To contact us Click HERE
The uncompetitive culture of auditing's big four remains undented The Guardian
Prem Sikka comments on a report published by the UK's Competition Commission on the lack of competition in the auditing market, arguing that the problems are deep rooted and require major surgery.
Yes, taxation can be a good thing for developing countries devex
Article by TJN-Africa's Alvin Mosioma
In Europe's tax race, it's the base, not the rate, that counts Reuters
On the vote in the European Parliament for the EU to adopt the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), and how Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK have either opposed the CCCTB or withheld support.
LinkedIn paid no federal income tax over past three years New York Post
Tax expert urges Channel Islands not to follow Isle of Man on compliance deal Jersey Evening Post
The final assault on tax havens, the OECD tries a pincer movement La Repubblica (In Italian)
Tax, Law And Development Edward Elgar Publishing
New book just released, edited by Yariv Brauner, Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law, US and Miranda Stewart, Professor of Law, University of Melbourne Law School, Australia.
Kenya: State now slaps 20 per cent tax on mining sector deals Business Daily Africa
Bermuda Relaxes Beneficial Owner Reporting Rules Tax-News
Gérard Depardieu registered as Russian resident amid tax row with France The Guardian
A Revolving Door in Washington With Spin, but Less Visibility Dealb%k
UK rating downgraded while Cayman Islands retains AAA Cayman News Service
Tax evasion is threatening social morality NyTid (In Swedish)
Laundry ... pagina12 (In Spanish)
25 Şubat 2013 Pazartesi
Phoenix officers' good deed gets girl biking again - KPHO Phoenix
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A Phoenix girl whose bicycle was stolen has several Phoenix police officers to thank for some brand new wheels.
Joanne Shoup told police a burglar stole her granddaughters' two bicycles from her backyard in the 3100 block of North 33rd Street.
After taking her information, Officer Mike Taylor began searching for the bikes in his neighborhood beat.
Taylor said he saw a man acting suspiciously riding a bicycle and pulling a small girl's bike that matched the description of one of the stolen bikes.
Taylor stopped the man. As the officer was attempting to verify the man's identity, the suspect fled.
The officer took the bike to Shoup's home and the woman identified the property as one of the stolen bicycles.
Taylor realized one of the girls now had her bike back and the other one didn't. So Taylor, along with two fellow officers, opened their wallets and purchased a new bicycle for the second grandchild.
"Wow!! Words just cannot express my happiness and gratitude to the Phoenix Police Department," Shoup wrote on her Facebook page.
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Arizona Diamondbacks' Willie Bloomquist earns award nomination - Arizona Republic
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by Scott Bordow - Sept. 18, 2012 10:09 PM
azcentral sports
It's been a rough five weeks for infielder Willie Bloomquist, who has been bothered by a back injury and has made just one appearance, as a pinch-hitter, since Aug. 8.
But on Tuesday, Bloomquist had a smile on his face as he talked about being named the Diamondbacks' 2012 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, presented to a player who makes positive contributions to his team and his community.
"Obviously it's a huge honor. I'm really humbled by it," Bloomquist said. "For me to be the nominee for this organization is a pretty cool thing."
Since 2011, Bloomquist has hosted a Phoenix Children's Hospital patient and his/her family to a VIP day during one game of each home stand at Chase Field. Also, Bloomquist and his wife, Lisa, began the "The Abe and Max Fund," named after two patients who made a lasting impact on Bloomquist when they visited Chase Field.
The fund raises money to buy electronics and games for Phoenix Children's Hospital; it started with a $5,000 donation from the Bloomquist family.
As for his availability, Bloomquist said his back is feeling better but that he was still a few days away from baseball activities. Bloomquist conceded there's a possibility he might not play again this season.
"It's very tough for me to say I'm done for the year when we still have games left," Bloomquist said. "We'll see what the situation is at the point and time I'm able to play."
Return engagement
Trevor Bauer might be on his way back to Arizona.
The rookie right-hander, who pitched in the Triple-A championship game Tuesday, could be called up and get a major league start before the end of the season. General Manager Kevin Towers flew to Durham, N.C., to watch Bauer pitch, and a decision could come within the next couple of days, manager Kirk Gibson said.
"We think it would be beneficial for him to be back," Gibson said of Bauer, who was 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA earlier this year.
It's uncertain how Bauer would fit into the rotation. Barring injury, Ian Kennedy is scheduled to pitch the final game of the season, and Gibson said a starter's turn would have to be skipped to fit Bauer in.
"I don't know anybody that wants to miss a start but at the same time if we feel somebody should miss a start, he would be the likely choice," Gibson said.
One pitch
Chris Young, who has been bothered by a right quadriceps injury, made his first start since Sept. 3 but it didn't last long.
On the game's first pitch, Young chased down a ball hit by San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera near the right-center field wall and immediately motioned to the Diamondbacks' bench that he needed to come out.
The short appearance continued a frustrating season for the D-Backs' center fielder. Young was hitting .410 when he went on the disabled list April 18 for a month, and after playing in 156 games each of the past two years, he won't top 110 this season.
"It sucks a little bit to get hurt a couple of times during the season," Young said. "It's my first time missing this much playing time."
Short hops
Suns' point guard Goran Dragic will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday's game against the Padres. ... Gibson won his 200th game Sunday as Diamondbacks manager. Bob Melvin has the most victories of any Arizona manager (337), followed by Bob Brenly (303) and Buck Showalter (250). ... The Reno Aces won the Triple-A national championship game Tuesday, beating Pawtucket, 10-3. Reno becomes the third D-Backs' minor-league affiliate to win a title this year.
The Gaslight Anthem's Benny Horowitz on Handwritten and SB 1070 - Phoenix New Times (blog)
To contact us Click HERE
It's a pretty good time to be The Gaslight Anthem. The band, which at times sounds like a nostalgic punk rock version of Bruce Springsteen, recently signed to a major label to release its forth full length album, Handwritten. After the band's frontman, Brian Fallon dedicated some time to bluesy side project, The Horrible Crowes, The Gaslight Anthem is back with a vengeance. The band is currently on tour with Rise Against and Hot Water Music, and will be performing at Mesa Amphitheater on Friday, September 28.
 |
| Danny Clinch |
| The Gaslight Anthem |
We recently caught up with drummer Benny Horowitz to discuss the recording process of Handwritten, his thoughts on SB 1070, and how hard work and luck factor into The Gaslight Anthem's success.
See also: The Gaslight Anthem @ Marquee Theatre (2010)
See also: Nothing Not New Reviews Gaslight Anthem: American Slang
Up on the Sun: What's it like touring with Rise Against and Hot Water Music?
Benny Horowitz: It's cool. Aside from them being great bands, they're both bands that we've toured with in certain capacities. We know all of the bands, we're friends with them, we know all of the crews, we're friends with those guys, so sometimes when you leave for a tour, there's kind of this getting to know you grace period with everyone to sort of get comfortable. With [this lineup], from the first day, it's just like seeing old friends and getting on the road again, so that's a real treat.
Just being able to tour with Hot Water Music is a trip within itself. That's a band that we all grew up listening to, a band I saw in a basement when I was 15 years old. To think that one day you can actually appear and play with them, it's a trip, it's definitely a surreal experience.
What inspired your most recent album, Handwritten?
A lot of things inspire a record. [There are] tons of things as far as music and life that all go into an album. Some of those major parts to this record were maybe a back to basics approach to songwriting and recording, doing everything in a room again and recording it as live as possible. With signing to a major and moving to a producer and stuff like that, there are some kinds of expectations and talk that surround moves like that. I know it was important for us to do what we do, and write songs that we like and kind of let everything else play itself out.
Do you feel like it lived up to those expectations?
Yeah, if I could tell you in 100% truthfulness, I couldn't give a fuck what other people's expectations are for our music. I believe in the guys I play with and I believe in the music we write. If I leave the rehearsal studio with a bunch of songs that we think are great and they're songs that we want to record and we stand behind, I kind of don't care what anyone else says.
Right on. So, why did you decide to record it in Nashville?
The actual city itself kind of panned out because that's where Brendan O'Brien works out of now. He works at Blackbird Studios on the outskirts of Nashville. It's a badass studio, I love all those guys.
As far as a specific city, it wasn't us sitting around going, 'We need to go to Nashville.' The motivation was we knew we really wanted to get out of town to record the record. We recorded the last record, American Slang in New York City, and when we record in New York City, everybody goes home every night. We're basically commuters where we just pop in the studio, and you work, and you go home at night.
