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Google Earth for Mac

Google Earth for Mac

Google Earth puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop.

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View exotic locales like Maui and Paris as well as points of interest such as local restaurants, hospitals, schools, and more.

Want to know more about a specific location? Dive right in -- Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips.

Here are some key features of "Google Earth":

  • Fly from sace to your neighborhood. Type in an address and zoom right in.
  • Search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Get driving directions.
  • Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings.
  • Save and share your searches and favorites. Even add your own annotations.

What's New:

With Google Earth 6, you can explore the streets in 3D like never before. Fly from outer space down to the streets with the new Street View and easily navigate your way around. Switch to ground-level view to see the same location in 3D.

Now you can see 3D trees in locations all over the world. We have also made it easier for you to know when historical imagery is available in the location you are viewing.


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Evaluating Premium Guarantees
A Post-Triple-X Editorial

By Bob Barney, President of COMPULIFE and TERM4SALE

Editorial NOTE to the following article (note added January 29, 2004):

The following article was written in January 2000, immediately following the adoption of the Triple-X regulation. In the months that followed January 2002, and as predicted, a number of companies introduced non-guaranteed policies for their 15, 20 and 30 year term products. However, the market did not remain stagnant and competition continued to drive product innovation and prices. Since that time, the gap in price between the guaranteed and non-guaranteed products has closed substantially.

As a result of that, non-guaranteed 5, 10 and 15 year term products have virtually disappeared. The prices for those non-guaranteed products that remain are not competitive with the guaranteed product alternatives that exist. For this reason, Compulife has removed the 5, 10 and 15 year non-guaranteed term categories from our term comparisons at www.term4sale.com. We believe that consumers should NOT purchase 5, 10, and 15 year term plans that are NOT fully guaranteed for their respective level term periods.

Further, and because very few of the companies offering 25 year term offer non-guaranteed versions of those policies, the 25 year non-guaranteed policies have also been removed from our comparisons at term4sale.com.

This means that the only non-guaranteed products which still can be quoted at www.term4sale.com are the 20 and 30 year versions of these products. 30 year products, particularly at issue ages above 40, continue to have a substantial price advantage over their guaranteed counterparts. 20 year non-guaranteeed products, at the same age 40, offer very little price advantage compared to their fully guaranteed counterparts.

Life Insurance Quotes - Instant and Free

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Birthdate Gender Do You Smoke or Use Tobacco? Describe Your Health Type of Insurance
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Apart from removing these non-guaranteed product comparisons from our www.term4sale.com site, you need to carefully compare the advice provided in the following article, with the actual premium values available to you today.

For instance, in the example provided below, which compared a 20 year guaranteed term policy to a 20 year term policy with a 10 year guarantee, the 2000 product prices were $890 versus $710 respectively. As of January 29, 2004, a fully guaranteed policy was available at $635 whereas the least expensive non-guaranteed product was $625. Needless to say, a consumer would be well advised to pay the additional $10 and obtain the full guarantee.

Also note, further in the article there are two charts showing sample price differences between guaranteed and non-guaranteed products. The following charts have been updated to 2004 prices and you will see that the gap between guaranteed and non-guaranteed costs has narrowed sharply. With very few exceptions, it is now our opinion that consumers would be well advised to stick to purchasing fully guaranteed products as opposed to the non-guaranteed versions.

Chart E (January 2004) 20 year guaranteed versus 20 year non-guaranteed premiums

               Fully Guaranteed                20 Year Premium
               20 year premium                Guaranteed 10 years

25              $260  (was $365)               $260  (guaranteed / was $300)
35              $260  (was $380)               $260  (guaranteed / was $315)
45              $635  (was $890)               $625  (was $710)
55            $1,580  (was $2,285)           $1,465  (was $1,645)
65            $4,970  (was $6,830)           $4,285  (was $4,725)

Chart F (January 2004) 30 year guaranteed versus 30 year non-guaranteed premiums

               Fully Guaranteed                30 Year Premium
               30 year premium                Guaranteed 10 years

25              $425  (was $540)                $335  (was $400)
35              $555  (was $680)                $425  (was $470)
45            $1,205  (was $1,650)              $935  (was $940)
50            $1,990  (was $2,940)            $1,495  (was $1,655)

(Beginning of Original Article) The Two Extremes

I do not have a license to sell life insurance and neither of my companies, Compulife Software, Inc. or TERM4SALE, Inc., are involved in the sale of life insurance. So what makes me an authority on term life insurance?

I began my life insurance career in 1979 as an independent life insurance agent/broker in Canada. Compulife was first founded in Canada in 1982. I formed the U.S. Compulife in 1987. Until 1997 I continued to hold a Canadian life license which I gave up when I permanently relocated to the United States. I have never been licensed to sell life insurance in the U.S. and I have no intention of becoming licensed.

While I do not sell life insurance my position as president of Compulife keeps me very close to the term insurance market. Each product that goes into the Compulife/TERM4SALE term insurance comparison database (and there are hundreds) have been reviewed and configured for the software by me.

Further, as the owner of a relatively small business, with about 10 employees, I also enjoy a great deal of interaction with the agents and brokers who are the subscribers to our service. Compulife subscribers are quick to share their thoughts with me, particularly when they do not agree with a product entry/action or if they find errors in the system. As a collective group Compulife's 3,000 subscribers are a valuable resource. Those subscribers are a key reason why the software is the very best of its type.

The point of sharing this with you is that I am not a novice about the issues that I will be discussing in this editorial. My hope is that the editorial will help you sort out a relatively complex situation that was created by regulators when they passed a law called Triple-X.

I admit that this editorial is not light reading. However, the complexity of it has been created and thrust upon you by state insurance regulators. I am just trying to help you understand the choices and options created by the situation. To minimize your cost for term life insurance you will need to give thoughtful consideration to the points that I raise here. In addition I strongly recommend that you discuss this information with a properly licensed life insurance agent/broker who uses the Compulife comparison program. The agent is in a position to discuss your personal insurance needs and can help guide you to the right insurance strategy as well as product.

On January 1, 2000 a number of states adopted a new insurance regulation called Triple-X (The Valuing Life Insurance Model Regulation). The regulation affects virtually every consumer in the United States.

The impact on you has nothing to do with whether your state adopted the regulation or not. Most companies that are competitive sellers of term insurance offer their policies in multiple states. In order to comply with the rules of any one state that passed Triple-X, a life company must build Triple-X requirements into every product which it sells. Once again, that's regardless of what state that product is sold in.

Therefore, Triple-X affects everyone in every state.

Prior to Triple-X the term market was simpler for consumers. Most competitive 20 year level term plans offered a 20 year premium guarantee. This meant that the company not only intended to charge you the same premium for 20 years, they contractually guaranteed it. If you needed 20 year level term it was easy to find a fully guaranteed policy among the least expensive available.

Supporters of Triple-X argued that life companies offering competitively priced level term plans were not adequately reserving for those plans. Simply put, they argued that companies were not setting aside enough money to pay death claims. While I disagreed with that position, and while I fought hard to warn regulators about the negative impact on the consumer, supporters of Triple-X prevailed.

If you want to know more about that you can Click Here for the warning which I had previously posted at this website before the passage of Triple-X. Unfortunately that's history. The issue at hand is not what the market looked like before, the issue is what to do now.

With the passage of Triple-X you can still buy 20 year level term at the same prices that existed before Triple-X. However, you may or may not obtain that premium and have it guaranteed for the 20 years. If you want the guarantee you can expect to pay more. How much more will it cost? Should you pay that higher price?

The purpose of this editorial is to give you some examples and a basis for making comparisons between guaranteed and non-guaranteed products. There is no hard and fast rule for every person. Hopefully this editorial will better equip you to analyze your options.

What is Level Term Insurance?

Term is "protection only" life insurance where you pay just the cost of protection for a period of time. The actual cost of life insurance increases as you get older. The older an individual is, the greater the number of people (as a percentage of that age group) who die at that age.

For example, because a life insurance company has to pay more claims for people who are age 55, by contrast to people who are age 45, 55 year old people cost the company more to insure. Therefore, the premium for a 55 year old is higher than for a 45 year old.

Level term provides a level death benefit, for a level premium, for a pre- set period of time. Typical level term periods are 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years although there are companies and products that have other level periods such as 7, 9, etc.

A one year level term policy (typically called ART) has premiums that rise each year. By comparison, a 10 year level term plan will charge you a higher premium in the beginning but keep that premium the same for 10 years. Compared to an ART policy you would expect premiums in the latter part of the 10 year level policy to be cheaper.

The following chart is an example of a competitively priced ART plan, by comparison to a competitively priced 10 year term plan. Both products are from the same company, selected based upon comparisons of competitive plans that I made on December 10, 1999. The premiums are for a 45 year old male non-smoker, in very preferred health. The amount of insurance is $500,000

Chart A 10 Year versus ART

               Premium       Premium       Difference      Accumulated
Year Age       10 Year         ART          1 minus 2     Difference with
                                                            5% interest

  1  45        460.00        345.00          115.00            120.75
  2  46        460.00        375.00           85.00            216.04
  3  47        460.00        410.00           50.00            279.34
  4  48        460.00        445.00           15.00            309.06
  5  49        460.00        485.00          (25.00)           298.26
  6  50        460.00        525.00          (65.00)           244.92
  7  51        460.00        575.00         (115.00)           136.42
  8  52        460.00        625.00         (165.00)           (30.01)

  9  53        460.00        685.00         (225.00)          (267.76)
 10  54        460.00        745.00         (285.00)          (580.40)

As you would expect, the 10 year plan premium is higher in the first year. However, by the end of the 10 year level period the 10 year plan's premium is quite a bit less.

