Bankruptcy blog

April 28, 2008

Running the aisles

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:40 pm

Running the aisles” is an ecstatic expression of worship that occurs occasionally in some contexts of worship in the Pentecostal and Holiness movements. As the expression suggests, when a person runs the aisles in a worship setting, he leaves his seat and runs down the aisles between seating sections, or he may run around the interior perimeter of the sanctuary.

A biblical basis for the act known as “running the aisles” is difficult to establish. Nevertheless, in the Pentecostal worship tradition, spontaneous expressions inspired by the moving of the Spirit are highly valued, and in many congregations the spontaneous running of aisles has traditionally been an acceptable expression of joy. Typically those Pentecostals who run the church aisles do not do so unless they feel that they are overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit at a point in the service when the congregation in general is sensing His moving.

It may be reasonable to classify running as a form of dancing. It is worth noting that running occurs at times in modern Jewish folk dancing.

Opponents of this expression of worship would argue that it violates Paul’s instructions on Orderly Worship found in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, as well as contradicting the idea that one of the “fruits” of the Holy Spirit is “self control” (Galatians 5:23). At its basic level, however, opponents of such a belief would have a different view of the work of the Holy Spirit.

April 19, 2008

Canada and the United States presidential elections

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 10:50 pm

Canadians have long closely followed United States presidential elections and the outcomes of these elections have always affected Canada in areas such as trade, mutual defence and diplomatic relations.

  • Canada and the 1960 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1964 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1968 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1972 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1976 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1980 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1984 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1988 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1992 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 1996 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 2000 United States presidential election
  • Canada and the 2004 United States presidential election

February 24, 2008

The Lotus and the Wind

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 2:26 pm

The Lotus and the Wind is a Spy Novel by John Masters. It continues his saga of the Savage family, who are part of the British Raj in India, and is set against the backdrop of the Great Game, the period of tension between Britain and Russia in Central Asia during the late nineteenth century.

The story is told through the viewpoint of Lieutenant Robin Savage and the innocent but determined Anne Hildreth, although Savage’s viewpoint predominates later in the novel. It begins in 1879, when Britain and Afghanistan are engaged in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

Anne Hildreth and Robin Savage have met and become attracted to each other before the narrative starts. Anne is the daughter of a Commissariat offcer and is travelling with her parents to the military post at Peshawar in the North-West Frontier Province of India. En route, she witnesses the murder of an Afghan stranger.

Meanwhile, Robin is part of a military column in Afghanistan. He is the son of a distinguished soldier and has almost been forced to follow in his father’s footsteps, but has no taste for action. As the result of an accident, and a superior officer’s bungling, he is accused of cowardice, and is also sent to Peshawar to await a Court of Enquiry.

Life threatens to be awkward, but an acquaintance, Major Hayling, connects a souvenir collected by Robin in Afghanistan with the murder witnessed by Anne. Realising that Robin’s true passion is for solitude and empty spaces, he recruits him into the Secret Service and sends him in disguise into Central Asia. Accompanied by a faithful Gurkha orderly, Robin sets out to discover the motive behind the murder and determine whether it is connected with the ambitions of Tsarist Russia.

February 21, 2008

Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 7:30 am
For bankrupcty in Scotland see Sequestration

There is no single law on bankruptcy in the United Kingdom with there being one system for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.

Contents


Bankruptcy Law

There are two main personal insolvency regimes in the UK: one for England and Wales and another for Scotland. In England and Wales the majority of personal insolvencies are “bankruptcies”. The remainder are Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs, which are arrangements between the debtor and his or her creditors for the payment of the debts on different terms: for example by instalments, or over a period of time. These two forms of insolvency have close equivalents in Scotland, where bankruptcies are known as sequestrations and the equivalent of IVAs are Protected Trust Deeds, or PTDs.

