Take this guide to learn about Investment and Trade to make money

If you are new markets that would be better served by spending a little time and effort to learn more about investment and trade. Take time to learn the "stock market game and learn the secrets of successful investors and traders.
 
Contrary to popular belief,
 
Investment funds to retail are not great investments - Check out 'The Lies About Money "by Ric Edelman for an insider to take the financial system and why the investment funds to retail are not good investments . While it is desirable to seek help from a financial advisor, is just as important (if not more) to read and acquire knowledge to yourself.
 
The best way
 
Make the most of your money to start investing early - allowing you to put the power of compounding on your side. Also, contrary to popular belief, do not have to be a "good stock pickers" to win in the stock market.
 
Consider this
 
Proper money management (asset allocation) and the minimization of risk are the keys to winning the game of stock market. For more information about this (with mathematical proof), reading 'The Stock Market Game. You will be amazed how easy it is to learn this, and how much fun it can be.

Leaning together in North Carolina

Here's a heartening story from Alexandra Wilson Picci at HealthLeaders Media, entitled "NC Rural Hospitals Lean Together to Zap Waste."  An excerpt:

With the help of the North Carolina Hospital Association, a consulting firm, and a grant from the Duke Endowment, Caldwell Memorial Hospital teamed with four other hospitals to learn how to apply lean management principles. The hospitals shared ideas and resources, including funding and consulting services, and attended each other's learning events.

This is a great way to mitigate the expenses of a Lean program and share the enthusiasm.  As you have seen in examples on this blog, a portion of the Lean approach consists of rapid improvement events.  These focus on specific value streams within the organization, mapping out the entire work flow, identifying areas of waste, and experimenting with a new process. Here's a wonderful quote about how this kind of employee engagement works:

"It's remarkable to watch employees sit down and map out issues and discover possible solutions in a team environment and then have the wherewithal and the authority to implement these changes and see if they work," said Edgar Haywood III, president and CEO at Dosher Memorial Hospital, which is part of the new Eastern North Carolina Rural Hospital Lean Collaborative.  

Caldwell Memorial CEO Laura Easton added a key point:

"This is not something that you can delegate to one of your executives," she said. "I think Lean is only really appropriate if the CEO is committed to changing the way they operate the organization, and learning too, and being part of running their organization in a new and different way."

She is right, of course. As I have noted, like physical systems in which entropy takes over, consistently applied energy is necessary to maintain the process improvement system that we call Lean.  Without commitment from the top, the process will wither.  Congratulations to this group of CEOs for walking the walk.

A beginner's guide about how to start Online Trading in Commodities

The first thing I do is choose a commodity broker. Almost all commodity brokers offering online trading, but some specialize in online commerce. I am currently using my TradeStation trading. They have an excellent business platform for graphics, quotes, strategy analysis and order entry. There are many other online brokers that offer a good product, good service and low rates of commission. I also like Interactive Brokers Trading and Daniels.
 
Account Procedures Commodities
 
Each commodity broker is required to complete the account forms to open an account. Forms of trafficking, primarily because of their financial information and risks involved in commodity trading. Your financial information is important because the products are highly leveraged and the possibility exists that you may lose more money you invest. Therefore, the agent wants to know your income, assets and solvency.
 
Being qualified
 
Not everyone who completes the account applications will be allowed to open an account of raw materials. The broker may use his discretion as to whether you consider an acceptable risk and whether they feel are appropriate for commodity trading. The higher your income, business experience and creditworthiness, which has better chance for approval.
 
Before You Start Trading Commodities Online
 
Once you choose a commodity broker to trade online and get your account approved to trade, you will have to fund the account. There are many theories about the size of the account must begin, but it is totally your comfort level and risk tolerance.
 
Real trade
 
Now before you start trading real money, I would strongly suggest that you have a well-researched business plan in place before risking any money. We also recommend using the platform of their commodity broker simulated trading before you start direct trade. This will make you familiar with the placement of orders and could save you from making some critical errors to entry for real money.
 
