IRS Going After Rich With New Wealth Unit

Exclusive: IRS hires “hundreds” for new wealth unit.  Reuters. 

“We have drawn top talent within the IRS that have expertise involving wealthy individuals as well as examination of their related entities,” said Mae Lew, an IRS special counsel.

The high-wealth unit is focusing on trusts, real estate investments, privately held companies and other business entities controlled by rich individuals.

Yes.  They are going after all those wealthy people in America.

“Skinny piggy bank.”
Image courtesy of http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/dmstandard/article.html?in_article_id=395777&in_page_id=1766.

See:

• http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BA45320091211

Nobel Awarded For The Difficult Path Not Taken

The Wrong Prize at the Wrong Time.  Der Speigel.  Gabor Steingart pins it precisely.  Pontification fails to deliver tangible results. 

If the Nobel Prize was awarded for unusually moving speeches, Barack Obama would have earned a dozen. Today’s speech was no different, excellent on all counts. No statesman has spoken so eloquently and intelligently about peace in a long time.

As the adage goes, “watch what he does, not what he says.”

But the Nobel is not a prize for speechifying, and it’s not a prize for promises. Not words, but actions, have been recognized in the past. US President Woodrow Wilson won the prize because he founded the League of Nations, a precursor to the United Nations. Martin Luther King was honoured because he fought for the rights of blacks, and Lech Walesa for the rights of workers oppressed by communism. German Chancellor, and Nobel laureate Willy Brandt scraped the ice off the relationship with the Soviet Union. His most important achievements were finalized long before he made the trip to Oslo.

Obama doesn’t fit in among these greats, for two reasons. First of all, he hasn’t had any real foreign policy successes yet. How could he? He’s been in office for barely a year. “I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage,” he admitted today.

The second reason is more problematic: For the first time, a man is being recognized who wants peace but prepares for war. Fifteen-thousand additional US troops are receiving their deployment orders right now, and 15,000 more Americans and as many as 7,000 Europeans will soon follow. If the Nobel Prize Committee thought their decision would hasten America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, it miscalculated. America isn’t governed from Oslo.

Why is it that journalists from afar can see through a facade without hesitation?

The Nobel Prize was, in its better days, always this: A medal for those who took the difficult path.

See:

• http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,666419,00.html

Senate Health Bill Will Increase Costs, Raise Premiums, And Slash Medicare

Report: Senate Health Bill Will Raise Costs.  WSJ.

Senator Mitch McConnell’s (R -KY) take on the report produced by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“confirms what we’ve known all along.”

the bill would “increase costs, raise premiums and slash Medicare.”

A fair summary of the Senate’s attempt to legislate health care.

See:

• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126058555567888547.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_news#

Senate Health Care Plan Costs Would Drive Up Health Care Costs

Rising costs predicted in health care bill.  Washington Times.

Alas, realistic expectations surface.  From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services themselves.  Those who actually deal with coverage, unlike the Congressional Budget Office that just analyzes and prepares reports. 

Dealing an unexpected blow to Senate Democrat’s health care bill, administration economists on Friday predicted the overhaul would accelerate rising costs of health insurance and medical services, and that its proposed Medicare cuts could reduce care for senior citizens.

A report by analysts at the Health and Human Services Department said the bill would increase the nation’s annual spending on health care beyond the current $2.5 trillion at a slightly faster rate than if Congress did nothing. It concluded that new taxes on drugs, medical devices and health insurance plans would trigger higher insurance premiums for consumers.

The report also said the Democrats’ plan to pay for about half of the $1 trillion bill with Medicare cuts “may be unrealistic” and could undermine the Medicare program, warning the bill could force out of business one in five hospitals, nursing homes and home care providers.

And finally, the death knell sounding to doctors who accept Medicare.

“Providers for whom Medicare constitutes a substantive portion of their business could find it difficult to remain profitable,” the report said. “Absent legislative intervention, [physicians] might end their participation in the program, possibly jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries.”

