is the physical transfer of your approval, and fulfilling the promise less important. ?Natural finance solves this important issue by forcing management to believe in itself.

Natural Finance soft loans provide the mining company with the flexibility of not repaying investors until there is sufficient cashflow generated by operations, but obligates it to repay once funds are available. ?While the copper mine management loses the complete control over profits, and power to obstruct investor repayments, they are still likely to be able to finance expansion projects if they properly steward the first project, because they are likely to be able to convince someone to trust them due to their past success. ?Both existing and new investors should be willing to invest in those new projects. ?The biggest advantage of natural finance for the copper mine management is that they can continue to own 100% of it, and they give up much less profit to investors. ?Investors get the advantage of being repaid quickly and the power/choice of whether to reinvest.

An example copper mine that needs to raise a $10M investment. ?Under natural finance, 10 investors could each bid $1M (shown as 1000 in column 1 of chart below) at various interest rates from 6% to 24% (column 2), and they each receive their queue priority position based on lowest bid interest rate first (top row). ?After the 3rd year, the project will start contributing $2M (2000 in chart) per year in surpluses available to repay investors. ?For the example's simplicity, investors are only repaid at the end of a year (real companies would pay weekly or monthly). ?You may scroll the chart to the right to inspect accrued loan balances and repayments. ?Column 3 summarizes which year each investor is first repaid in, and column 4 show their total return on investment. ?The key result is that $6.9M in total interest is repaid to investors under this natural finance example compared to the $10M that would have been "promised" to new shareholders. ?Management also gets to keep all future profits for itself. ?

To understand why each investor would bid very different interest rate demands, lets look at their actual returns. ?The first 6 investors receive exactly what they bid, with the 6th investor having the highest total return of 16%/year. ?Investors 7 to 10, due to the 100% total interest cap, receive less than their bid rates. ?Their annual returns are 14%, 12.5%, 11% and 10% respectively.

A copper mine project has several risks that can affect actual performance/profitability. ?Delays, the price of copper, the percentage of copper in rocks, and the cost of labour and fuel. ?The first 3 investors (6-10%) are the most secure against adverse risks, while the last 4 investors (18%-24%) may be hopeful that profits will be better than expected. ?But the motives for each investor choosing his position in the queue are deeper than this.

Loan queue investors have 2 important options when they are about to be repaid. ?Their first, and most important, option is the right to not be repaid at that time, and instead keep their position in queue. ?When this right is exercised, repayment is then offered to the next investor in queue, who has the same option. ?The reason an investor would refuse to be repaid are: 1. He would like to continue earning interest, and 2. He would like to keep his priority position in queue because it is more secure, and 3. expects the opportunity to make a decision on receiving payment again soon. ?In our copper mine example, in the first year of operations (year 3), it is likely that the first 6 investors (those with interest rates of 6%-16%) would all refuse the first repayment because they are content with the ROI they expect to receive, and content with the security of being at the head of the queue. ?The 18% and 20% investor might choose either to be repaid or repaid partially, or also pass until their next opportunity. ?Both these investors do not expect to make their full bid ROI (due to interest rate cap), but it will take a few years before they reach their cap, and they can expect to have the same decision opportunity at time of next payment. ?They might also hope that operating profits could increase in coming years and thus pay them their full bid ROI. Receiving partial payment would reduce risk, and extend the time until they reach their interest cap. ?The 9th investor (22%) would most likely take payment because of uncertainty in having the option to decide again. ?The advantage of this mechanism for the borrowing copper mine is that the process allows it to pay off 20%+ interest debt instead of 6% debt, and so would typically save it interest expenses.

Under natural finance, investors know precisely their position in queue priority and know the amounts and interest rates of all other loans. ?Together with straightforward information on past, current, and possibly expected future operational surpluses on the project, the investors can have a clear projection on an expected repayment date, and so able to make informed decisions as to how to act on repayment opportunities. ?Unlike traditional investing shareholders, natural finance investors are not at the mercy of management's decision to finance new projects, give themselves bonuses or options, or fancy new offices. ?Under natural finance all of those management decisions require new financing which will be placed at a priority payment position that is at the end of the existing investor queue. ?In the case of our copper mine example, if annual operational surpluses were below $2M (or expected to be), then it would result in the 16% or 14% investor choosing to be repaid.