Consider this
 
My final words of advice before starting to trade products online is to choose your trades wisely and avoid overtrading. If you are placing a wave of operations and look back at the end of the day wondering what happened - that overtrading. That is one of the largest drops in most commodity traders.

Harvard medical residents are stupid

There, that got your attention.

Obviously they are not all stupid.

Just the ones who ride their bicycles in the Longwood area without wearing helmets.

And especially the ones who wear dark clothes at night while riding without a helmet.

But extra especially the one who was wearing dark clothes at night while riding without a helmet, while texting.

Do you know what we call these people?

Organ donors.

How to become a floor trader?

Get a bachelor's degree from a prestigious university in finance. Probably an MBA as well. Full CFA Program. Being engaged in one of the few brokerage firms that are members of the bag with the floor traders (in competition with thousands of others more qualified than you) and get promoted to a position of floor trader.
 
Consider this
 
Get a degree in petroleum engineering in place. The pay is the highest in the world, not many people can finish the degree.

How to determine the pay for car insurance in the UK ?

It depends on your age, driving experience / history and vehicle type. As a mature driver with a clean license and record a time "no-claims low mileage driving a car fairly low risk in a moderately low risk area, I have to pay around £ 300 for full insurance (including legal cover and protected no-claims). Given that I have at least 60% no claims discount, the basic premium for me to be around £ 750.
 
Higher risk, but pay
 
If I had a bad driving record or inexperienced or lived in a danger area or riskier driving a car, the premium will be higher - perhaps much higher. My nephew recently graduated, quoted £ 2500 to secure a sentence of age, low-powered car around £ 500. The premium reflects the risk that the insurer believes it represents. I think the burden for young people is unfair and disproportionate, but, again, I have no data from insurance companies have.

Do you need sources for your vocation paper, what is about nursing ?

As a career choice, nursing meets all the criteria that people cite for the satisfaction of the race. Things like mobility, transferability of skills from one place to another.

• Flexibility is another factor that people value, nurses work 24 / 7 to have the ability to work around their other demands such as childcare and education.

• Employability is another factor and nurses are in high demand so that the probability of finding work is very high.

• Versatility is a desirable factor, nurses can enter hundreds of addresses with their careers, plus all medical specialties, they can do things such as teaching and administration.

• Compensation is also very competitive, nursing offers the highest wages for the least amount of educational investment.

Very important

The other reasons may be things such as altruism, being able to help people you love in emergency situations, health care is virtually recession-proof, nursing is a profession and professionals tend to be happier that "workers" - that's all I can think of right now ...

Medical Coding or Medical Transcription: What's the most rewarding career?

Medical transcription can be a very rewarding career. However, you must have an interest in the field of medicine to be a successful MT. The MTs that are successful tend to be very organized and very self-sufficient. No need someone looking over your shoulder when they are told to do work or how.
 
The ability to:
 
MTs to succeed you need to have the ability to do research on medical terms, drug names, and any other medical information related to the dictation is being transcribed. Much of this research can be done through the use of the Internet and other types of research can be done through having the correct reference books on hand.
 
Consider this for a medical transcriptionist
 
Anyone considering becoming a medical transcription should do your research to make sure that this is the right career choice for them. You want to know as much as you can about the career of medical transcription. It is also important to ensure you get the appropriate training course medical transcription is needed to become a successful MT.
 
About the medical coding
 
Medical coding is completely based on office work and you should have the medical knowledge of depth to this work. Medical coder will code the transcribed document. It must have good skills of trial, should not raise or lower coding, etc. ..

How to define the target customer to develop a successful marketing plan for your business?

You can not answer that until you define your target customer. This is where most businesses fail. They have no idea who actually purchase (or to buy) its products. They only want to sell to everyone.

