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Familias Teatro Families Families Drama Family United States Drama Friendship United States Drama New York (N.Y.) Drama Public prosecutors United States Drama Sasquatch Drama Sheep dogs Drama Traffic accidents United States Drama
Lanh, Andrew
Gilmore girls 1 Gilmore girls 5 MGM DVD Modern family 4 Orange is the new black 1 Rick Van Lam mystery 3
Comedy films. Comedy-Feature. Drama. Feature films. Fiction television programs. Television comedies. Television programs. Television series. Video recordings for the hearing impaired. videorecording
Gilmore girls. The complete first season
Summary: Lorelai and Rory are a mother and daughter who are sharing life's ups and downs in a small town in Connecticut. This heartfelt, humorous drama appeals to young and old alike with its blend of traditional family issues and hip attitude.
Format: moving image
Publisher / Publication Date: Distributed by Warner Home Video 2008
1 available in Television Series DVDs, Call number: DVD TV GIL
The big bad swim
Summary: A Connecticut adult swim class sets the stage for this comedy-drama about love, loss and second chances. Three strangers, inextricably connected through personal heartbreak, find themselves entering deep water as they learn that life isn't always about diving right in-- it's about getting your feet wet once in awhile.
Publisher / Publication Date: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment 2007
1 available in Comedy DVDs, Call number: DVD COMEDY BIG
Sofia the first. Once upon a princess
Summary: Set in the storybook world of Enchancia, we meet Sofia, an average girl whose life suddenly transforms when her mother marries the king and she becomes a princess. Sofia must learn to navigate the extraordinary life of royalty while holding onto her own hopes and dreams. Her journey to be the best she can be also paves the way for those around her to realize how special they each are....
Publisher / Publication Date: Disney 2013
1 available in Juvenile Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD JUV SOF
1 available in Children's videos, Call number: DVD Juvenile So
Modern family. The complete fourth season
Summary: Enjoy all twenty-four complete episodes of season four. Includes Bringing Up Baby, The Future Dunphys, Goodnight Gracie, and many more.
1 available in Television Series DVDs, Call number: DVD TV MOD
Harry and the Hendersons
Summary: A chance car accident introduces the Henderson family to the real-life Bigfoot, who is anything but a ferocious monster. He quickly becomes a true friend of the family. They're soon in a race against the clock to return "Harry' to his natural environment before the authorities capture him.
Publisher / Publication Date: Universal Studios Home Entertainment 2007
No good to cry : a Rick Van Lam mystery
Summary: On a sunny afternoon in Hartford, Connecticut, PI Rick Van Lam's Vietnam-vet mentor and partner, Jimmy, and Jimmy's old army pal, Ralph, are attacked as they walk down a city sidewalk. Ralph is killed, and Jimmy, backing up, is struck by a car. While the battered Jimmy is under the care of Rick's landlord and friend, Gracie, where an improbable romance seems to be blooming, Rick finds himself...
Publisher / Publication Date: Poisoned Pen Press 2016
1 available in Adult Fiction, Call number: FIC LAN
Little house on the prairie. Season 8
Summary: Relive the Oleson's adoption of Nancy, and every endearing moment of season eight of the series, with restored and remastered picture and sound. Share memories with the Wilders and Ingalls when snowed in at Christmas, witness Almanzo's stroke and the birth of baby Rose, and behold Charles' faith as he pleads for his adopted son's life, in this completely uncut and unforgettable, 22-episode saga.
1 available in Television Series DVDs, Call number: DVD TV LIT
The upside of anger
Summary: This contemporary drama is about romance between two imperfect, alcoholic, resentful ordinary people, neighbors in the suburbs, adults with enough money to support themselves in the discontent to which they have become accustomed. Terry Wolfmeyer, suburban Detroit mother of four girls, is suddenly abandoned by her husband, and sinks into depression and subsists on a steady diet of vodka tonics....
1 available in Comedy DVDs, Call number: DVD COMEDY UPS
1 available in Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD UPS
Little house on the prairie. Season 9.
Summary: The Ingalls leave Walnut Grove and the Carters move into their old house. Meanwhile, Nellie returns to Walnut Grove and Nancy runs away because she is no longer the center of attention. These are just a few of the moments from the ninth season.
The Haunting in Connecticut
Summary: The Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut. They soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history. The house was once a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred. The owner's clairvoyant son, Jonah, served as a demonic messenger. He provided a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover. Now unspeakable terror awaits when Jonah, the boy who...
Publisher / Publication Date: Lionsgate 2009
1 available in Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD HAU RATED PG-13
Picket fences. Season one
Summary: Eccentricity defines daily life in Rome, Wisconsin, where the Tin Man from "The wizard of Oz" is murdered, a student brings a severed hand to school for show-and-tell, and a woman runs over her husband with a steam roller pleading "not guilty by reason of menopause." Sheriff Jimmy Brock has seen it all. Indeed, behind the tidy picket fences of this quirky little town lie all the same problems...
1 available in Television Series DVDs, Call number: DVD TV PIC
The shaggy dog
Summary: A man tries to live a normal life despite the fact that he sometimes turns into a sheepdog.
Publisher / Publication Date: Walt Disney Home Entertainment 2006
1 available in Family DVDs, Call number: DVD FAMILY SHA
The middle. Season 1
Summary: The daily mishaps of a harried woman and her semi-dysfunctional family and their attempt to survive life in general in the city of Orson, Indiana.
Publisher / Publication Date: Warner Bros. Entertainment 2010
1 available in Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD TV MID
Gilmore girls. The complete fifth season
Summary: Relive the first year of being an inn owner with Lorelai, the turmoil of being a second-year student at Yale with Rory, and the ups and downs of love and family.