In this example, based upon your ability to earn 5%, the total cost of the ART policy, by comparison to the 10 year policy, is almost the same at the end of the 8th year. By the end of the 10th year, the 10 year level term policy has saved you about $580 in total cost.

Therefore, if you know today that you need insurance for the next 10 years, you are much better off buying the 10 year level plan. If you only need insurance for 5 years, the ART plan would be better although you might consider comparing it to a 5 year plan.

10 Year Level Term Prices Largely Unaffected At Younger Ages

The good news for a 45 year old consumer wanting 10 year term is that the Triple-X regulation has had very little impact on your cost for a fully guaranteed 10 year product. Early analysis of post-Triple-X offerings demonstrate that our 45 year old will be able to obtain a 10 year product for the same cost as shown above.

Triple-X hits longer level periods harder.

Suppose the above mentioned 45 year old decides that he needs insurance for more than 10 years. He want insurance for 20 years, until the point he stops working (earning an income) and retires.

Having run a comparison of one company's post-Triple-X offering, the choice between a fully guaranteed plan and one that isn't is $890 versus $710. In other words, our 45 year old will have to pay 25% more, $180 per year for 20 years, to get the product with a full 20 year guarantee. It is worth noting that before Triple-X was implemented the premium of $710 was available as a fully guaranteed 20 year premium.

Is the extra $180 per year worth it? Consider the following comparison of cost over 10 years. Please note, the non-guaranteed 20 year policy does come with an initial premium guarantee of 10 years. This does not mean the company will increase the premium in year 11, it just means that they can if they want or need to. The point is this, for the first 10 years of both policies the premiums are fully guaranteed.

Chart B 20 Guaranteed versus 20 Year (guaranteed 10 years)

              Premium       Premium         Difference     Total difference
Year Age      20 year       20 Year                        accumulated with
              guaranteed    guaranteed                       5% interest.
              20 years      10 years

  1  45        890.00        710.00          180.00            189.00
  2  46        890.00        710.00          180.00            387.45
  3  47        890.00        710.00          180.00            595.82
  4  48        890.00        710.00          180.00            814.61
  5  49        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,044.34
  6  50        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,285.56
  7  51        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,538.84
  8  52        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,804.78
  9  53        890.00        710.00          180.00          2,084.02
 10  54        890.00        710.00          180.00          2,377.22

 11  55        890.00        710.00          180.00          2,685.08
 12  56        890.00        710.00          180.00          3,008.34
 13  57        890.00        710.00          180.00          3,347.75
 14  58        890.00        710.00          180.00          3,704.14
 15  59        890.00        710.00          180.00          4,078.35
 16  60        890.00        710.00          180.00          4,471.27
 17  61        890.00        710.00          180.00          4,883.83
 18  62        890.00        710.00          180.00          5,317.02
 19  63        890.00        710.00          180.00          5,771.87
 20  64        890.00        710.00          180.00          6,249.47

Assuming that the company does not change the $710 premium in the 11th year (it should be noted that the company has no intention of doing so) the 20 year guarantee will have cost a total of $6,249,47 (assuming that the annual difference is invested at 5% for 20 years).

While $180 per year does not seem like much, it's clearly a substantial amount when added up over 20 years.

But suppose the life company did raise the premium on the non-guaranteed policy. How much would it have to increase that premium before you would be in no worse shape than having bought the guaranteed policy?

The following comparison shows the break even total cost based upon a one time, 11th year increase in premium. In this example we will raise the premium from $710 to $1,183, a premium hike of over 65%.

Chart C Theoretical Price Increase on 20 Year non-guaranteed term

              Premium       Premium         Difference     Total difference
Year Age      20 year       20 Year                        accumulated with
              guaranteed    guaranteed                       5% interest.
              20 years      10 years

  1  45        890.00        710.00          180.00            189.00
  2  46        890.00        710.00          180.00            387.45
  3  47        890.00        710.00          180.00            595.82
  4  48        890.00        710.00          180.00            814.61
  5  49        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,044.34
  6  50        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,285.56
  7  51        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,538.84
  8  52        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,804.78
  9  53        890.00        710.00          180.00          2,084.02
 10  54        890.00        710.00          180.00          2,377.22

                           premium increase **

 11  55        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)         2,188.43
 12  56        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)         1,990.20
 13  57        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)         1,782.06
 14  58        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)         1,563.52
 15  59        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)         1,334.04
 16  60        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)         1,093.10
 17  61        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)           840.10
 18  62        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)           574.46
 19  63        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)           295.53
 20  64        890.00      1,183.00         (293.00)             2.65

** note, the company has no intention of increasing the $710 premium

If the above price increase were to happen, the point is that you would be in no worse shape than if you had bought the product with the full guarantee. The new higher premium, from year 11 to 20, would have to be greater than $1,183 for you to have paid more than the $890 fully guaranteed premium.

The real question is, what is the chance of a price increase like this happening? Once again, the life company has no intention of raising that price later. Can you trust the company? Read on.

But first, just how far can the premium be increased in year 11? The maximum guaranteed premiums are awful, just horrible. Here's the same comparison, showing the worst case scenario based upon the guaranteed maximum premiums.

Chart D 20 Year Guaranteed Premium Versus Guaranteed Maximum Premiums of the 20 Year Term (guaranteed 10 years)

              Premium       Premium         Difference     Total difference
Year Age      20 year       20 Year                        accumulated with
              guaranteed    guaranteed                       5% interest.
              20 years      10 years

  1  45        890.00        710.00          180.00            189.00
  2  46        890.00        710.00          180.00            387.45
  3  47        890.00        710.00          180.00            595.82
  4  48        890.00        710.00          180.00            814.61
  5  49        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,044.34
  6  50        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,285.56
  7  51        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,538.84
  8  52        890.00        710.00          180.00          1,804.78
  9  53        890.00        710.00          180.00          2,084.02
 10  54        890.00        710.00          180.00          2,377.22

                        Premium increase to
                        guaranteed maximum
 11  55        890.00      7,870.00       (6,980.00)        (4,832.92)
 12  56        890.00      8,680.00       (7,790.00)       (13,254.06)
 13  57        890.00      9,540.00       (8,650.00)       (22,999.27)
 14  58        890.00     10,470.00       (9,580.00)       (34,208.23)
 15  59        890.00     11,520.00      (10,630.00)       (47,080.14)
 16  60        890.00     12,690.00      (11,800.00)       (61,824.15)
 17  61        890.00     13,990.00      (13,100.00)       (78,670.36)
 18  62        890.00     15,470.00      (14,580.00)       (97,912.87)
 19  63        890.00     17,160.00      (16,270.00)      (119,892.02)
 20  64        890.00     19,070.00      (18,180.00)      (144,975.62)

Based upon this comparison alone, it would appear that the higher priced premium of $890 is the only way to go; a real bargain. However, the company does not plan to use the guaranteed maximum premiums from year 11 to year 20. The company intends to continue to charge $710. Back to the real question: "Can you trust the company?" Trusting the company, and the company doing what they said they would do, can save you serious dollars. Having noted that, I hate any consumer put in the position of having to trust a life company. Incidentally, that's the exact point that I made to government regulators when I was campaigning against Triple-X. I told government regulators that consumers should not be put in the position of having to "trust" a life company" and that Triple-X would put consumers in that very position. I challenged regulators about their most basic assumptions. I said that if they thought products were being sold for too little, and that it was a threat to the ability of the company to pay claims later, then they should not allow companies to continue to charge those low premiums by simply reducing the guarantee that they give to consumers.

I told regulators that if they really believed that these premiums were too low, that they should ban companies from selling cheaper, non-guaranteed level term plans. After all, if the regulators were right, a company would have to lie to say that they will charge the lower premium for 20 years. On several occasions I wrote to 50 different state regulators and told them exactly that. Not one state would ban non-guaranteed policies.

Therefore, from the regulators' point of view, when the life company tells you that they think the $710 premium is good enough for 20 years, there isn't one state regulator who would dispute that. If a state regulator thought that the company was lying to you, wouldn't they step in and stop it? Wouldn't it be false advertising? Once again, state regulators think that it's OK for you to trust a life company. Therefore, who am I to tell you that you shouldn't?

Consider that before Triple-X the company was happy to charge you $710 per year and fully guarantee it. If the company was confident enough before to fully guarantee that premium, and the only reason that they don't guarantee it now is because of the new regulation, how far wrong can the price be? Is it really worth paying more for a guarantee that neither the company or the regulator really think you need?

Some regulators will read this and say, "Hey, wait a minute, we aren't telling consumers they should buy non-guaranteed level term." To the regulators I simply respond, "If you don't think consumers should buy non-guaranteed term, then ban these products. Failure to ban these products proves that you think its OK for consumers to buy them and because they are less expensive, consumers will buy them. Any why shouldn't they?"

