Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Afrika Bambaataa Says 'Luciferian Conspiracy' Exists Within Hip-Hop
Afrika
The raging debate over Satanic images in Hip-Hop album covers and videos spilled over into the pop mainstream in November, when rapper MC Hammer responded to
"I've got question about "the illuminati" ... what is it exactly ??? ... and why do people think pop stars have a membership???!!! LOL," Kanye tweeted in October of 2010. "Is illuminati and devil worshipping like the same thing ... do they have a social network that celebs can sign up for?"
Jay-Z has repeatedly denied claims he worshipped the devil, after fans raised eyebrows at a line on his hit single "Empire State of Mind" featuring Alicia Keys. "I believe in God, I believe in one God,” Jay-Z told Hot 97's Angie Martinez of his religious beliefs in January of 2010. “I don't believe in religion. I think that separates people." The real question should have been which god is it that he believes in. Food for thought. MadOne
Drake To Return To Acting
The popular rapper is set to star in a new movie called “Arbitrage,” which will put him next to Hollywood staples like Al
Drake honed his acting chops on the teen hit show “'Degrassi: The Next Generation,” but “Arbitrage” will be meatier content. The flick is an independent financial thriller where Al Pacino plays a hedge fund magnate under investigation. The movie will start shooting in the spring for a release date in 2012.
On the Hip-Hop front, Drake is recording his second album, titled Take Care.
At press time, Drake has not commented on his involvement in the film, but is listed on IMDB.com, a movie industry authority.
Kanye West Announces New Album In Summer 2011
The rapper made the declaration on
He concluded and all-caps rant affirming, “THIS IS HIGH END RAP MUSIC.”
No representative for Def
U.S. government launches pharmaceutical division
The U.S. government has decided to enter the pharmaceutical business. Apparently, the drug companies aren’t coming out with new “breakthrough” drugs quickly enough, and now the U.S. government plans to spend taxpayer dollars conducting research on drugs which will be turned over to Big Pharma. Those drug companies, in turn, will sell them for a profit. It’s yet another clear case where the government is taking over the health care (sick care) industry and funneling profits into the hands of pharmaceutical corporations.
This is all happening because drug companies say they’re scaling back their research funding to find new drugs. This terrifies the U.S. government, apparently, which doesn’t recognize that scaling back drug company R&D is actually a good thing for America given how much economic damage and personal health damage is caused each year by Big Pharma’s dangerous drugs. So instead of letting the failing pharmaceutical market contract on its own, Big Government wants to artificially prop it up with taxpayer dollars in much the same way that the feds bailed out Wall Street’s rich banksters with trillions of dollars over the last two years.
The new government drug research center will operate under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and be called the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, says he hopes Congress will increase funding of the center to at least $1 billion annually.
BOX OFFICE REPORT Jan 21 - 23 Weekend
The rom-com starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher premiered in 1st place by taking down a solid $20.3 million in estimated receipts after its first three days, just $2 million above the action antics of Seth Rogen and Jay Chou. Definitely a great debut for director Ivan Reitman and Paramount here, with the budget for the buddy comedy set at just $25 million.
Rank | Movie | Weekend | Theaters | Average | Total | Budget |
| 1 | No Strings Attached | $20.3 mil | 3,018 | $6,726 | $20.3 mil | $25 |
| 2 | The Green Hornet | $18.1 mil | 3,584 | $5,050 | $63.4 mil | $120 |
| 3 | The Dilemma | $9.7 mil | 2,943 | $3,305 | $33.3 mil | $70 |
| 4 | The King’s Speech | $9.1 mil | 1,680 | $5,455 | $58.6 mil | $15 |
| 5 | True Grit | $8.0 mil | 3,464 | $2,309 | $138.6 mil | $38 |
| 6 | Black Swan | $6.2 mil | 2,407 | $2,576 | $83.5 mil | $13 |
| 7 | The Fighter | $4.5 mil | 2,275 | $1,985 | $73.0 mil | $25 |
| 8 | Little Fockers | $4.3 mil | 2,979 | $1,475 | $141.1 mil | $100 |
| 9 | Yogi Bear | $4.0 mil | 2,510 | $1,618 | $88.8 mil | $80 |
| 10 | Tron Legacy | $3.7 mil | 2,018 | $1,837 | $163.2 mil | $170 |
Monday, January 24, 2011
Nations and Companies Vie in New Moon Race
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| This illustration shows a lush green land on the moon inside a crater covered by a dome to protect and feed lunar astronauts while siphoning elements from the moon's regolith. |
Humans may not revisit the moon again until possibly 2020 at the earliest, but plenty of countries and private companies have targeted Earth's rocky satellite as a prime destination for robotic explorers. The last century's moon race between the United States and Russia has since given way to a new onslaught of unmanned lunar missions launched by Europe, Japan, China, India and the United States, which have helped uncover lunar water resources. Private entrepreneurs are also racing to land a homemade robot on the moon and win the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize, which will reward the first private team to launch and land a spacecraft on the moon.