In bankruptcy, an indebted individual sees his debts forgiven in return for surrendering his assets (and sometimes a limited proportion of his income). He is allowed however to retain so-called “exempt” assets such as tools-of-trade and basic necessities and the generosity of this exemption level has received much attention in the USA where it varies among states, potentially affecting bankruptcy filing rates.

Bankruptcy is handled by a Trustee in bankruptcy who must be either the Official Receiver (a civil servant) or a licensed insolvency practitioner.

Following the introduction of the Enterprise Act 2002’s bankruptcy provisions in April 2004, an England & Wales bankruptcy will now normally last no longer than 12 months and may be less, if the Official Receiver files in Court a certificate that his investigations are complete. However, in cases where the bankrupt is considered particularly culpable for his or her insolvency, the bankruptcy can last for up to 15 years, although such orders are rare.


Why are bankruptcies soaring?

Some claim that the Enterprise Act threatens massively to increase the number of bankruptcy cases. Indeed, bankruptcies have risen considerably since the change. However they were already on an upward trend, and the rise is mirrored in Scotland, where there has been no legislation change.

A popular alternative explanation for the run-up in UK insolvencies is “destigmatisation” - people, it is said, are becoming less ashamed of going bankrupt. This is hard to prove, but some evidence is provided by figures showing that, increasingly, bankruptcy petitions are filed by debtors themselves, rather than their creditors.

The UK average household debt-to-income ratio has risen substantially in recent years, leading some to attribute the rise in insolvencies to excessive borrowing. However, the ratio of debt repayment costs to income has remained quite low, weakening this claim. Moreover, the rise in borrowing could itself be a reflection of a lower “fear” of bankruptcy - the destigmatisation effect again.


Insolvency figures

Type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (p)
Bankruptcy Orders 19,892 19,647 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 28,021 35,898 47,287
Individual Voluntary Arrangements 4,549 4,902 7,195 7,978 6,298 6,295 7,583 10,752 20,293
Total 24,441 24,549 28,806 29,528 29,775 30,587 35,604 46,650 67,580
  • (p) are provisional figures
  • Sources: http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200505/table2.htm http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200602/table2.htm


External links

  • British household indebtedness and financial stress: a household-level picture [PDF] Quarterly Bulletin, Personal Sector Articles, Winter 2004 (Report for Bank of England)
  • Website of the Insolvency Service in the UK
  • National Debtline Bankruptcy information document

February 2, 2008

Superintendents of the United States Air Force Academy

The Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy is the senior officer at the Academy. The position is normally held by an active duty Air Force lieutenant general, and is roughly equivalent to the president of a university. Because the Academy is a Direct Reporting Unit, the Superintendent reports directly to the Air Force Chief of Staff.


Superintendents of the U.S. Air Force Academy

Years Superintendent
1954-1956 Lt. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon
1956-1959 Maj. Gen. James E. Briggs
1959-1962 Maj. Gen. William S. Stone
1962-1965 Maj. Gen. Robert H. Warren
1965-1970 Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Moorman
1970-1974 Lt. Gen. Albert P. Clark
1974-1977 Lt. Gen. James R. Allen
1977-1981 Lt. Gen. Kenneth L. Tallman
1981-1983 Maj. Gen. Robert E. Kelley
1983-1987 Lt. Gen. Winfield W. Scott Jr.
1987-1991 Lt. Gen. Charles R. Hamm
1991-1994 Lt. Gen. Bradley C. Hosmer, USAFA ‘59
1994-1997 Lt. Gen. Paul E. Stein, USAFA ‘66
1997-2000 Lt. Gen. Tad J. Oelstrom, USAFA ‘65
2000-2003 Lt. Gen. John R. Dallager, USAFA ‘69
2003-2005 Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa, Jr.
2005-present Lt. Gen. John F. Regni, USAFA ‘73

January 29, 2008

Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 5:35 pm
For bankrupcty in Scotland see Sequestration

There is no single law on bankruptcy in the United Kingdom with there being one system for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.