So ask yourself,

First: Have you designed a product that could potentially new corner a new market segment, does a lower price that undercuts its competitors, their products are much better? What is your hook? Why customers should buy from you instead of someone else? Who is trying to sell? Is anyone who reads magazines or websites? Or do you mostly sell to repeat customers, who then contact your company by word of mouth to your partners? Do your products are unique and should be shown the picture, or are so familiar to potential users that you can use the text? And where your potential clients general information about your business?.

Consider this

These are the principles of the thousand questions that will develop a good marketing plan.

The silver industry is being considered as a solid investment ?

Firstly, my answer is yes, investing in silver for the last two years or less, silver prices more than doubled. Some people do not understand the commodity markets, copper, coffee, gold, oil, etc etc.

For example

When the economy is not doing well, when the share market is not doing well, when the currency is weak, people are going for the gold or silver, first of all liquid, you can sell at any time.

Therefore

For each stock exchange or commodity market is not the peak or low for long-term investors, you have to think, what item / s you choose to make the investment that gives more spin, but do not forget is the market still strongly feel that while gold is down, but will return soon, you can go down to 1650 / - or even more, but will recover soon.

World economy

The global economy is not growing, inflation is too high compared with return on investment. well, people choose the item, shares, deposits, gold, oil, silver can generate a higher yield, then inflation. In this respect also, do not forget to calculate your tax capital gains.

How to interview a good real estate agent to sell your house ?

• Ask what their marketing plan to sell the house is.


• Ask them what the house will sell for (but not choose based on that answer alone).


• Ask about their experience and the neighborhoods they specialize.


• Ask them how many ads you have to make sure that it will be able to have time to concentrate on selling theirs.


• Have commercial references.

Consider this

Ask friends if they know of any good realtors and invite a few more to give a presentation. Usually, it will give a presentation on their marketing plan, along with a comparative market analysis of your home if it's worth and be able to explain exactly why.

Very important

Make sure you answer their questions and not talk over your head. No matter which you choose, remember you are the boss! You can also try to negotiate the commission rate, but if you find one that is not likely that the agent is not the most professional real estate and work harder to do the job. good luck

How does a short sale house work in US ?

The bank agrees to stop selling the property, and you take the money from the sale as payment in full of the mortgage. Without a short sale if the house sells for less than you owe, the bank will probably not allow the sale, and if they do, you will pay the difference between the balance of the Mortgage and the amount of money from selling house brings.

Both parties agree

A short sale is not something that can only do. You have to make the Bank agrees. That is not easy.

What is needed to obtain a U.S. patent for an invention, then start your business?

Contact SCORE is a good step. Go to http://www.score.org/mentors and enter your zip code. SCORE counselors will help you with business advice. Here are some steps to protect your idea with a patent:
 
First,
 
I recommend you prepare a document that fully describes the invention - how, how, and why do you think is valuable. This document should include drawings of what they have invented a written explaining what is shown in the drawings. 

With these materials (drawings and written description)
 
Can go in two different directions. First, you can present the material yourself with the Patent Office of the U.S. as a provisional patent application. Along with what we have prepared, send a check for filing fee payable to the Patent Office of the U.S. (Current fee is $ 110) and a cover sheet (a copy is in http://www.uspto.gov/forms/ sb0016_fill.p ... Send by express mail, keep the originals and send copies of good, and look for a filing receipt from the office in the mail in about 30 - 45. The days of the patent office email addresses for a new patent application is the Commissioner of Patents, PO Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450. Do not worry that require a signature.
 
Alternatively,
 
You can give it prepares a patent attorney and he / she will prepare and file a provisional patent application. If you try to do a very thorough job in describing his invention, which does not need a patent attorney.
 
Provisional
 
After the provisional show, has one year before the next necessary step - filing a provisional patent application no. You need a patent attorney to prepare this version of the application.
 
Consider this
 
Before this year is, you have the opportunity to do two very important things. First, you must know how / if your invention is new. There have been 8 million patents have been issued and probably many items 1000X / publications / academic papers / etc. Your invention must be new to them. Do not worry, most inventions add something new.
 