Publisher / Publication Date: Warner Home Video 2005
1 available in Television Series DVDs, Call number: DVD GIL
Summary: When an unannounced, uninvited and unwelcome family of fun-loving misfits converge upon a lakeside resort to join their relatives for a summer of relaxation, the result is anything but restive in this raucous comedy.
Publisher / Publication Date: Universal Home Video 1998
1 available in Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD Gr
Summary: Set in the early 20th century, this classic family comedy follows the efforts of a husband and wife as they try to maintain control in a home with 12 children.
Publisher / Publication Date: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 2004
1 available in Family DVDs, Call number: DVD Family Cheaper 2004
Orange is the new black. Season one
Summary: Follows Brooklynite Piper Chapman, whose wild past comes back to haunt her and results in her arrest and detention in a federal penitentiary. To pay her debt to society, Piper trades her comfortable New York life for an orange prison jumpsuit and finds unexpected conflict and camaraderie amidst an eccentric group of inmates.
Summary: Frankie and Mike Heck are frazzled parents trying to stretch their patience and paychecks around three brilliantly true-to-life kids: Axl, whose latest dream girl has tattoos, body piercings, and pink hair; Sue, who's thrilled to come in eighth (out of eight) in Square Dancing with the Stars; and Brick, the only kid who has his birthday party at the public library.
Summary: Olive is a little girl who dreams of winning the Little Miss Sunshine contest. Her family wants her dream to come true, but they are so dysfunctional that they can barely make it through a day without some disaster befalling them. Olive's father, Richard, is unsuccessful as a motivational speaker. He is barely on speaking terms with Olive's mother. Her uncle Frank has attempted suicide...
1 available in Comedy DVDs, Call number: DVD COMEDY LIT
1 available in Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD LIT RATED R
1 available in Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD Movie Little 2006
King of the Hill. The complete fifth season
Summary: Mosey on back to the land of the Rio Grande, where Hank is wondering if he should vote for a fellow Texan in the presidential election. Later, while Bobby wishes her were older, Dale sues the tobacco company to get money for his wife's face lift.
1 available in Television Series DVDs, Call number: DVD TV KIN
The loud house. Season 2, volume 1, Relative chaos.
Summary: Kickstart Season Two with Lincoln and Clyde on an epic sled-rescue-mission!Then catch up with Lola and Lana as they try out for the Bluebell Scouts, Lori and Leni as they fight over the same dress, and Lincoln and Clyde as they make the most of their spring break. Chaos continues when Lucy gets a makeover, a love letter arrives at the house, and the family schemes for some pizza! And for the...
1 available in Juvenile Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD JUV LOU
Summary: Imprisoned vampire Barnabas Collins is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better and are in need of his protection.
1 available in Digital Video Disc, Call number: DVD Movie Dark 2012
Family guy. It's a trap!
Summary: Once again, the Family Guy alliance travels far, far beyond the beyond the boundaries of good taste to bring you an outrageous intergalactic journey. Join them for one last outer space adventure, as Han Solo (Peter), Chewbacca (Brian) and Princess Leia (Lois) battle against the Evil Empire. Meanwhile, Darth Vader (Stewie) and the Emperor (Carter) try to recruit Luke Skywalker (Chris) to the...
1 available in Television Series DVDs, Call number: DVD TV FAM
Summary: After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Master Splinter, their sensei, is struggling to keep them together. He becomes worried when strange things begin brewing in New York City. Tech-industrialist tycoon Max Winters revives four ancient stone warriors and enlists the help of the foot clan to help capture ancient monsters.
2 available in Family DVDs, Call number: DVD FAMILY TMN


Cecilia Simmons is a Shareholder in the Litigation Department where she practices in all areas of commercial litigation in both federal and state court. Additionally, as a member of the E-Discovery and Information Practice Group, she focuses on the management of major discovery matters as well as providing guidance on e-discovery issues.
Part of the litigation team that achieved a $100 million settlement on behalf of a Class consisting of 179 real estate investors. The settlement resolved claims that one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the world, and one of its employees, concealed and failed to alert our clients to an on-going multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme. It is currently pending Court approval.
Prevailed in administrative hearing challenging Environmental Resource Permit Modification issued to client All Aboard Florida. Following a lengthy proceeding, the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings issued a Recommended Order which found for All Aboard Florida on all issues and endorsed the permit under review. The permit is for a portion of an express passenger rail system which will connect the four largest urban population centers in Southern and Central Florida - Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando. The passenger service will be known as Brightline and is scheduled to begin operating between Miami and West Palm Beach later this year. The Recommended Order contains the most thorough analysis to date on the issue of whether the first element of the public interest test permits consideration of non-environmental factors and provides more predictability and clarity as to the application of the public interest criteria.
Successfully represented two joint venture partners in obtaining a favorable settlement in a highly contentious dispute over the terms of a complex joint venture agreement relating to internet marketing and product sales.
Assisted Spanish investor in obtaining a preliminary injunction, after lengthy evidentiary hearings, against its joint venture partners for illegal removal from the joint venture's management committee.
Served as defendants' trial counsel for BBX Capital Corporation in a five-week securities class action jury trial in federal court in Miami, Florida. The action brought by private shareholders ended with a judgment for BBX after an appeal to the Eleventh Circuit.
Represented class of service station dealers in a federal class action against Exxon Corporation; significant responsibilities in adversary claims process, including supervision of a large team of associates and paralegals, on behalf of more than 12,000 claimants with a total recovery of $1.1 billion.