Contents


Bankruptcy Law

There are two main personal insolvency regimes in the UK: one for England and Wales and another for Scotland. In England and Wales the majority of personal insolvencies are “bankruptcies”. The remainder are Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs, which are arrangements between the debtor and his or her creditors for the payment of the debts on different terms: for example by instalments, or over a period of time. These two forms of insolvency have close equivalents in Scotland, where bankruptcies are known as sequestrations and the equivalent of IVAs are Protected Trust Deeds, or PTDs.

In bankruptcy, an indebted individual sees his debts forgiven in return for surrendering his assets (and sometimes a limited proportion of his income). He is allowed however to retain so-called “exempt” assets such as tools-of-trade and basic necessities and the generosity of this exemption level has received much attention in the USA where it varies among states, potentially affecting bankruptcy filing rates.

Bankruptcy is handled by a Trustee in bankruptcy who must be either the Official Receiver (a civil servant) or a licensed insolvency practitioner.

Following the introduction of the Enterprise Act 2002’s bankruptcy provisions in April 2004, an England & Wales bankruptcy will now normally last no longer than 12 months and may be less, if the Official Receiver files in Court a certificate that his investigations are complete. However, in cases where the bankrupt is considered particularly culpable for his or her insolvency, the bankruptcy can last for up to 15 years, although such orders are rare.


Why are bankruptcies soaring?

Some claim that the Enterprise Act threatens massively to increase the number of bankruptcy cases. Indeed, bankruptcies have risen considerably since the change. However they were already on an upward trend, and the rise is mirrored in Scotland, where there has been no legislation change.

A popular alternative explanation for the run-up in UK insolvencies is “destigmatisation” - people, it is said, are becoming less ashamed of going bankrupt. This is hard to prove, but some evidence is provided by figures showing that, increasingly, bankruptcy petitions are filed by debtors themselves, rather than their creditors.

The UK average household debt-to-income ratio has risen substantially in recent years, leading some to attribute the rise in insolvencies to excessive borrowing. However, the ratio of debt repayment costs to income has remained quite low, weakening this claim. Moreover, the rise in borrowing could itself be a reflection of a lower “fear” of bankruptcy - the destigmatisation effect again.


Insolvency figures

Type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (p)
Bankruptcy Orders 19,892 19,647 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 28,021 35,898 47,287
Individual Voluntary Arrangements 4,549 4,902 7,195 7,978 6,298 6,295 7,583 10,752 20,293
Total 24,441 24,549 28,806 29,528 29,775 30,587 35,604 46,650 67,580
  • (p) are provisional figures
  • Sources: http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200505/table2.htm http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200602/table2.htm


External links

  • British household indebtedness and financial stress: a household-level picture [PDF] Quarterly Bulletin, Personal Sector Articles, Winter 2004 (Report for Bank of England)
  • Website of the Insolvency Service in the UK
  • National Debtline Bankruptcy information document

January 10, 2008

Code of the West

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 8:34 pm

Code of the West may refer to:

  • The Code of the West, a 1934 novel by Zane Grey
  • Code of the West, a silent film from 1921
  • Code of the West, a silent film from 1925
  • Code of the West, a silent film from 1929
  • Code of the West, a film from 1947
  • BILL C-49 - First Reading (5) If an agreement on compensation cannot be reached, the first nation or the expropriating department or agency may refer the matter to an arbitrator in
  • CERN - Logistics The reference number of the material you wish to purchase (SCEM) The Only one budget code may be specified The Header of the Material Request contains :
  • Debian Reference - Debian fundamentals Debian Developer's Reference. Debian New Maintainers' Guide .. Source code may or may not be available for packages in the contrib and non-free
  • DART.org - Code of Conduct PDF file of DART Code of Conduct in Chinese opens in a new window when the sense so indicates, words of the neuter gender may refer to both genders; and
  • RFC 3967 - Clarifying when Standards Track Documents may Refer Search in public source code for "RFC 3967" For example: o A standards track document may need to refer to a protocol or algorithm developed by an
  • Guide to GO Evidence Codes A gene ID may also be used if the cited reference provides enough information to The IMP code is used for cases where one allele may be designated
  • Code of Student Conduct In this Code, the words "University of Toronto" refer to the University of better handled under the Code of Student Conduct, the Officer may refer the
  • Memory Management Reference: Frequently Asked Questions If you want your code to be robust, and to stand the test of time, you must check all error or status codes that may be returned by functions you call,
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January 8, 2008