On the record before that, we did The '59 Sound in Los Angeles. We did Senor and the Queen in Austin, Texas. I think we've found it really beneficial to be away to really release yourself in the record, so we tried to do that again. We just loaded up the van, we brought Alex [Rosamilia]'s dog and we rode a trip down to Nashville and rented a little house outside of town. We were really more interactive in the process. Instead of going home at night to your family or whatever people's situations are, we drive to the studio together, we sit there all day, we drive home together, we eat dinner, and then we sit around the house, we're still talking about the record, thinking about what we can do the next day and things like that. The motivation was really to get away, just so we could really put our heads into the record.
It's an awesome town, so that worked out.
Sadly, we were studio rats when we were there. We didn't get out and about too much, we saw some of the cool stuff, we hung out with some cool people we know down there, but pretty much six days a week, we were holed up in the studio doing our thing. We were being social with the guys working on the record, we weren't really men about town, so to speak.
Mesa Amphitheatre
263 N. Center St., Mesa, AZ
Category: Music
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Cadet's research aims to bust spice users
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by Don Branum
Air Force Academy Public Affairs
2/20/2013 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- A senior cadet's summer research, which earned her recognition from Air Force Chief Scientist Dr. Mark Maybury at an awards ceremony Feb. 1, will help catch users of spice and similar products several weeks after they've ingested the substance.
Cadet 1st Class Alexa Gingras, working with two doctors at the Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, improved the sensitivity of the Air Force's drug tests four-fold and devised a method of preparing urine samples that drastically shortened the sample preparation time.
"Her work is important for a couple of reasons," Maybury said. "She had a good understanding of not only the basic science that was happening and the practical methods, but she also had a very insightful perspective on how she could improve existing practices. That's what's really extraordinary."
THE RESEARCHER
Gingras, the daughter of Academy graduates Jeffrey and Tina Gingras, almost didn't attend the Academy.
"I actually wasn't planning on applying here, but my mom, two days before the application was due, said, 'Oh, you should put in an application,'" she said. "I came and visited once I got my acceptance, and I really liked it. I've always wanted to go to medical school, and this was a great opportunity to do that."
Her senior cadet summer research program project originally involved biofuel research at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., but budget cuts meant the Academy could no longer send her there on temporary duty. So her research adviser, who had connections to the Air Force Drug Testing Lab, arranged for Gingras to spend her three weeks in San Antonio.
"It was kind of funny: They didn't know exactly what to do with me at first, so it was kind of a scramble ... to figure out what I would be doing," she said.
She teamed up with two researchers, Drs. Dennis Lovett and Enrique Yanes, who were conducting research on how to improve the sensitivity of drug tests for synthetic cannabinoids, which include substances like spice and K2. The Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 made possession of these substances illegal, though commanders had acted as early as 2010 to place spice off-limits to Airmen.
THE RESEARCH
Their research included a combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, which is a standard method for testing samples, Gingras said. Liquid chromatography forces a solution containing an unknown substance through a horizontal column. Different substances of interest, known as analytes, filter through the column at different speeds.
Next, the solution is nebulized into a mist and passed into the mass spectrometer, which separates chemicals based on their mass-to-charge ratio.
"Based on the time it takes to get through the column and then to the detector, you can figure out what the substance is," Gingras said. "At that point, they have a limit of quantitation, and for legal purposes, that's the limit at which the test can pop positive."
The existing limit of quantitation, or LOQ, at the time was 4 nanograms per milliliter of urine, or enough to indicate a positive result within one or two weeks of spice use, Gingras said.
After spending most of a week reading through existing research, Gingras decided to see how adding ammonium bicarbonate -- which is sometimes used instead of baking powder in cooking recipes -- to the testing process. She tested two methods: In the first, she introduced ammonium bicarbonate to the liquid chromatography process. In the second, she added the ammonium bicarbonate to the test just before the solution was nebulized so that the two substances would be nebulized together. The first method increased the test's sensitivity by up to 138 percent. The second method, however, increased the sensitivity by as much as 442 percent.
Next, she tested how the rate of ammonium bicarbonate injection would affect the test results.
"I tested from 0 to 30 milliliters per minute at 5-milliliter-per-minute increments," she explained. "I found there's a significant peak at 20."
After these changes, the test can now produce a LOQ of 0.5 nanograms per milliliter of urine, Gingras said.
"This is just guesstimation, but we determined that increased our window of detection from one to two weeks to six to eight weeks, which is so significant," she said.
Gingras wasn't done. The scientists also brought her up to speed on the process of preparing samples.
"A lot of people think you take this urine and just put it in a melting pot and add some chemicals, and if it turns green, it's popped positive," she joked. "But it's a really complicated process to prepare the urine for testing. You're trying to remove all the other stuff that might interfere with testing."
At the time, the process took three to five hours -- "and that's with someone who's been doing it for five or six years, doing it as fast as they can," she said.
She and the researchers looked at an extraction method called salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction, which uses organic and water-based solutions to pull analytes out of the urine.
"Once I got good at pipetting, that took me 10 minutes," she said.
DOWN THE ROAD
Gingras hasn't slowed down. Her capstone research project involves using fluorescent proteins as sensors to detect the presence of illegal drugs in a person's system.
"The mechanism they use to fluoresce can be inhibited," she explained. "You can 'quench' it, basically. So, in the presence of some molecule, the fluorescence is quenched, so you know a substance is there because the protein isn't fluorescing anymore."
Among those quenching agents are some of the active ingredients in many illegal drugs.
"First, we have to determine, do these drugs quench the fluorescent proteins? That's what I'm in the process of doing right now," she said.
Gingras' biochemistry instructor, Dr. Barry Hicks, praised Gingras' work ethic and enthusiasm.
"After the election in November, when Colorado passed Amendment 64 ... I said, kind of flippantly, 'I wonder if drugs of abuse can be used in this sensing application.' She said, right off the bat, 'I want to pursue that. I want to do this,'" Hicks recalled.
The Academy has applied for Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 licenses from the Drug Enforcement Agency to support Gingras' research and future research based on Gingras' work, Hicks said. The National Institutes of Drug Abuse has agreed to provide samples.
Possible applications of Gingras' research could include portable drug-testing kits for law-enforcement agencies and breathalyzer tests for marijuana, Hicks said.
After graduation, Gingras plans to attend medical school. She already has a scholarship.
"I'm just waiting on acceptance," she said. "I'm constantly checking my emails."
"She's going to do great in medical school," Hicks said, confident that she will be accepted. "She's that kind of person, really gangbusters. We're proud of all our graduates, but she's stellar. Even among her year group in this department, she's one of the best."
by Don BranumAir Force Academy Public Affairs
2/20/2013 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- A senior cadet's summer research, which earned her recognition from Air Force Chief Scientist Dr. Mark Maybury at an awards ceremony Feb. 1, will help catch users of spice and similar products several weeks after they've ingested the substance.
Cadet 1st Class Alexa Gingras, working with two doctors at the Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, improved the sensitivity of the Air Force's drug tests four-fold and devised a method of preparing urine samples that drastically shortened the sample preparation time.
"Her work is important for a couple of reasons," Maybury said. "She had a good understanding of not only the basic science that was happening and the practical methods, but she also had a very insightful perspective on how she could improve existing practices. That's what's really extraordinary."
THE RESEARCHER
Gingras, the daughter of Academy graduates Jeffrey and Tina Gingras, almost didn't attend the Academy.
"I actually wasn't planning on applying here, but my mom, two days before the application was due, said, 'Oh, you should put in an application,'" she said. "I came and visited once I got my acceptance, and I really liked it. I've always wanted to go to medical school, and this was a great opportunity to do that."
Her senior cadet summer research program project originally involved biofuel research at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., but budget cuts meant the Academy could no longer send her there on temporary duty. So her research adviser, who had connections to the Air Force Drug Testing Lab, arranged for Gingras to spend her three weeks in San Antonio.
"It was kind of funny: They didn't know exactly what to do with me at first, so it was kind of a scramble ... to figure out what I would be doing," she said.
She teamed up with two researchers, Drs. Dennis Lovett and Enrique Yanes, who were conducting research on how to improve the sensitivity of drug tests for synthetic cannabinoids, which include substances like spice and K2. The Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 made possession of these substances illegal, though commanders had acted as early as 2010 to place spice off-limits to Airmen.
THE RESEARCH
Their research included a combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, which is a standard method for testing samples, Gingras said. Liquid chromatography forces a solution containing an unknown substance through a horizontal column. Different substances of interest, known as analytes, filter through the column at different speeds.
