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By Other Means: The Case for Intervention… The Case for Intervention…...
The Case for Intervention…
In Obama's dysfunctional foreign-policy team.
By Rosa Brooks
Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images
Read a response to this column here.
Last chance! On Monday, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney square off on foreign policy. It will be the final debate and President Obama's last major opportunity to convince American voters to give him four more years.
He may not have an easy time of it. In 2008, Obama's principled positions on the Iraq War, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and interrogation policy helped motivate the Democratic base and send him to the White House with a decisive victory. But that was then. Now, Obama's approval ratings have plummeted, both domestically and internationally. For most of his first term, they have been well below the historical average for first-term presidents.
Last chance! On Monday, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney square off on foreign policy. It will be the final debate and President Obama's last major opportunity to convince American voters to give him four more years.
He may not have an easy time of it. In 2008, Obama's principled positions on the Iraq War, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and interrogation policy helped motivate the Democratic base and send him to the White House with a decisive victory. But that was then. Now, Obama's approval ratings have plummeted, both domestically and internationally. For most of his first term, they have been well below the historical average for first-term presidents.
Despite some successes large and small, Obama's foreign policy has disappointed many who initially supported him. The Middle East initiatives heralded in his 2009 Cairo speech fizzled or never got started at all, and the Middle East today is more volatile than ever. The administration's response to the escalating violence in Syria has consisted mostly of anxious thumb-twiddling. The Israelis and the Palestinians are both furious at us. In Afghanistan, Obama lost faith in his own strategy: he never fought to fully resource it, and now we're searching for a way to leave without condemning the Afghans to endless civil war. In Pakistan, years of throwing money in the military's direction have bought little cooperation and less love.
The Russians want to reset the reset, neither the Chinese nor anyone else can figure out what, if anything, the "pivot to Asia" really means, and Latin America and Africa continue to be mostly ignored, along with global issues such as climate change. Meanwhile, the administration's expanding drone campaign suggests a counterterrorism strategy that has completely lost its bearings — we no longer seem very clear on who we need to kill or why.
Could Obama have done better?
In foreign policy as in life, stuff happens — including bad stuff no one could have predicted. Nonetheless, to a significant extent, President Obama is the author of his own lackluster foreign policy. He was a visionary candidate, but as president, he has presided over an exceptionally dysfunctional and un-visionary national security architecture — one that appears to drift from crisis to crisis, with little ability to look beyond the next few weeks. His national security staff is squabbling and demoralized, and though senior White House officials are good at making policy announcements, mechanisms to actually implement policies are sadly inadequate.
It doesn't have to be this way. If Obama wants to fix his broken foreign policy machine, he can do it — but conversations with numerous insiders, as well as my own government experiences, suggest that he needs to focus on strategy, structure, process, management, and personnel as much as on new policy initiatives.
Not sexy, I know. But just as a start-up company needs more than an entrepreneurial founder with a couple of good ideas and a nifty PowerPoint presentation, the United States needs more than speeches and high-minded aspirations.
Here's what President Obama needs to do:
1. Get a Strategy. No, really. We don't currently seem to have one, grand or otherwise. We've got "the long war" — but we don't seem to have a long game. Instead of a strategy, we have aspirations ("We want a stable Middle East") and we have laundry lists (check out the 2010 National Security Strategy). But as I have written in a previous column, there's no clear sense of what animates our foreign policy. And without a clear strategic vision of the world, there's no way to evaluate the success or failure of different initiatives, and no way to distinguish the important from the marginal.
What does President Obama see as the one or two gravest threats to the United States? What are our one or two biggest opportunities? Is terrorism an existential threat to the United States, or a marginal threat, overshadowed by the long-term dangers posed by climate change, pandemics, and a highly manipulable global financial system? Should we focus on increasing ties in Asia, or focus on our neighbors in Central and South America? Is the United States trying to maintain global preeminence, even if it comes at the expense of other states — or are we trying to foster a global order in which the United States is but one of many strong countries, all constrained by a robust international network of laws and institutions?
If President Obama lacks a clear strategic foreign policy vision, it's partly because the strategic planning shops within the White House's National Security Staff (NSS) and the State Department have been marginalized and disempowered. Within the NSS, the Strategic Planning Directorate has been reduced to a speech-writing shop, without the clout to bring senior officials to the table for longer-term strategy discussions. At the State Department, the Policy Planning office — once run by such legendary figures as George Kennan and Paul Nitze — was handed off, after Anne-Marie Slaughter's departure, to a young lawyer whose credentials include ample brains and a stint as a Clinton campaign aide, but no prior foreign policy experience.
If President Obama ekes out a victory on November 6, he should take a strategic pause. He should ensure that influential and credible people are appointed to lead the various strategic planning shops, and insist that his senior officials participate in a process to develop a clear, concise and articulable strategy, one that can guide future U.S. foreign policy and national security decisions.
2. Get some decent managers. The interagency process is in a state of permanent crisis. The schedules of senior officials are constantly disrupted by pop-up Deputies Committee meetings, often called on short notice, with minimal time for preparation and thought. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon reportedly scheduled more than 700 Deputies Committee meetings and 200 Principal's Committee meetings between January 2009 and October 2011. Meetings occur at all times of the day and the week, with little prioritization, causing burn-out for exhausted staffers (and reducing institutional memory when the burned out staffers quit after a year or two). Often, the constant meetings produce only inconclusive results. As a friend once put it to me, "It's all churn, no butter."
And although the National Security Staff lacks the personnel or the depth of experience and expertise to be the primary font of policy, the NSS appears to view the Cabinet-level departments and agencies as mere implementers of policies created by the White House, rather than as sources of ideas and expertise. As a result, the schedule and agenda for senior level-discussions is driven almost entirely by a small number of NSS staff, making it difficult for other issues and perspectives to be brought to the fore.
It doesn't need to be that way. President Obama should find some decent managers to run the NSS — honest brokers who are capable of listening, prioritizing, delegating, and holding people accountable for results.
3. Get some people who actually know something. President Obama promised to ensure transparency and competence in government, but too often, nepotism trumps merit. Young and untried campaign aides are handed vital substantive portfolios (I could name names, but will charitably refrain, unless you buy me a drink), while those with deep expertise often find themselves sidelined.
Cronyism also reigns supreme when it comes to determining who should attend White House meetings: increasingly, insiders say, meetings called by top NSS officials involve by-name requests for attendance, with no substitutions or "plus ones" permitted. As a result, dissenting voices are shut out, along with the voices of specialists who could provide valuable information and insights. The result? Shallow discussions and poor decisions.
Here again, President Obama could easily make some useful changes. Why not appoint a commission of experienced former officials from past administrations to work with current officials on developing job descriptions for key positions — and then insist that mid- and high-level political appointments be justified to the commission? This doesn't prevent the president or other senior officials from bringing in people they know and trust, but it could help ensure that those appointed have at least some minimal qualifications. What's more, President Obama should send his staff a clear message that cliques belong in junior high school, not in the White House. Permitting senior staff to exclude everyone but their favorites from meetings guarantees uninformed group-think.
4. Get out of the bubble. The National Security Staff operates as a tiny fiefdom. Many NSS senior directors say they speak with Tom Donilon only once or twice a year. Donilon and Deputy National Security Advisors Denis McDonough and Ben Rhodes function as gate-keepers, and even Cabinet-level officials often struggle to get direct access to the president. Some gate-keeping is necessary, of course, but this president lives in as much of an echo chamber as George W. Bush did. Add to this President Obama's even more infrequent contact with the press and his infrequent meetings with members of Congress, and you end up with debate performances like the one the president gave on October 3, in which he seemed surprised and irritated at being challenged in public.
Getting out of his bubble may not come naturally for Obama. As Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, put it in an unguarded moment, "The truth is, Obama doesn't call anyone, and he's not close to almost anyone. It's stunning that he's in politics, because he really doesn't like people." [Ed. note: Tanden later clarified her words, tweeting "I was trying to say how President Obama, who I admire greatly, is a private person, but I deeply regret how I said it. I apologize.]
But if he wants good, candid feedback, President Obama needs to deal with more people. He should increase the number of press conferences he gives, increase the number of formal and informal meetings with members of Congress, and institute at least quarterly town-hall style meetings with his national security staff — invited based on position, not based on whether they're in the in-club — and with other senior staff from State, Defense, and AID. He should also create internal "red teams," tasked with pointing out the dangers and flaws of the policy approaches recommended by his senior staff — and he should require his staff to listen and respond to critics, instead of just repeating administration talking points.
5. Get a backbone. President Obama has sound moral instincts, but he often backs away from them at the first sign of resistance. He came into office with a mandate and Democratic control of both houses of Congress. Had he been willing to use some political capital — and twist a few arms on the Hill — in those early months, Guantanamo would be closed, and the United States might have a more coherent approach to national security budgeting. But on these and other issues, the president backed off at the first sign of congressional resistance, apparently deciding (presumably on the advice of the campaign aides who already populated his national security staff) that these issues were political losers.
Of course, it was a self-fulfilling prophesy; the issues became losers because the White House abandoned them. Ultimately, Congress began to view him as weak: a man who wouldn't push them very hard. As a result, Congress pushed back hard on everything, including health care, economic stimulus, and regulation of the financial industry, and Obama was forced to live with watered-down legislation across the board.
If he gets a second term, Obama needs to start thinking about his legacy, and that will require him to fight for his principles, not abandon them. Even if he fights, he won't win every battle — but if he doesn't fight, he won't win any.
6. Get rid of the jerks. On the campaign trail, Barack Obama famously had a "no assholes" rule, and his staff was legendary for its lack of infighting and drama. Somehow, though, he's managed to populate his national security staff with a fair number of people who seem unable to get along with each other. Insiders say that McDonough and Donilon can barely stand each other, contradicting each other publicly so often that no one's ever sure who really speaks for the president. Both men are also famously rude to colleagues: it's a rare individual who hasn't been screamed at by one or the other. The nastiness demoralizes everyone and sends the message that rudeness and infighting are acceptable.
That's no way to run a railroad. It drives away those not fond of public excoriation or back-stabbing and reduces those who remain to sniveling yes-men. Obama needs to reinstate the "no assholes" rule, hold his senior staff to standards of civilized behavior, and get rid of those who won't change. It's not impossible: the Pentagon under Robert Gates was a remarkably civilized place. As the military knows, command climate matters. The command climate at the NSS is one in which rudeness is tolerated. It shouldn't be.
President Obama came into office with so much good will — from his own staff, from the American people, and from the world. But through his own unforced errors, he's lost much of that goodwill. To some extent, his errors are errors of inexperience: Obama simply undervalued issues of strategy, structure, process, and personnel. These are understandable mistakes for a first-term president with little prior government experience (or management experience, for that matter). But such errors will be far less excusable if Obama gets a second term. If American voters give Obama four more years, he needs to push the foreign policy "reset" button.
Rosa Brooks is a law professor at Georgetown University and a senior fellow with the New America/Arizona State University Future of War Project. She served as a counselor to the U.S. defense undersecretary for policy from 2009 to 2011 and previously served as a senior advisor at the U.S. State Department. Her most recent book is How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything.
Tags: Barack Obama, Economics, National Security Agency, Politics, U.S. 2012 Election
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Q: Where are apps stored in XCode? I'm working through Big Nerd Ranch's iOS book, 4th Edition. I ran into Core Data; Cocoa error 134100. I need to delete files from the local hard drive that the simulator references. I'm unable to find the directory where the files I need to delete are located.
Any assistance with this maddening task would be greatly appreciated.

