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And once again we have health and safety madness at its true British best!

Illegal raves that cause disruption to nearby residents, where illegal drugs are sold and consumed by many and where the countryside is trashed by people who couldn’t give a damn, will NOT be broken up by police because they have not had the necessary health and safety training in the dark. We all know what a health and safety risk the dark is! Police have also raised concern that if they break up the raves, party goers may disperse and drive whilst still under the influence of drink or drugs. Is it just me or can anyone else see the madness in this? Stop the illegal raves, prosecute everyone who drives while under the influence, get all those mindless morons off the road and kill two birds with one stone.

Of course, bird killing with stones or any other implement would probably be banned under health and safety regulations too!

And it’s not just the police that have their duties restricted by the lack of health and safety training - or the lack of common sense - however you want to view it. Postmen are also coming under scrutiny and in some areas are having their bikes taken away and replaced with post trolleys. This is to prevent shoulder strain from carrying their bags but bikes have carriers on them so the reasoning makes no sense at all. Instead we are going to see hoards of postmen with leg and back strain from walking miles and miles and pushing trolleys! More madness!

And not to be left out, the Mayor of Maidstone has been banned from using the official mayoral flag on her car, just in case it falls off and damages another car or road user. That will be the 8 inch by 5 inch flag, the one that contravenes health and safety regulations. Never mind the 14′ x 6′ lump of metal with the engine inside that could so easily mow down and kill someone - just watch out for the little flag on the top. After all, no-one is known to have had health and safety training in attaching it properly and the last thing the council needs is a law suit for the damage caused by a flag on the loose.

And it’s not just the grown-ups that suffer. Amid fears of law suits and litigation, schools are phasing out field trips because of a lack of health and safety training in teachers when children are out of the classroom. That will be because, as we all know, perfectly adequate teachers who display common sense and intelligence in the classroom, become gibbering idiots outside and are unable to take responsibility of their charges! I am being sarcastic here!

And then we have the health and safety risk posed by that horrendous assailant - nature. But all is not lost. The British Standards Institution currently has over 27,000 standards covering a multitude of things, including trees. They are suggesting that people be employed to inspect trees every three years to ensure they pose no risk to passers-by. This is because, in the compensation culture of today, people are scared of having a claim made against them.

So, of the six people a year that killed by trees this year, the claims could potentially be so high that perfectly good trees will be felled, just in case. So goes the very air that we breathe and the habitat for so many animals. Of course, if we are going to take such action against the evil tree should we not be wary of other things also? Every year in the UK, 640 people die from falling down stairs. I propose we do away with stairs, all live in bungalows wrapped in bubble wrap, supported by an iron lung, and never venturing out, just in case.

Current affairs expert Catherine Harvey looks at the way health and safety training does not cover everything.

After rising drastically last week fixed mortgage interest rates moved up slightly this week. 30 Year notes moved from 6.42 to 6.45 and 15 Year notes moved from 6.02 to 6.04. ARMS on the other hand rose a decent amount. 5 Year Arms rose from 5.89 to 5.99 while 1 Year Arms rose from 5.19 to 5.27.

30 Year mortgage rates have been on a steady rise having risen for the last straight 6 weeks. Overall 15 Year Fixed and 5 Year Arms have been rising. The only mortgage product that has remained relatively flat over the last 6 weeks is the 1 Year Arm. Below are mortgage rates for the last few weeks.

June 26,2008
30-yr 6.45 15-yr 6.04 5-yr ARM 5.99 1-yr ARM 5.27

June 19,2008
30-yr 6.42 15-yr 6.02 5-yr ARM 5.89 1-yr ARM 5.19

June 12,2008
30-yr 6.32 15-yr 5.93 5-yr ARM 5.70 1-yr ARM 5.09

June 5,2008
30-yr 6.09 15-yr 5.65 5-yr ARM 5.51 1-yr ARM 5.06

May 29,2008
30-yr 6.08 15-yr 5.66 5-yr ARM 5.62 1-yr ARM 5.22

May 22,2008
30-yr 5.98 15-yr 5.55 5-yr ARM 5.61 1-yr ARM 5.24

So rates are one thing but what does this translate into for a mortgage payment. Using our free mortgage calculator lets run the numbers on a 200k loan based on todays rates. We also put in what the mortgage would be a week and a month ago based on past rates.

