In a time of globalization, it seems incongruous that nations and people are still oppressed. Basic human rights, detailed in the document, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, were adopted by the United Nations. One of those member nations appears to be guilty of violating it. The People’s Republic of China, or Communist China, holds the small nation of Tibet under its control. The people of Tibet have been crying out for liberation for many years and their cries go unanswered.

Brief history of the Tibetan struggle
Tibet has never been formally recognized as an independent county. Since the 13^th century, this nation has had loose ties with China, primarily because of its proximity. It was understood, however, that the Dalai Lama had authority over the Tibetans and was largely ignored unless a people group or nation wanted Tibet’s resources. In more recent history, in 1921 the Dalai Lama declared independence from China. It went ignored by China and in 1950, under military pressure, Tibet was forced to approach aid under the control of China. According to the 14^th Dalai Lama, “in order to develop Tibet materially as a novel nation, Tibet must remain within the People’s Republic of China. Provided Chinese give us a full guarantee of preservation of Tibetan culture, Tibetan environment, Tibetan spirituality, then it is of mutual benefit.” He wanted full autonomy of the Tibetans in any plot they could “manage by themselves.” (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet)

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) thought that most of Tibetans lived as serfs, or slaves, to wealthy landowners and monasteries. In order to quell that, the PRC redistributed lands and caused a rebellion in 1959. The rebellion was supported by the CIA. Tens of thousands of Tibetans were killed in the uprising and the Dalai Lama had to cruise to India.

Because of the rebellion, PRC exercised their authority over the minute nation even stronger than before. Lands were redistributed. Claims of genocide surfaced. Tibetan culture was systematically being wiped out.

Protests in 2008
More protests flared up in 2008 and the PRC imposed severe curfews and strictly limited access to Tibetan areas. Protests against Chinese severity were held worldwide.

But to date, no country recognizes the Government of Tibet in Exile.

The new Dalai Lama has been quoted in the South China Morning Post as saying, “We are willing to be part of the People’s Republic of China, to have it govern and guarantee to preserve our Tibetan culture, spirituality and our environment.” But he clarified the station as a governmental connection only. He wants total autonomy of the Tibetans in the areas of religious and cultural life. But if the PRC is not willing to grant some autonomy to Tibet, they will continue to fight for complete liberation.

Human Rights Violations
Tibet is the lowest ranked province in China for human rights violations (meaning they have the most violations) acccording to the UN’s Development Programme data. And Tibet ranks 153 out of 160 watched countries on the Human Development Index.

According to the Build Tibet website, these are a sampling of the human rights violations Tibetans have had to endure: self-determination, freedom of speech, assembly, movement, expression, and travel.

Since the ratification of the UN’s Convention Against Torture by China in 1988, 69 documented Tibetans died in Chinese prisons as a result of torture.

The PRC still asserts that Tibet has some autonomy in rule. However Tibetologist, Thomas Laird, maintains that there is no evidence to befriend that claim. He also states that the PRC continues to encourage resettlement of Chinese into Tibetan areas. This threatens the survival of Tibetan culture, identity and religious life. According to Wikipedia, “The Free Tibet website claims that unemployment in schools, discussion of Tibetan cultural, religious and social issues is discouraged, and Chinese culture is promoted.” (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet)

Human Rights groups are not allowed to enter Tibet without a PRC escort and are never allowed to speak to Tibetans without a member of the PRC delegation present. The PRC strictly controls access of any outsiders to Tibet.

On a more basic level, The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy claims that unfair taxation has exacerbated the poverty in the already dreadful areas of Tibet. Housing, health care, and education are routinely denied. (http://www.tchrd.org/publications/annual_reports/1999/09_subsistence.html)

Boycotting the Olympics
People say that we should forget all the politics and focus on enjoying the games. Maybe that has merit. Should we, as freedom-loving Americans, attempt to forget those without the basic freedoms? We go to war to protect the rights of the oppressed. Are not the Tibetans among those people groups oppressed?

The People’s Republic of China have dark issues hanging over them as the Summer Olympics of 2008 begin.

More sources:
Laird, Thomas (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, pp. 357-358. Grove Press, N.Y. ISBN 978-0-8021-827-1
http://www.tchrd.org/publications/annual_reports/1999/09_subsistence.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet

Reason Number One:

The Public Option is an OPTION. For those of you that are a cramped slow on the uptake option means it is a choice. It may not be the best choice for you and that is fine. You may choose another option that works better for you. For the millions of American’s that do not have access to affordable medical insurance the public option is a fair choice. Let me restate this once again because it seems people fair don’t get it. This is an option, a choice, a decision that you come by to make.