The 2nd option available to natural finance queued investors with an offer to be repaid, is to reinvest any part of their repayment back into the queue at an interest rate slightly lower than the copper mine's average/natural interest rate. ?In the example, the average interest rate among all investors is 15%. ?This is called the firm's natural rate, and represents its total interest costs on the full loan queue value. ?In the first couple of years of production where the company is returning $2m per year to investors, the attractiveness of investing will have been established. ?Reinvesting repayment proceeds at 14.9% would have a full ROI expected repayment date in 6 years if operations continue at experienced pace. ?If the 5 investors at the head of the queue (6%-14%) prefer to obtain an expected return of 14.9% over 6 years (maybe shorter) instead of their more secure position at the head of the queue, then those 5 investors would move to the end of the queue in payment priority, and the 16% investor would now be at the head of the queue. ?All investors would now expect to be paid their full bid ROI. ?When the firm offers a $2M repayment to the investor at the head of the queue, if that investor refuses payment on a portion of his investment, and chooses to reinvest the remaining portion at the natural rate offer, then a $2M repayment offer remains?available?to the next investor in line. ?If all 5 of the first investors (6-14%) choose reinvestment, it is likely that all other investors would prefer to refuse payment over cashing out or reinvesting. ?Although, the 24% investor (originally last in queue) would likely also prefer to keep his interest earning investment, and normally has the option to do so, the copper mine has the right to choose which investor to repay when several choose refusal of payment. ?As a result, the copper mine will choose to repay the highest interest 24% investor even if he would prefer not to be repaid. ?It also has a bit left over to repay the 22% investor.

The net result of the initial $2M payment is that all loans that were from 6%-14% are now costing the company about 14.9% (actually slightly higher as the natural rate will edge higher when 6% investor reinvests at 14.9%), and it has removed one loan at 24%. ?The 24% loan was originally scheduled to "cap out" and cost the company only 10% interest per year over its lifetime. ?Thus, the reinvestment process would appear to be costing the company significantly higher interest costs, but the cascade of reinvestments isn't finished yet. ? ?The copper mine, once it is operating successfully, will appear to be an attractive investment at 8%-10%. ??The 24% investor that when we last left the example was paid out retains the option to reinvest, and since the natural interest rate being offered is well above 10%, the 24% investor should choose to reinvest. ?Natural finance queue positions are like a game of musical chairs where each player can shove others out of their chairs. ?If all the company's investors believe that investing in the copper mine as low as 10% is a good idea, then the natural rate will be driven down to 10%, and all of the investors will hold loans around a 10% interest rate.

Under natural finance, since there is a $12.5M loan balance after the end of the copper mine's 3rd year and first repayment, if there is $12.5M of investment capital in the world that thinks the copper mine is a good investment at 10% or 7% (or any rate below the company's current natural rate), then the company's interest costs will drop down to that level as a result of new investors buying out existing investors each at slightly below the company's natural rate. ?Using computer's and investors predetermining their responses to repayment offers between the time it is announced and paid, the musical chairs shuffling of investor queue positions can unfold in under 1 second, and the original steep interest curve (6%-24%) transformed into a relatively flat curve where each investor holds 10% interest rate loans almost instantly. ?For instance, the 6% investor could pre-decide his reactions to payment offers as: take 10% of the loan balance or just the interest profit portion as repayment, with the remainder reinvested to interest rates as low as 9% only if a payment offer of $5M or more is made, with 70% of the remainder to be refused payment, and the remainder reinvested as low as 8%. ?All of these predeterminations could be kept secret from the company and other investors. ?The logic of the 6% investor's example decision sequence is that he would like to leverage his optimal queue position to gain some regular income from the investment, is very willing to reinvest, swapping his queue position, if there is a large investment, because he won't be all the way at the more risky end of the queue, but is willing to reinvest a smaller portion of his investment anyway. ?Even if an investor secretly accepts a rate as low as 8% or 9%, he still gets to reinvest at the higher natural rate offer of the company, until other investors drive down the natural rate to his minimum acceptable rate.

Summary of the repayment opportunities for investors at head of queue:

Company surpluses which must be offered as repayment
New investor funds wishing to bid at an interest rate lower than the company's current average interest rate

The repayment opportunities for lower priority investors are:

If higher queue priority investors refuse any repayment opportunity
If higher queue priority investors reinvest some of their repayments into the queue.