United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 1:31 am

The United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii — also known as the United States Attorney and U.S. Attorney — is the chief law enforcement officer representing the Federal Government of the United States and principal authority of the United States Department of Justice in the state of Hawaii. He or she administers the duties of the office from the Prince Kuhio Federal Building in downtown Honolulu near the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 describes the role of the United States Attorney as, “A person learned in the law to act as attorney for the United States whose duty it shall be to prosecute in each district all delinquents for crimes and offenses cognizable under the authority of the United States and all civil actions in which the United States shall be concerned.” The United States Attorney is appointed by the President of the United States and upon confirmation of the United States Senate serves a term of four years. A member of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), he or she has been historically chosen from the same political party that the President professes membership.

The United States Attorney administers a staff consisting of twenty-eight Assistant United States Attorneys. He also has ordinary jurisdiction over all civilian and military Special Assistant United States Attorneys.

The current United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii is Edward H. Kubo, Jr., who was officially sworn in on December 7, 2001.

  • Bankruptcy - What is Bankruptcy? free debt advice and credit counselling. solve your debt problems. the uk insolvency helpline will get you out of debt. a free debt advisory service.
  • Bankruptcy.org Money Management International offers an all-in-one bankruptcy solution for you and your clients. Pre-Filing Counseling and Pre-Discharge Education.
  • Corporate Counsel Center - Bankruptcy FindLaw Corporate Counsel Center - Bankruptcy and Restructuring Legal Resources for Corporate Counsel, Corporate Lawyers, In-House Counsel, In-House Lawyers
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December 27, 2007

The Adventure of the Wax Gamblers

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 5:21 am

The Adventure of the Wax Gamblers by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr is a Sherlock Holmes story. The story was published in the 1954 collection, The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes.


Plot

While waiting up late one night, Holmes and Watson are visited by the night watchman of a famous waxworks and his grand–daughter. The watchman has noticed that the playing cards in the hand of a wax figure in a Chamber of Horrors exhibit have changed. Holmes becomes immediately interested in this mystery and sends Watson to the exhibit to remove the cards in an orderly fashion and to bring them back to him in some envelopes. Holmes then demonstrates that the altered cards are related to the scandalous behavior of a gentleman and his wagering on horse races.<ref>The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, Chapter 3</ref>

” ‘ At the mouth of the Thames,’ ” he read, ” ‘ on the island of —’ “

“Holmes, my question concerned the answer to our problem!”

“This is the answer to our problem.”

Two versions of the Darlington Substitution Scandal, which had been mentioned in A Scandal in Bohemia, are referenced in this story.


References

<references/>

December 24, 2007

The Best of Eddie Money

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 4:02 pm

The Best of Eddie Money is a greatest hits album by Eddie Money, released in 2001 (see 2001 in music).


Track listing

  1. “Two Tickets to Paradise” (Money) – 3:58
  2. “Shakin’” (Carter, Money, Myers) – 3:09
  3. “Take Me Home Tonight” (Leeson, Vale) – 3:32
  4. “Wanna Be a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” (Money, Solberg) – 4:01
  5. “Walk on Water’” (Harms) – 4:40
  6. “Running Back” (Bryan) – 4:00
  7. “Think I’m in Love” (Money, Oda) – 3:10
  8. “Maybe I’m a Fool” (Chiate, Garrett, Money, Taylor) – 3:07
  9. “Rock and Roll the Place” [live] (Lyon, Money) – 3:06
  10. “Baby Hold On” (Lyon, Money) – 3:32
  11. “We Should Be Sleeping” (Burns, Lowry, Money, Thompson) – 4:02
  12. “Trinidad” (Douglass, Money, Turner) – 5:08
  13. “I Wanna Go Back” (Byrom, Chuncey, Walker) – 3:55
  14. “No Control” [live] (Carter, Guitierrez, Money) – 4:15
  15. “Where’s the Party?” (Carter, Money) – 3:55
  16. “Peace in Our Time” (Hill, Sinfield) – 5:02