The trick
 
Is what is the new look and how the patent "claims" You can try this by looking for yourself, the website of the Patent Office and other websites offer free tools for patent search. You can hire a search are not attorneys, search the Web. You can hire a patent attorney, if you hire a patent attorney he / she must provide you with a patent application proposal if he / she thinks that your invention is patentable.
 
After
 
The second thing you should do after filing a provisional application is to seek funding. Getting a patent with a good patent attorney will probably cost $ 10,000 - $ 20,000. You can put together a business plan and see if a bank can lend money to start a business based on its patent. Many cities now have "business incubators" that can support and help find investors. Note, to get the business going to be a lot more work to come up with the idea first.

What causes small businesses fail and what makes them succeed?

Small businesses fail due to:

• Lack of capital.


• Inability to generate sales.


• Poor cash flow.


• Product quality.


• Marketing and advertising no response.


• Lack of adaptation to changing market conditions.

What makes them succeed:

• Adequate financial planning - they know how much they need, when business is going to win, how will win.


• Excellent planning from the beginning.


• They are able to find a niche in highlighting.


• To strive for quality first.


• He listens to customers.


• The innovative, quick to respond to changing times.

Hadassah and Panama

Hadassah's Dr. Miklosh Bala

An excellent example of international health care cooperation is evident in Panama City this week, where Hadassah Panama is hosting a seminar in trauma medicine at Hospital Santo Tomas.  Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem has sent over experts in the field to provide a focused curriculum for Panamanian doctors and nurses.  In addition, those clinicians will spend time in the emergency room and wards, working side by side with local doctors and nurse to compare protocols and real-time delivery of care.

This is the fourth year this program has been run.  Clinicians from hospitals throughout the country have found value in these sessions.  Over 700 doctors and nurses attended the first session in 2007, a rate that has persisted each year. 

What's going on at Parkland Memorial Hospital?

A series of stories at the Dallas Morning News raised some serious questions about the quality of care at Parkland Memorial Hospital.  I draw no judgments about those issues.  But what comes across in these stories is something equally interesting:  A hospital that has chosen to take a hard line, dare I say stonewall, with the local press on issues of community concern.  In an era of increasing transparency, this approach is an anachronism.

Those of us a certain generation remember Parkland Memorial as the site of President Kennedy's trauma treatment and death in 1963, providing it an important symbol of high level care in our national consciousness.  But it is also a major teaching facility of the UT Southwestern Medical Center and is prominent in its own right for many reasons.

When a hospital with this kind of affection and reputation faces difficulties in the delivery of care, there are two possible approaches.  One is to be open and transparent about the nature of the problems, their causes, and the solutions being tried.  That approach is consistent with the high level of trust granted by the community.  The other approach is to hunker down and draw on powerful interests in the community to put pressure on journalists to back off from the story.  That may work for a while, but eventually fails, with an even greater loss of trust that would have been thought possible at the start.

It looks like Parkland has engaged in the latter kind of campaign.  The phases are disturbingly familiar.  After some highly visible cases, including stories of a patient care system heavily dependent on residents who sometimes work with little or no faculty supervision, federal regulators warned that failures in care at Parkland Memorial Hospital posed “an immediate and serious threat to patient health and safety,” and ordered it to submit a plan to remedy the problems within two weeks or lose federal funding.  The hospital administration described the report "as a collection of mainly 'technical violations.'"(Full story here.)

Meanwhile, conflicting explanations to the press emerge.  Here is an excerpt on a medical student issue:

Newly obtained records contradict UT Southwestern Medical Center's claims about unlicensed med students who were paid to work in Parkland Memorial Hospital's psychiatric ER -- and why the 30-year cost-saving practice ended this summer.

UTSW spokesman Tim Doke previously told me that the students were "administrative assistants" who "do absolutely no clinical, patient-care work" and had no formal job description. He also insisted I was misinterpreting a 2009 letter from four UTSW psychiatry professors that repeatedly called the students "clinicians" and never "administrative assistants."