For the borrowing company, natural finance has a clear advantage over traditional debt in that repayments are made only when there is?incoming?cashflow. ?And, clear advantages over shareholder financing, in that 100% control and ownership is maintained by insiders/management, and investors are repaid a capped amount calculated by an interest formula over the time of repayment.

Part 3b - A failing company

Let's consider what happens under natural finance when a company is failing. ?Lets say our copper mine has an expected 3 years of life remaining (after which all the accessible copper is expected to be gone), and that each of these years it will generate $1M in surpluses available to repay investors, but there is $10M in outstanding natural finance queued loans. ?For simplicity, let's say the queue is made up of 10 investors each owed $1M.

In this scenario, the owners will never be able to profit from the copper mine. ?Their only interest in continuing to manage the company would be earning wages and salaries. ?The sustainability provisions of the comptrollership function would ensure that before this point is reached, management salaries would be reduced to below market rates, and so in a failing company, the owner management is likely to just walk away, and they don't even have an incentive to lie about the health of the company.

The company still has full value for the first 3 investors ($3M combined due loans), and has no expected value for the remaining 7 investors. ?The natural finance bankruptcy process is simply a formalization of owners walking away from the project. ?Debt is never discharged, but some of the debt holders become naturally interested parties in keeping the company a going concern. ?These investors can convince management to walk away through some kind of payment/incentive.

If the 3rd investor assumed 100% control of the company, there would be no inconvenience borne by the first 2 investors since they will need to be repaid before the 3rd investor can repay himself. ?The only hard rule in deciding which investors split control over the company, in a natural finance bankruptcy, is that any investor that is fully repaid, drops all of his further control without additional compensation.

Part 3c - A failing company that can benefit from additional investment

In the last scenario, $3M in available surpluses will be repaid to investors over 3 years. ?These projections are based on no new investments, but cover wages, energy costs, and rents. ?If $500K in new investments (covering machine maintenance, digging out adjacent areas of the mine, reprocessing tailings/left over rubble) were to generate an expected $2M in additional surpluses, then that investment is economical and worth it for someone.

The issue is that the first investor is uninterested in spending even a penny in unnecessary expenses. ?While the 4th and 5th investors would have their respective $1M loans be worthless if the investment is not made, and worth their full $1M if the investment is as successful as expected. ?The obvious answer for where the $500k in new investment capital will come from is the 4th and 5th investors. ?If these investors don't feel like putting up additional money, or don't believe in the new investment, they can sell their "worthless" $1M claims to anyone in a market-based transaction ($about $10k-$100k, likely), to someone that does believe in the investment. ?Any additional investment, in a natural finance bankruptcy, is in the form of a loan with priority at the end of the queue, just as in a non bankruptcy situation. ?The difference being that no one expects it to ever be repaid, and the motivation for the investment is the opportunity to repay higher priority loans owned by the same investor(s).

The next issue is how should the 4th and 5th investor split the investment. ?The 4th investor would prefer paying the full $500k amount over the investment not being made at all (because he would make $500k instead of $0). ?He'd also prefer that the 5th investor pay for some of it as well. ?The 4th investor will receive a maximum of $1M, and any new investment he makes will almost certainly be lost. ?Any amount that the 5th investor puts up as new investment will help the 4th investor's total return.

The recommended process, in natural finance bankruptcies, is that control of the company is entirely proportional to dollars of new investment made. ?The investor putting up additional investment also decides what those funds will be used for. ?If only the 4th and 5th investors put up investment capital then only they will have any decision input on the company. ?The 5th investor will only be paid if the company makes an additional (to $3M) $1M to $2M in operating surpluses. ?The 5th investor may prefer (to 4th investor's delight) to put up $251k ( 51%) of the new investment, in order to steward the company to make its full $5M. ?Part of the negotiation can also involve the 4th and 5th investors offering to buy out or swap parts of each others loan holdings.?After the 5th investor is fully repaid, control and ownership would pass to the 6th investor, and would be abandoned at his discretion if the company is worthless at that time. ?

The other issue with allocating control of the company, is that the future may be predictable but it is never certain. ?If copper prices were to fall, such that the original expected $3M turned into $2M, the 3rd investor would want the copany to stop producing temporarily, while the first 2 investors would prefer it keep going. ?Such decisions would be given to whoever puts up additional investment. ?Since the 2nd investor is only inconvenienced by a delay in being repaid if operations are suspended, he's unlikely to outbid the 3rd investor on new investment, since the 3rd investor risks losing everything if the copper is sold at too low prices.

