New york Depends it's Amazon Tax in court

Amazon.com Inc and Overstock.com told a New York state court that they should be allowed to not charge state sales tax.

In the State of New York Court of Appeals, represent one of the recent “Amazon taxes” meant to make online retailers start charging state sales taxes.

Amazon and Overstock attorneys argued before the court that a 2008 New York law requiring companies with affiliates in the state to collect sales tax was unconstitutional.

For New York, millions of dollars in tax collections ride on the court's decision, expected by June.

Retailers with a physical presence in any state must remit sales tax on purchases made either in a store or online.

But a 1992 Supreme Court decision, Quill Corp v. North Dakota, said retailers lacking a "nexus" of operation in a state need not collect sales tax.

The New York law applies the nexus concept in a novel way. It says that websites with purchase buttons for Amazon or other national retailers get fees based on sales delivered that make the sites local solicitors for the larger retailers.

Lowercourts have sided with the state and found in favor of the law. But on Wednesday, some members of the five-justice panel took clear interest in the companies' argument that web referrals do not constitute a local sales force, but rather are something more akin to buying newspaper advertising.

The idea that putting an ad in the newspaper makes the paper an advertiser's sales force is "absurd" argued Randy Mastro, a partner with law firm Gibson Dunn, representing Amazon.

Steven Wu, attorney for the state, said web purchase buttons differ from advertising. "Advertising gets people to the door of a business, soliciting gets them to the register," said Wu.

Between the law's passage in 2008 and February 2012, online-only retailers collected and remitted to New York $360 million in sales tax on more than $4 billion in transactions, according to the state's Department of Taxation.

Legislation that could resolve these issues has been introduced in the U.S. Congress, but has not come to a vote. The issue may end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mastro said the case will be appealed no matter the result.

The cases are Overstock.com v. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New York State Court of Appeals No. APL-2012-00017, and Amazon.com v. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New York State Court of Appeals No.APL-2012-00045.

Source: Yahoo.com

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10 ways to overcome stress

Stress can sneak into your life and turn it upside down. It can wreck your career , health or your relationships. Stress is a major problem of many people, a hectic schedule , stressful jobs, a chaotic home life, bills to worry about, and bad habits such as unhealthy eating , drinking and smoking can lead to a mountain of stress.

Here are some ways to overcome some stress just pick and choose the ones that will work best for you and give them a try.

Onething at a time.

Focus as much as possible on doing one thing at a time.

Simplify your schedule

Hectic schedule is a major cause of stress. Simplify by reducing the number of commitments in your life to just the essential ones.

Get moving

Do something each day to be active – walk , hike , play a sport, go for a run , do yoga, it doesn't have to be grueling to reduce stress.

Develop one healthy habit this month

Other than getting active, improving your health overall will help with the stress.

Do something calming

What do you enjoy that calms down? For many people, it can be the “get moving” activity discussed above. But it could also be taking a nap, or a bath, or reading, or having sex (which can also be considered a “get moving” activity if you do it for longer than 5 minutes). Other people are calmed by housework or yard work. Some people like to meditate, or take a nature walk. Find your calming activity and try to do it each day.

Simplify your finances.

Finances can be a drain on your energy and a major stressor. If that’s true with you, figure out ways to simplify things. Automate savings and bill payments and debt payments.

Havea blast

Have fun each day, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

Get creative.

Throwing yourself into a creative activity is another great way to de-stress and to

prevent stress.

Declutter

This is a favorite of mine. I like to take 20-30 minutes and just go through a room, getting rid of stuff we don’t use or need anymore.

Be early.

Being late can be very stressful. Try to leave earlier by getting ready earlier, or by scheduling more space between events.

Source: advancelifeskills

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How to lose Weight Fast?

Working on weight loss then you want results fast? You can safely lose 3 or more pounds a week at home with a healthy diet and lots of exercise.

Here's how..

If you burn 500 more calories than you eat every day for a week, you should lose about 1-2 pounds.If you want to lose weight faster, you'll need to eat less and exercise more.

For instance, if you take in 1,050 to 1,200 calories a day, and exercise for one hour per day, you could lose 3-5 pounds in the first week, or more if you weigh more than 250 pounds. It's very important not to cut calories any further -- that's dangerous.

Limiting salt and starches may also mean losing more weight at first -- but that's mostly fluids, not fat.

Eating a diet that minimizes starches, added sugars, and animal fat from meat and dairy foods. For rapid weight loss, focusing  on fruits, veggies, egg whites, soy products, skinless poultry breasts, fish, shellfish, nonfat dairy foods, and 95% lean meat.

Here are more tips from Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of TheFlexitarian Diet:

• Eat vegetables to help you feel full.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Get tempting foods out of your home.
• Stay busy -- you don't want to eat just because you're bored.
• Eat only from a plate, while seated at a table. No grazing in front of the 'fridge.
• Don't skip meals.

Keeping a food journal -- writing down everything you eat -- can also help you stay on track.

Source: webmd

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25% of College Students Who Use Facebook are Depressed

Latest research report publish in august 2012 by University of Wisconsin shows that students in colleges who use Facebook often do post comments with depression on regular basis. According to the research report 25% of students profiles are suggested to have depressive symptoms with 2.5% students profiles met criteria for major depression. Study also revealed that students are more likely to discuss their depression online compare to real life.