A: You can try to delete the app from the Simulator: just hit the Home button (Cmd+Shift+H) and then click and hold the app icon - then you can delete it.
When it is done - build your app again.

A: Simulator apps are kept in the user's Application Support directory:
~/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/iOSVersionNumber/Applications/magicString
Where iOSVersionNumber is something like 7.1 or 7.1-64 and magicString is a GUID in a form similar to: 7DBA2C5B-51CB-4229-8AC2-B0BEFBA947F0.
To access, open a Finder window and then ShiftCommandG and enter: ~/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator, then drill down as necessary.
An example from my Mac:
~/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/7.1-64/Applications/75BA5125-9D4A-4090-9DBD-6B630CD5971E/Comics.app

A: The apps are installed in the simulator at this path:
/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/User/Applications

You may remove an application or all of the data of the application from this path

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The traditional double name of the company goes back to Arthur Schmolz and Oswald Bickenbach, who founded the Dörrenberg Stahlgesellschaft in Düsseldorf in 1919 and renamed it SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH in 1922.
Since then, SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH has expanded and strategic acquisitions of renowned steel companies have created an international group of companies with over 10,000 employees today.
In 2019 we celebrate 100 years of SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH, but the roots of the companies of today's SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH Group go back to 1842. From the very beginning, the passion for steel as a material has been a characteristic feature of the company's history. To this day.
Arthur Schmolz and Oswald Bickenbach jointly found a steel trading company in Düsseldorf. They sell the products of the steelworks Ed. Dörrenberg Söhne, in which they both work as executives.
Initially, the company traded under the name Dörrenberg Stahl-Gesellschaft. In 1922, the two founders give their company their surnames and rename it SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH.
The initially small trading company continues to grow steadily. Sales offices are founded all over Germany and soon the company expands into other countries.
SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH continues to grow even in difficult times and in 1929 takes over Speemann & Vollmann Zieherei with 60 employees. The start of BICKENBACH's own bright steel production.
The previous bright steel production is not sufficient. Only 700 tons are produced annually. A new production facility is therefore set up in 1936 and expanded two years later to include a cold rolling mill.
With English permission, SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH is the first drawing plant in Germany to go back into operation after 1945. Growth picks up speed again in the course of the economic miracle years.
The handling of steel doubles to 63,000 tons. Subsidiaries are also established in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The success curve of SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH continues to point upwards. In just over ten years, sales will rise from 200 million D-Mark in 1960 to over half a billion D-Mark.
By the end of the 1980s, sales had climbed to 1.5 billion D-Mark. SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH now employs around 2,000 people.
SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH opens further sales locations abroad. In addition to Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are also serviced from the headquarters in Vienna.
In 2003, SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH took over Swiss Steel AG in Switzerland. Steeltec AG, a drawing plant for high-strength special steels, is also included.
Already in 2004 and 2005, further acquisitions of special steel producers in Germany were made, resulting from various mergers of the large German steel companies Thyssen and Krupp. Today they are managed as Deutsche Edelstahlwerke in the SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH Group.
In the following years, the French Ugitech and the US-American A. Finkl & Sons Co. joined them. SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH thus further expands its worldwide presence. The last acquisition finally takes place in 2018: SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH Group takes over parts of the French engineering steel specialist Ascometal and integrates it into the Group.
Thanks to its specialization in high-quality steel long products and the integration of various long steel manufacturers, SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH has developed into one of the leading companies in the fields of engineering steel, stainless steel (RSH steel) and tool steel in Europe and worldwide.
Today, the Group is active with six manufacturing business units and is represented with its Sales & Services business unit as a worldwide sales network at 70 locations in over 30 countries.


