Browsing Posts published on July 22, 2010
Natural disasters—such as a flood, hurricane, or blizzard—often come without warning. Stocking up on the right non-perishable food items will help you weather the storm with less stress.
by Vanessa DiMaggio
What to Buy Right Before an Emergency
If you’ve been given ample warning that a storm is coming, there’s still time to run to the market and pick up fresh produce and other items that have shorter shelf lives. Most of these foods will last at least a week after they’ve been purchased and will give you a fresh alternative to all that packaged food. Make sure to swing by your local farmers’ market if it’s open; because the produce there is fresher than what you’ll find at your typical supermarket, you’ll add a few days to the lifespan of your fruits and vegetables.
• Apples
Apples last up to three months when stored in a cool, dry area away from more perishable fruits (like bananas), which could cause them to ripen more quickly.
• Citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits
Because of their high acid content and sturdy skins, citrus fruits can last for up to two weeks without refrigeration, particularly if you buy them when they’re not fully ripe. Oranges and grapefruits contain lots of vitamin C and will keep you hydrated.
• Avocadoes
If you buy an unripe, firm avocado, it will last outside the refrigerator for at least a week.
• Tomatoes
If you buy them unripe, tomatoes will last several days at room temperature.
• Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams
If you have access to a working stove, these root vegetables are good keepers and make tasty side dishes. Stored in a cool, dark area, potatoes will last about a month.
• Cucumbers and summer squash
These vegetables will last a few days outside of refrigeration and can be eaten raw.
• Winter squash
While most are inedible uncooked, winter squashes, such as acorn squash, will keep for a few months. If you’ll be able to cook during the emergency, stockpile a bunch.
• Hard, packaged sausages, such as sopressata and pepperoni
You can’t eat canned tuna and chicken forever. Try stocking up on a few packages of dry-cured salamis like sopressata, a southern Italian specialty available at most grocery stores. Unopened, they will keep for up to six weeks in the pantry, Van says.
More Food Advice for an Emergency
• If the electricity goes out, how do you know what is and isn’t safe to eat from the refrigerator? If your food has spent more than four hours over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, don’t eat it. As long as frozen foods have ice crystals or are cool to the touch, they’re still safe. “Once it gets to be room temperature then bacteria forms pretty quickly, and you want to be very careful about what you’re eating,” Swanson says. Keep the doors closed on your refrigerator and freezer to slow down the thawing process.
• If you don’t have electricity, you may still be able to cook or heat your food. If you have outdoor access, a charcoal grill or propane stove is a viable option (these can’t be used indoors because of improper ventilation). If you’re stuck indoors, keep a can of Sterno handy: Essentially heat in a can, it requires no electricity and can warm up small amounts of food in cookware.
• If your family has special needs—for example, you take medication regularly or you have a small child—remember to stock up on those essential items, too. Keep an extra stash of baby formula and jars of baby food or a backup supply of your medications.
• If you live in an area at high risk for flooding, consider buying all your pantry items in cans, as they are less likely to be contaminated by flood waters than jars. “It’s recommended that people don’t eat home-canned foods or jarred foods that have been exposed to flood waters because those seals are not quite as intact,” Andress says.
Summer is a busy time for everyone, but particularly for military members and their families. Whether it’s moving to a new base or traveling to a duty station, members of the military have many obligations that could impact their tax situation. Here are 10 IRS tax tips military members should keep in mind this summer to help with filing a tax return next year. Moving Expenses If you are a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and you move because of a permanent change of station, you can deduct the reasonable unreimbursed expenses of moving you and members of your household. Combat Pay If you serve in a combat zone as an enlisted person or as a warrant officer for any part of a month, all your military pay received for military service that month is not taxable. For officers, the monthly exclusion is capped at the highest enlisted pay, plus any hostile fire or imminent danger pay received. Extension of Deadlines The time for taking care of certain tax matters can be postponed. The deadline for filing tax returns, paying taxes, filing claims for refund, and taking other actions with the IRS is automatically extended for qualifying members of the military. Uniform Cost and Upkeep If military regulations prohibit you from wearing certain uniforms when off duty, you can deduct the cost and upkeep of those uniforms, but you must reduce your expenses by any allowance or reimbursement you receive. Joint Returns Generally, joint returns must be signed by both spouses. However, when one spouse may not be available due to military duty, a power of attorney may be used to file a joint return. Travel to Reserve Duty If you are a member of the US Armed Forces Reserves, you can deduct unreimbursed travel expenses for traveling more than 100 miles away from home to perform your reserve duties. ROTC Students Subsistence allowances paid to ROTC students participating in advanced training are not taxable. However, active duty pay – such as pay received during summer advanced camp – is taxable. Transitioning Back to Civilian Life You may be able to deduct some costs you incur while looking for a new job. Expenses may include travel, resume preparation fees, and outplacement agency fees. Moving expenses may be deductible if your move is closely related to the start of work at a new job location, and you meet certain tests. Tax Help Most military installations offer free tax filing and preparation assistance during the filing season. Tax Information IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide, summarizes many important military-related tax topics. Publication 3 can be downloaded from IRS.gov or may be ordered by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). Links: • Tax Information for Members of the U.S. Armed Forces • IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide
The Internal Revenue Service July 21 issued proposed rules (Reg-139343-08) establishing a new annual $50 user fee for individuals who apply for or renew a preparer tax identification number (PTIN).