December 3, 2007

Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 6:13 pm
For bankrupcty in Scotland see Sequestration

There is no single law on bankruptcy in the United Kingdom with there being one system for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.

Contents


Bankruptcy Law

There are two main personal insolvency regimes in the UK: one for England and Wales and another for Scotland. In England and Wales the majority of personal insolvencies are “bankruptcies”. The remainder are Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs, which are arrangements between the debtor and his or her creditors for the payment of the debts on different terms: for example by instalments, or over a period of time. These two forms of insolvency have close equivalents in Scotland, where bankruptcies are known as sequestrations and the equivalent of IVAs are Protected Trust Deeds, or PTDs.

In bankruptcy, an indebted individual sees his debts forgiven in return for surrendering his assets (and sometimes a limited proportion of his income). He is allowed however to retain so-called “exempt” assets such as tools-of-trade and basic necessities and the generosity of this exemption level has received much attention in the USA where it varies among states, potentially affecting bankruptcy filing rates.

Bankruptcy is handled by a Trustee in bankruptcy who must be either the Official Receiver (a civil servant) or a licensed insolvency practitioner.

Following the introduction of the Enterprise Act 2002’s bankruptcy provisions in April 2004, an England & Wales bankruptcy will now normally last no longer than 12 months and may be less, if the Official Receiver files in Court a certificate that his investigations are complete. However, in cases where the bankrupt is considered particularly culpable for his or her insolvency, the bankruptcy can last for up to 15 years, although such orders are rare.


Why are bankruptcies soaring?

Some claim that the Enterprise Act threatens massively to increase the number of bankruptcy cases. Indeed, bankruptcies have risen considerably since the change. However they were already on an upward trend, and the rise is mirrored in Scotland, where there has been no legislation change.

A popular alternative explanation for the run-up in UK insolvencies is “destigmatisation” - people, it is said, are becoming less ashamed of going bankrupt. This is hard to prove, but some evidence is provided by figures showing that, increasingly, bankruptcy petitions are filed by debtors themselves, rather than their creditors.

The UK average household debt-to-income ratio has risen substantially in recent years, leading some to attribute the rise in insolvencies to excessive borrowing. However, the ratio of debt repayment costs to income has remained quite low, weakening this claim. Moreover, the rise in borrowing could itself be a reflection of a lower “fear” of bankruptcy - the destigmatisation effect again.


Insolvency figures

Type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (p)
Bankruptcy Orders 19,892 19,647 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 28,021 35,898 47,287
Individual Voluntary Arrangements 4,549 4,902 7,195 7,978 6,298 6,295 7,583 10,752 20,293
Total 24,441 24,549 28,806 29,528 29,775 30,587 35,604 46,650 67,580
  • (p) are provisional figures
  • Sources: http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200505/table2.htm http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200602/table2.htm


External links

  • British household indebtedness and financial stress: a household-level picture [PDF] Quarterly Bulletin, Personal Sector Articles, Winter 2004 (Report for Bank of England)
  • Website of the Insolvency Service in the UK
  • National Debtline Bankruptcy information document

November 25, 2007

Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 8:52 pm
For bankrupcty in Scotland see Sequestration

There is no single law on bankruptcy in the United Kingdom with there being one system for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.