The Perils facing a Company that lies

There are big problems facing any life company that raises premiums for a level term policy that the company said would be level.

The first is obvious. How many people will buy policies from a company after that? Who would trust a company that raised it's price when it said it wouldn't? You can rest assured that Compulife will be quick to alert its subscribers of any such incident. I would also take steps to point it out to the public at the TERM4SALE website.

But that does nothing in hindsight for policyholders caught in a price increase.

Getting back to our example, what if a company raised premiums beyond the theoretical increased price of $1,183? Remember, if the company only raised prices to that level, the 45 year old would be break even with the guaranteed policy. But what if the company raised the premium more than that?

Here's the company's first problem. A large number of people buying the old policies will still be in perfectly good health. Those people will be able to pass a medical exam and buy a new policy. Given that there is only 10 years left to go, until the 20 year policy premium would have gone up anyway, our 55 year can go to the term insurance market and buy a new 10 year level policy. If a 55 year old shopped today they would discover a 10 year policy is available for $1,055 which is $133 less than the theoretical price increase we said was a break even cost.

Therefore, if the company was to raise the premium too high, existing 20 year term customers will leave their old policies behind. The only people the company will be left with are those policyholders who cannot pass a medical and buy a new policy. What do you think the cost of insuring those folks will be? High, very high! A lot higher than if they were mixed in with healthy people.

So the real problem is for those who become unhealthy. What's their situation?

One of the options many companies offer is the right to convert to a standard premium whole life policy without taking a medical. Conversion options vary from company to company and so you need to examine that with your agent. While conversion might not be what the insured had in mind when they first bought the term policy, it may be the only way to avoid the incredibly high increasing premiums.

But think about the company's deteriorating position. All the company will have accomplished by increasing 20 year term premiums was to send all their good health risk customers up the street, and encourage all their bad health customers to buy whole life at the same prices being charged to healthy people.

Given the negative situation facing the company, the question is, "What company would be dumb enough to do this?" Combine this with the fact that no one would ever trust that life company again and this company would be in serious trouble.

That's to say nothing about the lawsuits. Given that a company cannot change these premiums for just one person, and has to change them for all the policyholders who bought those policies, you now have the possibility of a "class action lawsuit".

In fact the life insurance industry has faced that situation before.

For years a number of companies sold a form of whole life called "vanishing premium". Vanishing premium policies paid dividends which in theory would be big enough to pay the premiums of the policies in 5 to 20 years. Of course this assumed that companies paid the dividends that they were planning, but the dividends were were not guaranteed (sound familiar?). When interest rates dipped, and when companies were forced to cut back on dividends, consumers erupted. Class action lawsuits netted compensation for consumers caught with losses. But how could that be? Dividends were not guaranteed and companies reduced dividends for very good reasons.

My point is this: if a company acts recklessly in raising its term premiums, it faces a potential litigation problem. Even if it wasn't reckless, as in the case of vanishing premium life, it could still face lawsuits.

Of course the next logical question is what happens if the company goes out of business? If the company fails you may be left with no one to sue. Needless to say, it's important to compare the financial strengths of companies. You will need to discuss this with your life agent who is in a better position to provide you with information regarding the comparative financial strengths of the companies that you are examining.

So What Do You Do?

The first thing you need to do is compare the actual numbers for your own situation. That's the benefit of the TERM4SALE website. You can easily compare prices for either fully guaranteed term plans, or you can include the non-guaranteed and guaranteed term plans together.

Depending on how old you are, and depending on how long you need insurance, the greater the difference in price that exists between a fully guaranteed level term policy and one that isn't fully guaranteed.

For example, if our previous example had been done for different ages, here are some sample differences between a fully guaranteed level plan and one which is not. The amount of insurance in each case is $500,000. The prices are for 20 year term plans, for non-smokers, in very very good health.

Chart E (January 2000)
For an Update to this chart, see editorial note at the top of this article
20 year guaranteed versus 20 year non-guaranteed premiums

               Fully Guaranteed                20 Year Premium
               20 year premium                Guaranteed 10 years

25                   $365                           $300
35                   $380                           $315
45                   $890                           $710
55                 $2,285                         $1,645
65                 $6,830                         $4,725

Chart F (January 2000)
For an Update to this chart, see editorial note at the top of this article
30 year guaranteed versus 30 year non-guaranteed premiums
               Fully Guaranteed                30 Year Premium
               30 year premium                Guaranteed 10 years

25                   $540                           $400
35                   $680                           $470
45                 $1,650                           $940
50                 $2,940                         $1,655

The Two Extremes

If I was 35, and needed $500,000 of term for 20 years, to protect my family should they lose my paycheck because I died, would I pay $380 instead of $315 in order to guarantee that my premium would not change? That strikes me as a reasonable choice.

However, if I was 45, and needed insurance for 30 more years, and I was faced with a premium of $1,650 versus $940, there is no way I would lay out an additional $710 per year for the guarantee. It's not worth it.

But that's me. The issue is not what I would do, the issue is what you do. This is not a "one size fits all" proposition.

Get the Right Length of Term

The one thing I am convinced of is that you are best to purchase a level term plan which has a level period that corresponds to the time that you know you will need the insurance.

If you need insurance for 20 years, DO NOT BUY A 10 Year Term.

There will be those agents who will argue that you would be better to buy a 10 year plan and at the end of 10 years "re-enter". Re-enter is a fancy term meaning you will need to take a medical again. If you are unable to qualify for a new policy, then you are definitely in big trouble.

Click Here to read an article that I wrote in February 1995 titled "The Problem of Re-entry". The article was intended reading for agents, but is good reading for consumers who want to fully understand the re-entry problem. A version of the article was published in the August 1995 edition of "Best's Review" under the title "Re-entry Illustrations Will Haunt Industry". "Best's Review" is a magazine published by the A.M. Best Company.

To more practically understand the risk associated with re-entry, consider this comparison of a cheaper 10 year plan, versus a more expensive 20 year plan.

Chart G 20 year versus 10 year term (assuming re-entry or purchase of a new 10 year policy after the first 10 years)

            Premium       Premium         Difference     Premiums saved
Year Age    20 year plan  10 year plan    in premium     with Interest

  1  45        710.00        445.00          265.00            278.25
  2  46        710.00        445.00          265.00            570.41
  3  47        710.00        445.00          265.00            877.18
  4  48        710.00        445.00          265.00          1,199.29
  5  49        710.00        445.00          265.00          1,537.51
  6  50        710.00        445.00          265.00          1,892.63
  7  51        710.00        445.00          265.00          2,265.51
  8  52        710.00        445.00          265.00          2,657.04
  9  53        710.00        445.00          265.00          3,068.14
 10  54        710.00        445.00          265.00          3,499.80

WARNING: None of the premiums beyond year 10 ARE GUARANTEED.

WARNING: The $1,055 premium would only be available if your health has not changed and you can pass the medical. That's in addition to the fact that the company reserves the right to change that premium.

 11  55        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         3,312.54
 12  56        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         3,115.92
 13  57        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         2,909.46
 14  58        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         2,692.68
 15  59        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         2,465.07
 16  60        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         2,226.07
 17  61        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         1,975.13
 18  62        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         1,711.63
 19  63        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         1,434.96
 20  64        710.00      1,055.00         (345.00)         1,144.46

One thing I am sure of is that it is not worth $1,144.46 to take a chance that your health will remain fine. If your health changes, then you place yourself at serious risk of not being able to buy the insurance benefits that your dependents will need if you die. If you know you need insurance for 20 years, do not buy a 10 year policy.

Here's how bad it could be if you don't qualify for the re-entry at the end of 10 years. To make the comparison even more clear, we'll compare the 10 year plan with the more expensive 20 year fully guaranteed policy.

Chart H 20 year versus 10 year term (assuming that the consumer cannot re-enter or but a new 10 year policy due to health reasons)

            Premium       Premium         Difference     Premiums saved
Year Age    20 year plan  10 year plan    in premium     with Interest

  1  45        890.00        445.00          445.00            467.25
  2  46        890.00        445.00          445.00            957.86
  3  47        890.00        445.00          445.00          1,473.01
  4  48        890.00        445.00          445.00          2,013.91
  5  49        890.00        445.00          445.00          2,581.85
  6  50        890.00        445.00          445.00          3,178.19
  7  51        890.00        445.00          445.00          3,804.35
  8  52        890.00        445.00          445.00          4,461.82
  9  53        890.00        445.00          445.00          5,152.16
 10  54        890.00        445.00          445.00          5,877.02

If you can't pass a medical, the following are premiums that you WILL PAY for the 10 year policy. Remember, those premiums have nothing to do with anyone else's premiums, or what the company thinks it may or may not charge. They are the guaranteed premiums you face in the 10 year policy once you come to the 11th year.