Reason Number Two:

The public option, contrary to what you have been told, is NOT a FREE option. It is however a more affordable option for American’s that unbiased can’t afford the rising costs of health insurance. Will there be some people that pay runt or nothing for health care using the public option. Of course! There are already millions of American’s that take advantage of free health insurance. We call it Medicaid. The public option is simply going to include those American’s that are not poor enough for Medicaid but lack the financial resources to pay hundreds of dollars every month for medical insurance. Tax payer dollars will finance the public option to a degree but will eventually be almost fully supported by those that use it. But much like Medicare and Social Security, which are widely accepted, the individual cost will be minimal compared to the wait on of having a healthy society.

Reason Number Three:

Socialism is not communism! Is a public option technically a socialist program? Obvious it is! Of course we have embraced social programs for decades with little or no opposition especially in fresh years. Social Security is probably the most socialistic program I can deem of. The word social is right in the name. This is a program instituted more than 60 years ago. It has worked for millions and we have never come close to having a communist government. Everyone that works contributes to Social Security and everyone that lives long enough has the opportunity to benefit from it. The public option is no different. It works for those that need it most.

Reason Number Four:

Medical Insurance companies have obtained far too much power. Our very lives are in their hands. If history has taught us nothing, it has taught us that allowing an industry to have so distinguished power over the people and government is dangerous to say the least. When you allow a single industry to retain so much control over something as essential as medicine you open the door to slavery. No, not the kind of slavery where you are chained and forced to work in the fields but the kind of slavery that steals your freedom to live a healthy life, unless you get out in the fields and maintain the status quo. The bottom line is that you will owe your soul to the company store and in this case the company store has sold you your right to live.

Reason Number Five:

Medical Insurance agencies are basically a middle man. Middle men drive up the costs of whatever goods they are selling. In reality that is their job. The amazing thing here is that if you have insurance and you go to the doctor, hospital, etc… your will is double that of someone with no insurance. This is why your montly premiums are so high! So in reality you are paying more now than you will under the public option to cover the uninsured. If you don’t believe this is true try it out sometime. Next time you have to originate a trip to the ER shriek them you don’t have insurance and wait until you gather your bill. Then call the hospital and let them know you were mistaken about not having insurance and give them your policy info. Wait until you get the revised bill. I assure you it will at least double the bill you received when you were uninsured. You may in fact score that you have the same out of pocket costs either method.

Reason Number Six:

America is sick. It’s true. We have become an very sick society over the past few decades. The rising cost of medical care has caused many to ignore problems until they become so large it is either too expensive or impossible to do anything about it. This has a two fold effect on us as a society. First of all it makes us less productive. Considering the current economic climate the last thing we need is anything less than 100% productivity. Also it is very expensive for tax payers when so many uninsured people are sick. I can drawl you that nobody is loosing money on the sick except for the federal budget. By the way that federal budget is our money. Money that should be used to build roads, feed the hungry, create jobs, etc… A public option would allow everyone the ability to stop a serious illness before it starts. Seeing the doctor after you have a heart attack costs more than double the cost of annual check-ups and medicine to keep you from having a heart attack. This example holds true in almost every illness known to man.

Reason Number Seven:

Over 65% of the population supports a public health option. This is a huge number. George Bush won the presidency with 51% of the vote and considered it a mandate. Under this type of thinking 65% should be considered a demand. The public has a tendancy to be right about these sort of things and it is high time that the politicians started listening to the people rather than Blue Cross! This of course holds true in general when it comes to passing laws. Just the fact that the insurance companies are against a public option should be reason enough to back one.

Reason Number Eight:

Health care in general needs a face capture. The public option is only a piece of the overall reform that needs to rob set to bring us up to date concerning health care. There are many pieces to the puzzle that will form the new picture of health care in America and they are all necessary in order to ensure that health care works for everyone. Costs must be lowered, quality must be raised, and prevention must be the primary focus of health care in the 21st century. Our unusual health care system just doesn’t work any longer. Just like an automobile if it aint broke don’t fix it but when it’s a crumpled up mess that has no possibility of being repaired it’s time to trade out for a newer model. That newer model may not be as comfortable at first but eventually it turns out to be a considerable smoother dawdle.

Reason Number Nine:

One word, morality! That’s right morality. It seems so many of us are caught up with the idea of what is the morally true thing to do. Well the morally correct thing to do is to purchase care of each other. I don’t judge anyone could give considerable argument for that one. It isn’t just about you! It’s about us. All of us working together to make a better society for our children. This includes making a healthier society for everyone. Opening up the door for quality medical care is an essential factor when it comes recreating a great society. We owe this to our parents, our children, our neighbors and our friends. We owe it to each other to ensure that we are all as healthy as possible.

