A night of deep darkness.
On a branch of the old fig tree
A frog croaks without cease,
Predicting a storm, a deluge,
and I am drowned in fear.
It is night,
And with night the world seems
like a corpse in the grave;
And in fear I say to myself:
'What if torrential rain falls everywhere?'
'What if the rain does not stop
until the earth sinks into the water
like a small boat?'
In this night of awful darkness
Who can say in what state we will be
when dawn breaks?
Will the morning light make
the frightening face of the storm
disappear?
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
The Hudson Yards project, on Manhattan's west side, is the largest private real estate development in the U.S. Nothing of this scale has been done in New York City since Rockefeller Center was constructed in the 1930s.
Hudson Yards will create 17 million square feet of commercial, residential and retail development over a total of 28 acres with 5,000 new residences and 100 new shops. A new subway stop, a new public school and a new luxury hotel are also on the way. The first commercial tower — the 52-story Ten Hudson Yards — will open in early 2016. It will be home to major brands such as Coach, SAP and L’Oreal.
Now here’s the catch: Most of the project is being built on a platform above an existing and fully operational train yard.
It’s been a challenge to the property’s developer, privately-held Related Companies. Because foundations can be put in between tracks, the train tracks determine what can be built and where. “That may or may not be the right place for for our building so it gets a little complicated,” Jay Cross, president of Related Hudson Yards, tells Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer in the accompanying video. There are a total of 30 tracks in the yards and Related can only shut down four tracks at a time to work. “After years of great planning for this, it’s basically been a military operation,” he says.
And it has been years. Related was selected as the project’s developer in May 2008. “Then the world fell apart in October,” says Cross, alluding to the onset of the financial crisis. “But it actually worked to our advantage,” he says. The company used that time to complete municipal and other approvals. By the time the U.S. was coming out of the recession, Cross says, Related signed its first major tenant, Coach. Construction began in the fall of 2011.
The project is still in its first phase, being built over the Eastern Rail Yards. By 2017, phase two will begin over the Western Rail Yards closer to the Hudson River where eight more buildings will go up, mostly residential. Related hopes to complete the project by “the mid 2020s.”
The price tag of the Hudson Yards project is upwards of $20 billion. “We use just about every kind of financing,” Cross says. “Just because the volume of dollars is so great that you have to go after every source.” Among the financing methods Related has turned to is the federal government’s controversial EB-5 program where individuals from overseas can invest as part of a path to legal residency. Related has raised more than $600 million in the program so far.
Here’s how it works: Foreign individuals invest between $500,000 and $1 million in a project that will create at least 10 jobs per investor. The EB-5 program was created by Congress in 1990 and has garnered support from the likes of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Sheldon Adelson. But numerous reports of fraud have surfaced related to the program and there is a growing push to reform. Nevertheless, it’s become a hot source for real estate financing.
Cross says EB-5 is just one avenue Related has used to secure funds. “You go to every bank. You go to non-banks, you go to sovereign wealth funds, you go to other equity investors, so I think virtually every type of real estate investor in the world, either we're going to them or they're coming to us,” he says. “EB-5 is one part of that and it's been very successful for us.”
Cross says other investors and consortiums of banks will make up the balance of the required financing.
The Hudson Yards development has been years in the making. A little more than a decade ago, then-NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's nearly four-year quest to build a football stadium in the area was voted down. The plan was supposed to spark the redevelopment of the West Side and lure the 2012 Olympics to New York. Of course, that didn’t happen. There was also a failed effort to move the Yankees to the West Side in the 1990s.
But this isn’t just a New York story. Cross says projects like Hudson Yards are “advancing the cause of cities.” According to the United Nations, 54% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. That figure is expected to increase to 66% by 2050.
“That's where you get upward mobility," Cross says. "That's where the jobs are that can enhance the quality of life... We hope to pioneer things here in Hudson Yards which we can do on scale and then roll them out in lots of other cities.”
“That's where you get upward mobility," Cross says. "That's where the jobs are that can enhance the quality of life... We hope to pioneer things here in Hudson Yards which we can do on scale and then roll them out in lots of other cities.”