 11  55        890.00      7,870.00       (6,980.00)        (1,158.13)
 12  56        890.00      8,895.00       (8,005.00)        (9,621.29)
 13  57        890.00     10,015.00       (9,125.00)       (19,683.60)
 14  58        890.00     11,250.00      (10,360.00)       (31,545.78)
 15  59        890.00     12,665.00      (11,775.00)       (45,486.82)
 16  60        890.00     14,270.00      (13,380.00)       (61,810.16)
 17  61        890.00     16,080.00      (15,190.00)       (80,850.17)
 18  62        890.00     18,170.00      (17,280.00)      (103,036.68)
 19  63        890.00     20,580.00      (19,690.00)      (128,863.01)
 20  64        890.00     23,350.00      (22,460.00)      (158,889.16)

It is my view that the person needing term insurance for 20 years is taking far too great a risk buying a term plan that does not provide a level premium for 20 years.

And if you need insurance for longer than 20 years, consider the guaranteed premiums for either the 10 or 20 year policy from year 21 and on.

Chart I Guaranteed premiums for 20 year versus 10 year term, from year 21 and on.

 21  65     26,465.00     26,465.00            0.00       (166,833.62)
 22  66     29,885.00     29,885.00            0.00       (175,175.30)
 23  67     33,670.00     33,670.00            0.00       (183,934.06)
 24  68     37,815.00     37,815.00            0.00       (193,130.77)
 25  69     42,415.00     42,415.00            0.00       (202,787.31)

Note that the premiums from year 21 and on are the same. Once again, the premiums once the level period is over are just awful. This will underline the fact that the 20 year policy, while still available to you at age 65, has a premium so far out of sight that you better not need it anymore. If you think you will need the policy longer than 20 years, then I urge you to consider 25 or 30 year level term.

There is no hard and fast rule about which way to go. Do you buy a full guarantee or take a chance that a company's projected costs will be what they have said they will be?

In many cases it is clear that the cost savings of buying non-guaranteed term policies makes guaranteed policies too expensive.

Compulife's TERM4SALE website makes comparing guaranteed with non-guaranteed policies much more simple.

When selecting the level term period from the list of options, you can compare just policies that are guaranteed, or you can compare both guaranteed and non-guaranteed policies. Once you have a better idea of the cost differences, you will need to discuss the matter with a licensed agent.

Compulife believes that the agent best equipped to answer your questions is one who subscribes to Compulife. For a list of agents in your area, click your browser's back button and from the screen that displays your comparison results, click on "List of Agents".

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text:
Ghosts of Vietnam

Michael Nolan (l) and Lt. Dan Smith meet former Khmer Rogue guard Cham Sone in Chamkar Cafe, Cambodia photo still from The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan

The Vietnam War is America’s psychic labyrinth. For 40 years we’ve been talking about it, writing about it, singing songs about it and making movies about it. But we’re still finding new avenues of shame and mystery and pain, trying to work our way to the ugly truth at the center but finding nothing but darker and darker hallways to get lost in.

This is certainly the case in a new documentary that’s making its way around the film festival circuit and will reach Texas in October. The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan, directed by Henry Corra, follows two men from rural Texas to rural Cambodia on a journey to find McKinley Nolan, a soldier who left his wife and child to go fight in Vietnam—and then disappeared in 1966 and was never heard from again. One of those men is Dan Smith, himself a troubled Vietnam veteran, who believes he spotted Nolan on a visit to the country in 2005. The other is McKinley’s brother, Michael, who says he has spent “40 years of my life on a ghost” and hopes Smith’s story can help him put it to rest.

The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan is part mystery, part fool’s errand, part political conspiracy, part heartbreaker. Questions about McKinley Nolan’s conduct and whereabouts pile up like bodies after a battle. Was he a deserter? Did he strangle two American guards before escaping a military prison? Was he captured and killed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia? Or is he still alive somewhere? Searching for answers, Michael Nolan slowly works his way west from Saigon to Binh Phuoc Province, where he meets the Vietnamese step-nephew he never knew he had, and finally into Cambodia, where McKinley may have met his bloody end at the hands of the Khmer Rouge outside a village called Chamkar Café.

For his part, Michael Nolan struggles with the fact that his brother’s fate will likely never be known. The American government isn’t interested in helping him find the truth, and those responsible for what happened may never come forward. “It’s 98 percent that McKinley is dead,” Nolan told the Observer. “But I hold onto that two percent until I can find some remains or some closure. I don’t have that closure. I have to hold onto him being alive. If I say he’s dead then that’s it. It’s too much mystery, and there are too many questions that haven’t been answered.”

It’s a story Francis Ford Coppola would love, a journey through a brutal land tainted by blood and bad memories, with a ghostly figure drawing innocents deeper into the jungle and all it signifies. Its final confrontation, between Michael Nolan and the former Khmer Rouge guard who may have been responsible for his brother’s death, is as full of emotion, pathos, guarded contrition and genuine ambivalence as any great war movie.

Josh Rosenblatt writes about film from New York City.

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text: All too often, people don’t keep adequate records to demonstrate they are entitled to deduct travel expenses. The general rule from the Supreme Court is that deductions are a matter of legislative grace, and taxpayers must maintain sufficient records to substantiate the amounts of their income and entitlement to any deductions or credits claimed. So… Continue Reading


text:
Zou Bisou Bisou

Late one night last week I found myself dancing around the house to 60's french girl pop music in nothing but some sexy lingerie and it was The. Best.  I woke up the morning after feeling what I can only assume is the hangover of such activities, causing me to want to dress in a way which I would imagine a french girl would dress (stereotypically, I suppose, according to my brain).  I just need a cigarette hanging from my fingers to complete the look, but since I don't smoke I didn't feel like going out and buying a pack just to fulfill my french outfit desires.  I did sit outside a cafe sipping on a tasty beverage in a fancy mug and writing in a journal, though, so perhaps that makes up for it.

I always imagine the stereotype of a "french girl" to have that sort of undone, disheveled chicness.  She doesn't care if her hair is messy or a bit greasy, has runs in her tights, and doesn't care if her outfit is chosen from a pile of dirty clothes on the floor.  She hangs out at cafes talking with interesting people, drinking black coffee and smoking cigarettes, and scrawls her deep thoughts in nondescript journals.  I love scrolling through The Sartorialist and seeing the interestingly dressed guys and girls he captures with his lens.  I think it'd be cool to roam the streets of Paris or Milan trolling for interesting people to photograph.

top + scarf/h&m :: vest/thrifted+diy :: jacket/courtesy of asianicandy
hat/nordstrom :: skirt/thrifted :: belt + boots/target
bag/courtesy of handbag heaven :: tights/courtesy of modcloth

This whole "oxblood" trend thing seems kind of silly.  Since when is cranberry/wine not a popular fall color?  It's definitely one of my favorite colors to wear in the cooler months because it's so rich and saturated, the opposite of the grey days we have here.  I have about three or four pairs of cranberry colored tights, but as I was looking through my closet the other day I realized I don't have any dresses or skirts in the color.  Perhaps I just like to accessorize with it?  Well either way, I guess it's good to know I'm accidentally totally on trend this fall!

Having a style blog means I get asked questions about trends relatively frequently, and I always sort of feel bad when people ask me about my favorite trend, or what trend I'm looking forward to, because I really don't know much about trends.  One of the reasons I dropped out of my fashion journalism masters program was because I realized I had absolutely no interest in reporting on or creating trends, and it seems like most of the fashion industry feeds off of such things.  I definitely feel the blow back of trends, as they are interpreted by my fellow style bloggers and as they trickle down to stores like forever21 and H&M, but if you asked me what's gonna be hot for spring 2013 I'd probably say something like, "florals?"  because... aren't florals always on trend for spring?  Honestly I think I'd rather be a follower than a leader when it comes to trends.  I just like wearing things that make me feel good, and if that's on trend or ahead of whatever trend is about to hit, then that's cool I guess, but it's definitely not on my radar.  Maybe this is just a symptom of growing up in Alaska where all the trends hit two years late anyway, so I'm used to being behind the times.  Besides, when you're behind the times, you get all the old trends on sale!


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Skewed Worldview

Why Democrats Are So Scared of Benghazi

They insist we don’t need another committee to investigate the attack—but they’re really afraid of the incompetence the truth will reveal.

I read with interest my Daily Beast colleague Michael Tomasky’s column Wednesday, in which he asserted that the establishment of a Special Select Committee to investigate Benghazi is nothing more than bulls**t. Putting aside that disrespectful characterization of a search for truth and accountability for an attack in which four Americans lost their lives, I’m troubled by the motivation of many on the left, who have sought to demonize anyone who questions the narrative the Obama administration has spun for nearly two years.

I concur with our colleague Kirsten Powers, who writes that the glib, evasive, and arrogant posture of the White House and the president’s supporters has brought about the present Benghazi inquiry. The American people were told repeatedly in the days and weeks following the attack that it was the result of an offensive video‚ an assessment the president and secretary of state surely knew within hours was far from the truth.

Rather than level with the American people and admit what senior administration officials knew—as well as taking steps to protect our diplomatic assets abroad—the Obama administration stuck with the line that GM was alive, Osama bin Laden was dead, and al Qaeda was on the run. It was hard to square that circle when the Libyan prime minister and our deputy chief of mission in Libya immediately asserted that Benghazi was a preplanned terrorist attack.

Returning to Tomasky’s piece, I was incredulous at his view of the Benghazi attacks and the prism through which he sees the world. First he tells us:

“Benghazi is and has been for some time a witch hunt that perverts all notions of democratic accountability and that obviously carries one purpose and one purpose only—the humiliation or worse of as many Democrats as possible, preferably the big cheeses (Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton).”