Represented the owner of a luxury hotel in Key Biscayne, Florida in an arbitration proceeding against the general contractor in a dispute arising out of the construction of the hotel.
Member of the trial team in a breach of contract action on behalf of the owner of the American Airlines Arena against a luxury box owner which resulted in a $2.5 million judgment in favor of our client.


Stopped by Streatfood in San Francisco a few weeks back to see some old friends from the Mystic Midway in their new immersive show experience, turning the food truck park into a Friday evening carnival and interactive experience.
Daphne Gottlieb is a poet and writer who was kind enough to spend a little time in the studio with me recently.
This was such a fun session, an adorable toddler, two happy parents, and a beautiful San Francisco summer day in the park..
We had perfect light for this pre-wedding wedding at San Francisco City Hall. The family wedding was a few days later, but that's a whole other blog post!
This was an super fun whirlwind engagement session! This couple's wedding theme was all around their love of books, we shot photographs in and in front of several San Francisco Public libraries, inside a few bookshops – thank you Borderlands, City Lights, and Booksmith!
This child is a cherub. It's the only possible explanation for those curls, those eyes, and that solid, adorable little body of hers. Paired with a personable and curious personality, this is one kid who keeps her parents on their toes.


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Chaos Ethics
Balance has no meaning for a politics that is merely the continuation of war by other means. Both religious zealots and defenders of scientific fact declare a monopoly on truth and the moral law, while radicals are powerless to resist since they have lost faith that ethics can be anything but arbitrary. Meanwhile, insane bureaucracy devastates life while nations fall into dishonor as they abandon their promises of justice.
If the moral law cannot save us, perhaps it is time to try moral chaos.
Chaos Ethics collides philosophers such as Kant, Nietzsche, Levinas, Mary Midgley, Alasdair MacInytre, Alain Badiou, Isabelle Stengers, and Bruno Latour with everything from cyberpunk science fiction and the fantasy novels of Michael Moorcock to Google, gay marriage, drone assassinations, and the ethics of cats and dogs. A strange and wondrous journey through morality viewed as a facet of imagination that offers a new perspective in which the diversity of ethics is a strength not a weakness, hesitation is more noble than certainty, and virtue can be expressed in both law and chaos.
Out now from Zero Books.
Praise for Chaos Ethics
"A revelatory reading of both my own and other's work - a genuine philosophy for the 21st century."
Award-winning fantasy and literary author
"Provocative, lively, engaging and erudite."
Allen W. Wood
Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Professor emeritus at Stanford University
"An elegant yet passionate defence of ethics, the book carefully considers various conflicting accounts of what it means to live a good life before settling on imagination and narrative as chaotic and transient foundations of ethical thinking. Ethics for Bateman is both necessary and necessarily tumultuous; it is also a story which we should try and tell as best we can. Thought-provoking, engaging even if at times controversial, Chaos Ethics is a pleasure to read - and to agree and disagree with."
Joanna Zylinska
Professor of New Media and Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London, author of Bioethics in the Age of New Media and The Ethics of Cultural Studies
The Mythology of Evolution
"A book that's badly needed and could be revolutionary.... This matters; read it!"
Philosopher and author of Beast and Man and The Myths We Live By
Imaginary Games
"Wonderfully refreshing and inventive... fascinating and fun!"
Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"What kind of music do you like?" I asked the taxi driver in Chinese as he drove us to a popular nightclub in Harbin. Two of my American classmates chatted in the backseat.
"I like slow, emotional ballads the best," he said, the corner of his eyes crinkling into a warm smile. I rolled my window down, stuck my hand out to feel the breeze and asked the driver to put his favorite radio station on.
We sat in silence listening to the unwavering vocalist for a few minutes, then I asked him where he was from and what his favorite hobbies were – did he like to watch TV, read books, play sports?
I was taken aback – most of the time when I try and talk to taxi drivers they're not this open about their lives. The idioms I learned in my ancient Chinese class swirled around in my mind – I felt guilty that I had the opportunity to study such things, while this man was confined to a taxi.
"My parents had six kids, so our living conditions weren't great," he continued. He sounded both proud and incredulous – almost like he couldn't believe his own life turned out the way it did.
"If money wasn't an issue and you could do absolutely anything you want with your life, what would you do?" I asked him.
We didn't end up staying at the nightclub very long. After listening to such soft, silvery music in the taxi, the electronic house beats felt like bombs going off, not music.
I also couldn't help but to wonder if all the people drinking, dancing, texting and lounging at VIP tables under the flashy lights were as happy as the taxi driver was.
The next day we visited the museum of Unit 731, which was the covert Japanese biological and chemical warfare research center during the Second Sino-Japanese War of World War II.
Hiding behind the official title of the "Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army," Unit 731 committed some of the most atrocious war crimes in history.
Over 3,000 men, women, children, infants, elderly and pregnant women – majority Chinese, some Soviet, Mongolian and Korean – were subject to inhumane experimentation, such as the removal of organs from live bodies, amputation, germ warfare attacks, weapon testing and frostbite. And outside the walls of Unit 731, tens of thousands of people died in field experimentations.
I couldn't believe that prior to the museum visit, I had never heard of Unit 731 before. Everyone is familiar with the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, but Unit 731 still seems to be a secret.
The museum was a haunted house of repulsive stories that I struggled to believe had occurred on the ground I was walking on.
The human subjects of Unit 731 were referred to as "maruta," meaning "logs," "wood," or "raw material" and were identified by three-digit numbers.
The ten Chinese prisoners of war were tied on the pillars and they were ten to twenty meters away from the scatter-bombs filled with gangrene bacteria. In order to prevent them from being killed by bombs immediately, their heads and backs were covered by special metal plates and thick cotton quilts, while their feet and hips were exposed outside. When the electric switches were open, the bombs exploded… they died after suffering from severe pain for seven days.
