Feb 9, 2013

5 Tax Breaks on the Chopping Block

As Congress squabbles on the deficit, these cuts can get the ax.

Health Insurance

Congress approved tax increases to solve the fiscal mess-climbing does not increase revenue enough to keep the nation's budget problems under control. But rather than raise rates further, President Obama has signaled Sunday that lawmakers next round 'of talks to reduce the deficit, is likely to fill the gaps and eliminating tax deductions. Although not expressly stated in the table, experts say that there are several possible candidates for the gallows. One option that advantages to the employer health benefits expenses, said Roberton Williams, an economist at the Tax Policy Center is a non-partisan Washington-based. More than 150 million Americans receive health insurance through their employers tax free. But the benefits of weight can reduce federal spending an average of $ 150 billion a year for the next five years, according to estimates by the Joint Committee on Taxation. Prize Average cost of family health insurance of about $ 16,000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. If the system has suddenly become passive, some families may groped to reduce costs by switching to a lower premium plan, which often comes with higher deductibles and co-payments, Williams said. The government has drawn more attention to the benefits for employers who need to get out because the company and its employees spent on insurance coverage on W-2 forms, which recorded annual wages and salaries. (See also "is the Health Plan allowance is the next?") - The Mars Jonnelle

Rate mortgage reduced

Although one of the most popular tax breaks, loans at a reduced rate that is often talk about raising revenue. Given the state of the housing market, it is unlikely that this will break away completely, but lawmakers could decide to resize in some way, said Keith Gumbinger, an analyst at HSH credit. One possibility is to reduce the cap on the amount of mortgage debt that can be calculated in a reduction of $ 1 million for, say, $ 500,000. Congress can also limit the deductions to his principal residence, and may not be used for second homes. And Congress could decide to phase out the deduction of interest for those earning above a certain income. Tax savings for those who take advantage of the benefit could be significant: the first year of discount on loans $ 400,000 30 years fixed rate at 3.75% is $ 14,874, according to Gumbinger. As with other itemized deductions, changes here will have a lower receiver in addition to average households, which are more likely to use the standard deduction, he said.

State and local tax deduction

They are described in general, can reduce state and local taxes they pay. Perk is vulnerable given size: cut taxes tax $ 260 billion by 2010, according to the latest data from the Internal Revenue Service. Tax relief may also be targeted because they refused to approximately 4 million Americans who are subject to alternative minimum tax, says Williams, of the Centre for Tax Policy, potentially making it easier for Congress to do away with this break for all taxpayers.

Charitable deductions

Parliament may hesitate to taxes altruism, but experts say breaks for charity could be at risk. The Congressional Budget Office has examined eliminate it as a possible option for reducing the federal deficit, estimated that limiting the deduction of such contributions could increase federal revenue by $ 20 billion in 2014. A proposal that may emerge in the budget talks is to set the income threshold, which only allows taxpayers to reduce the contribution in excess of 2% - or some other percentage - of their income, economists say. Critics argue that the threshold could encourage donors to combine their contributions - which means that you give every year, not every year, to increase their ability to meet the minimum. But supporters say it could also encourage people to improve their overall contribution.

City bonds

Municipal bonds are favored by investors in high tax brackets for their interest exempt from federal taxes, as well as many state and local taxes. Obama has proposed limiting tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, limiting the exemption to 28%. According to these standards, the taxpayers in the range of 35% pay tax of 7% on their city bonds. City found that reduce or eliminate the tax exemption will encourage their borrowing costs because investors will demand higher interest rates for a bond. But Congress may be tempted to reduce the cost of Federal large: Exclusion from the city-bond interest income from tax would cost the federal government about $ 50 billion this year and $ 300 billion over the next five years, according to the 'Office of Management and Budget.

Read More : http://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-tax-breaks-chopping-block-180116675.html


Label : Feb 9, 2013 | 2:00 AM | 0 Comments

China: People's Daily Rejects US Hacking Claims

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

The United States is "scared fans in China," according to an article on the front page of China Daily.

The newspaper, which is the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, or rejected with firmness the possibility of state-sponsored hackers made last week by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

"Americans continue to label China as a hacker, just by playing the rhetoric of the 'China threat' in cyberspace, providing further justification for an American strategy to contain China," the article says the first page.

He added: "Even those who have little knowledge of the internet knows that hacking attacks transnational and concealable.

"IP addresses is simply not enough evidence to confirm the origin of the hackers."
China People Daily
The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal announced last week that they have been victims of cyber attacks extended.

Evidence of such media is strongly recommended that the hacking came from China, and that there is no evidence that the attack "state-sponsored".

This relationship produces a wider debate about the alleged involvement of China in cybercrime.