Let’s start with the notion that this is a witch hunt with the sole purpose of humiliating as many Democrats as possible.

Ambassador Chris Stevens was a political appointee of President Obama and worked under the immediate supervision of Secretary State Hillary Clinton. Democrats, both. Neither Obama nor Clinton have explained why their political appointee’s requests to get security in Benghazi increased were denied. The American people deserve to know the truth. That is hardly a partisan question, but it could expose incompetence once the real answers are uncovered.

Next Tomasky tells us that the Benghazi attack has been probed with two Senate reports and eight House reports. Case closed, right? What he doesn’t tell us is that Secretary of State Clinton has not been interviewed directly under oath. He mentions the investigation chaired by Admiral Mike Mullen and Thomas Pickering but fails to note that the secretary did not make herself available for questioning. Surely one cannot have a comprehensive review of the actions and activities undertaken by the State Department when the secretary is not part of the review process. For that matter, isn’t it odd that none of the personnel from the diplomatic compound in Benghazi have been interviewed on the record? What was their experience that evening, and did they witness a protest sparked by a video? A Select Committee on Benghazi will certainly provide these answers.

Tomasky tells us that Susan Rice, then U.N. ambassador to the United Nations, merely told the American people what the CIA told her to say about Benghazi. I’m sorry to say that’s not true. The truth, sadly, is that the Obama White House misled the American people when it redacted a lawfully subpoenaed document that was disclosed only after a lawsuit by Judicial Watch. In that document, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes pushed the notion that the attack was triggered by a spontaneous demonstration, not a breakdown in policy. The first three goals in the document, which was withheld from Congress, were:

“To convey that the United States is doing everything we can to protect our people and our facilities abroad;

“To underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy;

“To show we will be resolute in bringing people who harm Americans to justice, and standing steadfast during these protests.”

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Perhaps Tomasky can tell us how the United States has done everything to protect our people and our facilities abroad when our own State Department denied the ambassador’s requests for additional security. Perhaps he can show us how the protests were rooted in an Internet video, a claim our intelligence services and military officials immediately knew to be false. Or perhaps he can explain how the Obama administration has brought “people who harm Americans to justice” when The New York Times was able to interview a terrorist ringleader about the attack as he sipped a strawberry frappe barely a month after the attack. The grand total of those apprehended or held responsible to date has been zero.

Finally, despite all the congressional Democrats’ snickering and posturing this week, a Select Committee on Benghazi can answer one question that remains unanswered: Where was the president of the United States the evening of September 11, 2012, and what steps did he take that evening?

We know from former National Security Council spokesman Tommy “Dude, That Was Two Years Ago” Vietor that the president was in the Executive Mansion but not in the Situation Room on the evening in question. Did he monitor the events unfolding overseas? Was he briefed throughout the evening? Why didn’t he order a military rescue mission? Only after the attack occurred did we find out it spanned nearly eight hours. Surely military assets could have been sent to Libya from Italy or elsewhere. Did the commander in chief ask military assets to stand down?

I’ll tell you what’s BS, Mr. Tomasky: The Obama administration has misled, dissembled, and otherwise given the finger to the families of those who lost their lives that night in service to their country. I’m willing to believe that the personnel on the ground in Benghazi were terrified, confused, and hoping the cavalry was on its way to save them from terrorists seeking to kill them. We need a Special Select Committee on Benghazi to ascertain these facts and ensure that such a disaster never occurs again. We need truth, not bullsh*t, from the president and his administration, but so far, that’s all they’ve been shoveling.


text:
Melt Away Your Body Problems

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Skip to main content

The Globe and Mail

Compromised civil liberties: the other cost of G20 security

Police make their presence know on the streets of Toronto, Ont. June 22/2010. Fences are strewn throughout the downtown core as part of the G20.

Kevin Van Paassen/Kevin Van Paassen/THE GLOBE AND Mail

The Ontario government was more than just heavy-handed and oppressive in giving police wide powers at the G20 Summit in Toronto - it was sneaky, too. With no forewarning, no chance of debate, no time for a court challenge, it quietly declared the downtown area within the security fence an "island of non-constitutionality," as a civil liberties lawyer describes it. The secrecy is nearly as bad as the substance. While the state has a right to prevent violence, what right has it to pre-empt debate and challenge?

True enough, anarchists with rocks, bricks or worse may show up. That is the history of these summit meetings, and this one is not likely to be different. Some protest groups have refused to denounce violence. But none of that means an insurrection is underway. The state needs to find a balance between ensuring public safety, including the safety of summit participants, and allowing for the peaceful expression of dissent.

Police in Canada don't typically have the right to stop people and demand their name and address, and an explanation of their purpose in being there, as they do under the Public Works Protection Act invoked for the summit. (What public works are being protected here, by the way?) Police don't have an automatic right to search people and their vehicles, to refuse permission for them to enter an area and use force to stop them. People can't usually be sentenced to two months in jail for failing to abide by these otherwise non-existent duties. An increased need for security at international summits isn't enough to justify these rules; the right to expression needs protection, too, when the world's leaders are at hand.

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The so-called sound cannons purchased by police also involve an attempt to strike a balance between safety and the right to dissent. Police argued that a very loud public-address system may help save lives in dangerous situations. Asked by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to intervene, Mr. Justice David Brown of Ontario Superior Court made a sensible decision in ordering Toronto police yesterday not to use the devices at levels that may damage hearing.

Given all the preparations for the summit, it was unsatisfactory that a suitable court could not be arranged for a bail hearing Thursday of two accused bomb plotters that could accommodate the media.

Government needs to ensure none of its extraordinary measures are seen as a precedent. Canadians may tolerate temporary intrusions on their civil liberties, but will not accept permanent ones.

Government has no civil liberties watchdog as such; it is, however, obliged to act in conformity with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Its behaviour can be challenged in court. That may yet happen if arrests begin to pile up. But in such a short event, the damage to freedom of assembly and expression may have been done. Government itself has a duty to be vigilant, not just against radicalized protesters, but against its own temptation to compromise individual freedom.

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text:
Corsets and cliffhangers

Julie Myerson is hooked by Sarah Waters, a modern Wilkie Collins whose Fingersmith reveals a vital Victorian world of petty thieves, asylums and surprising passions

Corsets and cliffhangers

Julie Myerson is hooked by Sarah Waters, a modern Wilkie Collins whose Fingersmith reveals a vital Victorian world of petty thieves, asylums and surprising passions

Sarah Waters
416pp, Virago, £12.99

The worst job I ever had was in Debenhams hosiery department, Nottingham, 1977. The one thing that kept me going through that dark, soul-numbing winter was Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White. I gobbled it on the bus, under the counter and in too-hasty snatches in the fluorescent staff canteen. As Gothic intrigue, madness and terror loomed, Charnos and Elbeo receded. It saved me, as extraordinary books can and do.

Now Debenhams is a dim and dreary memory, but this past week Sarah Waters has thrilled me in identical ways to Collins with this, her third novel. Addicted to its atmosphere and hung up on its plot, I've gulped it exhaustedly until 3am, only to sleep and dream that I was still caught among its urgent, unnerving characters.

In the 1860s, the Borough - the shanty town at the wrong end of Southwark Bridge - is a place of petty thieves and criminals, of poverty, "mean little dodges" and scams. Waters's Victorian London is a city where thieves say "fuck" and "cunt", where babies are dosed with gin until they conk out, where "knifish" boys sit by the fire spitting out peanut shells. Most brutal, daring and refreshing of all, it's a place where pornography, emotional abuse and rape are the natural bedfellows of greed and lovelessness.

The people, too, come throbbing off the page - none of your watery heroines here. Sue, 17, knows only that her mother was hanged for murder. She's been brought up by Mrs Sucksby and Mr Ibbs - the latter fences stolen property and the former does much the same with unwanted babies. It's a rough, crooked yet comradely household, which is occasionally visited by one Richard Rivers, a debonair criminal, forger and seducer. And Gentleman - as he's known - has a plan.

An heiress, Maud Lilly, lives with her grim, scholarly uncle in a huge, dark mansion "out Maidenhead-way". Like that woman in white, Maud stands to inherit a fortune if and when she marries. Posing as a drawing master, Gentleman has already gained her trust and is confident that his attentions are welcomed. He now plans to lure her away from uncle, marry, "jiggle" and ruin her, before dumping her in an asylum and making her fortune his own. But in order to persuade this isolated young woman to "do a flit", he needs likeable, guileless Sue to become her lady's maid, so gaining her trust and helping her (and him). If they succeed, Sue will get a share of the fortune. Sue - good-hearted but crooked, with an eye on the main chance - doesn't think twice.

Arriving in the country at this sprawling Gothic mansion, she gets to know lonely Maud and, gradually, to like her; an uneasy development in the light of what must happen. But Gentleman arrives and continues his sly courtship, and all seems to be going to plan. Until something Sue discovers, something she could never have predicted, flips her world over and turns it upside down.

It was then that the book and I disappeared to a café for several hours while the world thought I was working - Debenhams all over again. It's also the point, only a third of the way through this dense 400-pager, after which I refuse to disclose another morsel of plot. Even by admitting my excitement, I feel I've already said too much.