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Driftscape Launches Multilingual Adventures
Posted on 2022-08-29 by driftscape in Technology, Travel // 0 Comments
Toronto, Canada, 2022-Aug-29 — /EPR Network/ — Locals and visitors to Canada can now explore thousands of events, places and tours, in both English and French with the launch of Driftscape's multilingual user interface. And at a time when an increasing number of Canadians report their first language as other than English or French, Driftscape is now able to host tours and content in a variety of languages.
"Our new multilingual support for French is a long standing goal for Driftscape that we are very excited to announce and release publicly.", said Dan Pronovost, COO of Driftscape. "We not only enabled our customers to add French translations for all of their content, but also support multilingual versions of audio and other media items. In addition, our mobile apps and web app are fully customizable to both a French and English user interface."
With one click, users can choose either a French or English user interface to navigate in the language of their choice. And with the launch of Driftscape's latest fully bilingual audio tour of Saint John New Brunswick, the new feature opens the door to multilingual content, offering a new way to explore.
As a Canadian company, Driftscape has strived to provide as much support as possible to highlight the rich multiculturalism of our country. While doing so, the company also understood the importance of supporting both of our national languages. That said, while the interface is now in English and French, it has the ability to host stories shared by tourism partners in all languages, such as German, Spanish, Mandarin, even First Nation languages.
Equipped with more engagement features than any other platform on the market, Driftscape is the discovery app of choice for destinations, outdoor attractions, cultural organizations and museums across Canada.
See how others are leveraging the power of Driftscape here!
To begin exploring French content, download or update the app today!
About Driftscape
Driftscape is a Canadian startup whose core product is a local discovery and travel app. The Driftscape app provides a platform for municipalities, tourism and cultural organizations to share their stories in an interactive and engaging fashion to a growing base of active users.
For users, the app is a personal guide that helps them explore their surroundings from the point of view of local experts. The app also helps users discover places of interest, events, and tours from a growing list of content partners.
Available on iOS and Android devices, Driftscape is an ad-free platform dedicated to making local culture easier to discover. There are currently over 7000 points of interest, events, and tours across Canada and in the United States on the Driftscape app.
For more information contact pooja.chitnis@driftscape.com or visit http://www.driftscape.com | Facebook – @DriftscapeApp | Twitter – @DriftscapeApp | Instagram – @driftscapeapp.
Canada Travel App
Tourism Tech

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I need a blockchain expert who can create a complete cryptocurrency from scratch. Please bid only if you are an expert and can do any blockchain job from start till end. More details will be shared by selected developers.


We first discovered New Day after their production of Dear Edwina. I will never forget my son telling me he wants to do that!!! Knowing nothing about theatre Leanne encouraged us to let Lucas try out for a play. He did try out and even though he didn't get cast they let him help with the crew. Fast forward 3 years, Lucas still LOVES the theatre and has been involved in several productions. New Day is truly all about the kids and has always been a positive, encouraging and welcoming place for any child who wants to learn about the theatre!
My 14-year-old daughter attended the New Day's Master Class in the summer 2012, and enthusiastically signed on again for the 2013 class. She's been involved with theatre since she was ten but this program accelerated her skills to a much higher level. It is very intense and focused, actually better suited for older kids and teens or those ready and mature enough for the more advanced training. The instructors are among the most sought after and professional in their fields and love sharing their talents with kids hungry to learn techniques that will help them excel in the theatre world. My daughter was able to especially improve her improv skills through this training, a wonderful accomplishment since she is least comfortable with improv. New Day Theatre is a very well managed, organized establishment and I especially appreciate the ethical environment used to invigorate the kids to extend themselves toward their potential. While my daughter had fun during Master Class, I do recommend reserving this two-week intensive for the more serious theatre student and taking advantage of New Day's many varied summer camp options for those looking for a more moderate theatre experience accompanied by lots of fun.
My daughter, Savannah, attended the movie making camp over the summer and absolutely loved it! It was our first experience with New Day, but it certainly won't be our last! She made lots of new friends and all the staff were great!
We hear so many wonderful stories of how New Day has made a difference in our community. Please take just a minute to share them.
Thanks to our partnership with New Day Children's Theatre the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department has greatly expanded the arts outreach for children and teenagers in The Town of Collierville and the surrounding area. Offering a variety of classes through the partnership, such as film making, improvisation, visual arts, and musical theatre provides many opportunities for youth to experience and participate in the arts. The Department strongly supports the mission of the New Day Children's Theatre.
New Day Children's Theatre is truly a great organization and a asset to the Town of Collierville.
I wanted to take a moment to tell you how much our family has benefited from the Page Robbins project. First of all, it is very important to my husband and me that our children have opportunities to serve others. This has been a wonderful way to bring the "theater" to people who might not otherwise have an opportunity to enjoy it. Secondly, I am so thankful that the training for the Page Robbins performances has been offered at no expense to the children who are participating. Due to our family circumstances, my children would probably not been able to participate this year if there had been a participation fee. I hope that the Page Robbins Players will continue for a second year. It has been a blessing to all those involved!
Frank has thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from his experiences with New Day. He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was three years old. We have struggled to help him find an extracurricular activity that he is fond of and also helps him grow socially and emotionally outside of school. New Day Children's Theatre has ignited a passion and interest in him that we didn't know existed. The staff has been wonderful – so welcoming. He's made several new friends and loves to go see productions at the Harrell Theater. We are thankful for the exposure and responsibility this program has exposed our son to.