Reason Number Ten:

The public option will be a self supporting program that enriches the lives of everyone in the country. The middle class will grow by leaps and bounds if the cost of medical care is reduced. A titanic middle class is prime indicator of a viable economy. A public option will free up money that can be invested, used to open recent businesses, used to pay for college tuition, old-fashioned to win goods, and even allow some of us to originate saving again. These of course all capitalist ideals rather than socialistic. So a social program like universal medical insurance will contribute to our capitalist society by allowing us to grow our economy while still caring for the sick.

In the kill there will be sweeping health care reform. This reform will include a public option for those that require it. No longer will insurance executives make medical decisions instead of doctors. There will be a fair and equal ability to have a health care plan that is affordable. Medical care will be streamlined in order to gash out the attempts to achieve money by the insurance companies at the cost of patient lives. It’s time to pass health care reform that includes a public option. I can’t state this enough so here it goes one more time. OPTION means CHOICE. You don’t have to use the public option but you will probably want to.

While still an intriguing and potentially fun concept in the abstract sense…I predict with many others that this sitcom/satire (the quick-to-die term “satirecom? “) to be a failure by mid-season for the simple reason that seeing men dressed in cavemen makeup will ultimately force people to realize satire at that level never has worked in the live-action realms. Any previous pop culture phenomenon using prehistoric people living in our modern times were all in animated or comic strip form. For whatever reason you can conjure, that seems to be the safest domain for bringing the ultimate irony and satire of a caveman living with our modern accouterments–while we try to figure out why they’re here and guffawing at the fish out of water premise. The racial overtones, of course, provide the serious undertones that are always the nucleus of satire.

The thought of a produce of Neanderthal Man somehow surviving for centuries (after taking another trail when modern Homo Sapiens started taking over) seemingly became a new archetype that we could file with Carl Jung’s unusual ones. The Bigfoot (or the more poetic Sasquatch) archetype has been around for a long time–while providing the fascination that a halfway intelligent prehistoric version of our unusual guise could still be roaming the planet. Long before the Bigfoot pop culture events started here in America, though, a 1930′s comic strip (that’s level-headed going today) brought one of the first concepts of a caveman living not only in modern culture–but navigating all modern cultures of the past…

Alley Oop, Oop…Oops!

The “Alley Oop” comic strip concept was quite interesting in that the first eight years of this popular strip (1932-1939) had Alley Oop only living in a fantasy prehistoric world (with his dinosaur, Dinny…and perhaps the early prototype to the Flintstone’s Dino) that took place in an unknown prehistoric time period and kingdom named Moo. Creator V.T. Hamlin wanted to expand the possibilities later–and, in ’39, had Alley Oop being whisked away in a time machine designed by a Dr. Elbert Wonmug (supposedly modeled after Albert Einstein…because “ein stein” translated to “one mug” in German) where Alley Oop finds himself in the 20^th century…or unprejudiced before WWII broke out. While becoming a test pilot for Dr. Wonmug, Alley Oop time travels to different times to interact with the different cultures that dominated the planet after modern Homo Sapiens became the dominant race.

This was the concept the strip stayed with right up to recent years when new artists took it over and are still syndicating it. Alley Oop was really the most popular and influential caveman character ever (while making its hidden satire relevant)–especially when you find out that the character had a hit novelty song named after him in the early 60′s by a one-hit-wonder pop group called the Hollywood Argyles.

If that Geico caveman TV series wants to give due (and do those cheeky cavemen really care to? )–they should have some references or tributes to Alley Oop in the show as a direct benefactor. They can thank Alley Oop, too, for starting the trend of the Neanderthal caveman managing to attract a normal, unique Homo Sapien girl as his girlfriend. In Alley Oop’s case, his girlfriend was (and mild is) a modern and beautiful-looking brunette girl named Ooola. (Yes, you can figure that one out.)

This strip ultimately influenced the ever-popular caveman comic “B.C.” that shows no signs of stopping despite the death of original creator, Johnny Hart, earlier this year.