It's a thriller, yes, but it's also a love story - a sexy, passionate and startling one. I hesitate to call it lesbian, because that seems to marginalise it far more than it deserves. Suffice to say, it is erotic and unnerving in all the right ways. And modern - though Waters makes full and sensuous use of gloves, stockings, rustling skirts and heaving breasts, her ear for the crunch of language, her knowingness and her unceasing impulse for physical honesty turn every potential cliché into something up-close and fresh.

I was occasionally aware of Waters's unstoppable appetite for detail, her determination to draw out every moment. Could it, should it, perhaps have been edited a little? But if the writer and critic in me asked these questions, the reader never did, not for a single moment. In fact, the last 50 pages are so sensationally tense that you read them naughtily, one eye on the sentence in hand, the other attempting vainly to cheat and flick ahead.

There are always novels that you envy people for not yet having read, for the pleasures they still have to come. Well, this is one. Long, dark, twisted and satisfying, it's a fabulous piece of writing, but Waters's most impressive achievement is that she also makes it feel less like reading, more like living: an unforgettable experience.


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Caned Arm Chair, 18th century

(Italy, 18th Century)

Caned Arm Chair, 18th century
151 Vermont St - 5
San Francisco, California, 94103
Contact dealer

Caned Arm Chair, 18th century

On hold

A rare and large 18th century Italian Louis XVI period armchair from the Piedmont region, circa 1780. This is a classically carved armchair with wonderful details on the arms, legs and front apron. The back, sides and seat are caned. The chair can be used with a cushion or without (as shown.)

WIDTH: 24½ in | HEIGHT: 36½ in | DEPTH: 26½ in

Origin Italy
Category Armchairs
Period 18th Century
Style Louis XVI

Starting at $350. This seller prefers to quote shipping price after determining your location.

Domestic shipping within the 48 continental states is quoted on each item via FedEx or White Glove delivery.

International shipping can be arranged upon request.

Delivery times will vary depending on the locations of origin and delivery, packing requirements, and the method of shipping used.

Once your order is processed, you will be notified of shipping status and given an estimated time of delivery.

We accept payment by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover through our secure portal. We also accept payment via check, money order, or wire transfer. All payment options are available at checkout.

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover

THB REF: 7142744833


text:
Adobe Stock

UPDATED: The recent denial-of-service attacks on Internet tech provider Dyn that caused outages at many popular websites follow a string of cybersecurity breaches that have affected Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Colin Powell, the U.S. National Security Agency, and election systems in Arizona and Illinois. The hackings all demonstrate that nobody is safe from the threat of cybercrime — not government agencies, presidential candidates, corporations, or other individuals.

A significant majority of dealmakers (82 percent) report that acquirers are putting increased emphasis during their due diligence processes on the cybersecurity policies and practices of target companies, according to a recent survey conducted by global law firm Morrison & Foerster.

The growing threats have increased the value of companies that provide protection, and private equity firms are quickly investing in the sector. Technology deals reached record-setting levels in 2015. In the first half of 2016, they led global M&A activity for the first time, with $294.8 billion worth of deals, according to Dealogic. Cybersecurity is one of the primary drivers of growth in M&A in the technology sector. (See related chart of select cybersecurity deals).

For corporate America, the massive 2014 security breach at Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), which led to the resignation of the company’s president, sounded a loud alarm. “The Target breach was a turning point. A CEO lost his job over it and all the boards of big companies really woke up. Now we are seeing PE firms take aggressive action to manage cyber risk in their investments,” says Jason Kaufman, a managing principal and the head of M&A with The Chertoff Group, whose investment banking subsidiary Chertoff Capital specializes in cybersecurity deals. The Washington D.C.- based firm was founded by former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.

M&A activity in the cybersecurity sector is expected to continue. “Cybersecurity is a fragmented industry with lots of growth. This is enticing to dealmakers. There are always new threats companies need to defend against,” says Kaufman. “Unfortunately, the bad guys seem to find a way to be a step ahead so there will always be the need to develop new tools to address these problems.”

There are 1.5 million cyberattacks each year, which is about 4,000 attacks per day, according to IBM (NYSE:IBM). Businesses are attacked 16,856 times a year. (See related chart of notable cyberattacks). Although the vast majority of these attacks don’t get past corporation’s defenses, an average 1.7 per week succeed. Juniper Research has predicted that the cost of data breaches will reach $2.1 trillion globally by 2019.

Kaufman reported that he recently saw a deal go on hold because the PE investor discovered a cyber breach in the target. “Cyber has become standard due diligence, on par with legal and accounting.”

The cyber industry is a fragmented industry today, with more than 3,000 cybersecurity vendors. Cybersecurity companies have proliferated as the threat of cyberattacks has increased, and they have had little trouble, if any, securing venture funding. In the last five years, venture capitalists have poured $12 billion into 1,200 cybersecurity companies, according to the Chertoff Group.

Need for consolidation

Not all cybersecurity technologies overlap, because many different layers of protection are needed to keep individuals and businesses safe online. But there is a need for consolidation in the cybersecurity sector, which is driving M&A activity.

“You have a very fragmented industry that needs to consolidate,” says Scott Stevens, a managing director with William Blair. “Larger players in the market are trying to provide customers with broader offerings and make it less confusing for customers to buy what they need to secure their organizations.”

Companies, individuals and the government are buying up these products. Total worldwide spending on cybersecurity from 2017 through 2021 is expected to eclipse $1 trillion, according to Cybersecurity Market Report, published by Cybersecurity Ventures. Spending on cybersecurity is now about $74 billion a year.

M&A activity in the cybersecurity sector has also been fueled by a slower initial public offering market and deflated stock prices. Many cybersecurity companies that have reached scale and that would have found liquidity in an IPO market in the past have instead decided not to go public. “There’s been a 25 percent pull back in valuations,” says Chertoff Group’s Kaufman. “This has made it more attractive for cyber companies to pursue an M&A transaction and it’s made it more attractive for public cybersecurity companies to go private. There isn’t a private equity firm that’s focused on tech that doesn’t have a cybersecurity investment thesis to take advantage of these conditions.”

Thoma Bravo has been on the forefront of taking public companies private. Not only are they able to do so at good prices, but they are able to help companies grow more easily out of the public eye. “A lot of companies that went public weren’t set up for profitable growth,” says Seth Boro, a managing partner with Thoma Bravo. “We take these companies private and can help them set up their businesses to sustain profitable growth. If public companies miss a quarter of revenue it can take years to recover from that. Private companies have a lot more flexibility to achieve growth and implement business model transitions.”

The list of companies that delisted or chose to sell to a strategic or private equity firm instead of going public continues to grow. In July, Imprivata (NYSE: IMPR) agreed to be taken private by Thoma Bravo for about $544 million, or $19.25 a share. The company, which helps healthcare providers protect patient information, went public in 2014 at $15 per share.

In June, Blue Coat Systems Inc., which was owned by Bain Capital, filed to go public in an offering that would have raised $500 million. However, instead of going public, Bain agreed to sell the cybersecurity firm to Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC), a global cybersecurity provider, for $4.65 billion in cash. Bain had acquired the Sunnyvale, California-based company from Thomas Bravo for $2.4 billion in 2015. Silver Lake Partners and Bain Capital remain investors in the company.  Also in June, security giant Avast agreed to acquire fellow cybersecurity company AVG (NYSE: AVG) in a take-private deal for $1.3 billion. Boston-based TA Associates has a stake in Avast.

Private vs. public

Other cybersecurity companies—such as Sailpoint Technology, Ping Identity and Tripwire—raised venture money and were on the path to go public, but were instead bought out by private equity firms. Sailpoint, which was bought by Thoma Bravo in 2014 instead of entering the public markets, may try its luck with an IPO in 2017. Boro says the company has been one of its greatest growth stories: “The secure identity market is becoming increasingly important and there is a lot of spending on it. Sailpoint is the highest growth company in our portfolio. It has done incredibly well.”

Ping Identity, a firm that manages employee digital identities, had expected to go public, but Vista Equity Partners bought it in June. Ping, based in Denver, raised about $128 million, according to CrunchBase data. In 2011, Tripwire abandoned its hopes of going public and sold to Thoma Bravo. In 2015, Thoma Bravo sold Tripwire to Belden Inc. for $710 million, making five times its investment in four years.

Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL)  is also building out its product suite. At the end of 2015, Dell announced plans for the largest technology acquisition ever by acquiring EMC Corp (NYSE: EMC) for $67 billion. EMC sells data storage, information security and other products that enable businesses to store, manage and protect their data.

In 2015, the IPO market was busy, but in 2016, there were no initial public offerings in the first quarter and only four in the second, points out Wayne Corini, a partner with Grant Thornton. But with valuations down and companies still seeking liquidity, M&A activity has increased, and Corini says the trend is likely to continue.

Both strategic buyers and private equity firms have been active in the slew of take-private deals in the cybersecurity space, although they tend to buy different types of assets. Strategic buyers like IBM, Dell and Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) look for more emerging technologies at companies that have yet to make money. “Large strategic buyers such as IBM and Cisco remain very active acquirers as they look to build out their suites. The challenge for sellers is that there are only a select number of strategic buyers who can pay truly outlier prices,” says Stevens of William Blair.