Next, the solution is nebulized into a mist and passed into the mass spectrometer, which separates chemicals based on their mass-to-charge ratio.
"Based on the time it takes to get through the column and then to the detector, you can figure out what the substance is," Gingras said. "At that point, they have a limit of quantitation, and for legal purposes, that's the limit at which the test can pop positive."
The existing limit of quantitation, or LOQ, at the time was 4 nanograms per milliliter of urine, or enough to indicate a positive result within one or two weeks of spice use, Gingras said.
After spending most of a week reading through existing research, Gingras decided to see how adding ammonium bicarbonate -- which is sometimes used instead of baking powder in cooking recipes -- to the testing process. She tested two methods: In the first, she introduced ammonium bicarbonate to the liquid chromatography process. In the second, she added the ammonium bicarbonate to the test just before the solution was nebulized so that the two substances would be nebulized together. The first method increased the test's sensitivity by up to 138 percent. The second method, however, increased the sensitivity by as much as 442 percent.
Next, she tested how the rate of ammonium bicarbonate injection would affect the test results.
"I tested from 0 to 30 milliliters per minute at 5-milliliter-per-minute increments," she explained. "I found there's a significant peak at 20."
After these changes, the test can now produce a LOQ of 0.5 nanograms per milliliter of urine, Gingras said.
"This is just guesstimation, but we determined that increased our window of detection from one to two weeks to six to eight weeks, which is so significant," she said.
Gingras wasn't done. The scientists also brought her up to speed on the process of preparing samples.
"A lot of people think you take this urine and just put it in a melting pot and add some chemicals, and if it turns green, it's popped positive," she joked. "But it's a really complicated process to prepare the urine for testing. You're trying to remove all the other stuff that might interfere with testing."
At the time, the process took three to five hours -- "and that's with someone who's been doing it for five or six years, doing it as fast as they can," she said.
She and the researchers looked at an extraction method called salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction, which uses organic and water-based solutions to pull analytes out of the urine.
"Once I got good at pipetting, that took me 10 minutes," she said.
DOWN THE ROAD
Gingras hasn't slowed down. Her capstone research project involves using fluorescent proteins as sensors to detect the presence of illegal drugs in a person's system.
"The mechanism they use to fluoresce can be inhibited," she explained. "You can 'quench' it, basically. So, in the presence of some molecule, the fluorescence is quenched, so you know a substance is there because the protein isn't fluorescing anymore."
Among those quenching agents are some of the active ingredients in many illegal drugs.
"First, we have to determine, do these drugs quench the fluorescent proteins? That's what I'm in the process of doing right now," she said.
Gingras' biochemistry instructor, Dr. Barry Hicks, praised Gingras' work ethic and enthusiasm.
"After the election in November, when Colorado passed Amendment 64 ... I said, kind of flippantly, 'I wonder if drugs of abuse can be used in this sensing application.' She said, right off the bat, 'I want to pursue that. I want to do this,'" Hicks recalled.
The Academy has applied for Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 licenses from the Drug Enforcement Agency to support Gingras' research and future research based on Gingras' work, Hicks said. The National Institutes of Drug Abuse has agreed to provide samples.
Possible applications of Gingras' research could include portable drug-testing kits for law-enforcement agencies and breathalyzer tests for marijuana, Hicks said.
After graduation, Gingras plans to attend medical school. She already has a scholarship.
"I'm just waiting on acceptance," she said. "I'm constantly checking my emails."
"She's going to do great in medical school," Hicks said, confident that she will be accepted. "She's that kind of person, really gangbusters. We're proud of all our graduates, but she's stellar. Even among her year group in this department, she's one of the best."
24 Şubat 2013 Pazar
The Gaslight Anthem's Benny Horowitz on Handwritten and SB 1070 - Phoenix New Times (blog)
To contact us Click HERE
It's a pretty good time to be The Gaslight Anthem. The band, which at times sounds like a nostalgic punk rock version of Bruce Springsteen, recently signed to a major label to release its forth full length album, Handwritten. After the band's frontman, Brian Fallon dedicated some time to bluesy side project, The Horrible Crowes, The Gaslight Anthem is back with a vengeance. The band is currently on tour with Rise Against and Hot Water Music, and will be performing at Mesa Amphitheater on Friday, September 28.
|
| Danny Clinch |
| The Gaslight Anthem |
We recently caught up with drummer Benny Horowitz to discuss the recording process of Handwritten, his thoughts on SB 1070, and how hard work and luck factor into The Gaslight Anthem's success.
See also: The Gaslight Anthem @ Marquee Theatre (2010)
See also: Nothing Not New Reviews Gaslight Anthem: American Slang
Up on the Sun: What's it like touring with Rise Against and Hot Water Music?
Benny Horowitz: It's cool. Aside from them being great bands, they're both bands that we've toured with in certain capacities. We know all of the bands, we're friends with them, we know all of the crews, we're friends with those guys, so sometimes when you leave for a tour, there's kind of this getting to know you grace period with everyone to sort of get comfortable. With [this lineup], from the first day, it's just like seeing old friends and getting on the road again, so that's a real treat.
Just being able to tour with Hot Water Music is a trip within itself. That's a band that we all grew up listening to, a band I saw in a basement when I was 15 years old. To think that one day you can actually appear and play with them, it's a trip, it's definitely a surreal experience.
What inspired your most recent album, Handwritten?
A lot of things inspire a record. [There are] tons of things as far as music and life that all go into an album. Some of those major parts to this record were maybe a back to basics approach to songwriting and recording, doing everything in a room again and recording it as live as possible. With signing to a major and moving to a producer and stuff like that, there are some kinds of expectations and talk that surround moves like that. I know it was important for us to do what we do, and write songs that we like and kind of let everything else play itself out.
Do you feel like it lived up to those expectations?
Yeah, if I could tell you in 100% truthfulness, I couldn't give a fuck what other people's expectations are for our music. I believe in the guys I play with and I believe in the music we write. If I leave the rehearsal studio with a bunch of songs that we think are great and they're songs that we want to record and we stand behind, I kind of don't care what anyone else says.
Right on. So, why did you decide to record it in Nashville?
The actual city itself kind of panned out because that's where Brendan O'Brien works out of now. He works at Blackbird Studios on the outskirts of Nashville. It's a badass studio, I love all those guys.
As far as a specific city, it wasn't us sitting around going, 'We need to go to Nashville.' The motivation was we knew we really wanted to get out of town to record the record. We recorded the last record, American Slang in New York City, and when we record in New York City, everybody goes home every night. We're basically commuters where we just pop in the studio, and you work, and you go home at night.
On the record before that, we did The '59 Sound in Los Angeles. We did Senor and the Queen in Austin, Texas. I think we've found it really beneficial to be away to really release yourself in the record, so we tried to do that again. We just loaded up the van, we brought Alex [Rosamilia]'s dog and we rode a trip down to Nashville and rented a little house outside of town. We were really more interactive in the process. Instead of going home at night to your family or whatever people's situations are, we drive to the studio together, we sit there all day, we drive home together, we eat dinner, and then we sit around the house, we're still talking about the record, thinking about what we can do the next day and things like that. The motivation was really to get away, just so we could really put our heads into the record.
It's an awesome town, so that worked out.
Sadly, we were studio rats when we were there. We didn't get out and about too much, we saw some of the cool stuff, we hung out with some cool people we know down there, but pretty much six days a week, we were holed up in the studio doing our thing. We were being social with the guys working on the record, we weren't really men about town, so to speak.
Mesa Amphitheatre
263 N. Center St., Mesa, AZ
Category: Music
| 0 user reviews | Write A Review |
| Save to foursquare |
Former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Pleads Guilty in Tennessee to Bribery Scheme
To contact us Click HERE
A former U.S. Army staff sergeant pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from contractors while he was deployed to Iraq, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee William C. Killian.
Richard A. Gilliland, 44, of Fayetteville, Tenn., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee in the Eastern District of Tennessee to a criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to accept illegal bribes.
According to court documents, from October 2007 until November 2008, Gilliland was a U.S. Army staff sergeant who worked with the Civil Affairs Unit at Camp Victory in Iraq and also was assigned as a pay agent responsible for U.S. government funds. As a pay agent, Gilliland was responsible for paying contractors to perform work in accordance with civil development objectives set forth by U.S. Army commanders in furtherance of the strategic mission of Coalition Forces in Iraq.