The much-anticipated guidance is the first step in setting up a regime of registration with the IRS that will in essence create a new profession of government-sanctioned tax preparers, IRS officials have said in recent forums.
IRS is anticipating that the number of individuals requesting PTINs will increase to as many as 1.2 million under the new registration program, and all individuals who receive or have received PTINs will be required to renew them in the future, the guidance said.
In March, IRS proposed rules requiring tax return preparers who prepare all, or substantially all, of a tax return or claim for refund after Dec. 31 to obtain a PTIN. Further, those rules specified that the PTIN would be the only allowable identifier going forward, as part of a multiprong approach to new and sweeping oversight of the tax preparation industry.
Attorneys, certified public accountants, and enrolled agents have had to obtain a PTIN from the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility and to adhere to that office’s standards of competency and conduct. But IRS officials said that hundreds of thousands of other practicing tax preparers have never before been required to have a PTIN and have been unregulated by any agency at the national level.
The $50 fee to apply for or renew a PTIN is based on an annual renewal period, and the procedures for renewing a PTIN will be provided in other guidance, IRS said, including forms and instructions. The user fee is nonrefundable, regardless of whether the applicant receives a PTIN or not, IRS said.
Registered Preparer Guidance Coming
Future guidance will spell out a number of other requirements, including the critical requirements for becoming a registered tax preparer, which will be provided in future Circular 230 guidance, the proposed rule said. There will also be guidance coordinating the enrollment and renewal of user fees imposed on enrolled agents and enrolled retirement plan agents with the PTIN user fees, the service said.
A third-party vendor, previously announced as Accenture, will administer the PTIN application and renewal process and will charge “a reasonable fee” that is independent of the user fee charged by the government, the guidance said. The vendor will develop a web-based database that individuals will use to apply for or renew a PTIN, IRS said, and will also process paper PTIN applications. The database also will be used by the applicant to become a registered tax return preparer, to renew his or her registered tax return preparer status, to self-certify continuing professional education credits for registered tax return preparers, and to pay applicable user fees.
Recovering Government Costs
IRS justified the new user fees by noting the increase in resources the new registration program will take. It said the fees will be used to recover the costs the government incurs in administering the PTIN process.
IRS currently issues PTINs to tax return preparers without charging a user fee, “but the application, issuance, and renewal process will become significantly more expansive and intricate with the implementation of the registered tax return preparer program,” it said.
The user fee will recover the costs of IRS customer service support activities, which include website development and maintenance and call center staffing to respond to questions regarding PTIN usage and renewal.
“The user fee also will recover costs for personnel, administrative, and management support needed to evaluate and address tax compliance issues of individuals applying for and renewing a PTIN, to investigate and address conduct and suitability issues, and otherwise support and enforce the programs that require an individual to apply for and renew a PTIN,” it said.
Fees for Testing
Future regulations will also address user fees for taking the registered tax return preparer examination and providing continuing education programs, the guidance said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Tuesday for the first time with U.S. President Obama at the White House. Here’s an almost-accurate look at key dates in the two countries’ shared histories:
1587: Roanoke Island colony established in present-day North Carolina but disappears in mystery three years later. The only clue to what happened to the colonists is the word “Croatan” carved into a tree. It’s believed to have meant, “Blimey, it’s hot.”
1607: Jamestown settlement established in present-day Virginia as another attempt as an English foothold in the New World. This one works out better.
1775-1783: Revolution/American War of Independence: Ingrate colonists revolt against England/Americans drive British out of country, depending on your point of view. The British lose the 13 Colonies but are allowed to keep the letter “u” in words such as “favourite” and “neighbour.”