In June, Cisco bought CloudLock for $293 million. CloudLock raised $30 million in venture funding and posted revenue of just $13.2 million in 2015. At the end of 2015, Cisco agreed to acquire cybersecurity firm Lancope for $452 million. Lancope had received venture capital from Canaan Partners, Council Capital and HIG Partners. In 2015, Cisco also bought cybersecurity firms Portcullis Computer Security, OpenDNS and Pawaa Software.

Middle-market strategic buyers are also making deals. In April, Cryptosoft, a data security company, acquired DeviceAuthority Inc., which provides authentication technology for Internet-of-things devices. In March, SuperCom (Nasdaq: SPCB), which sells secure-identity and secure payment solutions, acquired data theft protection software maker Safend Ltd. In January, FireEye Inc. (Nasdaq: FEYE), a cybersecurity firm, purchased competitor iSight Partners, which tracks cyber threats. In August, KBR Inc. (NYSE: JBR) agreed to buy Honeywell International Inc.’s (NYSE: HON) cybersecurity division.

“Strategic buyers account for two-thirds of the deal flow and they all want to build their technology capabilities,” says Chertoff Group’s Kaufman. “They see opportunities to consolidate smaller players. One way to do that is by taking companies that are struggling private.” The M&A market slowed at the beginning of 2016 because of the credit markets, but it has since recovered, while the IPO market has not.

Seeking mature targets

Private equity firms have a different strategy than strategic buyers, but they have also been very busy. The private equity firms are frequently looking for more mature companies to buy out. Private equity firms have been willing to pay more for security companies that combine growth with profitability. “The ideal cybersecurity businesses that are targets for aggressive private equity buyers are growing over 10 percent and have 10 percent to 30 percent Ebitda margins. This combination is extremely attractive,” says Stevens.

In July, the Chertoff Group’s portfolio company Delta Risk LLC agreed to acquire security consultant Allied InfoSecurity. In 2015, the group acquired a majority stake in Delta Risk and, in a separate deal in partnership with the Carlyle Group LP (Nasdaq: CG), it acquired a majority stake in Coalfire Systems Inc. Recently, Delta Risk acquired Allied Info, which specializes in managed security services, mostly in the healthcare market. Chertoff has no committed fund, but family offices willing to back deals where capital is needed.

Companies that prepare boards and senior executives to manage complex cyber risks are of interest as well. “Most cyber breaches happen because someone does something that they aren’t supposed to do; they give away a password or open something they shouldn’t,” says Kaufman. “Basic training can help stop a majority of low-level threats.”

In addition to the traditional strategic buyers and private equity firms, some non-traditional buyers want to move into the sector. In July, Belcan LLC—provider of data analytics and software consulting services to aerospace, power generation and industrial companies-- acquired cybersecurity company Intercom Consulting & Federal Systems. In June, Accenture plc (NYSE: CAN) acquired Maglan, a cybersecurity company.

Thoma Bravo has been an active seller and Boro says all kinds of strategic buyers are knocking on Thoma Bravo’s door today. “The buyer universe has expanded dramatically. We are seeing interest in our portfolio from non-traditional software buyers and the typical buyers. There’s no one type of buyer anymore,” says Boro. “It’s a huge market with attractive growth, which is hard to find in many other sectors of the economy today, and that’s why it’s attracting so much interest.”

The great news for dealmakers interested in remaining active in the space: Dealmaking should continue, driven by the market’s fast product cycles. “Without truly strong technical differentiation, what was cutting edge can become commoditized quickly,” Stevens says. “Buyers always take a hard look at the stickiness of the offering, the differentiation in the market and how extensible the solution can be in the future. The fast evolution of the market often necessitates that companies combine organic plans with M&A to maintain leading market positions.”

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Karin Rita Gastreich

Karin Rita Gastreich Profile

Karin Rita Gastreich

Location: Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Member Since: April 2009

Last online: November 2017

Featured by author

Commercial Fiction

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Profile Information

As a child, I pitched my first tent in the uncharted wilderness of the back patio. My friends and I built snow forts in winter and landed space ships in summer. Dolphins and mermaids swam in our neighborhood pool. Buffalo roamed the playground. Vampires lived in the basement. We turned bicycles into horses and made time machines out of cardboard boxes. Nothing was beyond the reach of our imagination.

At the age of eight I had the wonderful privilege of visiting my parents’ family in Germany for the first time. There I discovered a land of fairytales made real: rolling hills, snowy mountains, deep forests, and foreboding castles. Witches and dwarves haunted every corner, and a handsome prince always waited around the bend.

Early on I fell in love with stories, books, and writing. Not so much to escape, but because they provided a perfect complement to my already escapist existence.

In high school my passion turned toward the sciences, but I never lost my love for adventure. During college I had my first taste of the tropics, spending a summer doing research in the llanos of Venezuela. Parakeets flew in glittering flocks. Caimans splashed underfoot. Every moment brought a new and awe-inspiring discovery. This experience set me off on a long and fulfilling career in tropical ecology.

Through it all, I never stopped reading and writing. I poured my years of exploration and introspection into journals and numerous unfinished stories. In November of 2007, a curious dream sparked the opening lines of what would become my first fantasy novel, Eolyn. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had opened the door to yet another new and exciting world.

Today I balance my life as a biologist and writer. I treasure all living things and weave many fantastic creatures my stories. The worlds I create are a strange amalgamation of medieval Europe and colonial Costa Rica, with misty forests, vast savannas, and steamy jungles. They are populated by brave heroines, noble heroes, and twisted villains.  They reflect the magic I’ve known all my life, of dance and music and play, as well as the hardship that I and many of the people I care for have encountered along the way.

These stories come from the heart. I give them to you in hopes that you will make them your own.

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Event Partnerships

Our event and brand partners have helped to make us who we are today - working with them has pushed us to be the best at everything we do, and given us insight into how to tailor our services to each client.

We understand the active events sector, and we know what it takes to succeed in it. This includes event registration, web design, email marketing, retail partnerships, social media management and just about everything you can think of in between. Our extensive self-published portfolio and range of contacts within the active events sector also means we’re in a position to offer unmatched marketing opportunities.

When you develop a partnership with us we’ll learn what makes your brand tick, who your audience is, and what appeals to them. We’ll give you our honest opinion on what we think will work best for your company - it could be anything from an online advertising opportunity to a complete redesign of your digital presence. And all the while, we’ll stick to your core values. This is your event, your company and your vision.

Event Partners


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Vixie warns: DNS Changer ‘blackouts’ inevitable

Father of BIND fears ISP crisis in July

dns dialogue

Ridding the world of the DNS Changer is proving a long, slow process that won’t be accomplished by July 9, when the court orders granted to the FBI expire and infected users suffer their inevitable blackout.

That’s the bleak warning given by BIND father and ISC founder and chair Paul Vixie to the AusCERT security conference on the Gold Coast today, 17 May.

“Remediation, which has not worked, has taken many forms, which did not work,” Vixie drily noted.

The notorious “operation ghost click” is well-known and understood, having been analysed in the six months since arrest of the Estonians (Vladimir Tsatsin, Timur Gerassimenko, Dmitri Jegorov, Valeri Aleksejev, Konstantin Poltev and Anton Ivanov) who hosted their ad-redirecting DNS on Rove Digital’s infrastructure.

Vixie said ISC’s ongoing research demonstrates that when the court order expires, there will still be in the vicinity of 300,000 DNS Changer-infected computers, in spite of the best efforts at remediation. Many users, Vixie said, are so untrusting and hostile that they resent being told they have a problem.

On the coming “dark day”, Vixie says, there’s a strong likelihood that ISPs will be swamped with help calls demanding to know what’s wrong. Had it been possible to do so, Vixie said, he would at least have contrived some way to “spread out the pain”, because “the way we’re doing it now, there will be no end to it.”

Although the DNS Changer incident emphasizes the importance of DNSSec, implementation is a slow process that depends on industry-wide cooperation.

He also took the opportunity to criticize the increasing willingness of governments to try and use misdirected DNS requests to enforce policies (such as porn-blocking or, in the case of Italy, blocking offshore gambling site).

“If it becomes popular [to use DNS] to block things that users want, they will move their DNS requests elsewhere.” The threat remains, however: SOPA-style legislation is still on the wish-list of entertainment lobbies, and will not leave the political agenda. ®

Biting the hand that feeds IT © 1998–2017


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Server vendors lovingly dress Intel's latest Xeon in memory jewels

The chip is the star, but each server comes with some baubles

Intel has released its top-end Xeon processor, the Xeon E7 v2 series, and with it the world's server makers have hurried a set of gleaming chassis out the door.

As with any server launch, the processor here is the star – and with the Xeon E7 v2 going up to 15 cores and allowing access to up to 6TB of memory, it's set to be a red carpet star for Intel's profit-fuelling data center division – but Dell, HP, and IBM have all made advancements as well.

Specifically, each of these three companies has worked harder on unifying memory and compute in their server platforms to bring in faster I/O and expand the amount of data that can be kept hot and cheek-by-jowl with the processor.

First up is Dell with its R920 Poweredge, which sees the company cram in support for up to eight NVMe PCI SSDs – a first for Dell – plus 16 1.2TB HDDs.