Time for the Senate to look before they leap.  For a change.

See:

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/12/rising-costs-predicted-in-health-care-bill/

Butterflies In Space

Gee, talk about losing one’s bearings.  This butterfly gets packed off to space for an experiment under weightless conditions, and learns quickly the art of flying in zero gravity is quite different than down on earth.  56-seconds.

The “Butterflies in Space” experiment by BioServe Space Technologies at the University of Colorado. This experiment was made possible through the support of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). Larvae and technical assistance provided by Monarch Watch, Butterfly Pavilion, and Clearwater Butterfly. 

Heres a great shot of a painted lady trying to fly without the aid of gravity. It gets a bit disoriented and bounces off a few wall before giving up and clinging to the wall. Exciting stuff!!

Butterflies in Space,Painted lady, Flight, Wide Angle, 12-2-09, BioServe

December 02, 2009

Taking Notes In Class With A Typewriter

Nowadays, lap top computers are ubiquitous on college campuses.  They are a fundamental part of taking classes, and form the basis of communication amongst peers and professors.  Just as well they form a critical link to the internet. 

At the minimum, they are a great way to take and save notes during class.

So what’s the next best thing to taking notes on a computer?  Pen and paper?  Think again.

A resourceful student decided to haul his typewriter in its case to lecture and record his notes with the historical hardware alongside fellow students with their computers.  Listen to the smirks.  Listen to the special bell that goes off signalling the need to hit the return key!

Student Uses LOUD Typewriter In Class

December 10, 2009

Monocles Making Fashion Comeback In Britain

Looks like Charlie McCarthy may have reignited a fashion trend.

Monocles to be sold on high street.  Telegraph UK.

Vision Express, a chain of opticians, is to start selling the lenses after an unexpected spate of requests for monocles.

It believes most of the requests have come from young men wanting to ape the fashion of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

“Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen.”
Image courtesy of http://www.waybacktimes.com/coswayscorner82eyesight.html.

See:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Bergen
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6780193/Monocles-to-be-sold-on-high-street.html

Top Off That Cup Of Coffee With A Little Bovine Delight

Ahhh.  The refreshing smell and taste of coffee.

Need a little cream with that cup of java?

Then try Squish.  Funny DB. 

See:

• http://funnydb.com/Pictures/Food_and_Beverages/Squish-216.html

Manhattan Bridge Motion Time Lapse

Ever felt a bridge move while on it? 

The Manhattan Bridge in New York City.  A nickel steel suspension bridge built in 1901 that has 7 lanes of traffic and 4 subway tracks.  Spans between Manhattan and Brooklyn.  An estimated 150,000 vehicles cross it daily.

SUBWAY TRAFFIC TAKES ITS TOLL: As applied on the Manhattan Bridge, deflection theory allowed for economies of material, cost and time. However, the theory did not take into account the problem of the subway trains on the outer parts of the lower deck. Over the years, heavy subway traffic caused considerable twisting of the deck. Maximum torsion occurs when subway trains start to cross opposite sides of the bridge at the same time. At that moment, one side of the roadway dips four feet to the north side, while the other side of the roadway dips four feet to the south side, creating a total roadway deflection of up to eight feet.

Watch it.

Manhattan bridge piers

July 23, 2009

See:

• http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/manhattan/

There Are Plumbers For Times Of Crises

Emergency plumbing issues can be quite stressful.

Especially when the normal action of the magical handle on the toilet fails to induce the normal course of flushing.

Instead, the steady regurgitation of the porcelain bowl upwards and over in the direction of the floor and your feet can make for a shocking awakening.  Most would utter the unsayable.  

Worry not!  There is just the plumber who anticipated the response and is ready to spring into action.  

“WTF Plumbing.”
Image courtesy of http://www.hahastop.com/pictures/Wtf_Plumbing.htm.

See:

• http://www.hahastop.com/pictures/Wtf_Plumbing.htm