Contents


Bankruptcy Law

There are two main personal insolvency regimes in the UK: one for England and Wales and another for Scotland. In England and Wales the majority of personal insolvencies are “bankruptcies”. The remainder are Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs, which are arrangements between the debtor and his or her creditors for the payment of the debts on different terms: for example by instalments, or over a period of time. These two forms of insolvency have close equivalents in Scotland, where bankruptcies are known as sequestrations and the equivalent of IVAs are Protected Trust Deeds, or PTDs.

In bankruptcy, an indebted individual sees his debts forgiven in return for surrendering his assets (and sometimes a limited proportion of his income). He is allowed however to retain so-called “exempt” assets such as tools-of-trade and basic necessities and the generosity of this exemption level has received much attention in the USA where it varies among states, potentially affecting bankruptcy filing rates.

Bankruptcy is handled by a Trustee in bankruptcy who must be either the Official Receiver (a civil servant) or a licensed insolvency practitioner.

Following the introduction of the Enterprise Act 2002’s bankruptcy provisions in April 2004, an England & Wales bankruptcy will now normally last no longer than 12 months and may be less, if the Official Receiver files in Court a certificate that his investigations are complete. However, in cases where the bankrupt is considered particularly culpable for his or her insolvency, the bankruptcy can last for up to 15 years, although such orders are rare.


Why are bankruptcies soaring?

Some claim that the Enterprise Act threatens massively to increase the number of bankruptcy cases. Indeed, bankruptcies have risen considerably since the change. However they were already on an upward trend, and the rise is mirrored in Scotland, where there has been no legislation change.

A popular alternative explanation for the run-up in UK insolvencies is “destigmatisation” - people, it is said, are becoming less ashamed of going bankrupt. This is hard to prove, but some evidence is provided by figures showing that, increasingly, bankruptcy petitions are filed by debtors themselves, rather than their creditors.

The UK average household debt-to-income ratio has risen substantially in recent years, leading some to attribute the rise in insolvencies to excessive borrowing. However, the ratio of debt repayment costs to income has remained quite low, weakening this claim. Moreover, the rise in borrowing could itself be a reflection of a lower “fear” of bankruptcy - the destigmatisation effect again.


Insolvency figures

Type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (p)
Bankruptcy Orders 19,892 19,647 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 28,021 35,898 47,287
Individual Voluntary Arrangements 4,549 4,902 7,195 7,978 6,298 6,295 7,583 10,752 20,293
Total 24,441 24,549 28,806 29,528 29,775 30,587 35,604 46,650 67,580
  • (p) are provisional figures
  • Sources: http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200505/table2.htm http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200602/table2.htm


External links

  • British household indebtedness and financial stress: a household-level picture [PDF] Quarterly Bulletin, Personal Sector Articles, Winter 2004 (Report for Bank of England)
  • Website of the Insolvency Service in the UK
  • National Debtline Bankruptcy information document

Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 12:48 pm
For bankrupcty in Scotland see Sequestration

There is no single law on bankruptcy in the United Kingdom with there being one system for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.

Contents


Bankruptcy Law

There are two main personal insolvency regimes in the UK: one for England and Wales and another for Scotland. In England and Wales the majority of personal insolvencies are “bankruptcies”. The remainder are Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs, which are arrangements between the debtor and his or her creditors for the payment of the debts on different terms: for example by instalments, or over a period of time. These two forms of insolvency have close equivalents in Scotland, where bankruptcies are known as sequestrations and the equivalent of IVAs are Protected Trust Deeds, or PTDs.

In bankruptcy, an indebted individual sees his debts forgiven in return for surrendering his assets (and sometimes a limited proportion of his income). He is allowed however to retain so-called “exempt” assets such as tools-of-trade and basic necessities and the generosity of this exemption level has received much attention in the USA where it varies among states, potentially affecting bankruptcy filing rates.

Bankruptcy is handled by a Trustee in bankruptcy who must be either the Official Receiver (a civil servant) or a licensed insolvency practitioner.