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Watch a movie

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Maddie Miller
The pictures are similar because they all have dots and they are all divided down the middle. They are different because they are all not the same number. Three of the pictures equaled 8 when added together, but the last one equaled 9.
Hi Maddie! What a complete answer! I miss seeing you!
I pick the one on the bottom right side because It equal 9 and the rest equal 8.
Conor Fitzgerald
All of them are 8 and the one that is 9 doesn't belong
Mrs. Young
That's true, Conor. Good job!
The one with 4 and 5 does not belong there becasue all of the other ones make a total of 8 but the one with 4 and 5 doesn't. It makes 9.
Juliana Zabbo
All of the dominoes have the same total number 8 except one that has 9.
Hudson Felix link
The top left domino is different because there are separate dots on one part of the same domino.
What an interesting observation! Great job, Hudson!
Mason C
The top right because it has two of the same numbers (4) the others are different numbers
Declan K.
Three of the squares have 8 and one has 9.
3 boxes have 8 dots and 1 box has 9
The one with 4 + 5 doesn't belong because all of them equal 8 except that one equals 9.
Keeva Fitzpatrick
I think that the one with four dots & five dots is different because all of them have eight dots except for the one with nine.
Amelia Burg
4+5 doesn't belong because all the other ones equal 8 and that one equals 9.
Great thinking, Amelia! I agree. :)
The one with the 4 and 4 because it does not have a 5
They are all dominos. The 4 and 5 domino doesn't belong because both those numbers equal 9 and all the other dominos equal 8.
Addie T link
I think the domino that doesn't belong is the one that shows 4 and 5. That one equals nine. All the rest equal 8.
Great job, Addie. I agree!
the 4th domino is 9 and the three others equals 8.
the top left domino looks different than the others. the bottom right domino adds up to 9 and the others add up to 8.
The dominos are different because one equals 9 and the others equal 8. Another reason they are different is the dominos that equal 8 show it in a different way. They are the same because they are all dominos and they are all shaped the same and all have dots.
The one that has two fours on the domino is difrent because all of the other dominos have 1 or 0 fours.
Kalli Kakridas
The one that equals 9 is different from the other three equal 8.
Great job, Kalli. I agree!
Hailey E
I think the one on the bottom right does not belong. It has a total of 9 dots and the others have a total of 8 dots.
quincey Augusta
The 4 and 5 don't belong because that equals 9 and the other ones equal 8.
Sonya Das
The one with nine does not belong but the other ones did belong because the rest are eight and the dice with nine does not belong.
I meant dominoes not dice.
I think that the box in the top left does not belong because some
of it's dots are smaller than the rest of the dots that are on the
dominoes.
Gavin Marder
I think the bottom right domino doesn't belong because it totals 9 and all the rest equal 8.
I agree, Gavin. Great job!
The first box has a 5 plus a 1 instead of a 6. The rest of the dominoes look like they normally would.
Also the bottom right doe not equal 8 like the others.
Top right doesn't have a 5
Jack Hartford
The one that totals 9 is different because every other one totaled 8.


A boar, a sow and a hoglet? Surely not!
But that will be because, according to Wikipedia….
Hedgehogs are lovely, sweet animals, which often turn up in the more countrified or overgrown gardens just as darkness is beginning to fall on a warm summer night, and the bats are coming out to hunt.
It is a well-loved species, which has, however, declined sharply in England over the last ten years, with an overall decrease of at least 25%. Hedgehogs are, in actual fact, disappearing in Britain at a quicker rate than tigers are in their own jungle habitat in southern Asia. The problems for hedgehogs are the usual ones. Gardens are nowadays generally tidier with lots of neat wooden decking, and hardly any patches of weeds and rough grass, full of slugs and juicy snails. More efficient fences have fewer holes in them to allow hedgehogs to range far and wide. The extensive use of insecticide means fewer insects, and a greater possibility of being poisoned. Road casualties are high because the animals' first natural defence is to roll up into a spiny ball. Not too effective on a busy highway.
Recently though, in our wonderfully overgrown garden, we have been visited by two, possibly, three hedgehogs. We think that they are either a mother and two different children, or possibly, a father, a mother and one rather small and cute child. They snuffle about in the leaf litter, and yesterday morning, in the wee small hours, at about three o'clock, it was actually possible to hear their chewing and crunching from inside the house.
I think the reason for the arrival of these lovely, sweet little animals is the prolonged spell of great heat and severe dryness that we are currently experiencing here in England. The drought means fewer insects than normal, and the hedgehogs are forced to try their luck closer to man than they might otherwise venture. We have fed our visitors with, for example, wet and meaty cat food, and they certainly appreciate a bowl of water. Traditionally, you are supposed to feed them a bowl of milk with lumps of bread in it, but this is not really a very good idea for a lactose-intolerant insectivore, even one who is willing to consume dog food when times are bad.
My daughter had to stop filming when the hedgehog was on her shoe!
The babies are called "hoglets", and Mummy and Daddy are a "boar" and a "sow".
If you are successful in finding and feeding any hedgehogs, make sure that you send your data to the 2014 Hibernation Survey which lasts until August 31st of this year. The more scientific data we have about hedgehogs, the more can be done to increase their depleted numbers.
To find out more about how you can attract hedgehogs to your garden and what to feed them, take a stroll along Hedgehog Street.


House Clearance Service In Tillicoultry Coalsnaughton Devonside Tillicoultry New Sauchie Pool of Muckhart.
Hi, I need a quote for clearing a two bedroom flat in Tillicoultry. The past few weeks i have been sorting everything out for your house clearance specialists to clear the flat. I have bagged up all of the clothing, shoes and bedding, there is still some smaller items, i.g kitchen cupboards are full, drawers etc. Could you please provide a rough quote for clearance and also a quote for cleaning the flat afterwards.
A pair of vintage brass pineapple table lamps with cream pleated shades, A white Goodmans DAB clock radio with iPod dock, A large cream tasselled throw, A large vintage bevelled edge wall mirror.
A set of six vintage bottle green sherry glasses, A brand new set of four Oliver Bonds heart shaped desert spoons, A solid oak dining table with four grey fabric upholstered dining chairs.
A white Hotpoint Ultima SIUF32120P slimline dishwasher, A Bosch Series 8 KGD36VI30G stainless steel fridge freezer, A Vax S4 grime master steam cleaner, A Vax air cordless solo upright vacuum cleaner.
A pair of black Ikea Lauters table lamps, A brand new Anthropologie fringed hanging frame, A set of four New York themed throw cushions, A chrome kingsize bed frame and mattress.
A solid pine curved back double bed frame and mattress, A pair of one drawer solid pine bedside tables, A rustic reclaimed wood floating shelf, Ikea three wicker drawer chest of drawers.
House Clearance News – Why Choose Solar Water Heating for Your Home?


An exciting opportunity has arisen to work with one of the UK's leading resource, recycling and waste management companies as a MRF Supervisor at a key London site.
As MRF supervisor you will be responsible for the operation on a day to day basis within the company operational procedures. You will be responsible for the efficient and reliable day to day operation of the recycling sorting process ensuring the smooth operation to the highest H&S compliance and within Environmental Permits.
Ensuring the quality of produced material matches the customer's specifications.
Planning and managing the collection of sorted material working closely with the Logistics Team.
Organising and managing the daily cleaning of the plant.
Working closely with Maintenance Team to ensure timely repairs are made to keep equipment at its best performance.
As the ideal candidate you will have excellent leadership and team management skills. You will be able to motivate and develop a team within a demanding environment, previous supervisory and waste industry knowledge would be an advantage.