Natural financed companies not only have an advantage of avoiding bankruptcy longer through owner "hope", once the bankruptcy process starts, there is a sensible process that keeps the company operating as normal through the bankruptcy, and even allows new investment to occur. ?Under traditional finance' bankruptcies, new investment is impossible until all debt is "cleansed"/signed off, and even continued operations are likely to be terminated prematurely due to having to negotiate with creditors as a group. ?Traditional finance bankruptcy is also expensive for all parties involved, and potential creditor dilutions are complex matters that can fool even sophisticated investors.

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What vitamin supplements should you be taking?

Vitamins are an important part of our daily diet. They induce and aid proper functioning of the body and are required on the daily basis. There are available through a number of sources and can even be artificially administered in many ways. Lack of any particular vitamin can at times have dire consequences. Care must be taken to include all the essential vitamins, nutrients and minerals our body requires into our daily diet. Vitamins supplements?are ideally dietary supplements. They are comprised of vitamins, dietary minerals and other nutritional supplements. These preparations are available in tablet, capsule, pastilles, and powder, liquid and injectable form. They can be taken as an alternative when we are not able to consume the vitamin in its natural form through certain food items.

Vitamins are a source?of nutrition and well being.

A good dosage of them allows the body to function to the best of its abilities. Following are some essential vitamins; their benefits and where they can be found. Vitamin A is found in milk, liver, orange colored fruits and vegetables like papaya, carrot and orange as well as green vegetables. This vitamin is essential for healthy hair and skin. It helps maintain strong bones and teeth and is essential for growth. It promotes good vision. Vitamin B is found in oats, seafood, meat, eggs, dairy products like milk and yogurt, beans and peas. It helps to produce red blood cells and carry oxygen through out the body. It regulates bodily functions and helps in maintaining over all body health. Vitamin C is known to aid the healing process, protect the skin against harmful UV radiation and help keep the body tissues like gums in good shape. It boosts the immune system which help fight off infections and aids muscle break down and re construction. Good sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, grapes and spinach and broccoli. The richest and most abundant source of Vitamin D is the sun. The sun?s rays contain this essential vitamin which helps in maintaining bone density. It provides the bones and teeth with calcium which keeps them strong and prevents diseases like osteoporosis and other bone related aliments. Other than the sun?s rays, other sources of vitamin D include dairy products, oily fish, egg yolk, fruit juices and calcium fortified cereals. Vitamin E deficiency is known to be vaery rare and cause problems like mild hemolytic anemia in new born infants. Source of vitamin E include a wide variety of fruits and vegetables like grapes, mangoes, plums, mushrooms, potatoes and cabbage.? Vitamin K helps in blood clotting and reduces stem cell loss. It promotes growth and insures healthy bones. Avocado, berries, certain seeds, eggs, kiwifruit and leafy vegetables are good sources of vitamin K.

Apart from vitamins, certain minerals and fatty acids are also very important. Zinc is a very important mineral found in whole grains and helps maintain prostate health in men. Fatty acids, like omega 3 fatty acid is very important to the body?s well being. Present in natural form in oily fish and artificially in?cod liver oil?capsules, this fatty acids protects the retina and improves vision, especially night vision. Certain vitamins like vitamin B6 are present in chicken. As a result vegetarians loose out on it. For this reason it is advisable to consume?Vitamin supplements?so that you give your body all the vitamins it requires regardless of your dietary habits.

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Nikon pushes out D4, D800 firmware update, fixes lock-up issues and other bugs

It wasn't long ago that we heard about the "lock-up" woes D4 and D800 owners were experiencing on their shiny new shooters, but luckily for them, Nikon just outed a fix to take care of those issues. Aside from solving the aforementioned annoyance, the firmware update (B:1.01) also mends a problem allowing RAW files to be network-transferred while in JPEG-only mode, as well as a bug causing bits like aperture and exposure compensation to change unexpectedly when using certain custom settings. You can grab the updates now via the source links below, and be sure to let us know how it all turned out in the end.

Nikon pushes out D4, D800 firmware update, fixes lock-up issues and other bugs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 May 2012 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Breaking Cultural Boundaries Through Innovation | MA Innovation ...

? Jim Denevan / Peter Hinson

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? The boundaries in innovation are slowly dissolving as the proximity and spread of its practice are leading us to a state of cultural fusion. However, it would be impossible to ignore such words as ?Centre? and ?Margin?, when these emerge as a constant throughout the entire discourse of innovation. ?