Meet the modern stone-age family…

Considering the original series of “The Flintstones” (and all the later off and on incarnations) lasted more than twenty-five years on TV–you can see once again how the animation construct enables the imagination to grasp the caveman concept in a more tolerable light. It was proven again when Hollywood thought it quick-witted to make a live-action “Flintstones” in the 90′s that a few liked and most others thought appalling. I overwhelmingly fell in the latter category for the live-action version (especially the bad sequel)…yet the magic of the crude Hanna/Barbara animation in the original series still ranks it as a prehistoric “Simpsons” of its era. It’s safe to say you’ll never see a live-action movie of “The Flintstones” again (all caveman cry a clear “Ug!”)–unless attempts are made to create the old late 70′s-early 80′s Hanna/Barbara-created Saturday morning cartoon “Captain Caveman” into a live-action movie. Don’t laugh…stranger things have happened. Danny Devito in furry makeup as the lead character yelling the “CAPTAAAAAAAIN CAAAAAAAAAAAVEMAAAAAAAAN!” chant would probably gleefully set up an easy Worst Film of the Year award from the Razzies.

Sure, Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty all looked like the modern Homo Sapien race–but “The Flintstones” still managed to showcase the psychologically-appealing desire to fit the prehistoric races in with modern times without having to recognize it in a reality setting. This series provided a unique world to filter that desire through…and one that collected gets gravitated to when given a stand-alone visual style.

The Farthest Side…

Gary Larson not only brought insects into the human role as a major art form…but also brought the caveman into the comics page again with “The Far Side.” Most of you probably remember the famous strip of him introducing the “Thagomizer” on the tail of a dinosaur (the spikes you see on the demolish of some dinosaurs tails)–in memory of the late Thag Simmons. All of that depicted during a caveman scientific press conference. Larson managed to bring current times to the prehistoric era without any physical evidence. That was the “Flintstones” satirical twist of having a caveman being mysteriously modern in his mind (the three M’s) while interacting with the usual primitive tools and situations around him or her.

When Larson managed to make the “Thagomizer” term a part of exact prehistoric jargon–a parody of a “Far Side” single-panel cartoon was drawn earlier this year for the Wikimedia Foundation (in a very Larsonesque way) depicting an older version of Gary Larson drawing a picture of a caveman…with a Thagomized dinosaur model sitting nearby on the drawing board. Quotes of the text from Wikipedia that touts the scientific use of the Thagomizer are above the drawing:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Thagomizer_comic.jpg/504px-Thagomizer_comic.jpg

The live-action modern caveman is best in sketches or commercials…

Had Phil Hartman lived–I fetch the bad feeling a movie version of his Saturday Night Live “Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer” character would have been made. Saturday Night Live alumnae never seem to understand you can’t stretch a sketch into a movie other than the miracle of “Wayne’s World.” We’ve grown to find the cavemen in the Geico commercials uproarious because we only see sound bites rather than having to discover the annoying realities of what goes on beyond their therapist sessions or house parties as we’re unfortunately privy to on cavemanscrib.com.

With that reality, the live-action caveman really can’t work on TV where you have to explore too much to keep viewer interest. Yes, a couple of mediocre movies (“Caveman” and “Encino Man”) managed to have minor success in theatres. But the caveman suspension of disbelief seems to work better there–at least for those with the least demanding of comedic tastes.

It won’t be all that much of a surprise to eventually hear the new corollary of “TV killed the live-action caveman star”…

Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State: Hardly a “Miss Congeniality,” for a man who has espoused diplomacy as his preferred method of dealing with rogue nations, and ending non-defensive wars. His selection of pro-Israel backer Bill and Hillary as Secretary of Site (“I’d walk a mile on my knees for Israel”) who has consistently voted for funding and refunding the War in Iraq and also voted to name Iran and “enemy of the area” (of Israel, I guess) calls not only his judgment, but his sanity into question. I do not believe diplomacy has ever been a hallmark of Senator Clinton’s arsenal with respect to foreign relations, but as with her husband, military interventionism. This is the supposedly anti-war Obama’s choice for Secretary of State?

Timothy Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury: The rooster guarding the chicken coop. A clear choice of selecting someone with financial discretion the likes of which now, due to that horrendous 700 billion bailout bill giving the Treasury Department powers it was never intended to have absent Congressional approval, is more akin to letting the rooster guard the chickenhouse. Mr.Geithner is the former head of the New York Federal Reserve, and an avowed interventionist – meaning, he supports huge bailouts of key industries such as that corporate welfare bailout of AIG and now Citigroup, it appears. Not just key U.S. industries, mind you, but international industries operating here in the U.S. American citizens paying for the losses of the global economy is just as similar and just as devastating as America intervening in other countries militarily when there is no direct threat to the U.S. or it’s citizenry. American citizens are paying the world debts now, and world defense and facing homelessness, job loss, and personal bankruptcies the likes of which have never beens seen before, not since the Depression. During the Depression, the Federal Reserve failed to bailout the banks and stock market; however, at that time the country was not at war and World War II had yet to originate. This time, we are in a massive debt because of an unconstitutionally expanded war, and the Federal Reserve and it’s Congressional and Executive Office lackeys are now putting this country even further in debt, so the choice of the President of the Modern York Fed to oversee a 700 billion bailout outside the oversight of Congress and public scrutiny as would be the case with any bankruptcy action makes me believe that Mr. Obama’s selection is merely a political move, and definitely not in the best interest of those to whom he pledged change – the lower and middle classes, most of whom are struggling to pay the rent, much less invest in the stock market. Proof that this is a gain for corporate America once again – the stock market had it’s largest increase in years, over 500 points, after the announcement that “one of their own” would be doling out the booty.

Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security – The Governor of the state which, due to the lack of border security, has the highest automobile, identity and personal property crime rates in the nation is to be knighted as the protector of the American borders and domestic security. Surely, you jest. Ms. Napolitano has been Arizona’s Governor for over six years, and even through two of the pilots from 9/11 trained at local flight schools, and one lived in Tucson for over two years, has been a vocal and vehement supporter of illegal immigrant amnesty and open borders throughout her term as Governor, for her career most of all. Sacrificing her fellow Arizonans lives and property takes a back seat to power lunches with the Governor of Sonora, and other international trips at the Arizona taxpayer’s expense to Canada, Great Britain and Iraq, just to name a few. Meanwhile, her greatest achievement has been to situation most of law enforcement outside the local bars and restaurants in order to catch the social drinkers, and recreate 1984 in her help for statewide speed cameras – all in order for her to balance Arizona’s budget at the Arizona citizens expense, so much so that Arizona also is one of those states facing massive foreclosures due to the increases in property taxes, homeowner’s and automobile insurance, and the outsourcing of Arizona jobs which Ms. Napolitano’s agendas have created. Not to mention criminalizing 2/3′s the population with those social drinking laws, so that Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s department continues to receive federal tax monies for his expanding “tent city” jails.

I won’t even go into Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico now as Secretary of Commerce.

Obama’s “Change,” seems more akin to now becoming a “changling” back into selecting his nominees purely for political party or payback reasons. Not change at all, but politics as usual, while igniting the populace with his campaign promises and political rhetoric no different than any of his predecessors in recent history. CNN, MSNBC and even FOX have done a unbelievable job of promoting these candidates marketed personas skewed toward the political agendas of their station ownership, without delving into the marketing hype itself in much detail, rather those inane trivialities and gossip sessions for ratings.

Since both Arizona and Illinois were without adequate representation while both of these Senators were creating their Houdini like images for the American public for the last two years while collecting their public servant wages without fulfilling their public servant duties, maybe it is time we dispense with these farces of an election and bewitch our next president the old-fashioned Constitutional way. Each citizien casts two votes for the presidental office from the serving members of Congress, one of which cannot be a representative from their station of residency. The one with the most votes wins, and the runner up becomes Vice President regardless of party affiliation. No more marketing, half-truths, mud-slinging or over the top conventioneering which could pay off half the national debt. No more Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannitty, Keith Olberman, or Larry King spins. Instead, a nation electing a leader with dignity and a quiet transfer then of leadership without international interference with foreigners even arranging fund raisers in order to secure future foreign aid for their own countries or Israel.

Meanwhile, I do hope Obama changes back, and changes back soon or we are in for not simply a bumpy ride, America, but corporate welfare and globalism continuing in the FDR, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and G.W. tradition. More intertwining our economies with that of other nations, and global protectionism rather than American protectionism.

If you have Liability or Workers compensation insurance you will eventually be contacted by an insurance auditor hired by the insurance company to conduct an audit.

An insurance audit is basically a “checking of the facts” about your business. When your policy was issued, your premium was based on your estimate of variable rating information, such as payroll or sales. An insurance audit is performed to choose what the actual premium should be based on your company’s actual results.

This guarantees you have the proper amount of coverage in the event of an incident.

There are 3 types of audits and you may end up doing 1 type or all 3 over the course of your business life:

The first two types are basically the same, Phone or Mail-in.

Both of these types of audits consist of a form being sent to you for you to fill out with the pertinent information and then sending this information, and any verification sources, back to the auditor for processing and review.

In the case of a phone audit, the auditor generally requests an appt to go over the audit with you by phone. The auditor uses this call to interpret any items that require more detail.

The third type is the one that most people dread- The Physical audit.