To make things worst another study by University of Belgrade found significant correlation between Facebook and high school student’s depression.Similarly, Last Year a study by American Academy of Pediatrics released that Facebook and other social networking sites can be hazardous to children mental and physical health.Recently Facebook depression has been the most talkative issue on social networking forums and to those people who are very concerning about how Facebook causing depression. Like women are more likely to suffer from facebook depression than men.

Source: sickfacebook

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IS Taylor Swift the worst Ex-Girlfriend Ever?

To the next famous guy who decides to date Taylor Swift: Be prepared to get some unwanted shout outs well after you and the songstress have broken up.

Swift made plenty of headlines after her Grammy performance of her tune “We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together” during which Swift stopped mid-song with the line: "So he calls me up and he's like, 'I still love you,' the 23-year-old chirped, putting on a bit of a British accent, in what many believed was an imitation of her most recent ex-boyfriend, pop star Harry Styles. “And I'm like, 'I'm sorry, I'm busy opening up the Grammys. And we're never getting back together, like, ever.'”

Her mission may not have been accomplished though, as Styles took the high road when asked about Swift and her performance on a British radio show this week.

Click here for more …

Source: yahoo

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Mardi Gras Merriment Beyond Bourbon Street Festival

The final day of indulgence before the fasting and penance of Lent begins. While the revelry of New Orleans tends to grab the spotlight, you can find some Mardi Gras traditions elsewhere.

FattedOx

Mobile, Ala., calls itself "Mother of Mystics" because historians believe the first North American celebration of Mardi Gras dates to the early 1700s, when Mobile was under French rule and settlers brought their Catholic customs with them.

"They actually participated with the slaughtering of the ox — the fatted ox, of course, which is where Fat Tuesday comes from and the term Mardi Gras," says Judi Gulledge, executive director of the Mobile Carnival Association. "They would use that as a spoof and parade the head of the ox through the streets," she says.

You're not likely to see a bloody ox head on parade Tuesday. But the streets of Mobile will be crowded with throngs who come to watch the city's mystic societies parade on colorful floats through downtown. People shout, "Throw me something, Mister!" as masked and costumed riders toss beads, toys, trinkets and a special sweet treat. "The throw du jour in Mobile would be the coveted MoonPie," Gulledge says.

Mobile's Mardi Gras has grown in popularity, with nearly a million people attending this year's parades and masquerade balls, the elaborate royal affairs put on by the secret mystic societies.

Gulledge says costumes and masks have long been associated with Mobile's celebration. She says the tradition dates back to the old country when all the households in a village would throw a big party the final day before Lent to rid their homes of any fat, considered a luxury.

"Some of the aristocrats would see how they were celebrating and would want to party with them," Gulledge says. "But of course they couldn't be seen cavorting with the lowly peasants." So they put on disguises to join in the fun.

Dancing And Buffoonery

In southwest Louisiana, disguises are part of another Fat Tuesday practice — the rural Mardi Gras run or "Courir de Mardi Gras." It's a Cajun tradition that evokes French medieval customs. Revelers go door to door, collecting live chickens and other ingredients for a communal gumbo.

"Led by a flag-bearing capitaine, this colorful and noisy procession of masked and costumed men on horses and wagons go from house to house in the countryside asking for charity in return for a performance of dancing and buffoonery," writes Pat Mire of the Louisiana Folklife Program.

Once the team has chased enough chickens to fill enough pots to feed the town, the gumbo feast is on. Dancing, singing and a bit of drinking ensue. One of the more colorful "Courir de Mardis Gras" is found in the town of Mamou, La., in Evangeline Parish.

That kind of local flavor typifies Mardi Gras celebrations in smaller communities. For instance, in the fishing village of Orange Beach, Ala., paraders tow decorated boats as Mardi Gras floats. In Pensacola, Fla., you're likely to see a pirate or two when the Krewe of Wrecks parades at the beach. And in Biloxi, Miss., children take to the streets pulling decorated wagons.

Wherever the festival, "catch what you can today," as former Mobile Mardi Gras Queen Catherine Van Antwerp Boykin once told me years ago. Because at midnight, the party's over. "It's time to put on your sackcloth and start repenting," said Boykin, who died in 1998.

Or, as Mark Twain wrote I Life on the Mississippi: "The grace-line between the worldly season and the holy one is reached."

Source: npr.org

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Sony Unveils Next-Gen PlayStation

Sony unveiled the PlayStation4, which represents a shift from thinking of the PlayStation as a simply “a box or console” to simply the best place to play games, Sony executives said.

Sony did not actually show the PSP4 and they only say that it will available in time for 2013 holiday season and pricing was not mentioned.

"PlayStation4 will unleash imaginations to create next-gen experiences that surpass gamers' wildest expectations, while also allowing developers to explore other business models," Andrew House, president and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, said at a launch event. The PS4 is "founded on a conviction that we must give gamers the kind of multi-dimensional experiences they expect and observe."

The PS4 runs an x86 processor, as well as an enhanced PC GPU. It will have 8GB of high-speed unified memory, as well as system memory backed by local storage. For more information cleck here...

Source: psmag

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