'E was revealed over the weekend that Google's Eric Schmidt, chairman believes that China as "the most advanced and productive" hackers to foreign companies.

Writing in his new book, co-authored with Jared Cohen, Mr Schmidt said that China was "filterer more active and excited about the world of information."

The difficult history of Google and China are well documented. Because the search engine was launched in China in 2006, fought censorship in the country.

China's communist government has made a block at the national level on several websites, including Facebook and Twitter, while specific search on Google and other search engines are regularly blocked if they are deemed too sensitive.

Last year a report by the U.S. Congress said China's state-backed group with increasing levels of sophistication are trying to break the computer system of the United States. The report said China was "the most threatening actors in cyberspace."

The article in People's Daily, which is written in the style of editorial, saying that the U.S. is using national security as a justification for these unfounded allegations.

Americans have long supported China guilty of commercial espionage.

The article also said that, as the Chinese government has made on Friday, the Chinese website has been the victim of a large number of attacks on U.S. IP addresses of other countries, but that "China does not draw simple conclusions or conclusions hasty attack at the source."

According to the New York Times, China hackers steal passwords from the company of 53 employees shortly after the paper published an intervention from a family heritage Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Both the New York Times or The Wall Street Journal has explicitly accuse the Chinese government involvement.

The methods used to breach computer systems and 'bouncing' of information across servers around the world means that it is often impossible to accurately identify the attackers.

Read More : http://news.sky.com/story/1047269/china-peoples-daily-rejects-us-hacking-claims


Label : , | 12:00 AM | 0 Comments

Feb 8, 2013

Bruce Willis slates new Die Hard title in awkward One Show interview

Even Bruce Willis does not understand the confusion of the last title 'Die Hard', 'A Good Day to Die Hard'.

In an interview on BBC bizarre 'The One Show' presenter troubled franchise Star Matt Baker and Alex Jones, asking them: "Let me ask you, with regard to the title you confused with this?"

"Yes," said Jones. "But I thought, and I'm fine with him now."

"I do not understand ... It 'a good day to die ... hard ... yes, still working on it."

He continued: "It 'a difficult title' A Good Day To Die Hard 'This is like a sandwich and let's go shopping - Then die hard.?".

Baker asked if he would call the film. "It would make about as reasonable," said Willis.

Critcism meetings embarrassing attract viewers. Philip Schofield Twitter to his followers: "Catching up on 'The One Show' from yesterday .. Bruce Willis looks uncomfortable!"

Write on 'View Forum', the audience said: "This is a disgraceful spectacle and full credit to the presenters who did a great job with stupid people do not care less."

'Die Hard' has a glorious history of the title does not really make sense, from 'Die Hard: With A Vengeance', to 'Live Free Or Die Hard "and" Die Hard 2: Die Hard'.

Willis could not understand who he is.

Read More : http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/bruce-willis-slates-new-die-hard-title---a-good-day-to-die-hard-165754386.html


Label : Feb 8, 2013 | 10:00 PM | 0 Comments

Speedy Skateboarder 'Faces Prosecution'

A skateboarder who filmed trigger a speed camera while sliding down a South Africa reportedly facing criminal.

People - believed to Decio Lourenco - celebrated after leaving the camera in the area (37 mph) 60kph in a YouTube video that has been viewed more than 200,000 times.

It seemed to hit speeds of up to 110kph (68 mph) in Kloof Nek Road, Cape Town, was recorded with a GPS device attached to a leg.

The skater, who was wearing a helmet and gloves, spend a few meters of a passing car as he ran along the road between Table Mountain and the city center.

This video was reportedly shot by a friend with a camera attached to the bumper of his car.

Now, members of the Committee of the mayor for the safety and security, JP Smith, said the skater must be tried - without the possibility of a fine - for the conduct reckless and negligent manner.

Mr Smith said the traffic department will see the YouTube video and recording cameras in an attempt to track him down.

"He (Lourenco) will be charged with reckless endangerment and will not be given the option of a fine.

"This case will be opened with the police and ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute."

Mr Smith also said that the city will not lift the ban skating on public roads.

He said: "There is no way to remove the provisions of (skating) of this rule, would be madness."

In these rules, skateboarding is illegal on public roads unless the road has been specially designated for that purpose.

Lourenco has not commented on the latest allegations.

Read More : http://news.sky.com/story/1049174/speedy-skateboarder-faces-prosecution


Label : | 8:00 PM | 0 Comments

Defensive gaffe on final possession costs Indiana and breathes life into Illinois’ season

Only two-tenths of a second to run Illinois Indiana lead in the second round on Thursday night. Fortunately for the Illini, they chose the right one.

