Maybe this has slipped the minds of a few American executives – but this tragedy in India at the hands of American Gas giant Union Carbide rates as the worst industrial catastrophe of all time. While Obama calls for British heads to roll over the BP oil spill, let’s revisit a few facts that he might do well to consider…

11 people killed in accident on oil rig leased by British company BP, resulting in 4 presidential visits, a $1.6bn clean-up bill and the establishment of a $20bn compensation fund in 2 months.

15,000+ people killed in accident at Indian Bhopal plant owned by American company Union Carbide, resulting in O presidential visits, O clean-up bill and just $470m compensation in 25 years.

Now, shall we say Pot. Kettle. Black…?

In a way it is not fair but you can understand things from the insurance companies point of view. What surprises me is how much prices have gone up in the past 20 years but it always was pricey being young and a driver. His car has now become his number one priority and if anything it will teach him a few things about budgeting – so far I have not needed to say ‘I told you so’…

(BEVERLY, MA – EDITOR NEWSWIRE) – INVO Bioscience, Inc. (OTCBB: IVOB), a medical device company focused on treatment options for patients diagnosed with infertility, announced today the signing of an agreement with a South African distribution company Delfran Pharmaceuticals (http://www.delfran.co.za/). Delfran is a drug and medical device distribution company that is looking to bring the low cost INVO procedure into African nations, making infertility treatment affordable to the general public. CEO Katie Karloff stated, “The shortage of a cost effective treatment has left assistance for many couples simply out of reach. We believe that INVO Bioscience partnered with Delfran can bring an affordable infertility procedure to couples in many areas of Africa.”

Dr. Claude Ranoux, President and Chief Scientific Officer, traveled to Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa from February 7^th-17^th to perform distributor training.

Delfran Pharmaceuticals will have rights to distribute the INVOcell in the countries of South Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya and Angola. The INVOcell product does not need registration in the African nations outlined in the agreement. The governments offer very little financial support for IVF and the vast majority of cases done are paid for privately. Delfran will look to introduce the INVO procedure first into South Africa and then plans to expand INVO into the other territories of Sub-Saharan Africa.

INVO is also happy to announce the birth of the first INVO babies in Colombia. The babies were born on February 15, 2010 to a couple who had been treated at the CECOLFES Center for Fertility in Colombia.

The mother had developed three Grade 1 embryos in her previous IVF attempt without achieving pregnancy. Due to her previous infertility history, after undergoing INVO she was transferred 3 embryos and this resulted in the birth of triplets. These triplets are a multiple pregnancy that occurred during the 50 patient study performed by CECOLFES. The two baby boys, baby girl and mother are doing well and were home from the Pereira Colombia hospital within a few days. Dr. Elkin Lucena, Laboratory Director of CECOLFES, said, “This is the beginning of a new era in ART and the beginning of more births that we’re expecting from INVO in the following weeks.”

About INVO Bioscience

INVO Bioscience (IVOB) is a medical device company, headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, focused on creating simplified, lower cost treatment options for patients diagnosed with infertility. The company’s lead product, the INVOcell, is a novel medical device used in infertility treatment that enables egg fertilization and early embryo development in the woman’s vaginal cavity. The company was founded by Claude Ranoux, MD, a noted expert in the field of reproductive health, infertility and embryology. For more information, please visit www.invobioscience.com.

This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements regarding our expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, financing plans, business strategies, products and services, competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of management for future operations, as well as statements that include words such as “anticipate,” “if,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include those set forth in our filings at www.sec.gov. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The homeowner then gets a cheaper conservatory or kitchen because VAT is not added to the bill, while the workman, in return, escapes paying income tax. Over one in five people (21 per cent admitted) have even eaten food in a supermarket or store without paying for it. Research shows so-called ‘victimless crimes’ and general acts of dishonesty are committed by half of all Britons at least once a fortnight. The dangerous game of inflating insurance claims, such as adding a set of golf clubs to a shed burglary, or telling a white lie to save on your premium, is also a frequent occurrence. British women also like buying an article of clothing, wearing it out then returning it the next day claiming it was ‘the wrong size’..yep, just keep those receipts!

The survey of 1,000 adults, carried out by esure home insurance found 38 per cent of us believe such acts are normal and 42 per cent think that obeying the rules and being honest all the time would put them at a disadvantage. More than one in ten of us, 14 per cent, think it is acceptable to do something widely perceived as morally wrong. Meanwhile another 11 per cent claim the recession has driven them to white-collar-crime.