A former member of Unit 731, Kanetoshi Tsuruta, recalled that before setting off from General Temple to Haiha River to spread the germs, three of them took a break in a farmhouse. Lying that they were just Japanese travelers, the family made leek dumplings for them with hospitality. Before leaving, they spread the dried plague germ around the farmhouse unnoticed. When they finished the germ spreading mission and returned from Halha River, they found all three members of the family were dead.
Another Unit 731 staff confession described the dissection of a pregnant woman: "You can do whatever you want to me, but please don't hurt my baby," she pleaded to the Japanese surgeons who were strapping her down to an examination table. They shoved a chloroform towel over her face and sliced her body open down the center from her chest to her abdomen. As they prodded at her insides and removed her organs, her hands and feet still shook with life.
Senior Japanese Army surgeon, Shirō Ishii – who as a medical student referred to his bacteria as his "pets" – convinced his superiors to establish Unit 731 and became the commander of the torture-house.
Japan lacks the natural resources necessary to build machinery, the only way we can win this war is by pursuing the development of biological and chemical weapons, he said in his speech to Japanese Imperial Army officials.
Unit 731 had a total of 4,515 staff and had its own railway tracks, airport, dormitory, and education, medical, commercial, recreational and religious facilities. They also had a "youth class" of high school graduate recruits who took part in "worship ceremonies" and training.
After the war, the Unit 731 researchers were not tried for war crimes.
American General Douglas MacArther, who was responsible for rebuilding Japan during the Allied occupations, believed the data gathered from human experimentation was valuable and secretly granted Unit 731 physicians immunity in exchange for providing only the U.S. – and not other wartime allies – with the research data.
Many of the Unit 731 rose to prominent careers in politics, academia, business and medicine in Japan.
Shirō Ishii, who received the "Order of the Golden Kite" award for his "bravery and leadership" during the height of Unit 731, lived until age 67.


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Mikey Wild, RIP
Mikey Wild, mayor of South Street, punk-rock legend, auteur behind a song any Philadelphian could love called "I Hate New York," and outsider artist par excellence, died yesterday.
by Dan Deluca
Mikey Wild, mayor of South Street, punk-rock legend, auteur behind a song any Philadelphian could love called "I Hate New York," and outsider artist par excellence, died yesterday. Look for an obituary in Friday's Inquirer. Below, see a clip from Ed Wilcox's Wild documentary, I Was Punk Before You Were Punk.
Most long time South Street habitues have Mikey Wild stories to tell. Here's a couple.
Chris Simpson of the Philadelphia Record Exchange: "Wow. Mikey would come by the Record Exchange about ten times a day. at the time that store was fairly anarchistic and although it was a real place of business it was also kind of a clubhouse for anybody in the scene. Mikey was like this permanent kid who just loved punk rock and old horror movies, and we used to goof around with him all the time, playing scary music and pretending to be zombies and chase him down the street. I'll say this about him: he was pretty funny. We put out the "I Hate New York" 7" with his band The Mess, which was a band that really lived up to its name. Later, when he became a visual artist we must have bought several hundred of his drawings from him - he'd just dash them off in two or three minutes and sell them for pocket change, or we'd go out and buy him art supplies and he'd do some drawings. The drawings were hilarious: Hitler playing a banjo, the Wolfman smoking a cigarette, Vincent Price hanging out with John Lennon, or Jesus boxing with the Pope. There may be thousands of them. every business on South Street has one or two, probably."
George Manney, Philadelphia musician and filmmaker: "Mikey was a kind soul and funny man. My first recollection of meeting Mikey was after a performance I did at the old JC Dobbs in the late 70's. He liked how I played the drums and was excited about performing sometime with me. That came true when the late Alan Mann invited Mikey to sing with the Alan Mann Band at JC Dobbs to perform the song, "Die, Die Die".
Dan Deluca


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Comm'r Warns Taxpayers – Streamlined Offshore Procedures Won't Last Forever!
Last week I attended the ABA's 36th National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud in Las Vegas, where IRS Commissioner Charles "Chuck" Rettig announced that for those taxpayers who still have income from unreported offshore accounts, they should take note that the Streamlined Offshore Procedures Won't Last Forever.
Taxpayers should remember that the OVDP (f/k/a OVDI) started back in 2009 to give taxpayers with exposure to potential criminal liability or substantial civil penalties due to a willful failure to report foreign financial assets, a program with specified procedures for resolving criminal exposure and a specified penalties regime. Taxpayers could come forward, pay back taxes with interest and a penalty, and avoid criminal prosecution.
However, that arrangement changed on September 28, 2018, when the IRS ended the OVDP program, by giving 6 months advanced notice in Announcement IR 2018-52. Remaining Disclosure options for taxpayers with non-willful compliance issues included the Streamlined Foreign Offshore and Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures.
After September 28, 2018, CI's November 20,2018 memo describes the IRS current requirements for willful taxpayers to make a voluntary disclosure. The new practice has a defacto retroactive effect, since the Memorandum addresses a new process for all voluntary disclosures, both domestic and offshore, following the September28,2018 expiration of the 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. However, the penalty regime under the new framework is far less favorable than under prior programs.
While there is still a trickle of non-willful taxpayers cleaning up under the Streamlined Offshore Procedures, the IRS has made it clear that this the Streamlined Offshore Procedures won't last forever and this may be non-willful taxpayer's last chance to report previously undisclosed foreign accounts under this program.
