Taking insurance seems so easy and life insurance is the easiest of all, because the claim is only made after the person is dead and there are no two ways about it – a death is a death and no insurance company can dispute that.

Other types of insurances may seem just as simple, but are they? Long-term-care insurance is one such insurance that is meant to protect people when they are no longer able to take care of themselves and may need nursing care or help at home. Without insurance, with the cost of health care and nursing rising every day, these costs could easily eat up all the savings of a lifetime. With the ways things are now, they could very well increase further in the coming years. Wise are those that ensure they have their old age health-care requirements covered with some sort of insurance.

The sad fact is that when the time comes, in spite of having insurance, many seniors find that they are not covered. Can anything be more shocking than that? A lifetime of paying for insurance, taking money out of one’s hard earned money, assuming that is the wisest thing they have ever done to keep themselves safe and secure in their old age, so that they do not have to look for any mercy from their children or from anyone for that matter – only to find that it just does not work that way.

Thousands of dollars need to be paid towards annual premiums and that too for decades, even during retirement. If for some reason, the premiums are not paid, the individual may stand to lose the total coverage as well as each and every dollar that has been paid.

This is not to say that all long-term care insurance is bad. It is wonderful and will certainly work, but one has to be armed with enough knowledge and understand the pitfalls, before taking a policy. Long-term care insurance requires the person to have the ability to look into their future and imagine the kind of care they may need and the cost, which sounds ridiculous but true. (more…)

Stepping on an elevator and reaching the space is stuff dreams are made of. Science has advanced tremendously but the thought of using an elevator into space with just an anchor on the earth, still sounds miraculous.

It might be surprising to note that it was as early as 1895 that a Russian scientist was so impressed with the Eiffel Tower in Paris, that he allowed his imagination to run beyond the normal, about a structure that would start on the ground and reach all the way up into space.

Although, that proved unrealistic because of lack of proper material to build such a structure, there were several scientists in the recent past that had come up with various other more feasible ideas, such as skyhooks, space lifts etc. A very interesting read with this line of thought is a Novel by Arthur C. Clarke, “The Fountains of Paradise,” where a space elevator is constructed on the top of a mountain peak.

It was later in the year 1990, that NASA engineers realized the potential of high strength materials in creating an orbital skyhook and even held workshops where several scientists were invited to discuss the different concepts that could turn such an ethereal dream into reality.

How can a contest held by NASA for something like this be normal? It’s a $2 million win for anyone that succeeds in achieving this lofty feat. Surprisingly, there are many challengers, who have lived with this idea for years now and are keen to take up this opportunity, which they simply look at as creating an elevator that climbs a cable up to a space station. (more…)

You must be wondering what Sofas have got to do with the United States government. SOFA is a four-letter acronym that most people probably would never have heard of. It’s a scary word, which several decades ago lost Iran for America. Today, it is the biggest sticking point between Washington and Baghdad.

SOFA stands for “Status of Forces Agreement” which is drawn between a country and a foreign nation that has military forces stationed in that country. This agreement is intended to clarify the terms of operation of the foreign military.

U.S. SOFAs govern the treatment of U.S. personnel abroad. The U.S. courts will have power over any crime committed by a service member against another member or by a service member on military duty. They describe the legal status of the U.S. troops and their property in a host nation. They clearly point out the rights as well as the responsibilities of the United States and the host nation, on matters such as civil and criminal jurisdiction, carrying arms, wearing uniform, tax and customs relief, damage claims as well as looks into the entry and exit of the troops and property.

With so many U.S. troops scattered throughout the world and fighting for the nation, U.S. has always considered it imperative to have these critically important agreements, which in many cases grant immunity from prosecution of the troops.

The United States has about 90 SOFA’s in force as of now and the government wants to add Iraq to this list, in order to help with the long-term U.S. security presence there. (more…)

Modern economies depend on energy and the limited supplies of oil and gas have seen a huge increase in prices. Both India and Pakistan face the problem of insufficient natural gas to meet the increasing domestic demand for energy.

All the gas production in South Asia is currently used to meet the domestic needs. Natural gas is used to supply the new power plants, in an attempt to diversify from expensive oil imports. The result is an increase in the natural gas usage over the last decade.

Iran on the other hand has abundant gas resources, especially with the natural gas reserves that have been discovered in Iran’s South Pars fields in 1988. Ever since then, the Iranian government has been trying to increase its gas exports abroad. Iran understands the potential of high profits from gas-hungry countries in South Asia, such as India and Pakistan.

More than a decade ago, in 1995, Iran and Pakistan have signed an agreement for constructing a natural gas pipeline from Iran’s South Pars gas fields to Karachi, which is Pakistan’s main industrial port. Later, Iran came up with the proposal of extending the pipeline to India. However, the Indian government was not keen on entering into an agreement with Pakistan, owing to the tense relationship between the two countries. India came up with an alternative plan, suggesting the creation of a deep sea pipeline, to avoid any threat to security of resources. All that was in the past.

The potential for developmental and economic gain from natural gas ultimately forced Iran, Pakistan and India to reassess the situation. With relations between India and Pakistan improving and compromise on the pricing structure by Iran, this pipedream is turning into reality.

This project can prove to be vital for all three countries. It will give Iran a chance to gain entry into one of the biggest markets for energy resources, while India and Pakistan, with their fast growing economies will have sufficient long-term supplies to meet the increasing domestic demands.

Iran, Pakistan and India are expected to sign a deal soon, for building a 1,724 mile long natural gas pipeline that would carry 2120 million cubic feet of gas per day initially. The pipeline will run from Iran to Pakistan and then to India. Although, initially the project was estimated to cost $4.5 billion, the cost has been revised and finalized at $7.5 billion.

This is called the IPI pipeline or the “peace pipeline,” based on the perceived impact on it could have on reducing tensions between India and Pakistan.

This pipeline would begin in Iran’s South Pars gas fields and run through Baluchistan (Pakistan,) into India.

Although, everything else has been finalized, the only issue that is still being discussed is the delivery point. While Iran wanted to deliver it on the Iran Pakistan border, India wants it on the border of India and Pakistan. These issues are currently being sorted out and continuous talks are on between the officials of all three countries, and the formal agreement is expected to be signed towards the end of the month. (more…)

The best marketers are said to be those that utilize all arsenal in their possession to improve the business, with employees being one of the most important tools.

When children in the family help or do something right, they are always appreciated by either a gesture or a gift to show that what they have done means a lot. This encourages and motivates the kid to keep doing things right. Great marketers look after their employees in a similar way.

Successful marketers are now realizing that the “Get it done right away, or else” approach to managing their staff is not effective any longer. Slavery is no longer acceptable in the marketing world or in any form of business for that matter. The manager of today is the partner with the employees and not above them.

Recognition in the form of letting workers know that their efforts are appreciated is crucial to the success of a business and encourages higher performance levels, by promoting sales and encouraging customer confidence.

Most employers do have yearly performance evaluations and salary increases; however, the workplace today is motivated by the thinking, “What do I get from this?” Immediate gratification is also expected in certain types of work, such as marketing, upon reaching or going beyond the targets expected of them. Therefore, waiting for the whole year to pass by, before rewarding a person’s efforts is not really enough to recognize performance. (more…)