The boundaries in innovation are slowly dissolving as the proximity and spread of its practice are leading us to a state of cultural fusion. However, it would be impossible to ignore such words as ?Centre? and ?Margin?, when these emerge as a constant throughout the entire discourse of innovation. ?Centre? and ?periphery? refer to concepts which have impact, not merely in regards to the physical delimitations of the countries, but also invisible impacts. Nowadays, these notions are constant in the discourse of globalisation. This necessity of naming and defining domains which go beyond the physicality, sometimes can act as an obstacle or, by opposition, foster cultural exchange and trade relations, whilst influencing political affairs and ultimately, the capacity to innovate.

Globalisation, as well as the recession, have created a fluctuating market. It is necessary to break these boundaries in creating dialogue, and relationships of trust between countries. According to Westwood?s (2003) assessment that globalisation provided a perfect setting for the transgression of physical and cultural ties among countries, in spite of the fact that sometimes, this resulted in collisions due to the fast and unmeasured way in which some procedures took place. Nevertheless, this ambiguity has also increased the potential for cultural exchanges resulting in creative opportunities never exploited before.

Statistical evidence suggests that the world power centres are already switching from West to East. Despite this, it is most likely that with the increase in their economic power, the emerging markets are suffering a process of constant iteration. The reality is that soon, the number of consumers from the bottom of the pyramid will decrease and be replaced by a middle class more demanding and sophisticated. Broadly speaking, this group are becoming highly ambitious and no longer content with the domestic markets ? they now want to develop global solutions. Research suggests that emerging markets today are active producers of innovation. However, it can also be stated that due to their immaturity, this innovation still relies purely on technological breakthroughs.

The opportunity for Western economies is in utilising the experience gained over the years and helping emerging markets to fulfill the existent gaps in subjects such as design and branding. The UK has already identified the opportunity to make use of its expertise in the fields of design and innovation in emerging markets. However is crucial that UK design consultancies stop, observe and understand the unique cultural identities of their new clientele and foster communication between all the stakeholders involved in this cross-cultural process.

Trust is another fundamental element for building stable relationships and achieve success in these markets. It is important to break the invisible walls created by prejudice, physical distance, difficulties in communication and the sensitivity in articulating cultural differences. These factors will enable the delivery of compelling stories appropriate to the local context. Defining margins and centres of innovation and using terms such as globalisation and reverse innovation no longer makes sense. The crucial factor is to see the potential and take advantage of cultural differences through collaboration and co-creation.

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Philly Power Yoga and Thrive Health and Fitness | Philly Area Yoga

Years ago in what now seems to be in another life, Steve Gold, Yoga Master and owner of Philly Power Yoga, worked behind a desk as a successful sales and marketing executive. Although success and wealth came quickly for Gold, the career path proved to be unfulfilling. Gold quickly changed paths after his realization that the most important wealth is health and spent the next 17 years studying and practicing spiritual principles and lifestyle, including eight years with yoga guru Baron Baptiste.

Gold is certified to teach ?Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga? and continuously studies his craft for advances techniques to share with his students and instructors. Philly Power Yoga has been teaching Gold?s signature yoga for 10 years, and has recently opened the doors to a new expanded full-service facility with a variety of yoga and Pilates classes, as well as massage and acupuncture services.

Philly Power Yoga is not leisure yoga. It is tough, you will sweat. It was developed to identify and correct the pressures the Western world puts on the body. The practice isn?t a fad, it?s a proven lifestyle with the goal of making spiritual fitness an individual?s primary goal.

Gold takes pride in his instructor?s primary goal of connecting to students by sharing personal experiences in addition to poses, which allow students to reach spiritual fitness by reconnecting with their authentic self. He trains instructors who are honest, real, and accessible. He teaches that beginning with unhealthy baggage and habits are ok, simply be still in the moment no matter how painful and begin to reconnect with the real you.

New Clients!
$40 for 1 FULL MONTH of Unlimited Access to our signature Power Yoga classes. At this price, go for it!
We want to spend a whole month getting to know you!

Featured Find Yoga Philadelphia County pa, philadelphia, pilates, power yoga, steve gold, vinyasa yoga, yoga class, yoga studio

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Tea party favorite Ted Cruz forces run-off election in Texas (Los Angeles Times)

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Ron Paul Supporters Organizing Pre-Convention Festival

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State health insurance - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

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