Meanwhile, China has pushed forward with a three-phase lunar exploration program involving probes and a lander. Its human spaceflight program has so far focused on launching to Earth orbit and preparing to build a Chinese space station starting this year. The country's second moon probe, Chang'e-2, entered lunar orbit at the beginning of this month after a five-day trip from Earth. Part of Chang'e-2's mission involves scouting possible landing sites for the Chang'e-3 spacecraft, which is scheduled for a lunar landing in 2013. Plenty of other countries seem eager to join in the lunar rush, even if China looks set to take a strong lead. India has begun drawing up plans for its own second lunar probe launch in 2013, after the success of its Chandrayaan 1 probe, which helped confirm the presence of water on the moon.
Private Sector Wants Mining Bases On the Moon
The Shackleton Energy Co. wants to mine the moon's water ice and turn it into rocket fuel. Shackleton Energy Co. (SEC), which was formed in 2007, would sell the propellant from fueling stations in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Because spaceships burn so much fuel just lifting off from Earth, letting them top up in orbit could spur a huge wave of travel and discovery in space, according to SEC founder Bill Stone. And it makes sense to supply the filling stations from the moon, since it's about 15 times cheaper to launch something to LEO from there than from Earth, Stone added.
"In our view, the moon is a stepping stone," Stone told SPACE.com. "What we extract from there will enable the exploration of the inner solar system."
SEC's mining bases would likely be at one or both lunar poles, in craters whose frigid depths have trapped lots of water over the past several billion years. Craters like Cabeus, perhaps, where water ice makes up 5.6 percent of the lunar dirt by weight. Six to eight people might oversee the mining operations in any one location, according to Stone. Initially, these crews might have to stay for a year, but future base dwellers would likely sign on for six-month stints. These crews would live in inflatable habitat modules. Human-tended robots would perform most of the mining, transportation and processing of water ice into fuel. The processing step would take place up in LEO, where huge shipments of water would be converted to rocket propellant, Stone said.
SEC has received lots of interest from investors and is making steady progress, according to Stone. The company intends to send robotic scouting missions to both poles within four years, Stone added, with sales of propellant in LEO following shortly thereafter. "By the end of the decade, there's a high likelihood we'll be up and running," Tietz told SPACE.com. SEC may not be the only private enterprise operating on the moon in 10 years or so. Bigelow Aerospace is considering setting up lunar bases, too. Bigelow designs and builds inflatable space habitats, and SEC may well get its modules from Bigelow, Stone said. Bigelow has already deployed two prototype inflatable modules in space, and last year the company signed deals with six clients interested in using the structures. Space.com
Back to the Moon: How New Lunar Bases Will Work
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| Space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow (left) discusses layout plans of the company's lunar base with Eric Haakonstad, one of the Bigelow Aerospace lead engineers. Bigelow Aerospace |
Bigelow Aerospace factory here, the full-size space station mockups sitting on the warehouse floor look somewhat like puffy white watermelons. The interiors offer a hint of what spacious living in space might look like.
“Every astronaut we have come in here just says, ‘Wow,’ ” said Robert T. Bigelow, the company founder. “They can’t believe the size of this thing.”