While deployed to Iraq in October 2007, Gilliland worked closely with two Iraqi contracting companies and their American representatives. Gilliland admitted to receiving approximately $27,200 and a laptop in bribes from American representatives of the contracting companies in return for his attempt to influence contracts for the Iraqi-based contractors and his assistance in acquiring used and non-working generators from the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office. After receiving the bribes, Gilliland wired the cash payments he received back to the United States.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Trial Attorney Mark Grider of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), and Assistant U.S. Attorney John MacCoon of the Eastern District of Tennessee. The case was investigated by SIGIR.
Richard A. Gilliland, 44, of Fayetteville, Tenn., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee in the Eastern District of Tennessee to a criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to accept illegal bribes.
According to court documents, from October 2007 until November 2008, Gilliland was a U.S. Army staff sergeant who worked with the Civil Affairs Unit at Camp Victory in Iraq and also was assigned as a pay agent responsible for U.S. government funds. As a pay agent, Gilliland was responsible for paying contractors to perform work in accordance with civil development objectives set forth by U.S. Army commanders in furtherance of the strategic mission of Coalition Forces in Iraq.
While deployed to Iraq in October 2007, Gilliland worked closely with two Iraqi contracting companies and their American representatives. Gilliland admitted to receiving approximately $27,200 and a laptop in bribes from American representatives of the contracting companies in return for his attempt to influence contracts for the Iraqi-based contractors and his assistance in acquiring used and non-working generators from the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office. After receiving the bribes, Gilliland wired the cash payments he received back to the United States.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Trial Attorney Mark Grider of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), and Assistant U.S. Attorney John MacCoon of the Eastern District of Tennessee. The case was investigated by SIGIR.
Cadet's research aims to bust spice users
To contact us Click HERE
by Don Branum
Air Force Academy Public Affairs
2/20/2013 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- A senior cadet's summer research, which earned her recognition from Air Force Chief Scientist Dr. Mark Maybury at an awards ceremony Feb. 1, will help catch users of spice and similar products several weeks after they've ingested the substance.
Cadet 1st Class Alexa Gingras, working with two doctors at the Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, improved the sensitivity of the Air Force's drug tests four-fold and devised a method of preparing urine samples that drastically shortened the sample preparation time.
"Her work is important for a couple of reasons," Maybury said. "She had a good understanding of not only the basic science that was happening and the practical methods, but she also had a very insightful perspective on how she could improve existing practices. That's what's really extraordinary."
THE RESEARCHER
Gingras, the daughter of Academy graduates Jeffrey and Tina Gingras, almost didn't attend the Academy.
"I actually wasn't planning on applying here, but my mom, two days before the application was due, said, 'Oh, you should put in an application,'" she said. "I came and visited once I got my acceptance, and I really liked it. I've always wanted to go to medical school, and this was a great opportunity to do that."
Her senior cadet summer research program project originally involved biofuel research at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., but budget cuts meant the Academy could no longer send her there on temporary duty. So her research adviser, who had connections to the Air Force Drug Testing Lab, arranged for Gingras to spend her three weeks in San Antonio.
"It was kind of funny: They didn't know exactly what to do with me at first, so it was kind of a scramble ... to figure out what I would be doing," she said.
She teamed up with two researchers, Drs. Dennis Lovett and Enrique Yanes, who were conducting research on how to improve the sensitivity of drug tests for synthetic cannabinoids, which include substances like spice and K2. The Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 made possession of these substances illegal, though commanders had acted as early as 2010 to place spice off-limits to Airmen.
THE RESEARCH
Their research included a combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, which is a standard method for testing samples, Gingras said. Liquid chromatography forces a solution containing an unknown substance through a horizontal column. Different substances of interest, known as analytes, filter through the column at different speeds.
Next, the solution is nebulized into a mist and passed into the mass spectrometer, which separates chemicals based on their mass-to-charge ratio.
"Based on the time it takes to get through the column and then to the detector, you can figure out what the substance is," Gingras said. "At that point, they have a limit of quantitation, and for legal purposes, that's the limit at which the test can pop positive."
The existing limit of quantitation, or LOQ, at the time was 4 nanograms per milliliter of urine, or enough to indicate a positive result within one or two weeks of spice use, Gingras said.
After spending most of a week reading through existing research, Gingras decided to see how adding ammonium bicarbonate -- which is sometimes used instead of baking powder in cooking recipes -- to the testing process. She tested two methods: In the first, she introduced ammonium bicarbonate to the liquid chromatography process. In the second, she added the ammonium bicarbonate to the test just before the solution was nebulized so that the two substances would be nebulized together. The first method increased the test's sensitivity by up to 138 percent. The second method, however, increased the sensitivity by as much as 442 percent.
Next, she tested how the rate of ammonium bicarbonate injection would affect the test results.
"I tested from 0 to 30 milliliters per minute at 5-milliliter-per-minute increments," she explained. "I found there's a significant peak at 20."
After these changes, the test can now produce a LOQ of 0.5 nanograms per milliliter of urine, Gingras said.
"This is just guesstimation, but we determined that increased our window of detection from one to two weeks to six to eight weeks, which is so significant," she said.
Gingras wasn't done. The scientists also brought her up to speed on the process of preparing samples.
"A lot of people think you take this urine and just put it in a melting pot and add some chemicals, and if it turns green, it's popped positive," she joked. "But it's a really complicated process to prepare the urine for testing. You're trying to remove all the other stuff that might interfere with testing."
At the time, the process took three to five hours -- "and that's with someone who's been doing it for five or six years, doing it as fast as they can," she said.
She and the researchers looked at an extraction method called salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction, which uses organic and water-based solutions to pull analytes out of the urine.
"Once I got good at pipetting, that took me 10 minutes," she said.
DOWN THE ROAD
Gingras hasn't slowed down. Her capstone research project involves using fluorescent proteins as sensors to detect the presence of illegal drugs in a person's system.
"The mechanism they use to fluoresce can be inhibited," she explained. "You can 'quench' it, basically. So, in the presence of some molecule, the fluorescence is quenched, so you know a substance is there because the protein isn't fluorescing anymore."
Among those quenching agents are some of the active ingredients in many illegal drugs.
"First, we have to determine, do these drugs quench the fluorescent proteins? That's what I'm in the process of doing right now," she said.
Gingras' biochemistry instructor, Dr. Barry Hicks, praised Gingras' work ethic and enthusiasm.
"After the election in November, when Colorado passed Amendment 64 ... I said, kind of flippantly, 'I wonder if drugs of abuse can be used in this sensing application.' She said, right off the bat, 'I want to pursue that. I want to do this,'" Hicks recalled.
The Academy has applied for Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 licenses from the Drug Enforcement Agency to support Gingras' research and future research based on Gingras' work, Hicks said. The National Institutes of Drug Abuse has agreed to provide samples.
Possible applications of Gingras' research could include portable drug-testing kits for law-enforcement agencies and breathalyzer tests for marijuana, Hicks said.
After graduation, Gingras plans to attend medical school. She already has a scholarship.
"I'm just waiting on acceptance," she said. "I'm constantly checking my emails."
"She's going to do great in medical school," Hicks said, confident that she will be accepted. "She's that kind of person, really gangbusters. We're proud of all our graduates, but she's stellar. Even among her year group in this department, she's one of the best."
by Don BranumAir Force Academy Public Affairs
2/20/2013 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- A senior cadet's summer research, which earned her recognition from Air Force Chief Scientist Dr. Mark Maybury at an awards ceremony Feb. 1, will help catch users of spice and similar products several weeks after they've ingested the substance.
Cadet 1st Class Alexa Gingras, working with two doctors at the Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, improved the sensitivity of the Air Force's drug tests four-fold and devised a method of preparing urine samples that drastically shortened the sample preparation time.
"Her work is important for a couple of reasons," Maybury said. "She had a good understanding of not only the basic science that was happening and the practical methods, but she also had a very insightful perspective on how she could improve existing practices. That's what's really extraordinary."
THE RESEARCHER
Gingras, the daughter of Academy graduates Jeffrey and Tina Gingras, almost didn't attend the Academy.
"I actually wasn't planning on applying here, but my mom, two days before the application was due, said, 'Oh, you should put in an application,'" she said. "I came and visited once I got my acceptance, and I really liked it. I've always wanted to go to medical school, and this was a great opportunity to do that."
Her senior cadet summer research program project originally involved biofuel research at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., but budget cuts meant the Academy could no longer send her there on temporary duty. So her research adviser, who had connections to the Air Force Drug Testing Lab, arranged for Gingras to spend her three weeks in San Antonio.