This type requires you to set and confirm an appt for an auditor to come to your place of business or to your accountant’s office. The audit can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours depending on the size of your company, # of employees and how well you have prepared your books.

When scheduling the appointment, the auditor will provide you with a list of the documentation you will need to have ready for the audit.

Some items you may be asked to provide:

Payroll records with overtime separated
Job titles and descriptions
Listing of corporate officers
Subcontractor costs
Subcontractor Certificates of Insurance
Sales receipts
Quarterly Federal and Spot filings
Automobile information

The auditor then goes through all records and inputs the information into a software program (Auditors usually carry a laptop).

At this point you may be asked some questions. If you are unable to physically be at the audit be sure the person who is there can answer most, if not all, questions. Also be sure to provide a day and time the auditor can call you later to clarify any missing info.

Possible questions:

In detail, what does your company do?
Again in detail, what does each employee do?
Commercial work or residential? Or both?
What are your hours/days of operation?

When the auditor is done they should review the findings with you and may ask for you to sign a statement confirming they have done so.

Many auditors (if applicable) will advise you on how to better prepare for next year.

Once the auditor leaves the audit they will then re-review the information provided and double-check for spelling errors, etc. the audit is submitted for review and processing to your Insurance carrier. It can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks before you will secure out the final results from your insurance company.

If you have questions during this waiting period, you should yell them ONLY to your insurance agent or broker. The auditor has no control or information about your audit once it is submitted for review.

Some fine hints:

Please remember, the auditor is an information gatherer only. They have no control over your account.

They are just doing their job- be courteous and helpful

Do not lie to the auditor- they may not catch it but someone down the line will and then you can be fined and/or canceled.

If you repeatedly ignore appointment requests or continuously confirm, then cancel, appointments the auditor will be forced to file a Non-compliance portray. In this case generally the insurance company will send you a premium bill that includes a hike of up to 30%. Keep everyone the time and irritation, just make and withhold the appointment.

Don’t let the audit process stress you out. The auditor wants to make things as easy as possible for you as it makes their job easier as well.

Britney Spears’s new album, “Circus”, was released on the artist’s birthday on December 2, 2008, with a 2009 tour scheduled to promote the new music. The album sold 219,000 copies the first day it was released and has been said to be “exceptional” by fans and critics alike.

Check the schedule below to see if you will have the opportunity to see Britney Spears “live in concert” and hear cuts from her new album, “Circus”, as well as some of her other hit music. It certainly looks like Britney is back and in exceptional form and sound!

The Circus Starring Britney Spears Tour Dates:

March 3, 2009 New Orleans, LA at the Recent Orleans Arena

March 5, 2009 Atlanta, GA at the Phillips Arena

March 7, 2009 Miami, FL at the American Airlines Arena

March 8, 2009 Tampa, FL at the St. Pete Times Forum

March 11, 2009 Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Coliseum

March 13, 2009 Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center

March 14, 2009 Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center

March 16, 2008 Boston, MA at the TD Banknorth Garden

March 18, 2009 Toronto, ON at the Air Canada Centre

March 19, 2009 Toronto, ON at the Air Canada Centre

March 20, 2009 Montreal, QU at the Bell Centre

March 23, 2009 Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Coliseum

March 24, 2009 Washington, DC at the Verizon Center

March 26, 2009 Uncasville, CT at the Mohegan Sun

March 27, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA at the Mellon Arena

March 30, 2009 Houston, TX at the Toyota Center

March 31, 2009 Dallas, TX at the American Airlines Center

April 2, 2009 Kansas City, MO at the Run Center

April 3, 2009 Minneapolis, MN at the Target Center

April 6, 2009 Edmonton, AB at the Rexall Place

April 8, 2009 Vancouver, BC at the GM Place

April 9, 2009 Tacoma, WA at the TacomaDome

April 11, 2009 Sacramento, CA at the ARCO Arena

April 12, 2009 San Jose, CA at the HP Pavilion

April 14, 2009 Salt Lake City, UT at the Energy Solutions Arena

April 16, 2009 Los Angeles, CA at the Staples Center

April 17, 2009 Los Angeles, CA at the Staples Center

April 19, 2009 Anaheim, CA at the Honda Center

April 20, 2009 Anaheim, CA at the Honda Center

April 24, 2009 Phoenix, AZ at the Jobing.com Arena

April 25, 2009 Las Vegas, NV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena

April 28, 2009 Chicago, IL at the AllState Arena

April 29, 2009 Chicago, IL at the AllState Arena

June 3, 2009 London, UK at the O2 Arena

June 4, 2009 London, UK at the O2 Arena

June 6, 2009 London, UK at the O2 Arena

June 7, 2009 London, UK at the O2 Arena

June 10, 2009 London, UK at the O2 Arena

June 11, 2009 London, UK at the O2 Arena

June 13, 2009 London, UK at the O2 Arena

June 14, 2009 London, UK at the O2 Arena

Please note that all dates are subject to change, as well as the possibility of new dates being added and/or deleted.