1812-1815: U.S. fights Great Britain over trade restrictions, other issues. War ends when both sides realize they’ve forgotten what they’re fighting over.
Also in the early 1800s: British distracted with other colonies — U.S. buys Florida from Spain for a nice vacation place; buys middle of the country from France because it’s too good of a deal to pass up.
1861-1865: U.S. Civil War — British hedge bets on both Union and Confederacy.
1867: Canada revolts against the British in a very Canadian way, culminating in almost-independence 115 years later.
Late 1800s: U.S. settles West, British fascination with cowboys begins.
1914-1918: World War I begins, U.S. waits in the bullpen until the late innings, gets credit for the save.
1929-1939: Great Depression. Economists in both countries still debating how and when it ended and how to prevent future financial upheavals.
1936: U.S. finally succeeds in bringing down British monarchy — well, at least they got Edward VIII to abdicate the throne when he picked divorcee Mrs. Wallis Simpson over the crown.
1939-1945: World War II — Thousands of U.S. servicemen stationed in United Kingdom. British tire of “overpaid, oversexed and over here” Americans on their soil, so Allies invade continental Europe and war ends.
1947-1991: Cold War — U.S. and British allied against Soviet Union and China, with whom they had been allies with in World War II. U.S. and British allied with Germany and Japan, with whom had been allied against in WWII. France allied with France.
1960s-2000s: Two countries engaged in musical wars — U.S. retaliates for British Invasion of 1960s with Osmonds, disco. British punk movement spreads to U.S. in 1970s, U.S. counterattacks with waves of boy bands. Two countries agree to truce after England threatens doomsday Rick Astley weapon.
1980s: U.S. President Ronald Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher begin dating.
1991: First Gulf war — U.S., Britain fall in love amid conflict.
2000s: U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair begin dating.
2003-present: Second Gulf war — U.S., Britain in conflict amid conflict.
2009: In a royal shocker, Michelle Obama touches the Queen! The last person to do that was dubbed the “Lizard of Oz,” but he was Australian, and Michelle is so tall and toned and the Queen even seemed to like it, so maybe they’re now gal pals.
2010: British attempt to resolve conflict with U.S. over what shape a football should be by giving U.S. a goal in their World Cup game.
A former senior advisor to President Bill Clinton says that the only thing which can rescue Barack Obama’s increasingly tenuous grip on power as his approval figures continue to plunge is a terror attack on the scale of Oklahoma City or 9/11, another startling reminder that such events only ever serve to benefit those in authority.
Buried in a Financial Times article about Obama’s “growing credibility crisis” and fears on behalf of Democrats that they could lose not only the White House but also the Senate to Republicans, Robert Shapiro makes it clear that Obama is relying on an October surprise in the form of a terror attack to rescue his presidency.
“The bottom line here is that Americans don’t believe in President Obama’s leadership,” said Shapiro, adding, “He has to find some way between now and November of demonstrating that he is a leader who can command confidence and, short of a 9/11 event or an Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of how he could do that.”
http://www.prisonplanet.com/top-clinton-official-only-a-terror-attack-can-save-obama.html
Facebook has sensationally banned the official Alex Jones Facebook page after a customer services representative admitted that all material containing images of the famous Gadsden flag 
was being deleted by the social networking giant. While some fan pages remain up, the official Alex Jones Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/realalexjones has been terminated. Other Alex Jones pages run by Infowars readers have also been deleted, such as the page that was formerly at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Real-Alex-Jones/.
It’s unsurprising that Facebook has nailed its political colors to the mast in serving the establishment by targeting grass roots Facebook pages that display the Gadsden flag.
The move to ban Tea Party-related material is just one example of the wider move to censor the Internet as part of the cybersecurity agenda.
During an appearance on CNN last month, Senator Joe Lieberman, the sponsor of a bill that would give President Obama the power to shut down parts of the Internet, admitted that cybersecurity was all about seizing the same policing power over the world wide web employed by the Communist Chinese government.
As we have documented, Chinese censorship of the Internet has nothing to do with security and is almost exclusively focused around covering up government atrocities and abuse by silencing whistle blowers and blocking the free flow of information. The system that Lieberman wants America to adopt is all about political oppression and preventing people from becoming organized and active in standing up against big government.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/facebook-deletes-official-alex-jones-page-over-gadsden-flag.html
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© 2010 Roger Knecht