"It was kind of funny: They didn't know exactly what to do with me at first, so it was kind of a scramble ... to figure out what I would be doing," she said.
She teamed up with two researchers, Drs. Dennis Lovett and Enrique Yanes, who were conducting research on how to improve the sensitivity of drug tests for synthetic cannabinoids, which include substances like spice and K2. The Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 made possession of these substances illegal, though commanders had acted as early as 2010 to place spice off-limits to Airmen.
THE RESEARCH
Their research included a combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, which is a standard method for testing samples, Gingras said. Liquid chromatography forces a solution containing an unknown substance through a horizontal column. Different substances of interest, known as analytes, filter through the column at different speeds.
Next, the solution is nebulized into a mist and passed into the mass spectrometer, which separates chemicals based on their mass-to-charge ratio.
"Based on the time it takes to get through the column and then to the detector, you can figure out what the substance is," Gingras said. "At that point, they have a limit of quantitation, and for legal purposes, that's the limit at which the test can pop positive."
The existing limit of quantitation, or LOQ, at the time was 4 nanograms per milliliter of urine, or enough to indicate a positive result within one or two weeks of spice use, Gingras said.
After spending most of a week reading through existing research, Gingras decided to see how adding ammonium bicarbonate -- which is sometimes used instead of baking powder in cooking recipes -- to the testing process. She tested two methods: In the first, she introduced ammonium bicarbonate to the liquid chromatography process. In the second, she added the ammonium bicarbonate to the test just before the solution was nebulized so that the two substances would be nebulized together. The first method increased the test's sensitivity by up to 138 percent. The second method, however, increased the sensitivity by as much as 442 percent.
Next, she tested how the rate of ammonium bicarbonate injection would affect the test results.
"I tested from 0 to 30 milliliters per minute at 5-milliliter-per-minute increments," she explained. "I found there's a significant peak at 20."
After these changes, the test can now produce a LOQ of 0.5 nanograms per milliliter of urine, Gingras said.
"This is just guesstimation, but we determined that increased our window of detection from one to two weeks to six to eight weeks, which is so significant," she said.
Gingras wasn't done. The scientists also brought her up to speed on the process of preparing samples.
"A lot of people think you take this urine and just put it in a melting pot and add some chemicals, and if it turns green, it's popped positive," she joked. "But it's a really complicated process to prepare the urine for testing. You're trying to remove all the other stuff that might interfere with testing."
At the time, the process took three to five hours -- "and that's with someone who's been doing it for five or six years, doing it as fast as they can," she said.
She and the researchers looked at an extraction method called salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction, which uses organic and water-based solutions to pull analytes out of the urine.
"Once I got good at pipetting, that took me 10 minutes," she said.
DOWN THE ROAD
Gingras hasn't slowed down. Her capstone research project involves using fluorescent proteins as sensors to detect the presence of illegal drugs in a person's system.
"The mechanism they use to fluoresce can be inhibited," she explained. "You can 'quench' it, basically. So, in the presence of some molecule, the fluorescence is quenched, so you know a substance is there because the protein isn't fluorescing anymore."
Among those quenching agents are some of the active ingredients in many illegal drugs.
"First, we have to determine, do these drugs quench the fluorescent proteins? That's what I'm in the process of doing right now," she said.
Gingras' biochemistry instructor, Dr. Barry Hicks, praised Gingras' work ethic and enthusiasm.
"After the election in November, when Colorado passed Amendment 64 ... I said, kind of flippantly, 'I wonder if drugs of abuse can be used in this sensing application.' She said, right off the bat, 'I want to pursue that. I want to do this,'" Hicks recalled.
The Academy has applied for Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 licenses from the Drug Enforcement Agency to support Gingras' research and future research based on Gingras' work, Hicks said. The National Institutes of Drug Abuse has agreed to provide samples.
Possible applications of Gingras' research could include portable drug-testing kits for law-enforcement agencies and breathalyzer tests for marijuana, Hicks said.
After graduation, Gingras plans to attend medical school. She already has a scholarship.
"I'm just waiting on acceptance," she said. "I'm constantly checking my emails."
"She's going to do great in medical school," Hicks said, confident that she will be accepted. "She's that kind of person, really gangbusters. We're proud of all our graduates, but she's stellar. Even among her year group in this department, she's one of the best."
Two National Institute of Justice-Funded Firearms Studies Released
To contact us Click HERE
The NationalInstitute of Justice (NIJ), through the National Criminal Justice ReferenceService (NCJRS), has made the following reports available:
The NationalInstitute of Justice (NIJ), through the National Criminal Justice ReferenceService (NCJRS), has made the following reports available:
- New Approaches to Understanding and Regulating Primary and Secondary Illegal Firearms (pdf, 177 pages). https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/241021.pdf. Modified abstract: This report confirms previous study results demonstrating the usefulness of trace data in policing illicit firearms. Jurisdictions with gun regulations appear to recover fewer illicitly distributed weapons compared to jurisdictions without regulations. The authors present conclusions suggesting more regulation will reduce the availability and distribution of illicit firearms.
- Strategies for Disrupting Illegal Firearms Markets: A Case Study of Los Angeles (pdf, 92 pages) https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/241135.pdf. Modified Abstract: In 2001, RAND initiated a research and program development effort to understand the nature of illegal gun markets operating in Los Angeles. The primary goal of this project was to determine whether a data-driven, problem-solving approach could yield new interventions aimed at disrupting the workings of local, illegal gun markets serving criminals, gang members and juveniles. The authors created a new software tool to help law enforcement analyze patterns in crime-gun data, and identify and trace illicit pathways by which criminals acquire guns. The findings were incorporated into an interagency working group process that developed a community-based intervention designed to disrupt the illegal flow of guns to Los Angeles-area criminals; this intervention may had an impact on straw purchasing. The authors also assessed the utility of retail ammunition purchase records in identifying prohibited firearm possessors, recommending a cost-benefit analysis on this measure.
Evidence and Document Modules Added To Equipment and Inventory Manager For Law Enforcement
To contact us Click HERE
February21, 2013/Redmond, Washington/ Dynamic Systems, Inc., a leader in datacollection applications has announced 2 new modules for The Checkmate LawEnforcement Equipment & Inventory Manger. This solution can be used bypublic safety agencies such as Sheriffs, SWAT, Police, FBI, CIA, andCorrections. AboutDynamic Systems (DSI)
Forover 30 years DSI has been providing reliable and innovative systems that enabledepartments to work safely and efficiently. The Evidence and Document Trackinghave been added to the Checkmate suite of barcode tracking solutions thatinclude Inventory, Equipment Tracking, Fixed Assets, Document Tracking, and IDBadge Printer Systems. Bar code data collection has been proven to be the mostaccurate and efficient method of tracking or counting items.
CheckmateEvidence Module Improves ProductivityDSICheckmate Evidence module provides Law Enforcement Agencies a better way totrack chain of custody, decrease time to process evidence and make it easy toproduce case documents and evidence for prosecuting attorneys. The program alsotracks destruction of evidence, how it was disposed of and who was involved.The system will easily interface with existing RMS and other Programs andassures the integrity and status of items in the Property Room. The system canuse color coded labels in the Evidence Room to distinguish categories ofevidence.
CheckmateDocument Tracking DSIDocument Tracking will allow agencies to quickly know what paper work anddocuments have been checked out to courts and labs, what eviction notices havebeen served, accident reports, and where civil papers are. The system savestime, makes it easier for prosecuting attorneys to find case files and allowsofficers to get back to serving the community. The Checkmate system is flexible and can be customized to for anyagency’s requirements.
“It’saffordable for almost all agencies, even those with just a few employees,” statedBill Allen, Process Control Consultant.
Contact: Rob Freeman, V.P. Business Development800-342-3999;robf@dsisales.com
Forover 30 years DSI has been providing reliable and innovative systems that enabledepartments to work safely and efficiently. The Evidence and Document Trackinghave been added to the Checkmate suite of barcode tracking solutions thatinclude Inventory, Equipment Tracking, Fixed Assets, Document Tracking, and IDBadge Printer Systems. Bar code data collection has been proven to be the mostaccurate and efficient method of tracking or counting items.
CheckmateEvidence Module Improves ProductivityDSICheckmate Evidence module provides Law Enforcement Agencies a better way totrack chain of custody, decrease time to process evidence and make it easy toproduce case documents and evidence for prosecuting attorneys. The program alsotracks destruction of evidence, how it was disposed of and who was involved.The system will easily interface with existing RMS and other Programs andassures the integrity and status of items in the Property Room. The system canuse color coded labels in the Evidence Room to distinguish categories ofevidence.
