Uncategorized

The world’s top 10 retirement havens

They’re cheap, yes, but these overseas spots offer more than that

MW-AO946 retire_20120117121954_MG

Quito, Ecuador

It might not seem the world’s top retirement haven, but the editors at International Living say the Republic of Ecuador is the best place in the world to retire to. The cost of living is low and real estate is cheap.

According to Dan Prescher, the special projects editor of International Living, and who — for the record — resides in Ecuador, the country affords him the chance to live on the fraction of the cost of living in the U.S. without sacrificing any quality of life. “A couple watching their spending here can live well on $800 a month,” International Living said. “And even if you push the boat out you’ll find it hard to spend more than $1,500.”

But that’s not all that International Living examined for its 2012 Global Retirement Index. The editors looked at eight factors, assessing everything from “the price of bread to how easy it is to make friends or stay in touch with family” before saying that Ecuador has what matters most to Americans who might be considering an overseas retirement spot.

And don’t worry about integration. The International Living editors say you can get by speaking English in parts of Ecuador. Plus, there are some expat communities already established. Retirement benefits, including 50% off transportation, utility bills and tickets for cultural and sporting events, are generous. And health care is inexpensive as well: All expats are able to participate in the Ecuador Social Security medical program for a premium of $57 a month.

….see retirement haven’s #2 – 10 HERE

Haven’s 2-10 are specic locations in:

  • Panama
  • Mexico
  • Malaysia
  • Columbia
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua 
  • Spain
  • Thailand
  • Honduras

 

 




With the just announced European Union GDP falling .02% Nigel Farage hilariously defines the practically unbelievable shenanigans going on in the Union. Imagine an unelected Italian Prime Minister pleading for help because the Elected Parliament doesn’t agree with him! Farage is a brilliant orator and quite bold and brave. Besides being funny.

 

AUGUST 9TH WEEKEND EDITORIAL – Michael addresses the intersection of the culture of entitlement and elitism in the form of taxpayers being abused by politicians incredible misuse of their expense accounts. Michael takes a stance on this issue and explains what he is going to do about it.

For the full 1st half hour & the full hour of Money Talks go to http://www.cknw.com/audio-vault/

 

Loading the player …

 

AUGUST 9TH INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK – Paul Beatty, manager of the Beatty Global Management Fund joins Michael to help identify new investment opportunities, plus sector trends and emerging influences you should be aware of in the days ahead.

 

Loading the player…

 

AUGUST 9TH GOOFY- Michael’s Goofy is just too mind bending to describe!

 

Loading the player …

 

It’s Official: Genocidal Sudan Running Uncontested for U.N. Human Rights Council Seat.

Why is Canada a member of this organization, an organization that is quite happy to have inmates running the asylum? 

The Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch condemned the candidacy of Omar Al-Bashir’s Sudanese regime, despite the International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest on charges of genocide, for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, as just now confirmed by a United Nations website.

In July, UN Watch had called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the EU’s Catherine Ashton to denounce and fight against Sudan’s then-reported candidacy.

“Regrettably, no responses were received,” said Neuer. “It’s still not too late, however, and we continue to urge them to speak out for basic morality and common sense at the United Nations.”

UN Watch already heads an international campaign of MPs and human rights groups opposing the candidacies of Venezuela and Pakistan. Last month, the U.S. failed to get the council to pass a condemnation of what it said was a Syrian candidacy for 2014.

The U.N.’s African group of states agreed behind closed doors to endorse the candidacies of Ethiopia, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Sudan. Because Africa has arranged for five countries to run for the same amount of allotted seats, Sudan’s election is virtually assured.

“Technically,” said Neuer, “Sudan must still receive an absolute majority of 97 affirmative country votes in the U.N. General Assembly’s November election for new human rights council members. However, in the history of these ballots, names presented on a closed slate have never been rejected. It’s just the way U.N. ambassadors like to work. Shockingly, the fact is that Sudan’s election is now a virtual certainty.”

Neuer said that UN rights chief Navi Pillay, who hails from South Africa, could make a big difference by speaking out. “We need her to be the moral voice here, to urge other African countries to put their names forward, and to call for unequivocal opposition to Sudan’s scandalous bid. Her role is crucial.”

“Just a year after the human rights council sought to exorcise the ghosts of its past by suspending Col. Muammar Qaddafi’s Libya — which infamously chaired the body in 2003, and was reelected a member in 2010 — it is now set to replace him with a tyrant wanted for genocide by the International Criminal Court. For how long must we have the inmates running the asylum?”

“The U.N. and the cause of human rights will be severely damaged if and when Al-Bashir’s Sudanese regime wins a seat,” said Neuer. “The U.N. should recall that the reputation of the old human rights commission never recovered it made Libya its chair in 2003.”

UN Watch also called on the U.S. and the EU to lead a vigorous campaign to defeat Sudan’s candidacy, and to ensure there will be competition on the African slate of candidates.

“Last year, the democracies fought a successful campaign to defeat Syria, by persuading other countries to compete. Yet they said and did absolutely nothing in 2010 on Libya — perhaps due to lucrative oil and business deals — and Qaddafi won by a landslide. It’s vital this year that the US and the EU announce early that they are opposed to having the oppressive Sudanese regime of Al-Bashir Assad judging the world on human rights,” said Neuer.

Do you remember that thing about how the banks wouldn’t lend to blacks and Hispanics because they were racists? And do you remember how they passed the Community Reinvestment Act so that banks were forced to reduce down payments practically to zero and lend to a lot of people they knew were bad credit risks? And do you remember how Wall Street bundled all these risky subprime mortgages and sold them to investors around the world so that when it became clear that those people weren’t going to be able to pay their mortgages banks everywhere were left holding the bag and all five of the Wall Street investment houses either went under or had to be bailed out by the federal government?

And do you remember how, when it was all over, liberals said it was actually the banks’ fault for “deceiving” all those people into thinking they could afford to buy homes and that the banks should be punished for it and some of those people be allowed to keep their homes anyway? And do you remember how all this cost the government close to a trillion dollars and put the whole economy in a hole that we really haven’t begun to dig ourselves out of yet?

Well, get ready because the whole thing is about to happen again.

Yes, believe it or not, the federal government is now starting another initiative to force banks to lend to low-credit-rated blacks and Hispanics — not just anybody but specifically blacks and Hispanics — and is threatening — and already imposing — huge punitive fines if they don’t. Moreover, this time they’re going even further. They’re going to take over the credit rating agencies and force them to change their standards to accommodate blacks and Hispanics so that nobody will have any idea who is a bad credit risk and who is not. 

…..read more HERE

test-php-789