When it had not arrived by Xmas day I was worried – when it had not arrived by his birthday on January 2nd I was suspicious – when it had not arrived a week ago I was convinced it was another case of stolen mail. I have had this happen before. Then yesterday that parcel turned up at my door with a dozen different postage marks and stickers on it. The problem was I had addressed it only to ‘Patrick’ and not Patrick + surname. This I understand is very important in Germany and I have learned my lesson – parcel Mark II is now on it’s way!

The crisis at Toyota deepened yesterday as pressure mounted for it to recall its flagship ‘green’ car, the Prius, over brake problems. Sources said 270,000 of the petrol-electric hybrids worldwide may have to be checked.  Toyota has not confirmed a recall but has admitted the newest Prius models had a software problem affecting the brakes. Official investigations have been ordered in the U.S. and Japan although British ministers have not so far followed suit.

The world’s biggest car firm has already recalled eight million vehicles over fears that two separate faults with accelerator pedals have left them unsafe. That move affects 180,865 cars in Britain, where owners have been warned it could take up to four weeks for them to be notified. Last night it emerged that 270 Toyotas here have been reported as having the potentially lethal fault. Toyota said that it had confirmed 20 cases before announcing the recall, but another 250 were reported in the past week.

Working for four years on the refund counter of a major chain store in Sydney changed me for the better – I saw first hand how other people handled this situation, the amazing excuses they would come up with to explain why they wanted their money back…and I eventually developed as much front myself. But I would never dream of pulling some of the scams some of my customers got away with…

But did you know that British people are missing out on possible savings of £74billion a year because they are afraid to complain? each UK household misses out on an average of £2,873 every 12 months because they fail to demand refunds, good service and discounts on faulty or unwanted goods. Now unwanted gifts might just get you a voucher or credit slip as refunds and exchanges are normally reserved for defective purchases. A staggering two out of three people will not complain when they receive bad service in a hotel or restaurant and will even pay a tip.

The top five reasons given by people who refuse to demand better service, discounts, or replacement goods include: fear of making a scene (90 per cent), not wanting to ask for a discount (88 per cent), not wanting to appear cheap (82 per cent), not being good at complaining (67 per cent), and not having time (59 per cent). Is it being British that makes people not want to make a fuss or appear rude and ungrateful…? this never bothered Hyacinth Bucket. Put on your best voice, draw yourself up to your full height – and complain!

The scheme was introduced and made compulsory by former NSW premier Bob Carr in 2002 in order to cover home owners against poor or incomplete building work, but despite having collected over $225million in premiums insurance companies have paid out just $16million in claims. This is well below the usual premium-to-claim ratio of 65 to 80 per cent for consumer protection insurance. The scheme has been declared a rip off and claims of mismanagement have been fired at the State Govt by the Office of Fair Trading.

Even though insurance companies have greedily taken enormous profits from the consumers, the scheme in turn has been notoriously difficult to claim from with many who have gone bankrupt trying to claim for money to repair their homes. Another legacy of Bob Carr – a complete and utter failure for the people.

These days with the recession, the priority for many couples will be sorting out debts and other joint liabilities, such as household bills. Many people do not realise that with joint loans, overdrafts or credit cards, both parties are liable for the full amount. This is known as “joint and several liability”. It means that if, for example, you have a £10,000 loan with your ex-partner, you will not owe £5,000 each — you will both owe the full amount.

Joint and several liability can also apply to rent or mortgage arrears, as well as council tax, utility and other household bills. It is, therefore, important to ensure that your name is removed from all bills before moving out of the property. An old partner’s finances may also have an impact on your credit rating. If a couple share any form of joint bank account or credit, such as a loan, this “financial connection” will appear on both party’s credit ratings.

If your partner or ex-partner has a bad credit rating and you have a financial connection with them, this will have an adverse effect on your rating as well. This is why it is very important to keep your finances totally separate for at least six years from when your partner had debt problems — since it takes that long for their record to become clean again. Once you have severed all financial connections from your partner, you can write to a credit-reference agency — Experian, Call Credit or Equifax — to “dissociate” yourself from your ex. The agency will share this disassociation with the others, so only one needs to be contacted.

Also remember that your ex-partner will have access to any savings and current accounts in joint names. So it is vital to ensure these assets are divided fairly at the outset of a separation.

It’s not who to leave your saucepans or Sylvania light bulbs to – things like that – it is more to do with your kids (if you have them…)

More importantly what will happen to them if you both die simultaneously. This is not a nice thought but it happens and the worst that could happen is that your kids could end up in care.  That is something I am terrified of so we are having a Will drawn up as a couple and as parents.

How to choose an executor? easy. Don’t choose someone who you would not want to know your persnonal business – things like your bank balance, or how much you owe. That’s how I go by things.

Choosing a guardian for your kids is the same thing; but make sure they agree and are happy to comply with your wishes as regards to raising your kids. And put it all down together as a couple and as parents.