CheckmateDocument Tracking DSIDocument Tracking will allow agencies to quickly know what paper work anddocuments have been checked out to courts and labs, what eviction notices havebeen served, accident reports, and where civil papers are. The system savestime, makes it easier for prosecuting attorneys to find case files and allowsofficers to get back to serving the community. The Checkmate system is flexible and can be customized to for anyagency’s requirements.
“It’saffordable for almost all agencies, even those with just a few employees,” statedBill Allen, Process Control Consultant.
Contact: Rob Freeman, V.P. Business Development800-342-3999;robf@dsisales.com
23 Şubat 2013 Cumartesi
Canada's parliament, Yale University, look into tax justice
To contact us Click HERE
One, by Dennis Howett of Canadians for Tax Fairness, includes this:
"Tax havens play a key role in facilitating organized crime, the illegal arms trade, bribery and corruption and the financing of terrorism. It is the secrecy of tax havens, not just the low tax regime, that is the main problem in terms of crime. Banking secrecy rules in many of the tax haven countries allow criminals to set up accounts without having to declare the beneficial owner and move huge sums of cash in and out without any scrutiny. This is a perfect system for money laundering.Another, by TJN Senior Adviser Richard Murphy, includes this:
And we have learned that many of the large banks are complicit in this criminal enterprise. If the government is serious about its tough on crime agenda it needs to take much stronger action to curb the use of tax havens. Jailing the street-level drug dealer for more years will do nothing to curb the drug trade if tax havens are free to help ensure that crime pays (at least for the king pins).
Tax havens are also impoverishing developing countries. It is estimated that tax havens have facilitated illegal capital flight from developing country elites totaling $7.3 to $9.3 trillion of unrecorded offshore wealth in 2010. The same source countries had aggregate gross external debt of $4.08 trillion in 2010 but if wealth hidden abroad by their elites is taken into account they would be creditor, not debtor countries
The size of the tax havens problem is much bigger than you might think and it is growing. We are recommending that the federal government publish an official estimate of the size of the tax evasion and avoidance problem because we feel that if policy makers and political leaders realize how grave the situation is, it will spur them to take more decisive action."
"Secrecy takes many forms. It includes not having to record the real ownership or management of a company with regulatory authorities. It comes from no accounts being required to be placed on public record, or even be made available to authorities because a no tax regime does not require tax returns.In addition to these Canadian developments, TJN will be speaking at this conference at Yale University, looking at similar problems. In country after country, tax justice is going mainstream.
It comes from tier upon tier of structuring in one secrecy jurisdiction after another to create impermeable opacity often combining trusts, companies and foundations.
It can come from Swiss style banking secrecy.
It can come from non-cooperation, whether that be refusal to information exchange or by ensuring that, as the French have found, when information exchange requests are made the data supplied is of limited or no value.
All these things happen, and it is not by chance. It is by design. The intention of tax havens is straightforward: with the aim of luring cash to their banks to support a local financial services sector that appears to create prosperity secrecy jurisdictions sell their right to legislate for the benefit of those who do not live there and who wish not to pay their taxes where they are due including in places like Canada.
The cost is enormous: the Tax Justice Network estimates there is a minimum of US$21 trillion in assets held offshore at present that is not declared for tax purposes. "
Stop Amazon's tax dodge now - petition from independent booksellers
To contact us Click HERE
We bring you this petition from Change.org:
We pay our taxes and so should Amazon!
We run the Kenilworth and Warwick bookshops, independent shops which have been a proud part of our local high streets for many years. We are proud of the personal service we provide to all those who visit our store.
But times are tough and getting tougher.
We face unrelenting pressure from huge online retailers undercutting prices, in particular Amazon and it's pushing businesses like ours to the brink.
But what’s even worse is that Amazon, despite making sales of £2.9 BILLION in the UK last year, does not pay any UK corporation tax on the profits from those sales. In my book, that is not a level playing field and leaves independent retailers like us struggling to compete just because we do the right thing.
All Amazon UK book and toy sales are routed through its Luxembourg subsidiary. So when the British public buy goods from Amazon, they are in fact paying a Luxembourg company. This means Amazon can avoid paying British corporation tax on the profits it makes. Experts say if Amazon's total UK sales profits were not funnelled to Luxembourg, it could be paying as much as £100m a year in British corporation tax.
As Independent booksellers, we are happy with competition in the market but it must be on level terms and by dodging corporation tax in this way, Amazon start with an unfair advantage.
As they grow bigger it’s inevitable that shops like ours will be under even more pressure. That’s bad for customers, bad for the high street and bad for the UK.
Amazon may be obeying the letter of the law - but they’re certainly not being fair. Last year Starbucks announced that they had caved to public pressure and would look at their tax affairs in the UK. It’s time that Amazon did the same.
We pay our taxes and so should they -- please take a stand with us and tell Amazon to pay their fair share.
Until they do, please consider purchasing from local, independent shops instead.
Sign the petition here.
We pay our taxes and so should Amazon!
We run the Kenilworth and Warwick bookshops, independent shops which have been a proud part of our local high streets for many years. We are proud of the personal service we provide to all those who visit our store.
But times are tough and getting tougher.
We face unrelenting pressure from huge online retailers undercutting prices, in particular Amazon and it's pushing businesses like ours to the brink.
But what’s even worse is that Amazon, despite making sales of £2.9 BILLION in the UK last year, does not pay any UK corporation tax on the profits from those sales. In my book, that is not a level playing field and leaves independent retailers like us struggling to compete just because we do the right thing.
All Amazon UK book and toy sales are routed through its Luxembourg subsidiary. So when the British public buy goods from Amazon, they are in fact paying a Luxembourg company. This means Amazon can avoid paying British corporation tax on the profits it makes. Experts say if Amazon's total UK sales profits were not funnelled to Luxembourg, it could be paying as much as £100m a year in British corporation tax.
As Independent booksellers, we are happy with competition in the market but it must be on level terms and by dodging corporation tax in this way, Amazon start with an unfair advantage.
As they grow bigger it’s inevitable that shops like ours will be under even more pressure. That’s bad for customers, bad for the high street and bad for the UK.
Amazon may be obeying the letter of the law - but they’re certainly not being fair. Last year Starbucks announced that they had caved to public pressure and would look at their tax affairs in the UK. It’s time that Amazon did the same.
We pay our taxes and so should they -- please take a stand with us and tell Amazon to pay their fair share.
Until they do, please consider purchasing from local, independent shops instead.
Sign the petition here.
Phoenix officers' good deed gets girl biking again - KPHO Phoenix
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A Phoenix girl whose bicycle was stolen has several Phoenix police officers to thank for some brand new wheels.
Joanne Shoup told police a burglar stole her granddaughters' two bicycles from her backyard in the 3100 block of North 33rd Street.
After taking her information, Officer Mike Taylor began searching for the bikes in his neighborhood beat.
Taylor said he saw a man acting suspiciously riding a bicycle and pulling a small girl's bike that matched the description of one of the stolen bikes.
Taylor stopped the man. As the officer was attempting to verify the man's identity, the suspect fled.
The officer took the bike to Shoup's home and the woman identified the property as one of the stolen bicycles.
Taylor realized one of the girls now had her bike back and the other one didn't. So Taylor, along with two fellow officers, opened their wallets and purchased a new bicycle for the second grandchild.
"Wow!! Words just cannot express my happiness and gratitude to the Phoenix Police Department," Shoup wrote on her Facebook page.
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Arizona Diamondbacks' Willie Bloomquist earns award nomination - Arizona Republic
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by Scott Bordow - Sept. 18, 2012 10:09 PM
azcentral sports
It's been a rough five weeks for infielder Willie Bloomquist, who has been bothered by a back injury and has made just one appearance, as a pinch-hitter, since Aug. 8.
But on Tuesday, Bloomquist had a smile on his face as he talked about being named the Diamondbacks' 2012 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, presented to a player who makes positive contributions to his team and his community.
"Obviously it's a huge honor. I'm really humbled by it," Bloomquist said. "For me to be the nominee for this organization is a pretty cool thing."
Since 2011, Bloomquist has hosted a Phoenix Children's Hospital patient and his/her family to a VIP day during one game of each home stand at Chase Field. Also, Bloomquist and his wife, Lisa, began the "The Abe and Max Fund," named after two patients who made a lasting impact on Bloomquist when they visited Chase Field.