These IRS ending the OVDP program and now the proposed ending of the Streamlined Offshore Procedures, reflect an ongoing efforts by the U.S. government to make
offshore tax compliance a priority.
The Foreign Account Tax and Compliance Act (FATCA), enacted in 2010, requires foreign financial institutions to report their U.S. taxpayer clients to the U.S. government. In addition, inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) with 113 countries mean that foreign governments are also sharing information with American authorities to combat offshore tax evasion. For more on this, please see our Blog posts:
FATCA Information
150 Offshore Banks Turning Over Names To The IRS
whistleblower leads
civil examination
criminal prosecution and
How Will the IRS Know About My Foreign Account?
This additional reporting may identify taxpayers who were able to hide their assets in the past and this may be non-willful Taxpayer's last chance to come clean under the Streamlined Foreign Offshore and Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures.
Have an Unreported Foreign Income?
Want To Know Which OVDP Program
Is Right For You?
for a FREE Tax Consultation contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com or
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243
Ten Facts About Tax Expatriation – Part III
As we previously discussed in Ten Facts About Tax Expatriation - Part I & Part II, whatever your motives, just because you leave the United States and renounce your citizenship, don't assume you can leave U.S. taxes (or U.S. tax forms and complexity) behind, particularly if you are financially well-off and there are 10 things you need to know about Expatriation:
Uncle Sam taxes income worldwide.
Expatriating means really leaving.
The old 10-year window is closed.
Big changes came in 1996.
Tax avoidance is now irrelevant.
There are special rules for long-term residents.
There's an exit tax for expatriations on or after June 17, 2008.
8. Some expatriates can escape the exit tax.
In general the exit tax is unforgiving and has broad application. Yet if you have less than $600,000 of income from the deemed sale of your assets on expatriation, you pay no tax. This exemption amount is adjusted for inflation and is $627,000 for 2010. If your gain exceeds this amount, you must allocate the gain pro rata among all appreciated property.
However, this exclusion amount must be allocated to each item of property with built-in gain on a proportional basis. This involves a complicated process of multiplying the exclusion amount by the ratio of the built-in gain for each gain asset over the total built-in gain of all gain assets. The exclusion amount allocated to each gain asset may not exceed the amount of that asset's built-in gain. Moreover, if the total allowable gain of all gain assets is less than the exclusion amount, the exclusion amount that can be allocated to the gain assets will be limited to that amount of gain. For example, in 2010, if the total allowable gain in an expatriate's assets was $500,000, then that $500,000 would be the limit instead of $627,000.
Fortunately not all expatriates face the exit tax; only "covered expatriates" do. Under prior law, you generally had to give notice you were expatriating to trigger the rules. Now if you relinquish your passport or green card, it's generally automatic. But some expatriates, even under the new law, can escape the exit tax. The financial thresholds (see point five above) can still exempt you. Some people born with dual citizenship who haven't had a substantial presence in the U.S. and certain minors who expatriated before the age of 18-and-a-half are also exempt. However, those people must still file an IRS Form 8854 Expatriation Information Statement.
9. You can elect to defer the exit tax.
If you do face the exit tax, you can make an irrevocable election (on a property-by-property basis) to defer it until you actually sell the property. This election allows people to leave the U.S. and expatriate without triggering immediate tax as long as the IRS is assured it will collect the tax in the future. To qualify, a covered expatriate must provide a bond or other adequate security for the tax liability. There are specific requirements for these security bonds. Plus, there is an updating and monitoring of the bond in case it becomes inadequate to cover the tax. The IRS scrutinizes these elections on a case-by-case basis, so hire an expert. There are detailed requirements for filing the deferral election, including documentation, and copies of various documents.
One of these requirements is appointing a U.S. agent for the limited purpose of accepting communications with the IRS. Plus, the taxpayer must waive any tax treaty benefits that might otherwise impact the IRS getting its money. It doesn't appear that many of these deferral elections have been made so far.
There's another reason, other than the bond, not to defer. When you do sell, you'll pay taxes at the rate then in effect, which will likely be higher. If the Obama Administration has its way, when the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of this year, the top rate on long-term capital gains will rise from 15% to 20%. Plus, the just-passed House reconciliation package to the Senate's health care bill (if also approved by the Senate) is supposed to impose an additional 3.8% tax on net investment income for taxpayers with threshold income amounts of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for joint filers. This could raise the top capital gains rate to 23.8% for those taxpayers.
10. You'll need professional help.
As you might expect, there are forms to file and procedures to follow if you expatriate. In fact, if you are wavering, the paperwork alone may keep you stateside! You must file IRS Form 8854 (in some cases for 10 years). Additional special forms (Form W-8CE if you have any deferred compensation items, a specified tax deferred account, certain non-grantor trusts, etc.) are also required. A good source is IRS Notice 2009-85.
Still, get some professional help. As this mere scratching of the surface suggests, the tax rules regarding expatriation for citizens and long-term residents are complex, even dizzying. Gone are the days when one could renounce U.S. citizenship and stand a good chance of avoiding U.S. tax. If you're facing these issues, or even if you are a beneficiary of someone else who is facing them, get some professional help. Bon voyage!
"Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
Need Advise on Expatriation?
Contact the Tax Lawyers of
For a FREE Tax Consultation at:
www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid ( 888 882-9243)
Trends in IRS audits – Part III
As we discussed in Trends in IRS audits – Part I, the IRS's auditing power has been greatly diminished in the past decade and according to accountinTODAY, while most taxpayers envision Internal Revenue Service audits as intrusive investigations resulting in criminal sentences. Today, nothing could be farther than the truth.
As we discussed in Trends in IRS audits Part I & Part II:
Most audits are done by mail.