But now a Texas Public Information Act request, filed right after we brought the unusual employment practice to light in June, has forced UTSW to release the students' job description. It says the students "provide experienced help" in Parkland's psychiatric ER -- they obtain the patient's history, perform a "brief neurologic exam" and "periodically assess patients."

  

Think about this.  The press was forced to file a freedom on information request to obtain job descriptions of students.  In fact, the hospital sued the Attorney General to challenge rulings that required this and other kinds of information to be provided. This is clearly a situation that has spun out of control.

Prominent members of the community have publicly come to the defense of the hospital.  Staff from UT Southwestern Medical Center asserted that the newspaper has a "vendetta" against the school and its teaching partner, Parkland.  Also, the hospital has retaliated against the newspaper by removing its advertisements. This is the kind of nasty local politics that eventually backfires.

I don't know where this is all headed, but given Parkland Memorial's place in the country's consciousness, the next stage has to be the national media.  What a shame that the hospital's return to the national scene will be about these kinds of issues.  Wouldn't it be marvelous if it adopted a truly transparent approach to the problems and instead became a national example of that philosophy?

Free up the data, Commissioner

The Governor of Massachusetts has made an excellent choice for the new Commissioner of the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.  He is attorney Áron Boros, who comes to DHCFP after serving as director of federal finance for the state’s Medicaid office since 2008.  Prior to working for MassHealth, Boros was an associate at the Boston law firm Foley Hoag LLP, where he worked with health care clients on a wide variety of issues.  His work included initiatives related to chronic disease management, health information technology, and evidence-based medicine.  His first day at DHCFP will be Sept. 15.

Let's hope that Mr. Boros makes good on the promises of his predecessor.  Under state legislation, the DHCFP has been assembling an all-payer claims database (APCD). It comprises medical claims, dental claims, pharmacy claims, and information from member eligibility files, provider files, and product files. It includes fully-insured, self-insured, Medicare, and Medicaid data and clear definitions of insurance coverage (covered services, group size, premiums, co-pays, deductibles) and carrier-supplied provider directories.

The existence of this database offers the potential for all parties to study the actual transactions taking place in the Massachusetts health care system.  It permits testing of hypotheses with regard to payment models, clinical affiliations, and a variety of other pertinent matters with regard to the state's health care policy agenda.  Because Massachusetts took the national lead with regard to health care reform, it also offers potential value to the country as a whole.

But transparency only works if the data are made available to all and easily so.  The previous commissioner made this promise over a year ago:  "That the database would be widely accessible, so that independent researchers, policy analysts, advocates, market participants, and others would be able to manipulate it to test hypotheses and assumptions."

Here is what the current regulations (114.5 CMR 22.00: Health Care Claims Data Release) say about getting this data:

22.03: Procedures for Data Requests
(1) Public and Restricted Use Files. The Division will create Claims Data Public Use Files and Restricted Use Files to which Applicants may request access in accordance with 114.5 CMR 22.03(2).

(2) Application Review Procedures. 

(a) Applications for Data.
1. All Applicants must submit a written application. Each Applicant shall:
a. specify the data requested, including Public Use Files and any restricted data elements requested; 

b. specify the purpose and intended use of the data requested, including a detailed project description that describes any other data sources to be used for the project;
c. specify security and privacy measures that will be taken in order to safeguard patient privacy and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of such data; 

d. specify the Applicant's methodology for maintaining data integrity and accuracy;
e. describe how the results of the Applicant’s analysis will be published;

f. agree to provide the results of all analyses, research, or other product of the data requested to the Division for the Division’s own use;
g. agree to the data disclosure restrictions in 114.5 CMR 22.04; and 

h. obtain prior approval from the Division to release any reports that used restricted use files prior to publication or other release.