June 26th
30-yr $1257.56
15-yr $1692.03
5-yr ARM $1197.81
1-yr ARM $1106.88

June 19th
30-yr $1253.60
15-yr $1689.87
5-yr ARM $1184.99
1-yr ARM $1096.98

May 29th
30-yr $1209.4
15-yr $1651.19
5-yr ARM $1150.68
1-yr ARM $1100.69

So looking at the numbers above one would have saved almost $50 by getting a 30 Year loan a month ago compared to today. In contrast a mortgage on a 1 Year Arm has remained relatively constant only move up $6 compared to a year ago. Why Banks would want to promote 1 Year Arms is anyone’s guess since its a riskier product that more frequently leads to foreclosures. Based on the other recent decisions by banks it would not be a bad assumption to assume banks have no idea what they are doing this point.

At this point getting a 5 Year loan doesn’t really seem worth it compared to getting a 30 Year loan since the cost savings is not that high (5%). On the other hand if you plan on keeping the property for a short period of time a 1 Year loan seems attractive considering the cost savings (12%).

So as always the next question is what rates are going to be doing over the next month. In the absence of future rate cuts its unlikely that rates will go down very much. Additionally, since rates have risen over the last few week it seems that banks are becoming more satisfied with the current rate spread between the FED and current mortgage rates. So one would expect rates to remain flat or have a small rise through the rest of the summer.

Ki is a realtor in Austin. His site has information on mortgage rates trends along with a mortgage rates widget and a free mortgage calculator.

Many newbies have “shy” away from their legitimate work at home business online because they say there’s no or little traffic frequenting their sites. There is still a misconception that traffic will automatically come rushing in after a website is created and published to the web. Please understand that an online business is the same as any other businesses. For it to work, you must promote it. You must treat it like a real business, because that’s what it is. In this article I am touching on one of the most effective and free traffic driving tactics, forum marketing.

Forum marketing has been around since the beginning of internet marketing and has been and still is one of the most effective ways to promote your legitimate online business. There are however, rules that you must adhere to in order to see a good respond. For one, when you first register with a new forum, make sure you always read through and understand its rules and regulations. Every forum will have their respective rules and regulations. Most of which are similar but don’t take that for granted. Read them all.

For example, most online business forums will have a thread or a discussion topic where you can promote your own products or services. Some forums will only allow you to do so after you have made 3 postings in other threads where else some forums do not have this clause. There are also some forums that do not allow you to include a signature in your first few postings and many more. I’m sure you understand the idea here is to always read the rules and regulations.

Forums marketing is a great way to network with other online home business owners to strike a joint venture with. Whether it’s cross promotions or link exchanges they are all possible. It is also a great way to promote yourself as an expert in your niche market and to promote your legitimate online business by adding a signature that is linked back to your website. Always remember though to post quality comments. A simple one line yes or no answers will not do. Elaborate on your opinion and raise your views if you can, but don’t ever get into a dispute. You can get banned from the forum. Now we don’t want that to happen right.

Where can I find forums on my niche to participate in? Simple, just google; forum+yournichemarket.
I just googled; forum+online business. The returned results were 284 million online business forums that are available. You have no excuse not to join forums now.

The disadvantage of forum marketing however, is that it takes time to grow and to take effect. If you are looking to drive massive traffic tomorrow by doing forum marketing today, you will be disappointed. Nevertheless, its worth the while because once the traffic momentum gets going you will be thrilled. To achieve this you must do forum postings religiously, for when the it starts to fruit, they are plentiful and the sweetest. This is when you will experience the lucrative returns in your legitimate work at home business online.

Steven Fu, a full time internet marketer runs a website that recommends top legitimate work at home businesses online. Discover the easy way to start a legitimate online business by downloading your FREE “Plug-in Passive Income Toolkit” at; http://www.PluginPassiveIncome.com