The main issue in audits: The EITC. and
An alarming amount of people do not respond to an audit
The most common IRS challenge to a return is not an audit.
The IRS knows who to audit
Field audits are rare, but expensive.
Want your business to escape audit?
8. Audits on the wealthy are still popular, but have dropped - In 2011, 1 out of every 8 taxpayers who earned more than $1 million in income were audited. In 2018, the number dropped to 1 in every 31 taxpayers. However, those who earn more than $1 million are still among the most popular audit profiles.
9. Audits have dropped, but penalties are still prevalent - The total volume of individual audits and CP2000 notices has dropped from 4 million in 2005 to 3.9 million in 2018. However, in 2018, 606,121 individual taxpayers were assessed the accuracy penalty for making an error on a tax return (audit or CP2000 notice). In 2005, that number was only 58,366. The moral here: If the IRS has to audit or send a CP2000 notice, it will now look to penalize errors to deter future noncompliance. The number of individual taxpayers with an accuracy penalty from an audit/CP2000 notice has increased 10 times since 2005.
10. Tax evasion prosecutions are low - Finally, the "fear of an audit" myth buster. The IRS does not like to publish this statistic. In 2018, there were only 636 indictments of legal source tax crimes. IRS tax evasion criminal investigation cases have dropped by 58 percent since 2013. The main source of IRS legal source tax crime cases are IRS field auditors and criminal investigators, i.e. revenue agents and special agents. From 2013 to 2018, the numbers of revenue agents and special agents have decreased by 26 percent and 21 percent, respectively. As a result, the number of criminal investigations and indictments continue to decline.
Realities and the IRS ability to close the tax gap
Fear of an audit has always been a main driver for compliance for the IRS. The 2018 Comprehensive Taxpayer Attitude Survey continued to show that 63 percent of taxpayers cited fear of an audit as an influential behavioral factor for correctly filing and timely paying their taxes. The tax gap, as currently measured on 2011-2013 returns, shows that the Treasury loses $352 billion a year due to inaccurate tax returns. With the fear of an audit becoming a myth, how will the IRS close the tax gap?
As the fear of an audit motivator becomes less of a reality, the IRS must seek to simulate the audit by touching as many taxpayers as they can. For now, that looks like sending a lot of non-audit notices to taxpayers. Recently, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported that the IRS sent over 219 million notices annually to taxpayers. In 2001, the number of notices sent was only 30 million. With the IRS's current resources, the IRS notice may be the only means the IRS has to let taxpayers know that they are still there.
Have a IRS Audit Problem?
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
EB-5 Investments Increased to $900,000 and $1.8 Million Starting November 21, 2019
On July 9, 2019 we posted EB-5 Investment - New Regulations Expected To Increase Minimum Investment of $500,000 To $1.35 Million where we discussed that on June 27, 2019 the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) reported on its website that it has finished its review of the Obama-era regulations that would significant changes to the minimum investment amount, as well as other consequential changes. The regulations have proposed increasing the minimum investment of $500,000 to $1.35 million, and the $1 million investment to $1.8 million. Upon the regulation's publishing in the Federal Register, the final effective date may be between 30 to 60 days.
The Final Rule scheduled to be published on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, in the Federal Register is set to raise investment amounts for the EB-5 program. Other major program changes include the centralization of TEA's in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a clarification of procedures for removing conditions on permanent residence. This is the first significant revision to the EB-5 program's regulations since 1993.
The New EB-5Program Changes Include:
Increased investment amounts: $500,000 to $900,000 for TEA investments and $1 million to $1.8 million for non-TEA investments.
TEA centralization to DHS for geographic area designation.
Investment amounts raised every five years.
Clarifying USCIS procedures for removal of conditions on permanent residence.
Allowing EB-5 petitioners to retain original priority dates.
Additionally, the new regulations outline what is required to qualify a project as a TEA and requires that the USCIS will make the determination, not the individual states. Prior to the new regulations, a regional center could simply request a TEA letter from the state, county or city government where the project was located (depending on the state). This will not be the process anymore, since the USCIS will adjudicate all TEA requests. This will improve integrity within the EB-5 program since the regional center operators will not be able to gerrymander their projects into qualifying as a TEA when they do not.
E-2 Investor Visa
Alternatively, potential investors seeking an EB-5 should also consider an E-2 investor visa. They are an appealing options for foreign business persons, investors, managers, and employees who wish to stay in the United States for extended periods of time to oversee:
an enterprise that is engaged in trade between the United States and a foreign country; or
a major investment in the United States.
The E visa isn't for just anyone who has a trade or investment. This visa class is exclusively for what the USCIS terms "treaty traders and investors". This means that all applicants must be nationals of a country that holds a treaty of trade and commerce with the United States.
If you're wondering if your country is a treaty country, you can look for it on the comprehensive list provided by the Department of State.
The regulations state that you must be a national of one of these countries, but you do not necessarily need to be currently living there.
Treaty Investor (E-2) Visa
Treaty investor applicants must meet specific requirements to qualify for a treaty investor (E-2) visa under immigration law. The consular officer will determine whether a treaty investor applicant qualifies for a visa.
The investor, either a real or corporate person, must be a national of a treaty country.
The investment must be substantial. (Usually $100,000 in a corporate bank account) It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise. The percentage of investment for a low-cost business enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise.
The investment must be a real operating enterprise. Speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar security are not considered an investment.
The investment may not be marginal. It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to the investor and family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the U.S.
The investor must have control of the funds, and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed.
The investor must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise. If the applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.
Coming to America?
Need Pre-Immigration Tax Advice?