Obviously, protection of patient privacy is important and required by statute, but several of the other requirements here are not.  Truly, this is "old style" government.  Say I am an academic researcher, exploring multiple hypotheses related to payments or clinical care management.  Why should I have to tell the state what other data sources I plan to use?  Why should I describe how the results will be published?  (Indeed, I probably cannot, in that my work may have to go through levels of peer review at multiple journals.)  For public use files, rather than restricted files, why should there be a need for any application at all?  I fear that these requirements act as an effective bar on public inquiry, well beyond that intended by the Legislature.

But maybe I am over-reacting.  I would love to be proven wrong.  Here's a test to see whether my concerns are valid.  This is the most comprehensive data set in the state on this topic, in a state filled with public policy researchers at multiple academic institutions and NGOs.  How many applications for data have been received since the regulations were adopted in July of 2010?  How many have been approved?  For the ones not approved, what reasons were given?

Eugene Eisenmann's living memorial

At the time of his death in 1981, the New York Times reported that Eugene Eisenmann was trained as a lawyer. He received his law degree from Harvard University in 1930 and was a partner in the New York City law firm of Proskauer Rose & Paskus until 1957, but he had a lifelong interest in bird studies. He became a leading ornithologist and a research associate in the department of ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History since 1957.  He was active in bird conservation and the author of the book ''The Species of Middle American Birds,'' a checklist of more than 1,400 species, and coauthor of ''The Species of Birds of South America.''

The Fundación Avifauna Eugene Eisenmann was created in his memory, with the objective of conserving the 1000 species of birds that reside and pass through Panama.  They created the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center as an ecotourism and environmental education project.  The centers has forty meter observation tower, constructed from recycled materials, that permits you to view various levels of the forest, and also a nice set of trails to view things at ground level.  There is an incredible diversity of flora and fauna.

Eugene was a kind, gentle, and thoughtful man, whom I remember well from my childhood in New York City.  I think he would have been pleased with this living memorial in Panama.  Even though he never lived in the country, his family history was centered there, as were his avocational ornithological interests.  As he never married, it is well that there is this kind of legacy in his honor.

(Here's the geneological link:  Eugene was the son of Esther Maduro Brandon, daughter of my great-grandparents, David Henry Brandon and Judith Piza Maduro -- making him my first cousin, once removed.  You may recall David as being the founder of the volunteer fire department in Panama City around the turn of the century.  The postage stamp issued in his honor is to the right.)

But back to Eugene's memorial park -- see how these family connections suck you in when you visit your ancestral homeland! -- if you would like to see more images from the Rainforest Discovery Center, click on this link to my Facebook album.  In the meantime, enjoy the ants in this video below.

(If you cannot see the video click here.)

Piva satisfies

It was August of 1967, and my great-uncle Elias Alvin ("Bill") Fidanque (the family geneologist) was giving me a walking tour of the old section of Panama City. We walked past a vendor, and Bill bought some interesting orange-colored nut-like things.  "Try it," he said, as he demonstrated the technique for eating piva (pronounced pee-vie for some odd reason).  These are starchy nuts from a palm tree -- Bactris gasipaes -- that are boiled in salt water and served at room temperature.

They are probably terrible for you, full of high cholesterol palm oil and an incredible number of calories per cubic centimeter (1000 per fruit), but they are delicious, especially if you add -- to make things even worse! -- mayonnaise.  This week at dinner at Bill's nephew's house in Panama City, I helped finish off the ones that had been prepared as appetizers that way, leaving uneaten these that were served with a touch of jelly.

Tips to become a debt free Person

If you are in debt, which has lost focus or do not know what you're doing. You obviously have no financial education, and a wrong way of thinking about money. I suggest you start reading. Here are a few you can start with:

• Think and Grow Rich


• Rich Dad Poor Dad


• Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.

Also

I also like books by Donald Trump. After that you can read actual technical books on how to make money, such as stock market books.

Consider this

Stop spending. Paying off high interest debts first. Reduce expenses, increase revenue, live on less than you earn, only buy what you can pay in cash. Then, the work of Dave Ramsey snowball debt. Can be found on its website, in books or on TV or radio.