No other part of the U.S. gets as many thunderstorms as Florida. So it's no surprise that we get this question A LOT from concerned customers.
The simple truth is that it doesn't matter whether you run a central air conditioner during a thunderstorm.
Because the unit is always hooked up to your home's wiring. Turning the AC off does not disconnect it from your home's main circuit. And as long as it is connected to your home's wiring, the powerful surge of electricity from a lightning strike can and will reach your unit.
So what can you do to protect your AC unit from power surges during a thunderstorm?
According to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Security, your best bet is to install a surge protector.
Note: Be careful that you aren't confusing surge protectors with "power strips." Power strips simply plug into your outlet and let you plug in multiple appliances but offer very little, if any, protection against major electrical surges. Be sure that your surge protector is, in fact, a surge protector and not just a power strip.
We'll go over how a surge protector works to protect your AC unit and give you some tips to ensure that you get the most out of your surge protection.
Surge protectors work by carefully monitoring the electrical current that flows through your home's wiring and into a particular electronic appliance (like your air conditioner).
Once the electrical current reaches a "dangerous" voltage, the surge protector snaps into action and diverts the extra voltage into the ground wire.
But the important thing to know is that even the strongest surge protector can't protect against direct lightning strikes.
In short, almost nothing will protect your house against a direct lightning strike.
To give you an idea of this, a direct lightning strike contains about 5 billion joules ("joules"= a unit of energy) while a higher end surge protector protects against just over 4 thousand joules.
The good news is that the odds of your air conditioner being struck by lightning is ridiculously low: (1 in 280,000, to be exact).
So as a homeowner, you need to understand that buying a surge protector will not protect your air conditioner against a direct lightning strike.
Instead, surge protectors protect your AC against a much more common occurrence: an indirect lightning strike. Indirect lightning strikes refer to the effects (i.e. electrical surges) from a lightning strike that did not directly hit your home or air conditioner but hit nearby.
Now let's look at some surge protector features that can help protect against indirect lightning strikes.
Remember how we measured a lightning strike in terms of how many "joules" it contains?
Well we can also measure a surge protector in joules. Basically, a surge protector has a pre-set amount of joules it can absorb before it completely wears out.
Think of it like a battery that only has a certain amount of energy. Once that energy is used up, it's dead and needs to be replaced completely.
So, if a surge protector has 2,000 joules, that means it can take two 1,000 joule hits or one 2,000 joule hit. After that, though, it will stop protecting your air conditioner.
Basically, the higher the joules, the longer the protection.
"VPR" or voltage protection rating is the maximum voltage a surge protector will let through to the appliance it is protecting. The lower the VPR number, the better the protection.
The response time of a surge protector is exactly what it sounds like: a measure of how long it takes a surge protector to divert the extra voltage to the ground. This is measured in nanoseconds. Look for protectors with a response time of one nanosecond or less.
Make sure that you look into the warranty of the surge protector.
Many surge protector manufacturers offer coverage of a certain amount per incident if an electrical surge damages the motor of your air conditioner (if the surge fell within the limits of the surge protector).
Have questions about what kind of surge protector is best for your air conditioner?
At Advanced Air we help keep your air conditioner safe from electrical surges in Florida. We offer both point-of-use surge protectors and whole-home surge protectors.
Just contact our professionals at Advanced Air to get more information.


'This paper on the Comrie Flood Protection Scheme has been prepared for the next meeting of the Council's Environment, Enterprise and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday, 6th September from 10.0 on. In other words a week today. There will be a presentation by Barbara Renton, the Director of the Environment Service, here in the Council Chamber, at 2 High Street in Perth.
As you can see the preferred scheme layout is Option 2.


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Home » Breaking News » Lisdoonvarna to vote on arrival of asylum seekers
A general view of last Friday's public meeting, in the Pavilion, Lisdoonvarna, to discuss the opening of a direct provision centre at the King Thomond Hotel on March 5th. Photograph by John Kelly.
Lisdoonvarna to vote on arrival of asylum seekers
February 27, 2018	4,957 Views
THE people of Lisdoonvarna are set to vote on whether they will accept asylum seekers in the North Clare town from March 5. A Direct Provision centre is to open on the first Monday in March with approximately 30 asylum seekers due on that date. A maximum of 115 can be housed in the King Thomond Hotel in the town. The hotel is owned by Marcus White who spoke at a public meeting last Friday, which was attended by approximately 100 local people.
A further meeting has been called for Wednesday night in the Pavilion in the town at which Fáilte Lisdoonvarna, a local community group, has said a vote will take place.
The idea of holding a vote had initially been mooted at last Friday's meeting.
"In order to vote, you must be on the register of electors for the parish," Lisdoonvarna Fáilte said on their Facebook page.
"Or bring an official document, bill or a bank statement with your address," they added.
It is however, highly unlikely that the Department of Justice will be influenced by the result of the vote.
Representatives from An Garda Síochána, the HSE, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice will attend Wednesday evenings meeting.
At last Friday's meeting the majority of speakers opposed the arrival of asylum seekers for various reasons, including lack of local services and a potential drop in house prices.
Among the speakers to welcome the asylum seekers were students of the local secondary school, who asked the meeting chairperson, Eugene Banks, Principal Officers from the Reception Integration Agency, if funds would be provided for additional educational resources.
By Peter O'Connell
Tags asylum seekers Direct Provision lisdoonvarna vote
About Peter O'Connell
West Clare native Peter O'Connell has worked for The Clare Champion for 12 years and covers everything from sport, especially GAA, news, features and has been even known to branch into the fashion scene on occasion.
@@westclarepage
Previous Council ready for cold snap
Next First of the beast's snowfalls hits Clare
Boxing clever in juvenile championships
Their first Noel in Lisdoonvarna
Lisdoonvarna Direct Provision Centre exceeding capacity


Whether it's for the booze or an overall good time, they always come to party.
There is nothing more amazing than watching Zac Brown Band perform. And while you can capture a glimpse of their talent by seeing them live, unless you're truly studying their every move, you've probably already missed the essence of their skill.
The "Pass The Jar — Zac Brown Band and Friends Live from the Fabulous Fox Theatre In Atlanta" DVD allows you an up-close-and-personal account of their heart-stopping show – so close that you can even see the sweat off Zac Brown's brow. The DVD even takes you backstage and on the road with the band, and features interviews and sneak peaks at some of their practice performances.
"Pass the Jar" was shot in high definition and directed by Darren Doane, who also shot the band's "Toes" and "Highway 20 Ride" videos.
Taped at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta in October 2009, the show took place at a benefit for the historic Georgia Theater, which burned down to the ground on June 19, 2009. The Georgia Theater — which is located on North Lumpkin Street in Athens, Georgia — was erected in 1889, and has been a music store, YMCA, furniture store, concert hall and even a church. "It's one of my favorite places in the world," Brown said the night of the benefit. "The Georgia Theater is the cornerstone of Athens, Georgia." All of the funds raised that night went to the rebuilding of the theater.
On "Pass the Jar," the band supplements its traditional live show — which includes all of their top hits, along with "Whatever It Is," "Free," and their own versions of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" — with guest appearances by Angie Aparo ("Junkyard"), Aslyn ("Trying to Drive"), Kid Rock ("Can't You See"), Little Big Town ("Colder Weather"), Joey + Rory ("Free/Into the Mystic") and Massif ("We're Gonna Make This Day"). The show also featured Barry Waldrop, Shawn Mullins, Sonia Leigh, Nic Cowan and Levi Lowrey.
"It was like waking up from a dream," Brown said.
It would be hard for any other artist to top a performance like this, but if overall talent and complete awesomeness isn't enough of a draw to this DVD, did I forget to mention Zac Brown even raps with Massif during the show?