Following the introduction of the Enterprise Act 2002’s bankruptcy provisions in April 2004, an England & Wales bankruptcy will now normally last no longer than 12 months and may be less, if the Official Receiver files in Court a certificate that his investigations are complete. However, in cases where the bankrupt is considered particularly culpable for his or her insolvency, the bankruptcy can last for up to 15 years, although such orders are rare.


Why are bankruptcies soaring?

Some claim that the Enterprise Act threatens massively to increase the number of bankruptcy cases. Indeed, bankruptcies have risen considerably since the change. However they were already on an upward trend, and the rise is mirrored in Scotland, where there has been no legislation change.

A popular alternative explanation for the run-up in UK insolvencies is “destigmatisation” - people, it is said, are becoming less ashamed of going bankrupt. This is hard to prove, but some evidence is provided by figures showing that, increasingly, bankruptcy petitions are filed by debtors themselves, rather than their creditors.

The UK average household debt-to-income ratio has risen substantially in recent years, leading some to attribute the rise in insolvencies to excessive borrowing. However, the ratio of debt repayment costs to income has remained quite low, weakening this claim. Moreover, the rise in borrowing could itself be a reflection of a lower “fear” of bankruptcy - the destigmatisation effect again.


Insolvency figures

Type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (p)
Bankruptcy Orders 19,892 19,647 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 28,021 35,898 47,287
Individual Voluntary Arrangements 4,549 4,902 7,195 7,978 6,298 6,295 7,583 10,752 20,293
Total 24,441 24,549 28,806 29,528 29,775 30,587 35,604 46,650 67,580
  • (p) are provisional figures
  • Sources: http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200505/table2.htm http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200602/table2.htm


External links

  • British household indebtedness and financial stress: a household-level picture [PDF] Quarterly Bulletin, Personal Sector Articles, Winter 2004 (Report for Bank of England)
  • Website of the Insolvency Service in the UK
  • National Debtline Bankruptcy information document

The Sportsman

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 8:04 am

The Sportsman was the title of two separate British newspapers which are now defunct. The first Sportsman paper ran from 1865 to 1924. A separate and totally unrelated Sportsman title appeared for seven months in 2006.

Contents


1865 to 1924 version

The first British newspaper entitled The Sportsman began publishing from 1865, some six years after the Sporting Life. It ran until 1924.

It was at the offices of The Sportsman on 20 July 1871 that the Football Association committee meeting was held which adopted a proposal to establish a knockout competition for the FA’s member clubs – the FA Cup.


2006 version

Launched on March 22, 2006, The Sportsman was the UK’s first new national daily newspaper for 20 years, and claimed to be a one-stop shop for the modern punter, offering news, views and tips on sport, racing and anything else bookmakers give odds on. The paper had been the brainchild of editor-in-chief Charlie Methven. Sales reached 22,333 in May 2006 some way short of its target break-even figure of 40,000.

Just seven months after launch, an announcement was made that after suffering a failure in a refinancing bid, it had been decided to stop printing The Sportsman. The last edition appeared on October 5, 2006. The publisher had been in administration since July.


See also

  • Horseracing in the United Kingdom


References

  • The Evening Times “Sports paper gamble fails“, published 6th Oct. 2006.


External links

  • Official site
  • Timeline of the Sportsman Guardian Unlimited
  • Article on failure of 2006 Sportsman

November 21, 2007

Services for the disabled

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:53 pm

Services for the disabled are those government or other institutional services specifically provided to enable people who are disabled to participate on equal grounds in society. Some such services are mandated or required by law, some are assisted by technologies that have made it easier to provide the service, and others are commercially available not only to disabled people, but to everyone who might make use of them.