NVMe is an interface standard that defines an interface, command set, and featureset for PCIe SSDs.

Next up is HP with its new Xeon v2-based ProLiant Gen8 servers. One way HP is hoping to push its memory boundary is to pack in 96 32GB DIMMS via eight 'memory cartridge' modules, and eventually scale this up to 64GB to let data center wranglers get their hands on a server with 6TB of memory.

It has also added in "smart sockets" – sockets that stop butterfingered admins bending the pins on a chip.

IBM, meanwhile, has equipped its System x servers with eXFlash since their launch in January. eXFlash is flash memory on a DDR3 module running on the memory bus, cutting access times.

In addition to this the server comes with a processor high availability feature which lets admins still access network and storage if a processor fails. However, IBM is selling its x86 business to Lenovo, so the support contracts for the servers are going to change, as will the pipeline for development.

In addition to the above pushes on memory all three server makers have drizzled their kit with their respective software management packages, giving them various features whose purpose is obscured by the black syrup of marketing. ®

Biting the hand that feeds IT © 1998–2017


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What Feeds Your Soul?

I was in my mid-twenties when I began to discover that I like to be creative. I would eventually learn that this desire to create was as necessary as breathing. If I didn’t have an outlet for my creativity, if I had no way to be creative, or if I was not creative for a while, I got crabby and irritated. Now I didn’t learn this fact about myself all at once, but slowly over the years, because life is like that and has a sense of humor.

Growing up I took piano lessons. I found that I enjoyed the lessons, but even more I enjoyed just sitting and playing the piano. Especially as a teen when I was full of emotions and angst. I would go play a loud, angry and melodramatic song in a minor key. Pound. Pound. Pound. After half an hour or so, I felt much better and was now playing happy, tinkly, flowing songs.

I learned to knit when I was 5, crochet at 6, and sew at 7. And somewhere during that time embroider. Another outlet for my creativity.

Half way through my teens I told my first funny story to a group of girl friends at cheer camp. Hearing them laugh exhilarated me. It would take years, though, before I was good at telling funny stories. And years before I realized I enjoyed telling funny stories.

I married and suddenly had no piano. I felt lost, like a part of me was missing. Then my creativity took another turn. I started writing. Cooking and drawing were also turned into creative projects.

Now if someone had asked if I was creative way back then, I probably would have said no. But now I look back and see a pattern. So many things I enjoy, that I do as a hobby or when I have free time, are all creative endeavors.

Telling funny stories, which I turned into a podcast, Life as it Comes. Designing and sewing curtains for the house. Writing. Reading. Planning trips. Cooking. Painting the house or furniture. Cross stitch. Making jewelry. Taking pictures. The list goes on and on.

I have this desire to be creative, to use my God given traits and abilities to create and change things, to make the world a better place.  Being creative feeds my soul. Nourishes me and others. Brings joy.

What feeds your soul? Nourishes you? Makes your heart beat a little faster? What trait do you have that blesses others and the world?

Look at what you like to do, your hobbies, your gifts. Do you like to sky dive, paint china, teach, decorate, cook, design, travel, or sing. Make a list.

Now write down things you would like to do if you had the time, money, or had lessons.

Do you see a pattern? Do you like to invent things? Make things pretty? Organize things? Discover things? Create things?

Discover what makes your soul sing. Use it. Nurture it. Share it with others. Bless and inspire others. Multiply your talents.

Life is about attitude, so use it to your advantage. Use it for big things and small things. Use it to make boring and not so fun tasks more enjoyable.

I dislike cleaning bathrooms, but love the end result. One day I decided to think of ways I could make cleaning the bathrooms more creative. I can listen to a podcast or music. This brings out my creative side and stimulates future creative ideas while I am swirling a brush in the porcelain bowl. Sometimes I talk aloud and pretend I am giving a speech or telling a funny story to people.

There are all sorts of ideas and ways to do things. Harness what excites you and see if you can use it in other areas of your life.

Come on.

You can do it.

I know you can.

Join the Discussion: What feeds your soul? Makes you feel alive? What specific tasks, hobbies, or activities do you enjoy doing?

The Friendship Moment of Change

I was reading a blog post about moving and missing old friends. I can relate to that! Been there, done that, moved 8 times. I started laughing to myself, thinking about a comment that was forming in my wrinkly gray matter. As I scrolled down to leave my thoughts, one comment caught my attention – wiped the grin from my face.

A female reader told how a close friendship had abruptly and painfully ended 20 years ago. She had been so hurt that she had never attempted to make another friend. She ended by saying, maybe it was time to reach out again.

Twenty years? Approximately1/4 of her life spent avoiding friendships.

Continue reading this story at Life Letter Cafe, where I am guest posting.

Life as it Comes; Episode 29

Hiding Things

A humorous podcast about life.Now I am not usually in the habit of hiding things on purpose in our house, except Christmas gifts and chocolate, but in our house anything in the fridge seems to be available for free range. If I buy a some ingredient for a special dinner, announcing to everyone not to eat it, I have a 50% chance that it will still be there when I need it.

Listen to this story podcast by clicking one of the triangles on either of the players below.

Join the Discussion: What kinds of things do you hide deliberately or accidentally at your house?

Need another smile or story? Listen to earlier episodes here . . .

If you enjoyed this episode, consider sharing it with a friend. Or leave a review on Stitcher, iTunes, or Google Play. A sentence or two is fine. Thanks.

Linking up at Jennifer Dukes Lee (#tellhisstory); and Holley Gerth (#coffeeforyourheart)


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Veterans Help Forest Service with Conservation Projects

Scottsbluff Star Herald
In an all-volunteer military, many troops enlist right out of high school and return abruptly to civilian life, leaving behind their service friendships and day-to-day discipline with little work experience and support.
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MUFG and SCA Team Up to Support Conservation During “MUFG Gives Back” Volunteer Month

LOS ANGELES, November 10, 2017 – MUFG Union Bank, N.A.
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Conservation Group Fixes Up Seven Tubs Nature Area

The Citizens' Voice
The forest scene in Seven Tubs Nature Area has a new addition.
Stone steps go up and down the hill next to a creek, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps.
Read more

Veterans Continue to Serve USA with SCA

KRVN Radio
Five military veterans and one current member of the US Army Reserve have been working on both the Pine Ridge Ranger District near Chadron and the Bessey Nursery near Halsey to further conservation and sustainability on the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands, (NNFG).
Read more

SCA Founder Liz Putnam, Former VT Gov. Madeleine Kunin to Launch “Women in Conservation” Series

(NORWICH, VT) October 25, 2017 —- The Student Conservation Association (SCA) and the Upper Valley Sierra Club Group today announced the first in a series of compelling “Women in Conservation” programs, highlighting historic and contemporary demonstrations of environmental stewardship and
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Nome Teen Stars in SCA Documentary Celebrating Conservation

KNOM Radio
Nome-Beltz senior Nichlos Gutowski stars in a documentary that had its Alaska premiere this week.
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How Land Conservation Is Transforming Lives In Pittsburgh

The Huffington Post
by Jennifer Meccariello Layman, SCA Regional Vice President for Partnership
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Park Ranger & SCA Alumna Has Had 23-Year Love Affair with Chiricahua National Monument

Tri-Valley Dispatch
Park Ranger Suzanne Moody has lived at Chiricahua National Monument for 23 years, and she finds something new in the park to fall in love with each day.
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From Ashes to Awesome

New York State Parks
In April 2016, a wildfire engulfed around 2,000 acres of the Sam’s Point Area of Minnewaska State Park Preserve in the Shawangunk Mountains.
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Army Corps of Engineers Salutes SCA Intern

US Army Corps of Engineers
During the summer of 2017, R.D. Bailey Lake hosted its first ever Student Conservation Association (SCA) intern, Brady Shrader. He grew up thirty minutes from the project so right at home as he worked alongside park rangers.
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Contact Media Relations

Kevin Hamilton
[email protected]
P: (603) 504-3275

About Us

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is America’s conservation corps. Our members protect and restore national parks, marine sanctuaries, cultural landmarks and community green spaces in all 50 states.

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Focus as a Strategy

We work with a number of entrepreneurs — and for these purposes I'm defining them as the traditional young guns out to launch a new product (and not also established brands responding to a rapidly changing marketplace by acting entrepreneurially). The common weakness among these nascent entrepreneurs is lack of focus.

It is tempting to want to appeal to everyone, especially in the early stages. After all, you need the revenue, you need the connections. Best advice I've heard? Don't be lured into using your business to simply give yourself a job.

The magic is focus. Develop your brand (remember, it's not just your job) around a clear sense of what your product — or service — is. And what it is not. And who your target market is. And who it is not. This clarity will serve to differentiate your brand, as well as lay the foundation for building robust and enduring partnerships. A clear brand identity will establish your unique value, a distinction which in turn will attract the right prospects. By narrowing your focus you will connect with like-minded people with like-minded projects. The kind of projects that made you want to be an entrepreneur in the first place.

For Oceanparkstudio, we choose the who carefully: who do we want to be in business with? Our attention favors people and brands who share a respect for ethical practices, sustainability, excellence in execution, strong visuals, intelligent thinking, and a regard for our mutual quality of life. What's your focus?