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article appeared with an incorrect title for Jay Cross. He is president of Related Hudson Yards, not Hudson Related Yards. Also, 17 million square feet includes residential space in addition to commercial and retail space as the earlier version indicated. This piece has been updated.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
New Research: Can Our Brain Repair Itself?794 views
Our brain is the one thing we can never replace. Even at our most wild medical fantasies, like recently with the body transplant, we know we cannot replace our brains. Brains get damaged over time, leading to dementia, Alzheimer's disease and many other terrible conditions. But can the brain repair itself, and can we help it? This fascinating talk will update you on the most recent developments in the field.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Antioxidant-Rich Berries Beyond Blueberries
Food NetworkMay 8, 2015
By Kiri Tannenbaum
Blueberries are hopefully already on the list of superfoods incorporated into your weekly diet. Juicy and sweet, blueberries contain high levels of antioxidants and lower blood pressure, and 2/3 cup of these gems delivers 14 percent of your daily fiber. Recent studies also show they may reduce the risk of breast cancer, improve cardiovascular health and slow down cognitive decline in the elderly.
But don’t limit yourself to the magical blueberry. Berries from strawberries to chokeberries are excellent sources for antioxidants and polyphenols — micronutrients that research shows prevent degenerative diseases. Here are five berries you can try right now that pack a nutritious punch like the almighty blueberry.
Goji
Benefits: Native to China, these nutrient-dense berries have been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine for their high levels of vitamin A, vitamin B and iron as well as powerful carotenoids, which preserve eyesight and prevent macular degeneration.
Taste: Raw, the goji berry may be a shock to the system. Some describe the flavor as bitter and others as a cross between a cherry and a cranberry, with more of the tartness of the latter. Dried, it is a bit sweeter and more pleasant-tasting. Stick with the dried.
Best In: Goji Berry Trail Mix
Goji
Benefits: Native to China, these nutrient-dense berries have been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine for their high levels of vitamin A, vitamin B and iron as well as powerful carotenoids, which preserve eyesight and prevent macular degeneration.
Taste: Raw, the goji berry may be a shock to the system. Some describe the flavor as bitter and others as a cross between a cherry and a cranberry, with more of the tartness of the latter. Dried, it is a bit sweeter and more pleasant-tasting. Stick with the dried.
Best In: Goji Berry Trail Mix
Acai
Benefits: The beautiful palm trees of the Amazon can be credited for the antioxidant-rich acai berry. While some believe the acai berry wards off arthritis and cancer, reduces cholesterol and speeds up weight loss, there is no evidence to support those claims. It is known, however, that the berries contain omega-9, a fatty acid and powerful anti-inflammatory, and have antioxidant levels higher than cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries or blueberries.
Taste: The berry is delicious on its own, and Brazilians guzzle its juice or use it in fruit smoothies. Often it’s sold as frozen pulp; adding a little sweetness with honey, agave or maple syrup will bring out the flavor.
Acai Breakfast Bowl
Benefits: The beautiful palm trees of the Amazon can be credited for the antioxidant-rich acai berry. While some believe the acai berry wards off arthritis and cancer, reduces cholesterol and speeds up weight loss, there is no evidence to support those claims. It is known, however, that the berries contain omega-9, a fatty acid and powerful anti-inflammatory, and have antioxidant levels higher than cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries or blueberries.
Taste: The berry is delicious on its own, and Brazilians guzzle its juice or use it in fruit smoothies. Often it’s sold as frozen pulp; adding a little sweetness with honey, agave or maple syrup will bring out the flavor.
Acai Breakfast Bowl
From Food Network Kitchen
Ingredients
Two 4-ounce packets unsweetened frozen acai puree
1 medium banana
½ cup blueberries
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons granola
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
Directions
Two 4-ounce packets unsweetened frozen acai puree
1 medium banana
½ cup blueberries
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons granola
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
Directions
Friday, May 8, 2015
Know the Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease
There are two types of people in this world. Those who want to know when something is wrong with them or the ones they love, and those that prefer to ignore the problem. The first is harder, much harder. It means facing the truth head on and taking your lumps, whatever they may be.
The alternative is easier, at first, but the repercussions of avoiding early detection mean a much more rapid slide into dementia, without drugs that can slow the disease down and enhance functioning. True, there is no final cure for the disease just yet, but early detection can give a much longer time with low to no symptoms.
Don't be alarmed if you feel like you have one or two of these symptoms, they may have different causes such as natural aging. But this should be a list you're aware of, especially if they persist or worsen.
Click on the image to see it in full size.