Lately I've been busy getting the hpet emulation to be accurate.
testing and reduce my changes to the minimal set required.
with no delay between calls except to check for new_time < prev_time.
8 physical * 2 guests for a total of 16 vcpus running the test.
The test does a yield now and then so you can actually log into the system, etc.
 In RHEL5, I *think* it is the WALL source that we care about?
I'll have to check on this too.
 Is notsc necessary for proper ticks for RHEL4-32/RHEL5-64?
I have not investigated this yet.


for a week now i thought i lost all my blog list, about me, you know all your sidebar stuff.
well, today i discovered it at the bottom of my blog.
not a clue how it got there.
not a clue how to get it back to where it needs to go.
do you? can tell me how... please!
all you do is select the background you want (they have A LOT to pick from) & then a picture you want from your computer. it does the rest!
we spent an hour or so making some cool photos!!
i have one of these in our living room. i am ALWAYS cold so having something warm close-by is a must!
he finds it fun to play with them - make tents, have a picnic, or just pull them off because he can.
i was getting so frustrated every time i walked into the living room to see 5 or 6 blankets on the floor.
"didn't i just pick those up?" i would ask.
all i would get back was his cute smile & laughs.
i feel dumb admitting it but my solution... taking 3 away. simple as that! not sure why i didn't think of it earlier!
i am thinking... today is the day i must go grocery shopping. one of my least favorite things to do.
from the kitchen... not sure (yet!) but i'm thinking its homemade soup weather.
i am going... tuesday - i work & then STATE FAIR!!!
i am hearing... silence - which means brock is more than likely doing something he shouldn't be!!
noticing that... i came home to a clean house last night but this morning its dirty again. funny how fast that happens!!
i am hoping... chad gets to feeling better.