Sources:

Britney Spears Website

Wiki Media “Circus”

Billboard

Public Adjusters
A public adjuster is an insurance adjuster that works on behalf of the policyholder to reach a fair settlement with an insurance companies. Public adjusters are licensed by place, and are responsible for writing an estimate, communicating with the policyholder, and negotiating the best possible settlement with the policyholder’s insurance carrier. Public adjusters are paid on a percentage basis based on the settlement they get for the policyholder, and normally provide their own equipment, like a laptop and a digital camera.

Staff Adjusters

Staff insurance adjusters work directly for insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, Alfa, and USAA. They work claims on behalf of the company, and are compensated on a flat hourly or salaried basis and is in no diagram related to the claim payment. Their equipment is usually provided by the company they work for. Their responsibilities are to perform a reliable faith claims investigation for the insurance company, prepare an estimate using software, and write a characterize. Generally, as long as their insurance company provides training, they are considered licensed in their state by their insurance company.

Independent Adjusters

Independent insurance adjusters are independent contractors that work for insurance companies, usually through third party companies known as independent adjusting firms. These independent adjusting firms use independent adjusters on a claim by claim or contract basis. Independent adjusters are paid per claim or per day. If they are paid per claim, their payment is usually on a sliding scale based on the payment to the insured. Independent adjusters are independent contractors who own their own laptops, digital camera, and other equipment. They also pay their own travel and lodging expenses, and are responsible for getting their own insurance adjuster licenses.

Corporate-related blogs in the online social sphere popped up over the past few years when employees maintained their gain individual, sometimes private blogs of work interactions. We’ve all been privy to the slew of weblogs that were assumed to have been anonymous, only to find out later that the employee was fired for maintaining it. As with most online publishing networks, there are boundaries and rules; false or misleading representations of your company in any way in the social networking domain can have severe consequences!

For those who do play by the rules, constructive opportunities abound. A corporation’s official public blog allows consumers and even end-users to ‘take part’ in the company’s industry news, current trends, and learn about upcoming events easily. There’s no easier method to learn about a particular company or corporation than visiting their blog and picking up the latest news. Relying on firsthand industry news from representatives of a company is far more effective and relevant than digging for random information. The ‘live’ content factor makes it a valuable resource, and this participation model is branching out in original ways across the web today. SocialText launched the business blog thought in slow 2005, and has led the way in this emerging and growing trend.

SocialText provides an effective and highly useful medium for widescale collaboration. Top companies today that are maintaining these blogs include eBay, General Mills, Google, Amazon.com, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Microsoft Corporation. Collective wisdom is the philosophy behind this blogging style, and a recent Wiki project spearheaded by Wired Magazine hoped to track the effectiveness of this style of collaboration. The Wired Wiki project was an experiment to gauge the context and results of opening up an ‘encyclopaedia’ to the public on a particular topic. Contributions and edits were logged and charted, and according to Ross Mayfield, CEO of SocialText, this deemed a success. More information can be found on the Wiki Wired blog maintained by the site here: http://ross.typepad.com/blog/2006/09/wiki_wired.html

Connecting with the consumer and end user is new and vital ways is a primary goal of hundreds of today’s innovative and progressive companies. Businesses cannot ignore the progress of the Internet, as it opens up fantastic opportunities for development and customer satisfaction overall. Corporate blogging on even a small scale opens up the channels in marketing and brand awareness, taking on new parameters as people become directly involved. As customers and web visitors become familiar and comfortable with a company or corporation’s industry news and feedback, they can simultaneously engage in and contribute their opinions in a ‘live’ format.

Corporations that allow internal wiki-style formats and blogs can also increase their collaboration efforts effectively. These companies will fare well in organizational control, brainstorming, and in obtaining real feedback. The pressure of a face-to-face meeting is literally absolved, and may tap into creative potential and insights that were otherwise left behind or under-represented.