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Monday, May 4, 2015
Pedophilia
News Pedophilia is a Cornerstone of Islam
Pedophilia is a Cornerstone of Islam
image: http://ufp.flywheelsites.com/
Child molestation is not only widespread throughout the Muslim world, but is completely accepted as a standard practice by Muslim men. In fact, in 2012, Pentagon lawyers, at the request of the Obama administration drafted an Army manual which forbade any criticism of child molestation by troops serving in Muslim countries.
The 75-page handbook stated troops should avoid “making derogatory comments about the Taliban, advocating women’s rights, any criticism of pedophilia, directing any criticism towards Afghans, mentioning homosexuality and homosexual conduct” or “anything related to Islam,” Judicial Watch reported.
Of course, when speaking on the topic of pedophilia in Islamic culture, one cannot ignore the original ‘chomo’ (prison slang for child molester)…the prophet himself, Muhammad.
Muhammad married his bride, Aisha at age six, but reportedly waited until she was 9-years-old to deflower the youngster.
In 2011, Muslim cleric Dr. Salih bin Fawzan tried to rationalize Muhammad’s criminal behavior in the following (rather laughable text):
And, in the tradition of the pedophile prophet, several so-called ‘moderate Muslim’ countries have no minimum age for girls to marry, these include: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen.
Several years ago, the minimum age for marriage in Yemen was 15, but that was abolished in 1999. Unofficially, Yemeni clerics agreed that puberty begins at the age of nine, therfore that is when husbands should begin having sex with their child brides, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
Read more at http://universalfreepress.com/
The 75-page handbook stated troops should avoid “making derogatory comments about the Taliban, advocating women’s rights, any criticism of pedophilia, directing any criticism towards Afghans, mentioning homosexuality and homosexual conduct” or “anything related to Islam,” Judicial Watch reported.
Of course, when speaking on the topic of pedophilia in Islamic culture, one cannot ignore the original ‘chomo’ (prison slang for child molester)…the prophet himself, Muhammad.
Muhammad married his bride, Aisha at age six, but reportedly waited until she was 9-years-old to deflower the youngster.
The story of the prophet’s marriage to Aisha reveals to us aspects like the prophet’s conduct with Aisha, and more importantly the aspect regarding the relationship between the husband and wife, to show how one should treat his wife, just as the prophet did with Aisha.It gets even more sickening…
We know that Asia’s mother went to take her down from the swing that she was playing on to fix her hair and prepare her for the prophet so he could enter her [have sex with her]—and she did that all on the same day.
So you see, she was playing with her fellow playmates even though her day of consummation was that very same day—and all that they did was to fix her up for the prophet so he could have sex with her.This same Saudi cleric issued a fatwa stating that there should be no minimum requirement age for girls to marry, “even if they are in the cradle,” and simply that “they are capable of being placed beneath and bearing the weight of the men.”
Now what do we see when the prophet married Aisha? Did he go to her and say “Okay that’s it, you’re married, you’re now a grown up, you’re supposed to be mature, you need to do this and that; you need to forget about your toys and your little friends; you are now a wife of a man, you have to see to my needs” and that’s it?
No. The prophet allowed her to continue playing with her toy dolls—indeed, the prophet even sometimes gave her such things to play with.
And, in the tradition of the pedophile prophet, several so-called ‘moderate Muslim’ countries have no minimum age for girls to marry, these include: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen.
Several years ago, the minimum age for marriage in Yemen was 15, but that was abolished in 1999. Unofficially, Yemeni clerics agreed that puberty begins at the age of nine, therfore that is when husbands should begin having sex with their child brides, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
Read more at http://universalfreepress.com/
how much income is taxed
OECD tax burdens on wages rising without tax rate increases
Taxing Wages 2015 says the tax burden has increased in 23 OECD countries and fallen in 10 during this period.
Most of the increased tax resulted from wages has resulted from wages rising faster than tax allowances and credits. In 2014, only seven countries had higher statutory income tax rates for workers on average earnings than in 2010, and in six countries they were lower.
In 2014, the tax burden on the average worker across the OECD increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 36.0%, even though no OECD country increased its statutory income tax rates on the average worker. The tax burden increased in 23 of the 34 OECD countries, fell in nine and remained unchanged in two.
Taxing Wages 2015, provides cross-country comparative data on income tax paid by employees as well as the associated social security contributions made by employees and employers; both are key factors when individuals consider their employment options and businesses make hiring decisions.