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Landmark & Interesting Judgment on applicability of Presumptive taxation under section 44AD on Partner's remuneration and interest
Short Overvivew : In terms of Explanatory Notes to the provisions of Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 vide Circular No. 5/2010 dated 3-6-2010, the intention of revenue was to help small business to comply with the taxation provisions through presumptive taxation scheme under section 44AD. Revenue's intention was not at all to construe a partner's remuneration or interest as business income.
Assessee claimed that interest and salary received by him from firms in which, he was a partner had to be construed as business income by virtue of section 28(v) and therefore, he was eligible for applying presumptive interest rate under section 44AD. Revenue denied assessee's claim for estimating income under section 44AD on remuneration and interest received from firms.
it is held that Section 44AD was substituted by Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 with effect from 1-4-2011 and prior to this substitution, the said section allowed application of presumptive tax rate only for business of civil construction or supply of labour for civil construction. Presumptive tax rate application was widened to include any business which had turnover or gross receipts of less than one crore rupees through such substitution. In the Explanatory Notes to the provisions of Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 vide Circular No. 5/2010, dated 3-6-2010, CBDT has explained the reason for widening. It is clear from the reading of the said Explanatory Note that the intention was to help small business to comply with the taxation provisions. Intention was not at all to construe a partner's remuneration or interest as business income.
Decision: Against the assessee.
Referred: Munjal Sales Corporation v. CIT (2008) 298 ITR 298 (SC) : 2008 TaxPub(DT) 1671 (SC) and Sagar Dutta v. Dy. CIT [ITA No.692/Kol/2012, dt. 3-5-2013] : 2018 TaxPub(DT) 466 (Kol-Trib).
IN THE ITAT, CHENNAI BENCH
ABRAHAM P. GEORGE, A.M. & DUVVURU RL REDDY, J.M.
A. Anandkumar v. ACIT
I.T.A. No. 573/CHNY/2018
Appellant by: K. Raghu, C.A.
Respondent by: AR. V. Sreenivasan, Joint Commissioner
Abraham P. George, A.M.
In this appeal filed by the assessee, against Order, dt. 22-12-2017 of Commissioner (Appeals), Salem, is aggrieved on denial of his claim for estimating income under section 44AD of the Income Tax Act (in short "the Act"), on remuneration and interest received from firms.
2. Facts apropos are that assessee had received remuneration and interest from partnership firms namely M/s. Kumbakonam Jewellers, M/s. ANS Gupta & Sons and M/s. ANS Gupta Jewellers during the previous impugned assessment year aggregating to Rs. 58,53,000. While filing return for the impugned assessment year, assessee had applied presumptive rate at 8% under section 44AD of the Act and returned Rs. 4,68,240 as income from the above mentioned remuneration and interest. Assessing officer was of the opinion that section 44AD could be availed only by eligible assessee engaged in eligible business. According to him, assessee was not doing any business independently but was only a partner in the firms. Further, as per learned assessing officer, assessee had no turnover and receipts on account of remuneration and interest from the firms could not be construed as gross receipts mentioned under section 44AD of the Act. He therefore denied assessee the benefit of section 44AD of the Act and brought to tax the entire amount of remuneration and interest from the firms. Assessee's appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) did not meet with any success.
3. Now, before us, learned Authorised Representative strongly assailing the orders of lower authorities and submitted that section 28(v) of the Act, clearly specified that interest, salary, bonus, commission or remuneration received or due to a partner of a firm, from such firm, had to be assessed under the head "Profits & gains of business or profession". As per Learned Authorised Representatives, section 44AD enabled an assessee having turnover or gross receipts from eligible business, to apply presumptive rate of 8%. According to him, by virtue of Explanation to section 44AD, eligible business included any business other than the business of plying, hiring or leasing upto ten goods carriages. Contention of the learned Authorised Representatives was that remuneration and interest being considered as profits and gains of business or profession by virtue of section 28(v) of the Act, it became an eligible business. According to him, gross receipts of the assessee from interest and remuneration was below Rs. 1 crore, for the impugned assessment year and therefore assessee was eligible for applying presumptive rate of 8% on such receipts for estimating the income. Reliance was placed on the judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Munjal Sales Corporation v. Commissioner (2008) 298 ITR 298 (SC) : 2008 TaxPub(DT) 1671 (SC) and an order of Kolkata Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Sagar Dutta v. DCIT in ITA No. 692/Kol/2012, dt. 3-5-2013.
4. Per contra, Learned Departmental Representative strongly supported orders of lower authorities.
5. We have heard rival contentions and perused material on record. Claim of the assessee is that interest and salary received by him from firms in which, he was a partner had to be construed as business income by virtue of section 28(v) of the Act and hence assessee is eligible for applying presumptive interest rate under section 44AD of the Act.
Section 28(v) of the Act is reproduced hereunder :–
"Profits and gains of business or profession.
28. The following income shall be chargeable to income-tax under the head "Profits and gains of business or profession",–
(i) xxxxxx
(ii) xxxxx
(iii) xxxxxx
(iv) xxxxx
(v) any interest, salary, bonus, commission or remuneration, by whatever name called, due to, or received by, a partner of a firm from such firm :–
Provided that where any interest, salary, bonus, commission or remuneration, by whatever name called, or any part thereof has not been allowed to be deducted under clause (b) of section 40, the income under this clause shall be adjusted to the extent of the amount not so allowed to be deducted"
It is interested to note that the proviso to clause (v) specifically mentions clause (b) of section 40 of the Act. In other words, only remuneration and salary, received from a firm, to the extent eligible under clause (b) of section 40 of the Act, would be considered as profits and gains of business or profession, of the recipient partner. It would be apposite to have a look at section 40(b) of the Act, insofar as it concerns remuneration and interest payable to partners concerned.
Section 40(b) is reproduced hereunder :–
"Amounts not deductible.
40. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in sections 30 to 38, the following amounts shall not be deducted in computing the income chargeable under the head "Profits and gains of business or profession" :–
(a) xxxxxxx
(b) in the case of any firm assessable as such,–
(i) any payment of salary, bonus, commission or remuneration, by whatever name called (hereinafter referred to as "remuneration") to any partner who is not a working partner; or
(ii) any payment of remuneration to any partner who is a working partner, or of interest to any partner, which, in either case, is not authorised by, or is not in accordance with, the terms of the partnership deed; or
(iii) any payment of remuneration to any partner who is a working partner, or of interest to any partner, which, in either case, is authorised by, and is in accordance with, the terms of the partnership deed, but which relates to any period (falling prior to the date of such partnership deed) for which such payment was not authorised by, or is not in accordance with, any earlier partnership deed, so, however, that the period of authorisation for such payment by any earlier partnership deed does not cover any period prior to the date of such earlier partnership deed; or
(iv) any payment of interest to any partner which is authorised by, and is in accordance with, the terms of the partnership deed and relates to any period falling after the date of such partnership deed in so far as such amount exceeds the amount calculated at the rate of twelve per cent simple interest per annum; or
(v) any payment of remuneration to any partner who is a working partner, which is authorised by, and is in accordance with, the terms of the partnership deed and relates to any period falling after the date of such partnership deed in so far as the amount of such payment to all the partners during the previous year exceeds the aggregate amount computed as hereunder :–
(a) on the first Rs. 3,00,000 of the book-profit or in case of a loss
(b) on the balance of the book-profit
Provided that in relation to any payment under this clause to the partner during the previous year relevant to the assessment year commencing on the 1-4-1993, the terms of the partnership deed may, at any time during the said previous year, provide for such payment."
6. What we can understand from section 40 is that it is clothed in a negative language. It says that certain amounts shall not be deducted while computing income under the head "profits & gains of business or profession. However, it exempts from the rigors of such prohibition, payment of salary, bonus, commission and interest to the extent specified in sub-clause (iv) and (v) of sub-section (b) thereof. Intention of the above section, in our opinion, is that partner should not be disentitled from claiming reasonable remuneration where he is a working partner and also should not be denied reasonable interest on the capital invested by him in a firm. If these charges are not made in the accounts of the firm, then pro-rata profits of the firm would be higher, resulting in higher taxes to the firm. The payments therefore have to be construed indirectly as a type of distribution of profits of a firm, for which otherwise, a firm would have been taxed. It seems that legislature in its wisdom chose such remuneration and interest to be a part of profits from business or profession. This by itself, in our opinion, would not translate such remuneration and interest, to gross receipts or turnover of a business of being partners in firms. In other words, it cannot be construed as gross receipts or turnover of a business independently carried on by a partner.
7. To elucidate the position further, we need to have a look section 44AD which was substituted by Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 with effect from 1-4-2011. Prior to this substitution, the said Section allowed application of presumptive tax rate only for business of civil construction or supply of labour for civil construction. Presumptive tax rate application was widened to include any business which had turnover or gross receipts of less than one crore through such substitution. In the Explanatory Notes to the provisions of Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 vide Circular No. 5/2010, dt. 3-6-2010, CBDT has explained the reason for widening. Para no. 21 of the circular is reproduced hereunder:–
"21. Special provision for computing profits and gains of business on presumptive basis.
21.1 The existing provisions of the Income Tax Act provide for taxation of income on presumptive basis in the case of construction business, income from goods carriages and business of retail trade. Section 44AD prescribes a method of presumptive taxation for assessee engaged in the business of civil construction or supply of labour for civil construction in which a sum equal to eight percent of the gross receipts is deemed to be the profits and gains from business. Section 44AE provides presumptive provisions for the assessee engaged in the business of plying, hiring or leasing up to ten goods carriages in which a prescribed sum per vehicle is deemed to be the presumptive income of the assessee. Section 44AF prescribes a method of presumptive taxation for retail trade, under which the presumptive income is computed at the rate of a sum equal to five per cent of the total turnover. There has been a substantial increase in small businesses with the growth of transport and communication and general growth of the economy. A large number of businesses and service providers in rural and urban areas who earn substantial income are outside the tax-net. Introduction of presumptive tax provisions in respect of small businesses would help a number of small businesses to comply with the taxation provisions without consuming their time and resources. A presumptive income scheme for small taxpayers lowers the compliance cost for such taxpayers and also reduces the administrative burden on the tax machinery. In view of the above, to expand the scope of presumptive taxation to all businesses, the existing section 44AD has been substituted by a new section 44AD.
21.2 The salient features of the new presumptive taxation scheme are as under :–
(a) The scheme is applicable to individuals, HUFs and partnership firms excluding Limited liability partnership firms. It is also not be applicable to an assessee who is availing deductions under sections 10A, 10AA, 10B, 10BA or deduction under any provisions of Chapter VIA under the heading "C.-Deductions in respect of certain incomes" in the relevant assessment year.
(b) The scheme is applicable for any business (excluding a business already covered under section 44AE) which has a maximum gross turnover/gross receipts of 40 lakhs.
(c) The presumptive rate of income is prescribed at 8% of gross turnover/gross receipts.
(d) An assessee opting for the above scheme is exempted from payment of advance tax related to such business under the current provisions of the Income Tax Act.
(e) An assessee opting for the above scheme is exempted from maintenance of books of accounts related to such business as required under section 44AA of the Income Tax Act.
(f) An assessee with turnover below Rs. 40 lakhs, who shows an income below the presumptive rate prescribed under these provisions, in case his total income exceeds the taxable limit, required to maintain books of accounts and also get them audited.
(g) The existing section 44AF is to be made inoperative for the assessment year beginning on or after 1-4-2011.
21.3 Applicability–These amendments have been made applicable with effect from 1-4-2011 and will accordingly apply in relation to assessment year 2011-12 and subsequent assessment years."
It is clear from the reading of the above Explanatory Note, that the intention was to help small business to comply with the taxation provisions. Intention was not at all to construe a partner's remuneration or interest as business income. As for the judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Munjal Sales Corporation (supra), relied on by the learned Authorised Representatives, the issue was not related to section 44AD of the Act. Insofar as the decision of the Kolkata Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Sagar Dutta (supra) is concerned, the question there was on levy of penalty under section 271B of the Act, for failure of furnishing audited accounts under section 44AB of the Act. This also has got no relevance here. In these circumstances, we do not find any reason to interfere with the orders of the authorities below.
8. In the result, appeal of the assessee stand dismissed.