Contact the Tax Lawyers atMarini & Associates, P.A.
January 7, 2020 IRS Collection Activity Expected to Increase in 2020!


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Home Latest Remember 'Farmville'? Check Out TikTok's Version: 'Garden of Good'
Remember 'Farmville'? Check Out TikTok's Version: 'Garden of Good'
Cassandra Marie Vella
The viral video app TikTok has recently launched a game similar to Farmville to help raise money for Feeding America. The Garden of Good launched on June 7, encouraging users to work together to earn drops, grow crops, and achieve badges. By completing a daily check-in or supporting other users, a player can earn drops to water their own garden. Each harvested crop goes towards Tiktok's donation to Feeding America.
What is The Garden of Good?
The Garden of Good game is taking over TikTok, just like Facebook's Farmville did back in the day. Both of these games share a similar aesthetic, but unlike Farmville, TikTok users work together to stand up to a good cause.
TikTok pledged to donate $0.10 for each pound of virtual crop that a player has harvested. Furthermore, the company has declared they will give a minimum of $150,000 and a maximum of $5 million to Feeding America with this donation to start.
Who is it helping?
Feeding America is the USA's largest domestic hunger-relief organization. After the impact Covid-19 had on Americans, 42 million citizens face hunger, including 13 million children. The Feeding America network is working to connect people with food to end hunger all across the nation. This organization encourages anyone and everyone to donate to food banks, volunteer in their area, and donate any way they can — even if it includes partaking in TikTok's donation.
How can someone play?
To join the game, all a TikTok user needs to do is locate the Garden of Good diamond and carrot icon on their profile page. Players can also invite friends to the game to earn each party's drops that will aid them in growing their crops.
The appeal of the game is obvious: simplicity. Garden of Good only asks users to check in daily to water a virtual crop and interact with friends, which they're already doing while using TikTok. It requires little to no real effort or brainpower, making it a fun little escape that's free. The game does motivate some users' competitive side with the potential to earn badges for harvesting different crops, which can add to the fun among friends.
The ways to earn drops to grow crops in the game include:
Inviting other players to support each others' gardens
Inviting users to join the game
Daily check-in or daily check-in streak bonus
Checking donation content and updates
Badges and/or crops users can earn and grow include:
The Garden of Good game on TikTok is a small way for so many people of all ages to give back to the community in an easy, enjoyable way. This game may pave the way for TikTok to add more ways to give back to the community or simply include more fun in the app. Only time will tell.
Check it out, and let us know which crops you want to grow!
Featured image via Unsplash
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Bruce Dickinson Launches Flight Business
The Quietus , May 1st, 2012 08:42
Maiden singer to boost business in Wales
Iron Maiden frontman and pilot Bruce Dickinson is to open an aircraft maintenance business in Wales, the BBC reports. Located in the brilliantly-named Twin Peaks Hangar in the Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff Aviation Ltd could create hundreds of jobs in the region. The Welsh Assembly, from whom Dickinson will lease the hanger located at RAF St Athan, is said to be "delighted".
Dickinson said that his willingness to invest had been boosted by what he sees "a level of enthusiasm and drive that has been a delight to behold. We're coming into this enterprise with the knowledge that we'll also be bringing business to south Wales."
Dickinson also reflected on the past history of the area when it comes to aviation: "South Wales has long had an association with the aircraft industry and I am delighted that I am able to have a small part in the continuation of that tradition."
Business minister Edwina Hart was similarly enthusiastic: "We have been working closely with Bruce Dickinson and Cardiff Aviation on this exciting project for some time and delighted it has come to fruition," she said. "This is exactly the type of investment needed - bringing money into the local economy while also providing an international promotion for St Athan Aerospace Business Park and the Aviation Enterprise Zone.
"We have a strong dynamic aerospace sector in Wales and this investment will build upon the skilled workforce that already exists in the area, providing a range of career opportunities."
The Ozman Cometh: Ozzy Osbourne's Egg Beef With Bruce Dickinson »
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Abraham's servant and Rebekah by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld.
Abraham's servant and Rebekah. Genesis ch. xxiv. ver. 17. Artist: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Source: The Art-Journal (1851): 58.
"Examples of German Artists." Art Journal (1851): 58-59. Hathi Trust Digital Library version of a copy in the University of Michigan Library. Web. 28 July 2013.


Why is there only a Single Voice Codec in WebRTC?
There are 2, but actually… just one.
There's a large number of voice codecs out there. Many of them used quite a bit. At the end of the day, WebRTC leaned towards using G.711 and Opus. Why is that?
Consider G.711 the fallback to crappy audio.
G.711 is naive and stupid. It does nothing well, eats up bandwidth and sensitive to network conditions. The only thing it has going for it is that it is supported everywhere.
Those using it today do so to connect to existing systems – mainly because transcoding from Opus to whatever they have on the other side requires more effort.
Opus is considered by some the best codec in existence today. It is brand new – it is newer than WebRTC itself. And it is heading towards non-WebRTC VoIP products as well.
What makes Opus interesting is its unique design.
The higher the bands, the more bits you need to express them when you capture and send them – and the more demand there will be on your hardware components and CPU processing.
Opus is the only codec that fits everything from narrowband to fullband. Which brings us to the next characteristic of Opus.
At any given moment, Opus can encode a single audio sample by breaking that sample up to two parts, encoding narrowband and wideband frequencies using SILK and the super-wideband and fullband using CELT.
This hybrid mode allows a lot of flexibility in Opus and also ensures in a way that there can be optimizations in implementations based on the use case and processor capabilities.
Opus has built in FEC and flow control mechanisms.