The tax and social security contribution burden is measured by the ‘tax wedge’ - or the total taxes paid by employees and employers, minus family benefits received as a percentage of the total labour costs of the employer.
This year’s report contains a special chapter on labour income in five major non-OECD economies: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The analysis shows that there is significant variation between these countries. In 2013, tax wedges in Brazil and China for the average single worker were similar to those observed in many OECD countries. In contrast, employees in India, Indonesia and South Africa faced tax wedges that were much lower than in the vast majority of OECD economies.
The mix of labour taxes also varies across these non-OECD countries with social security contributions comprising the bulk of the tax burden measures for the model households that are covered in four of the five countries, with South Africa being the exception.
One of the most striking findings of this analysis is that unlike the vast majority of OECD countries, family payments play very little or no role in reducing the tax burden on workers with children in these non-OECD economies.
Other key findings in the report:
Tax burdens continued to rise in 2014
- The highest average tax burdens for childless single workers earning the average wage in their country were observed in Belgium (55.6%), Austria (49.4%), Germany (49.3%) and Hungary (49.0%). The lowest were in Chile (7%), New Zealand (17.2%), Mexico (19.5%) and Israel (20.5%).
- Across OECD countries the average tax and social security burden on employment incomes increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 36.0% in 2014. This followed rises of 0.2, 0.1 and 0.5 percentage points in the three years since 2010. These rises reversed the decline from 36.1% to 35.1% between 2007 and 2010.
- Personal income taxes were the main contributor to an increasing total tax wedge in 18 of the 23 countries with an increase. The largest increase was in Ireland (+1.1 percentage points) where a higher proportion of earnings was subject to tax as the statutory tax rates, thresholds and basic tax credit amounts remained unchanged since 2011.
- Personal income taxes and employer social security contributions were the primary factors in countries where the tax wedge fell. The only country with a decline of more than one percentage point was Greece (-1.2 percentage points) due to decreasing employer social security contributions (-0.9 percentage points). The overall employer social security contribution rate was reduced from 27.46% to 24.56% from July 2014.
Tax burdens in families with children
- The highest tax wedges for one-earner families with two children at the average wage were in Greece (43.4%), Belgium (40.6%) and France (40.5%). New Zealand had the smallest tax wedge for these families (3.8%), followed by Chile (7%), Switzerland (9.8%) and Ireland (9.9%). The average for OECD countries was 26.9%.
- Due to reduced family income supplement and frozen basic family benefit payments, Ireland saw the largest increase in the tax burden for one earner families with children (+1.5 percentage points) compared with a 1.1 percentage points increase for the single average worker.
- In all OECD countries except Chile, Greece and Mexico, the tax wedge for workers with children is lower than that for single workers without children. The differences are particularly large in the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and Slovenia.
Tax burden on labour income in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa
- The tax wedge figures for the single average worker in 2013 were between 33% and 34% in Brazil and China (where the modelling focuses on Shanghai); slightly below the OECD average of 35.9%. The corresponding averages in India, Indonesia and South Africa, ranging from zero to 14.3%, were low compared with the vast majority of OECD countries.
- In Brazil, China, India and Indonesia, the average worker pays little or no income tax and the employer social security contributions component forms 70% to 80% of the tax wedge. In South Africa, the picture is different, where personal income tax as a percentage of total labour costs (11.4%) is just 2 percentage points below the OECD average and comprises around 80% of the total tax wedge.
- In contrast with the OECD average, the presence of children has little or no effect on the tax burden in these non-OECD countries. In most cases, working families with children face the same tax wedge as their childless counterparts. The exception is Brazil, where the second earner with 33% of the average wage receives the “salário família”, reducing the tax wedge slightly.
Non-tax compulsory payments
In some countries a range of insurance-related benefits are provided through compulsory payments to privately-managed pension funds or insurance companies rather than through payments of social security contributions to government. More information on these “non-tax compulsory payments” is included in the OECD Tax Database.Further information including the key results, is available at: www.oecd.org/tax/taxing-wages-20725124.htm. This webpage includes "Country notes" for each OECD member country.
Journalists should contact David Bradbury (+33 1 45 24 15 97) or Maurice Nettley (+33 1 45 24 96 17) from the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, or OECD Media Division (+33 1 45 24 97 00).
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