There are several ways that police officers are able to spot drunk drivers. Regardless of whether the stop is made on the road or through a DUI checkpoint, there are several characteristics that have been shown to indicate impaired driving. This type of behavior is what police officers and highway patrolmen look for when searching for drunk drivers. While these driving choices are not always because the driver is impaired, it does offer the officer enough reason to be suspicious and therefore make a traffic stop.
Police officers may also increase their searching tactics for DUI on holidays or special occasions that may increase the amount of drunk drivers on the road. Under such circumstances, the police force will likely conduct road-blocking checkpoints to individually screen cars for impaired drivers. These checkpoints are strategically placed in locations where there is likely to be more drinking than other places. The checkpoints are based less on a driver's behavior on the road and more on a face-to-face experience between the officer and the driver. While the signs officers look for in checkpoints are different from those on the road, there are several key traits that may lead them to conduct a field sobriety test or breath test of the driver.
For a free consultation with a lawyer, call Rosenstein Law Group at 480-248-7666.
When police officers are patrolling the streets, it is their job to pursue driving behavior that seems suspicious. The list used by most police forces is based off of research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on telling signs of impaired driving.
Turning: Police officers are searching for cars that take turns at an unusually wide radius or turns that are too sharp. Additionally, abrupt or illegal turns can be a signal of a driver who is not using sober judgment. Such turning maneuvers do not necessarily have to be illegal in order to warrant a stop by a police officer or highway patrolman.
Other indicators included on the NHTSA list include driving without headlights on, delayed reaction to traffic signs, excessive braking. More obvious behavior may include hitting or almost hitting another car, driving in the opposite direction of traffic or drifting out of a designated highway and driving off the road altogether.
There are several strategies used in checkpoints in order to filter out drunk drivers. The police may either stop every car or use a specific patter in order to stop only specific cars. While the officers on the ground are conducting the actual searches, there are "chase" cars stationed in hiding spots at the checkpoint to drive after any cars that attempt to evade the checkpoint altogether.
During a sobriety stop, the officer will likely walk up to the car being stopped and begin speaking with the driver. He or she may ask questions about where they are driving from and whether they have been drinking. However, the conversation is just a cover for the actual investigation being conducted while the officer and driver talk. The officer is actually searching for signs from the behavior of the driver that may indicate that they have been drinking regardless of whether they admit to it. The signs searched for at sobriety checkpoints are more personal traits as opposed to actual motor skills.
Contact Rosenstein Law Group at 480-248-7666 to learn more about possible DUI defense strategies.
We represent clients throughout Arizona from offices in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe and Gilbert.


text:
Building constructions
Building resources
Green building materials flourish | Business
2 weeks ago Joan K. Kincaid
Create a competitive advantage for businesses
Dong Chau production, trade and service company in Ho Chi Minh City, although it is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic like most construction companies, its construction work has not been interrupted . Even in the most stressful time of the pandemic, the company was still successful in securing jobs for workers and maintaining good sales throughout the year.
"We have overcome the pandemic by using prefabricated building materials in the construction of our projects. Importantly, during the pandemic, many companies urgently needed to build housing for workers to stay in factories. The building materials we used met the requirements of rapid construction progress and reasonable prices, so we received many construction contracts, "said Mr. Le Tien Linh, director of Dong Chau Company.
Likewise, a representative of Tecco Real Estate Services Company – West Saigon Branch said that from design to building construction projects for partners, the company has always advised investors to choose new construction materials that are environmentally friendly. environment, such as bricks, aluminum frames, glass and decorative wall tiles. This has created a competitive advantage for the company in the market.
According to engineer Nguyen Thanh Nhan of HCMC University of Technology, new building materials and assembly building technology have gradually become popular, with many outstanding advantages over traditional ones.
"According to research, by using expanded polystyrene (EPS) panels, businesses can save at least 30% of the cost per square meter compared to traditional homes. With prefabricated houses, the workload is significantly reduced, which saves breakdowns, builds quickly, and lowers insulation costs and energy consumption. In addition, with precise dimensions, these materials are easy to construct and have less loss of material during construction. The construction time of prefabricated houses is only about half that of traditional houses and does not depend too much on weather and climatic factors as the modules were first processed and manufactured in the factory. The designs of construction projects using new building materials are more and more diverse and aesthetic, so they are more and more popular, "said engineer Nguyen Thanh Nhan.
Architect Hoang Van Tin from the Association of Architects of HCMC added that with the technology of prefabricated houses using lightweight building materials, such as EPS panels, it has a simple design basis that can be built on n any terrain, from concrete to soft ground, even on water. Not to mention that the future expansion is quite simple, but the cost is not as high as the traditional houses. The prefabricated houses can be easily disassembled and moved to another location in a convenient way.
Still need a stronger push
The use of traditional building materials has had a negative impact on the environment, resulting in many consequences, such as loss of land, increased greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful gas emissions.
According to statistics, to make one billion clay bricks, about 1.5 million cubic meters of clay will be mined to a depth of about 2 meters, which is the equivalent of 75 hectares of farmland.
Over ten years ago, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 567 / QD-TTg / 2010 on the development of unburnt building materials – a new form of environmentally friendly building materials as one of the resolutions for the protection of the environment.
Currently, Vietnam has over 1,600 factories producing unburnt building materials with many products such as concrete bricks (aggregate cement bricks), autoclaved / non-autoclaved aerated concrete bricks, aerated concrete blocks, hollow core concrete panels (acotec) and aerated autoclaves. concrete wall panels. The total design capacity of these facilities is approximately 10.2 billion standard blocks per year, which represents almost 30 percent of the total design production capacity of general building materials. With this volume, Vietnam annually saves about 7.5 million cubic meters of clay, or the equivalent of 375 hectares of land mined 2 meters deep, reduces the consumption of about 750,000 tons of coal and reduces gas emissions of about 2.85 million tonnes of carbon. dioxide.
However, compared to Vietnam's total construction demand, this figure remains modest. According to many architects, the biggest difficulty in using green building materials is the habit of using iron and reinforced concrete in townhouses. Therefore, many people are still hesitant to use new products.
As for building material companies, their limits are in terms of technology, capital and experience in producing new environmentally friendly products. Therefore, to develop this field, companies must first establish links with each other for technology transfer, information exchange and healthy competition in the market. In the direction of the development of the building materials industry, the government and departments should have specific and preferential policies to encourage enterprises to produce environmentally friendly building materials.
There are no official statistics on the use of new building materials, but construction market records show that these materials are gradually gaining in popularity. Many architects from the Association of Architects of HCMC said that they have received many contracts to design construction works with new building materials.
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