Illinois shocked classified Hoosiers 74-72 thanks to a game at the end of Champaign defensive blunder that will cost one place or the first Indian company in the Big Ten and the No. 1 spot in the polls.

With the score tied and Illinois guard Brandon Paul inbounding the ball from the corner with just nine-tenths of a second remaining, the Illini forward Tyler Griffey set the right wing of the screen to try to free a shooter and then cut to the basket. Christian Watford Griffey left to cover shooters and Cody Zeller could not take it, miscommunication that left Illinois on wide open under the basket for a layup to win the game before time expired.

Ember Griffey sparked celebrations throughout Illinois Assembly Hall as happy as students stormed the field even though half the referee was checking to make sure the game winning layup calculated. D.J. Richardson and Sam McLaurin scored jumped on the table and pumped his fists, while the rest of their teammates around looking for someone to hug.

[Related: Kansas has been one of the most incredible seasons disorders]

The enthusiasm of the Illini certainly justified considering the consequence of this victory to their season.

If Illinois is able claw back from a deficit of 14 points in the second half, it will be at 2-8 in Big Ten play with a road game against Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio State still left on the schedule. The Illini still just 16-8 overall and 3-7 in league play after a win, but I hope that the NCAA tournament supported by a win over Gonzaga, Butler, Ohio State and now the Hoosiers.

D.J. Richardson was the hero of the comeback of Illinois until layup Griffey, scored 23 points, including eight straight to erase 70-62 deficit in the last three minutes. Griffey had 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Paul had 21 points, the largest of which is the two free throws to tie the score at 72 with 36 seconds to go after Victor Oladipo layup gave Indiana the lead again.

[Also: Indiana State at-large profile has become more confused after winning Creighton]

Indiana could win the game in regulation on the final possession Oladipo has not been pulled off the edge. Richardson recovered the loose ball and raced up court to try to win for Illinois, but Oladipo recovered from the bottom to hit his game-winning layup attempt out of bounds with nine-tenths of a second to go, paving the way for heroism of Griffey.

See top national ranked teams fall within a week of inheriting 1 ranking number one in a row that reinforce the fact that college basketball has no elite teams this season.

Louisville lost three games in a row last month. Kansas falls to TCU on Wednesday night miserable. And now Indiana, just five days removed from beating Michigan glory and retrieve the first place in the Big Ten, has been tempered by the Illinois team that has lost six of seven games that come into play Thursday night.

Read More : http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/defensive-gaffe-final-possession-cost-indiana-no-1-025507930--ncaab.html


Label : | 6:00 PM | 0 Comments

150-foot asteroid will buzz Earth, no need to duck

 Cape Canaveral, Florida (AP) - An asteroid 150 meters wide will come very close to Earth next week, even closer than the high-altitude communications and weather satellites. This flyby will be closer to known objects of this size.

But do not worry. Scientists have promised Megarock at least 17.100 miles away when the hinge through next Friday.

"No impact the Earth is possible," said Donald Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., on Thursday.

Even the possibility of an asteroid-satellite walk-in very remote, Yeomans and other scientists said. A few hundred satellites orbit at 22,300 mph, higher than that of the asteroids, though operators have been warned of an incoming object for monitoring purposes.

"Nobody raised a red flag, and they did not," he told reporters Yeomans. "I certainly do not favor any problems."

It 's impossible to see with the naked eye, these little things Considered by asteroids. Instead, I took out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago is 6 miles wide.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 However, as is well known at the time of its discovery, it can still pack a wallop.

If it hits the Earth - It would not, scientists were quick to add to Thursday - would release the energy equivalent of 2.4 million tons of TNT, and the removal of 750 square miles. This is what happened in Siberia in 1908, when the forest land around the asteroid Tunguska River leveled by a little 'smaller bomb exploded about five miles above the earth.

It is likely that this is the size hitting the Earth once every 1200 years. A meeting near dangerous as it is expected to occur every 40 years.

Most of the asteroids in the solar system is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and still is not stable for billions of years. Some pop out from time to time, however, for the Earth

This closest approach will take place on Friday afternoon, Eastern time, throughout Indonesia.

There will be many shows. Asteroid will zip by at 17.400 mph. This is about eight times faster than a rifle bullet from a high velocity.

The asteroid will be visible to the naked eye and with binoculars and telescopes will appear as a small point of light. What is the first look will be in Asia, Australia and Eastern Europe.

Observers in the United States can safely forget. Astronomers using NASA's deep space antenna in the Mojave Desert of California would have to wait eight hours after closest approach to capture radar images.