The fund raises money to buy electronics and games for Phoenix Children's Hospital; it started with a $5,000 donation from the Bloomquist family.
As for his availability, Bloomquist said his back is feeling better but that he was still a few days away from baseball activities. Bloomquist conceded there's a possibility he might not play again this season.
"It's very tough for me to say I'm done for the year when we still have games left," Bloomquist said. "We'll see what the situation is at the point and time I'm able to play."
Return engagement
Trevor Bauer might be on his way back to Arizona.
The rookie right-hander, who pitched in the Triple-A championship game Tuesday, could be called up and get a major league start before the end of the season. General Manager Kevin Towers flew to Durham, N.C., to watch Bauer pitch, and a decision could come within the next couple of days, manager Kirk Gibson said.
"We think it would be beneficial for him to be back," Gibson said of Bauer, who was 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA earlier this year.
It's uncertain how Bauer would fit into the rotation. Barring injury, Ian Kennedy is scheduled to pitch the final game of the season, and Gibson said a starter's turn would have to be skipped to fit Bauer in.
"I don't know anybody that wants to miss a start but at the same time if we feel somebody should miss a start, he would be the likely choice," Gibson said.
One pitch
Chris Young, who has been bothered by a right quadriceps injury, made his first start since Sept. 3 but it didn't last long.
On the game's first pitch, Young chased down a ball hit by San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera near the right-center field wall and immediately motioned to the Diamondbacks' bench that he needed to come out.
The short appearance continued a frustrating season for the D-Backs' center fielder. Young was hitting .410 when he went on the disabled list April 18 for a month, and after playing in 156 games each of the past two years, he won't top 110 this season.
"It sucks a little bit to get hurt a couple of times during the season," Young said. "It's my first time missing this much playing time."
Short hops
Suns' point guard Goran Dragic will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday's game against the Padres. ... Gibson won his 200th game Sunday as Diamondbacks manager. Bob Melvin has the most victories of any Arizona manager (337), followed by Bob Brenly (303) and Buck Showalter (250). ... The Reno Aces won the Triple-A national championship game Tuesday, beating Pawtucket, 10-3. Reno becomes the third D-Backs' minor-league affiliate to win a title this year.
The Gaslight Anthem's Benny Horowitz on Handwritten and SB 1070 - Phoenix New Times (blog)
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It's a pretty good time to be The Gaslight Anthem. The band, which at times sounds like a nostalgic punk rock version of Bruce Springsteen, recently signed to a major label to release its forth full length album, Handwritten. After the band's frontman, Brian Fallon dedicated some time to bluesy side project, The Horrible Crowes, The Gaslight Anthem is back with a vengeance. The band is currently on tour with Rise Against and Hot Water Music, and will be performing at Mesa Amphitheater on Friday, September 28.
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| Danny Clinch |
| The Gaslight Anthem |
We recently caught up with drummer Benny Horowitz to discuss the recording process of Handwritten, his thoughts on SB 1070, and how hard work and luck factor into The Gaslight Anthem's success.
See also: The Gaslight Anthem @ Marquee Theatre (2010)
See also: Nothing Not New Reviews Gaslight Anthem: American Slang
Up on the Sun: What's it like touring with Rise Against and Hot Water Music?
Benny Horowitz: It's cool. Aside from them being great bands, they're both bands that we've toured with in certain capacities. We know all of the bands, we're friends with them, we know all of the crews, we're friends with those guys, so sometimes when you leave for a tour, there's kind of this getting to know you grace period with everyone to sort of get comfortable. With [this lineup], from the first day, it's just like seeing old friends and getting on the road again, so that's a real treat.
Just being able to tour with Hot Water Music is a trip within itself. That's a band that we all grew up listening to, a band I saw in a basement when I was 15 years old. To think that one day you can actually appear and play with them, it's a trip, it's definitely a surreal experience.
What inspired your most recent album, Handwritten?
A lot of things inspire a record. [There are] tons of things as far as music and life that all go into an album. Some of those major parts to this record were maybe a back to basics approach to songwriting and recording, doing everything in a room again and recording it as live as possible. With signing to a major and moving to a producer and stuff like that, there are some kinds of expectations and talk that surround moves like that. I know it was important for us to do what we do, and write songs that we like and kind of let everything else play itself out.
Do you feel like it lived up to those expectations?
Yeah, if I could tell you in 100% truthfulness, I couldn't give a fuck what other people's expectations are for our music. I believe in the guys I play with and I believe in the music we write. If I leave the rehearsal studio with a bunch of songs that we think are great and they're songs that we want to record and we stand behind, I kind of don't care what anyone else says.
Right on. So, why did you decide to record it in Nashville?
The actual city itself kind of panned out because that's where Brendan O'Brien works out of now. He works at Blackbird Studios on the outskirts of Nashville. It's a badass studio, I love all those guys.
As far as a specific city, it wasn't us sitting around going, 'We need to go to Nashville.' The motivation was we knew we really wanted to get out of town to record the record. We recorded the last record, American Slang in New York City, and when we record in New York City, everybody goes home every night. We're basically commuters where we just pop in the studio, and you work, and you go home at night.
On the record before that, we did The '59 Sound in Los Angeles. We did Senor and the Queen in Austin, Texas. I think we've found it really beneficial to be away to really release yourself in the record, so we tried to do that again. We just loaded up the van, we brought Alex [Rosamilia]'s dog and we rode a trip down to Nashville and rented a little house outside of town. We were really more interactive in the process. Instead of going home at night to your family or whatever people's situations are, we drive to the studio together, we sit there all day, we drive home together, we eat dinner, and then we sit around the house, we're still talking about the record, thinking about what we can do the next day and things like that. The motivation was really to get away, just so we could really put our heads into the record.
It's an awesome town, so that worked out.
Sadly, we were studio rats when we were there. We didn't get out and about too much, we saw some of the cool stuff, we hung out with some cool people we know down there, but pretty much six days a week, we were holed up in the studio doing our thing. We were being social with the guys working on the record, we weren't really men about town, so to speak.
Mesa Amphitheatre
263 N. Center St., Mesa, AZ
Category: Music
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Stop Amazon's tax dodge now - petition from independent booksellers
To contact us Click HERE
We bring you this petition from Change.org:
We pay our taxes and so should Amazon!
We run the Kenilworth and Warwick bookshops, independent shops which have been a proud part of our local high streets for many years. We are proud of the personal service we provide to all those who visit our store.
But times are tough and getting tougher.
We face unrelenting pressure from huge online retailers undercutting prices, in particular Amazon and it's pushing businesses like ours to the brink.
But what’s even worse is that Amazon, despite making sales of £2.9 BILLION in the UK last year, does not pay any UK corporation tax on the profits from those sales. In my book, that is not a level playing field and leaves independent retailers like us struggling to compete just because we do the right thing.
All Amazon UK book and toy sales are routed through its Luxembourg subsidiary. So when the British public buy goods from Amazon, they are in fact paying a Luxembourg company. This means Amazon can avoid paying British corporation tax on the profits it makes. Experts say if Amazon's total UK sales profits were not funnelled to Luxembourg, it could be paying as much as £100m a year in British corporation tax.
As Independent booksellers, we are happy with competition in the market but it must be on level terms and by dodging corporation tax in this way, Amazon start with an unfair advantage.
As they grow bigger it’s inevitable that shops like ours will be under even more pressure. That’s bad for customers, bad for the high street and bad for the UK.
Amazon may be obeying the letter of the law - but they’re certainly not being fair. Last year Starbucks announced that they had caved to public pressure and would look at their tax affairs in the UK. It’s time that Amazon did the same.
We pay our taxes and so should they -- please take a stand with us and tell Amazon to pay their fair share.
Until they do, please consider purchasing from local, independent shops instead.
Sign the petition here.
We pay our taxes and so should Amazon!
We run the Kenilworth and Warwick bookshops, independent shops which have been a proud part of our local high streets for many years. We are proud of the personal service we provide to all those who visit our store.
But times are tough and getting tougher.
We face unrelenting pressure from huge online retailers undercutting prices, in particular Amazon and it's pushing businesses like ours to the brink.
But what’s even worse is that Amazon, despite making sales of £2.9 BILLION in the UK last year, does not pay any UK corporation tax on the profits from those sales. In my book, that is not a level playing field and leaves independent retailers like us struggling to compete just because we do the right thing.