FEC stands for Forward Error Correction. When things go bad on a network, packets get lost. Opus has the ability to send additional packets serving as a kind of insurance – if packets get lost, then these packets can be used to regenerate the lost packets.
FEC adds robustness at the cost of bandwidth and improves media quality.
What is interesting here, is that FEC can done only the SILK codec only, making sure you hear voice well, but losing the higher bands of music. This saves up bandwidth and processing.
Flow control is what enables a codec to negotiate and indicate any commands and information it requires to change behavior during the call. Some codecs have external flow control mechanisms, where the control messages are sent over the signaling channel or the RTP that wraps around the codec.
Opus does all flow control by itself. This means the codec's implementation is packaged nicely with little points of integration to other layers. It makes it easier to maintain.
WebRTC leaned towards using a codec that can fit as many use cases as possible without sacrificing quality. What it did sacrifice is interoperability – you seend sever side transcoding for that.
For now, WebRTC's selection of a voice codec means it can offer the best audio experience compared to other VoIP and communication systems.
I have no doubt that a newer and better voice codec will present itself. How will that be handled with WebRTC will be interesting to see.
In truth, WebRTC and Opus are somewhat codependent. Without the WebRTC battlefront Opus would not see widespread uptake as quickly as it has. Without Opus the WebRTC effort would be mired in even more debate about codecs.
Yet again, you leave me with no other replay than to agree with you.
Chrome, Firefox, and Opera already support these awesome codecs.


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Twin earthquakes jolt Turkey's western coast
Two earthquakes struck Turkey off its Aegean Sea coast on Feb. 6, according to the country's disaster agency.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said on its website that an initial magnitude 4.1 quake occurred at 7.09 p.m. local time (1609 GMT) off the Karaburun district of İzmir province, the country's third-largest city.
Read more about Twin earthquakes jolt Turkey's western coast
Funds approved for repairs to Corinth Canal
Published by Kathimerini on Sat, 02/06/2021 - 08:13
Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis signed a 9-million-euro package for the studies and construction work necessary for the complete restoration of the sides of the iconic Corinth Canal in southern Greece which are prone to landslides that have led to the frequent barring of ships from passing through on public safety grounds. A new state of emergency was declared only a few days ago.
Read more about Funds approved for repairs to Corinth Canal
A disruptive dynamic
Turkey's projection of military might in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and its months-long provocations against the sovereign rights of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus led both to the restart of exploratory talks between Athens and Ankara and to the "five-plus-United Nations" meeting between the leaders of the two Cypriot communities and the guarantor powers - Greece, Turkey an
Read more about A disruptive dynamic
Mitsotakis: Greece, Turkey to resume exploratory talks by early March
Greek and Turkish officials are likely to meet again at the end of Feburary or in early March to revive efforts to resolve a maritime boundary dispute, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
The two NATO allies have been at odds over a number of decades-old issues including the extent of their continental shelves, overflights in the Aegean Sea and ethnically split Cyprus.
Read more about Mitsotakis: Greece, Turkey to resume exploratory talks by early March
Surfers flock to beaches in Turkey's Marmaris district
With the weather turning windy on the morning of Feb. 2, some surfers flocked to the public beach in Turkey's southwestern province of Muğla's Marmaris to indulge in watersports such as kiteboarding.
Read more about Surfers flock to beaches in Turkey's Marmaris district
Heavy rainfall floods parts of Turkey's İzmir twice in 7 days
Published by Hurriyet on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 11:26
Turkey's third-largest city of İzmir has been battered by heavy rainfall once more since last week.
Torrential rains caused flash floods in the city with a population of around 4 million, blocking main roadways in downtown areas and surrounding districts.
Read more about Heavy rainfall floods parts of Turkey's İzmir twice in 7 days
Restrictions reimposed in Athens after case spike
Greek authorities on Friday said they will reimpose tougher lockdown restrictions in greater Athens after a January decline in infection rates was reversed this week.
Most retail stores will close in the capital Saturday, retaining pickup services only, after being allowed to reopen on Jan. 18.
Read more about Restrictions reimposed in Athens after case spike
Bad weather cripples life in Turkey's west
Bad weather disrupted life in the western province of İzmir on Jan. 27, when sudden heavy rainfall and storm hit several districts, flooding houses and shops and knocking down trees.
The floods particularly battered the Karşıyaka district, where the waters of the Aegean Sea overflowed the shore and swept through the streets, submerging vehicles.
Read more about Bad weather cripples life in Turkey's west
Greece, France to sign $2.8 billion fighter jet deal
Greece is due to sign a 2.3 billion-euro ($2.8 billion) deal with France on Monday to purchase 18 Rafale fighter jets as tensions grow with neighbor Turkey.
Florence Parly, the French defense minister, is due in Athens to sign the agreement to deliver 12 used and six new aircraft built by Dassault Aviation over two years, starting in mid-2021.
Read more about Greece, France to sign $2.8 billion fighter jet deal
Turkey reacts to Greece's territorial waters extension
ISTANBUL - Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted in an announcement Wednesday that Greece's extension of its territorial waters from 6 to 12 miles does not regard the Aegean Sea and repeated the country's objections against such an extension in the Aegean.
Read more about Turkey reacts to Greece's territorial waters extension
Deals reached for twin plot on Afandou, for 42 million
Merkel 'sees no need for special German aid for Turkey'
Meet the Slovakian PM's topless assistant (photos)
Bulgaria is Preparing the Opening of a Consulate in Barcelona
Turks follow Erdogan's call to get rid of dollars & buy gold
First Social Pharmacy in Romania, in Sangeorgiu de Mures, more and more accessed by struggling people