Scientists include all the images they get. Asteroid offers a unique opportunity to observe something so big and close, and any new knowledge will help you if and when another asteroid murderess direct way to the ground.

Close approach also highlights the need to keep track of what is out there, if only to protect the planet.

Count when NASA near-Earth objects: just under 10,000, the result of a concentrated effort over the past 15 years. It is estimated that less than 10 per cent of the objects out there.

No one was excluded Earth severe impact, although said to be very low probability.

"We do not have all the money in the world to do this kind of work" to track and potentially divert asteroids, said Lindley Johnson, an executive with the Near-Earth Object Program observations of Washington.

In fact, when asked NASA plans to send astronauts to an asteroid in the next decade, as explained a few years ago by President Barack Obama, Johnson said the space agency is considering a number of options for human exploration.

A forward step in December, scheduled for 2016, is the launch of the space shuttle to fly in a much larger asteroid, collect samples and bring them back to Earth in 2023.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 - was discovered last year by astronomers in Spain - scientists suspect that it was made of silicate rocks, but I'm not sure. The exact shape and size is also a mystery.

What we know for sure:

"Orbit is so well known that objects are not random collisions," he repeated Yeomans During a press conference Thursday.

Close approach, in fact, will change its orbit around the sun in order to stay out of the earth, at least in the future, said Yeomans.

Johnson anticipates no "thing that the sky is falling" in reference to the flyby of next week.

He and other scientists invited journalists to keep a close encounter in the future.

"Space rock hit the Earth's atmosphere every day of basketball size object like a day .. Volkswagen-sized objects like every couple of weeks," said Yeomans.

The grand total of stuff hit the atmosphere every day? "About 100 tons", according to Yeoman, though most arrive without danger as sand particle sizes.

Read More : http://news.yahoo.com/150-foot-asteroid-buzz-earth-no-duck-192322385.html


Label : | 4:02 PM | 0 Comments

What time is it? Russia's Medvedev resists change

MOSCOW (AP) - When the sun will come today? In Russia, it is an intense debate, and one that can reflect the stature of the sinking of the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Medvedev said Thursday that it has no plans to immediately reverse its decision to leave Russia during summer all year round.

The progress made in 2011 when he became president has been very popular since the nation was plunged into darkness range until late morning through the winter.

And now it is not clear how long the decision will actually take place.

Mentor Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, who has returned to the presidency in May after spending four years of premiership because of term limits, indicated that Russia can come back any time soon.

Putin said in December that attaches permanently to daylight saving time would make it difficult for European television viewers to watch the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Game - on track to be the most expensive Olympics ever, even more than the summer Olympics in London and Beijing - are known to be close to the heart of Putin.

Thursday ', the newspaper Izvestia bend to Putin said that the Cabinet had decided to move permanently to winter in Russia and that the government will soon be published.

The government immediately denied the report, and then Medvedev has said the Cabinet session that he saw no point in switching times now.

"The government feels unable to return to the present time," Medvedev said, adding that public opinion is divided. "We try not to make sudden movements, and live in a state without making a fuss over continue to monitor the situation and once again analyze the opinion of experts, doctors and citizens .."

Skip Daylight Saving Time is one of the few reforms that Medvedev has survived the return of Putin to the presidency.

Since the return of Putin, Medvedev more initiatives - to decriminalize defamation to expel government officials from state control of management of the company - has been methodically reversed.

Of course, Putin has been a very hard contrast to the platform of modernization Medvedev. The president has supported a series of repressive bills introduced severe penalties for those joining unauthorized protests and imposed new restrictions on groups that promote democratic rights.

Opposition activists have faced a, query, search and arrest, and three members of the rebellion of the punk band Pussy was sentenced to two years in prison for anti-Putin protest in Moscow's main cathedral.

Medvedev and Putin has avoided addressing difficult new course to defend his master, but it became increasingly cornered and helpless, despite his show of loyalty.

State-controlled television stations have narrowed the scope of their activities, and a newspaper article recently said that the network had received orders from the Kremlin to cast him in a negative light and focus on unpopular decisions, such as the weather changes.

Izvestia newspaper recently published a leak of official documents critical to the performance of staff Medvedev, requiring angry rebuke from his office.

Thursday ', the publication of a letter in December by Jean-Claude Killy, head of the coordination panel of the International Olympic Committee for Sochi, indicating that the IOC calls for a return to Russia during the winter, but a warning that such a decision should be made as soon as possible.

But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, who was in Sochi for a retreat year Thursday at the game, told reporters that the government took the decision to join the summer and the schedule for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi are being made to accordingly.

Read More : http://news.yahoo.com/time-russias-medvedev-resists-change-133721061.html


Label : | 2:17 PM | 0 Comments
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