All Amazon UK book and toy sales are routed through its Luxembourg subsidiary. So when the British public buy goods from Amazon, they are in fact paying a Luxembourg company. This means Amazon can avoid paying British corporation tax on the profits it makes. Experts say if Amazon's total UK sales profits were not funnelled to Luxembourg, it could be paying as much as £100m a year in British corporation tax.
As Independent booksellers, we are happy with competition in the market but it must be on level terms and by dodging corporation tax in this way, Amazon start with an unfair advantage.
As they grow bigger it’s inevitable that shops like ours will be under even more pressure. That’s bad for customers, bad for the high street and bad for the UK.
Amazon may be obeying the letter of the law - but they’re certainly not being fair. Last year Starbucks announced that they had caved to public pressure and would look at their tax affairs in the UK. It’s time that Amazon did the same.
We pay our taxes and so should they -- please take a stand with us and tell Amazon to pay their fair share.
Until they do, please consider purchasing from local, independent shops instead.
Sign the petition here.
Links Feb 22
To contact us Click HERE
Summary of Secret structures, hidden crimes: Urgent steps to address hidden ownership, money laundering and tax evasion from developing countries - Spanish version Eurodad
Future of private bankers under the microscope swissinfo
The number of traditional, family-run private bankers in Switzerland is shrinking from a Second World War rate of around 60 to just nine.
See also:
History bites back at Swiss private banking swissinfo
Political Corruption and Media Retribution in Spain and Greece The Nation
Disappearing Diamonds 100 reporters
Great report highlighting the role of shell companies in conflict diamonds.
EU banks face strict transparen
European banks are facing the threat of having to reveal their taxes and profits on a country-by-country basis in the latest twist to the EU negotiations over rules to make banks safer.
Why Should Taxpayers Give Big Banks $83 Billion a Year? Bloomberg
Big Companies Fear Offshore Tax Fallout CFO.com
Seniors and Veterans to Crash ‘Fix the Debt’ Party Hosted by Honeywell CEO The Nation
Big four accountants 'insufficiently independent and sceptical' of City The Guardian
UK new scourge of tax havens, favourite tax location for big business FinFacts
Cayman Seeks To Quash Fund Investment Taboo Tax-News
Serbia has plans to prevent tax evasion SE Times
Technology whizz kid tackles Greek tax evasion Reuters
India: Private universities being probed for alleged tax evasion The Hindu Business Line
Tax avoidance: Legality vs morality Al Jazeera
Israeli Banks Said to Be Implicated in U.S. Tax Evasion BloombergBusinessweek
Tackling tax havens; a fight to continue Les Echos (In French)
Christians urged to fast from tax-dodging companies during Lent Ekklesia
"Christians are being encouraged to do no business with tax-dodging corporations such as Amazon and Starbucks for the duration of Lent, as a public witness against the sins of corporate tax avoidance."
Future of private bankers under the microscope swissinfo
The number of traditional, family-run private bankers in Switzerland is shrinking from a Second World War rate of around 60 to just nine.
See also:
History bites back at Swiss private banking swissinfo
Political Corruption and Media Retribution in Spain and Greece The Nation
Disappearing Diamonds 100 reporters
Great report highlighting the role of shell companies in conflict diamonds.
EU banks face strict transparen
European banks are facing the threat of having to reveal their taxes and profits on a country-by-country basis in the latest twist to the EU negotiations over rules to make banks safer.
Why Should Taxpayers Give Big Banks $83 Billion a Year? Bloomberg
Big Companies Fear Offshore Tax Fallout CFO.com
Seniors and Veterans to Crash ‘Fix the Debt’ Party Hosted by Honeywell CEO The Nation
Big four accountants 'insufficiently independent and sceptical' of City The Guardian
UK new scourge of tax havens, favourite tax location for big business FinFacts
Cayman Seeks To Quash Fund Investment Taboo Tax-News
Serbia has plans to prevent tax evasion SE Times
Technology whizz kid tackles Greek tax evasion Reuters
India: Private universities being probed for alleged tax evasion The Hindu Business Line
Tax avoidance: Legality vs morality Al Jazeera
Israeli Banks Said to Be Implicated in U.S. Tax Evasion BloombergBusinessweek
Tackling tax havens; a fight to continue Les Echos (In French)
Christians urged to fast from tax-dodging companies during Lent Ekklesia
"Christians are being encouraged to do no business with tax-dodging corporations such as Amazon and Starbucks for the duration of Lent, as a public witness against the sins of corporate tax avoidance."
Phoenix officers' good deed gets girl biking again - KPHO Phoenix
To contact us Click HERE
A Phoenix girl whose bicycle was stolen has several Phoenix police officers to thank for some brand new wheels.
Joanne Shoup told police a burglar stole her granddaughters' two bicycles from her backyard in the 3100 block of North 33rd Street.
After taking her information, Officer Mike Taylor began searching for the bikes in his neighborhood beat.
Taylor said he saw a man acting suspiciously riding a bicycle and pulling a small girl's bike that matched the description of one of the stolen bikes.
Taylor stopped the man. As the officer was attempting to verify the man's identity, the suspect fled.
The officer took the bike to Shoup's home and the woman identified the property as one of the stolen bicycles.
Taylor realized one of the girls now had her bike back and the other one didn't. So Taylor, along with two fellow officers, opened their wallets and purchased a new bicycle for the second grandchild.
"Wow!! Words just cannot express my happiness and gratitude to the Phoenix Police Department," Shoup wrote on her Facebook page.
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Arizona Diamondbacks' Willie Bloomquist earns award nomination - Arizona Republic
To contact us Click HERE
by Scott Bordow - Sept. 18, 2012 10:09 PM
azcentral sports
It's been a rough five weeks for infielder Willie Bloomquist, who has been bothered by a back injury and has made just one appearance, as a pinch-hitter, since Aug. 8.
But on Tuesday, Bloomquist had a smile on his face as he talked about being named the Diamondbacks' 2012 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, presented to a player who makes positive contributions to his team and his community.
"Obviously it's a huge honor. I'm really humbled by it," Bloomquist said. "For me to be the nominee for this organization is a pretty cool thing."
Since 2011, Bloomquist has hosted a Phoenix Children's Hospital patient and his/her family to a VIP day during one game of each home stand at Chase Field. Also, Bloomquist and his wife, Lisa, began the "The Abe and Max Fund," named after two patients who made a lasting impact on Bloomquist when they visited Chase Field.
The fund raises money to buy electronics and games for Phoenix Children's Hospital; it started with a $5,000 donation from the Bloomquist family.
As for his availability, Bloomquist said his back is feeling better but that he was still a few days away from baseball activities. Bloomquist conceded there's a possibility he might not play again this season.
"It's very tough for me to say I'm done for the year when we still have games left," Bloomquist said. "We'll see what the situation is at the point and time I'm able to play."
Return engagement
Trevor Bauer might be on his way back to Arizona.
The rookie right-hander, who pitched in the Triple-A championship game Tuesday, could be called up and get a major league start before the end of the season. General Manager Kevin Towers flew to Durham, N.C., to watch Bauer pitch, and a decision could come within the next couple of days, manager Kirk Gibson said.
"We think it would be beneficial for him to be back," Gibson said of Bauer, who was 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA earlier this year.
It's uncertain how Bauer would fit into the rotation. Barring injury, Ian Kennedy is scheduled to pitch the final game of the season, and Gibson said a starter's turn would have to be skipped to fit Bauer in.
"I don't know anybody that wants to miss a start but at the same time if we feel somebody should miss a start, he would be the likely choice," Gibson said.
One pitch
Chris Young, who has been bothered by a right quadriceps injury, made his first start since Sept. 3 but it didn't last long.
On the game's first pitch, Young chased down a ball hit by San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera near the right-center field wall and immediately motioned to the Diamondbacks' bench that he needed to come out.
The short appearance continued a frustrating season for the D-Backs' center fielder. Young was hitting .410 when he went on the disabled list April 18 for a month, and after playing in 156 games each of the past two years, he won't top 110 this season.
"It sucks a little bit to get hurt a couple of times during the season," Young said. "It's my first time missing this much playing time."
Short hops
Suns' point guard Goran Dragic will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday's game against the Padres. ... Gibson won his 200th game Sunday as Diamondbacks manager. Bob Melvin has the most victories of any Arizona manager (337), followed by Bob Brenly (303) and Buck Showalter (250). ... The Reno Aces won the Triple-A national championship game Tuesday, beating Pawtucket, 10-3. Reno becomes the third D-Backs' minor-league affiliate to win a title this year.
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