Four years from now, the company plans for real modules to be launched and assembled into the solar system’s first private space station. Paying customers — primarily nations that do not have the money or expertise to build a space program from scratch — would arrive a year later. In 2016, a second, larger station would follow. The two Bigelow stations would then be home to 36 people at a time — six times as many as currently live on the International Space Station.
It's been nearly 40 years since people last set foot on the moon, but momentum is building for a return to Earth's nearest neighbor — and for the establishment of a permanent manned presence on lunar soil.
The moon harbors large amounts of water ice, along with lots of other potentially useful compounds. These resources could theoretically support manned lunar bases, which could serve as staging grounds for further exploration of the solar system, and as proving grounds for outposts on Mars. Space.com
What's New on the 2010 Form 1040
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| Due Date is April 18 |
No More Phase-Outs for Itemized Deductions and Exemptions
For years, high-income folks have seen their write-offs for the most popular itemized deduction items (including mortgage interest, state and local income and property taxes, and charitable donations) reduced by a nasty phase-out rule. Another nasty phase-out rule reduced or eliminated personal and dependent exemption deductions. Thankfully, both phase-outs were completely repealed for 2010 as part of the Bush-era tax cuts. So you can write off the full amount of your itemized deductions and exemptions on your 2010 Form 1040 without any worries and without having to fill out phase-out worksheets to penalize yourself. More good news: the recent tax cut extension legislation repealed the phase-outs for 2011 and 2012 as well.
Liberalized Adoption Credit
For 2010, the maximum adoption credit was increased to $13,170 (up from $12,150 in 2009). In addition, the credit was made 100% refundable for the 2010 tax year (previously, it was nonrefundable). That means you'll receive a check for any leftover adoption credit after your federal income tax bill has been reduced to zero. To claim the credit, fill out Form 8839 (Qualified Adoption Expenses), and enter the credit on line 71 of Form 1040.
One-Time Break for Self-Employed Individuals
Self-employed folks can generally deduct their health insurance premiums on page 1 of Form 1040 (use line 29 for 2010). The deduction reduces their federal income tax bills, which is nice. However, the self-employed have never been allowed to deduct those premiums when calculating their self-employment tax bills on Schedule SE. Good news: for 2010 only, you can deduct health insurance premiums on line 3 of Schedule SE. So those premiums will reduce both your income tax bill and your SE tax bill. Unfortunately, this break will not be available for 2011 and beyond unless Congress extends it.
Homebuyer Credit Repayment Rules Kick In
As I explained in an earlier column, you may have to repay part or all of the credit claimed for a 2008 or 2009 home purchase with your 2010 Form 1040. In most cases, however, only those who purchased homes in 2008 will be affected. They will generally have to repay 1/15 of the credit with the 2010 Form 1040. If this rule impacts you, fill out Form 5405 (First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit), and enter the repayment amount as an addition to your tax bill on line 59 of Form 1040.
Real Estate Tax Deduction for Non-Itemizers is Gone
For 2008 and 2009, unmarried individuals who did not itemize could write off up to $500 of state and local real property taxes by claiming an increased standard deduction. Married joint-filing couples could write off up to $1,000. This add-on standard deduction deal for real estate taxes expired at the end of 2009, and it was not reinstated for 2010.
Deductions for Sales Taxes on New Vehicle Purchases Are Gone
The 2009 Stimulus Act created a temporary write-off for non-itemizers who paid state and local sales taxes on new vehicles purchased between 2/17/09 and 12/31/09. The write-off came in the form of an additional standard deduction allowance. Similarly, itemizers were allowed to claim an extra itemized deduction for such taxes. Both breaks lapsed at the end of 2009, and they were not reinstated for 2010.
Break for Unemployment Benefits Is Gone
In 2009, the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits was federal-income-tax-free. This break was not continued for 2010. Therefore, 100% of 2010 unemployment benefits generally must be reported as income on Form 1040 (use line 19).
Your Tax Preparer Might E-File Your Return This Time
Over the last few years, Congress has made tax-law changes that place increasing pressure on professional return preparers to electronically file more and more returns. As a result, your preparer might be forced to e-file your 2010 Form 1040 even if your returns for earlier years have always been done on paper. Get used to it. SmartMoney
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