A complete list of such services would be difficult to assemble, especially as new ones are being invented all the time, and as old services are being delivered in new ways. It may be easier to divide the services by the disability that they help overcome:

  • Services for the blind:

    • Guide dogs being admitted to buildings, buses, trains and other locations that pets are not allowed.
    • Reserving the use of a white cane to blind individuals only.
    • Using mobile phone cameras to take pictures of change after a transaction, so that it can be counted by a sighted person who verifies by tone or voice that the change is correct.
    • Translation of new works into braille or talking books, or the use of text-to-speech translators.
      • Availability of these in a public library and other public institutions, and in a boot image configured for use for a disabled person.
  • Services for the visually-impaired:
    • Large font books
    • Basic operating system and boot image configuration utilities that set computers up with large bold fonts and high-contrast colour combination desktop schemes.
  • Services for the hearing-impaired:
    • Admission of hearing aids to locations where recording and transmitting devices are not normally permitted.
    • TTY terminals for telephones.
    • Video Relay Services
    • Closed captioning on television.
    • Sign language interpreting
    • Oral transliteration
  • Services for the mobility-impaired:

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was a landmark U.S. federal government move towards providing services for the disabled in a uniform way all across the country. That legislation has been widely copied in other countries.


See also

  • assistive device

May 30, 2007

Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — admin @ 3:25 am
For bankrupcty in Scotland see Sequestration

There is no single law on bankruptcy in the United Kingdom with there being one system for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.

Contents


Bankruptcy Law

There are two main personal insolvency regimes in the UK: one for England and Wales and another for Scotland. In England and Wales the majority of personal insolvencies are “bankruptcies”. The remainder are Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs, which are arrangements between the debtor and his or her creditors for the payment of the debts on different terms: for example by instalments, or over a period of time. These two forms of insolvency have close equivalents in Scotland, where bankruptcies are known as sequestrations and the equivalent of IVAs are Protected Trust Deeds, or PTDs.

In bankruptcy, an indebted individual sees his debts forgiven in return for surrendering his assets (and sometimes a limited proportion of his income). He is allowed however to retain so-called “exempt” assets such as tools-of-trade and basic necessities and the generosity of this exemption level has received much attention in the USA where it varies among states, potentially affecting bankruptcy filing rates.

Bankruptcy is handled by a Trustee in bankruptcy who must be either the Official Receiver (a civil servant) or a licensed insolvency practitioner.

Following the introduction of the Enterprise Act 2002’s bankruptcy provisions in April 2004, an England & Wales bankruptcy will now normally last no longer than 12 months and may be less, if the Official Receiver files in Court a certificate that his investigations are complete. However, in cases where the bankrupt is considered particularly culpable for his or her insolvency, the bankruptcy can last for up to 15 years, although such orders are rare.


Why are bankruptcies soaring?

Some claim that the Enterprise Act threatens massively to increase the number of bankruptcy cases. Indeed, bankruptcies have risen considerably since the change. However they were already on an upward trend, and the rise is mirrored in Scotland, where there has been no legislation change.

A popular alternative explanation for the run-up in UK insolvencies is “destigmatisation” - people, it is said, are becoming less ashamed of going bankrupt. This is hard to prove, but some evidence is provided by figures showing that, increasingly, bankruptcy petitions are filed by debtors themselves, rather than their creditors.

The UK average household debt-to-income ratio has risen substantially in recent years, leading some to attribute the rise in insolvencies to excessive borrowing. However, the ratio of debt repayment costs to income has remained quite low, weakening this claim. Moreover, the rise in borrowing could itself be a reflection of a lower “fear” of bankruptcy - the destigmatisation effect again.


Insolvency figures

Type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (p)
Bankruptcy Orders 19,892 19,647 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 28,021 35,898 47,287
Individual Voluntary Arrangements 4,549 4,902 7,195 7,978 6,298 6,295 7,583 10,752 20,293
Total 24,441 24,549 28,806 29,528 29,775 30,587 35,604 46,650 67,580
  • (p) are provisional figures
  • Sources: http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200505/table2.htm http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv200602/table2.htm


External links

  • British household indebtedness and financial stress: a household-level picture [PDF] Quarterly Bulletin, Personal Sector Articles, Winter 2004 (Report for Bank of England)
  • Website of the Insolvency Service in the UK
  • National Debtline Bankruptcy information document