Open a New Age shop. Can you ask donations be made to start this sort of project?

Sure - you can ask for donations for anything - but it is very clear what it is. If your store is "for profit", then you probably should not say that. Mostly people give money to "charities." But what people do not know about "charity" is that much of the money that they end up going to the company that picks it up - so a lot of "charity" of things is a kind of legal fraud.

Consider this

I'm not sure where it asks for donations - but simply to make very clear what it is - and then keep a careful record of what amounts of money given.

There is an opportunity

Somehow I can not imagine anyone money donated to you for this - but give it a try. Above all these things happen because of his personality - not because it makes no sense.

The Infrastructure Chronicles -- Volume 11

There is a lot to be said about the history of the Panama Canal, a concept that piqued people's imagination almost as soon as the Europeans landed on the isthmus in 1501.  The first serious attempt to dig a canal was led by Ferdinand de Lesseps (honored here in a memorial in the Plaza de Francia in Panama City), who had successfully built the Suez Canal; but this was a different task altogether.  He was stymied by disease, the difficulty of construction, and a failure to secure (from the recalcitrant American owner of the trans-Isthmian railroad) or build an effective railroad link to carry workers, material, and supplies to and from the interior of the country.

After the French gave up, an American team began and ultimately had greater success.  First, though, they had to deal with Colombia, the owner of Panama, which refused to give America a franchise to build.  President Teddy Roosevelt, in a classic move of imperialism and practicality, helped Panama declare its independence from Colombia in 1903.  Shortly thereafter, the new government authorized French businessman Philippe Bunau-Varilla, to negotiate a treaty with the United States. The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty allowed the U.S. to build the Panama Canal and provided for perpetual control of a zone five-miles wide on either side of the canal, creating the political and institutional framework for a successful project.  It was completed in 1914.

Plaque in Plaza de Francia

Plaque on Ancon Hill

Decades later, President Jimmy Carter decided it was time -- in part because of anti-American sentiment -- to divest American interests in the canal and transfer the canal and the Canal Zone to Panama.  A treaty was signed in 1977 which set forth the framework for the ownership and operational transition.  This was controversial in the American Senate, passing by split votes in both political parties.

(The first day cover below is of the last postage stamp issued by the Canal Zone, in 1978.)

From the collection of Henry Fidanque

Full Panamanian control occurred on December 31, 1999.  Notably, still feeling the pressure of American mixed sentiment, President Clinton did not attend the turning-over ceremony a couple of weeks before, nor did he send any high-ranking American officials to share the podium with the leader of Panama.  An assistant secretary of the Army represented the US in handing over billions of dollars in assets to Panama.

However, there remained an underlying design problem in the canal, the inability of the new generation of larger ships to fit through the locks, requiring containers to be unloaded at one end of the canal, transported by railroad (see below), and reloaded on the other coast.

Likewise, oil shipments are sent via pipeline from tankers in one ocean to those in the other.  But that is about to change.

The New York Times recently ran this story about the construction project to widen the Panama Canal.  Here's an excerpt:

COCOLÍ, Panama — For now, the future of global shipping is little more than a hole in the ground here, just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean. Ah, but what a hole it is.

About a mile long, several hundred feet wide and more than 100 feet deep, the excavation is an initial step in the building of a larger set of locks for the Panama Canal that should double the amount of goods that can pass through it each year.

The $5.25 billion project, scheduled for completion in 2014, is the first expansion in the history of the century-old shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific. By allowing much bigger container ships and other cargo vessels to easily reach the Eastern United States, it will alter patterns of trade and put pressure on East and Gulf Coast ports like Savannah, Ga., and New Orleans to deepen harbors and expand cargo-handling facilities.

I was given a tour of the construction site today, and it is indeed a spectacular project.  Here's a short video:



If you can't see the video click here.  You can read more about the project here and see some images from the tour here on Facebook.

Future site of third set of locks, Pacific side