The most recent example is Baby Bob, a incredibly short-lived 2002 sitcom starring a talking man-baby character that had starred in a series of ads for FreeInternet.com Even though the high-profile business died after the infamous dotcom crash, the talking baby emerged unscathed with his own CBS sitcom, Baby Bob When the network cancelled the show after only nine episodes, Bob emerged 1 far more time to star in a series of TV commercials for Quiznos Subs In 2007, he was even too creepy for Quiznos and his character was pulled from all further ads But, do not really feel too sorry for Bob He still has his own web page on the Quiznos web site.From a critic’s standpoint, Baby Bob serves as extra proof that what has worked in the 30-second ad format has been hard to sustain in a a lot longer sitcom or motion picture format Of course, there are exceptions to every single rule Jim Varney’s brilliant Hey Vern character, Ernest P Worrell, not only translated well into a children’s television show, but also became a productive series on the massive screen In 1980, a Nashville-based advertising agency, Carden & Cherry, cast struggling comic actor Jim Varney as Ernest P Worrell in a series of Southern regional TV ads for a selection of products His Ernest character was a talkative nosy neighbor whose catchphrase was know whut I mean The ads caught on and the Ernest P Worrell character then began appearing in numerous commercials across the country In 1988, CBS brought Hey, Vern It’s Ernest to their Saturday children’s television line-up Even though the series lasted only a year, the Ernest P Worrell character next made a prosperous transition to the huge screen, starring in a series of profitable low-budget movie comedies such as Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas, and six other people The California Raisins also transitioned to children’s television, in their case, a cell-animated series They made their debut as a claymation-animated Motown-style singing group in a 1987 commercial for the California Raisin Advisory Board Like Ernest, their TV series only lasted a year Yet, their ancillary merchandise still continues to sell The Max Headroom character took the opposite route from the prior mentioned characters He began as a cyberpunk protagonist in a 1984 British television movie In 1987, Max Headroom came to the States as an ABC television series Despite a strong cult following, it only lasted fourteen episodes After the show was cancelled, Max appeared in a series of extremely prosperous commercials for Coca-Cola SOURCES:Gauging viewer tastes, Stuart Elliot, New York Times, URL: (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/organization/media/16adco.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)Who Owns Your Large Thought?, Noreen O’Leary, Adweek, URL: (http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003556825)Why advertising’s cavemen are going completely Hollyrock?, Brooks Barnes and Suzanne Vranica, Wall Street Journal, URL: (http://on the net.wsj.com/public/article/SB117305670677226518-GDYgRU6JmWO40cfjfFMEDLLE_DM_20070311.html)Caveman Chic, Ramin Setoodeh, Newsweek, URL: (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17887559/internet site/newsweek/)http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2006/06/quiznos_finally.htmlLook who’s hawking, Seth Stevenson, Slate, URL: (http://www.slate.com/id/2112786/)Advergaming, David Radd, Company Week, URL: (http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2006/id20061011_567417.htm?chan=innovation_game room_top stories)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_P._Worrellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_RaisinMax Headroom, Henry Jenkins, Museum of Broadcasting Communications, URL: (http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/maxheadroom/maxheadroom.htm) .

When the buyer purchases a new auto or used auto there is always a difference between the Insurance companies idea of what that automobile is worth and what you owe on the loan. Even a unique automobile depreciates the puny you drive away from the car lot.

Most Insurance carriers calculate the value of your automobile by the Kelly Blue Book and considerations of any additions to the car and what those add to the value of that automobile. The problem here lies with the purchaser/owner of that automobile.

If the loan on the auto is for more than the Insurance companies final decision on it’s value then the owner is held responsibility by the lender to pay the balance of that loan. This is where your GAP Insurance comes into play. GAP Insurance pays that difference. You the purchaser/owner is left with no outstanding balance on the auto loan.

The cost of GAP Insurance is actually quite reasonable if you consider the odds that you may be involved in an auto accident that would make the auto classified as a total loss.

Some of the lending agencies such as Toyota Motor Corp., GMC, US Bank, and many others will offer GAP insurance at the time of purchase. If this is not offered then there are several well- known insurance carriers such as Esurance, State Farm, Farmers and many others that offer it included in your auto insurance view for what is a minimal cost. The price tag on GAP Insurance can be as tiny as $10.95 a month depending on what insurance carrier chosen.

If you ever find that you are in this situation and you need to use your GAP Insurance it can be a godsend. If an accident occurs and the auto insurance company deems your car a total loss, contact your GAP Insurance and file the claim per their requirements and let them engage over the case. Contact your lender and let them know that you have GAP Insurance on the automobile, give the lender the insurance company name, address and phone number and let the two companies work the issues out between them. Nothing more need be done by the auto owner unless there are complications between the lender and the insurance carrier.

GAP Insurance is clearly peace of mind for a new or used car owner with a loan on their automobile.