slip_knot

Well I thoroughly enjoyed his erudite,thoughful and deep musings on the human condition. You dumb fuckers should feel honoured to be on the receiving end of such meaningful contemplation. In fact I think he should be made the "head mod" and all those others fucked off permanently to the retards box......

Here is a good read about how much countries take through income tax. Unbelievably the Swedes , Germans and French are having about 50% of their income plundered. There is also some info about weird and wonderful local state taxes in the USA. My favourite has to be the Tennessee, illegal substance "turn yourself in " tax. Enjoy: Stolen fron the internet The Basics Think your taxes are bad Every year, you grimace as you sign your return. Imagine what it's like in Belgium or Hungary, where taxes can take half your pay. Plus: the wackiest taxes on record. By Debora Vrana Believe it or not, Americans enjoy some of the lowest income tax rates in the world. Today of all days, it might not seem so. “When you look at the overall tax burden, the U.S. is quite low," said Eric Toder, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., and former director of the office of research for the Internal Revenue Service. For a family with one wage-earner and two children, only Iceland and Ireland have a lower income tax burden than the U.S., according to the most recent data for 2005. Looking for a loan? Check out MSN Money's Loan Center At the top, Sweden, Turkey, France and Poland impose the biggest tax burdens on families, but in most of those countries families get added social services, such as secure pensions and health care. “Citizens in these other countries are paying more money, but they are getting more back, in terms of social programs,” said Christopher Heady, head of tax policy for the Paris-based think tank Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. “It’s a choice the electorate makes.” The OECD collects data on 30 member countries and annually calculates what it calls the tax "wedge" for each -- the combined effects of personal income tax, employee and employer social security contributions, payroll taxes and cash benefits. Tax burdens around the world Country Single, no kids Married, 2 kids Country Single, no kids Married, 2 kids Australia 28.3% 16.0% Korea 17.3% 16.2% Austria 47.4% 35.5% Luxembourg 35.3% 12.2% Belgium 55.4% 40.3% Mexico 18.2% 18.2% Canada 31.6% 21.5% Netherlands 38.6% 29.1% Czech Republic 43.8% 27.1% New Zealand 20.5% 14.5% Denmark 41.4% 29.6% Norway 37.3% 29.6% Finland 44.6% 38.4% Poland 43.6% 42.1% France 50.1% 41.7% Portugal 36.2% 26.6% Germany 51.8% 35.7% Slovak Republic 38.3% 23.2% Greece 38.8% 39.2% Spain 39.0% 33.4% Hungary 50.5% 39.9% Sweden 47.9% 42.4% Iceland 29.0% 11.0% Switzerland 29.5% 18.6% Ireland 25.7% 8.1% Turkey 42.7% 42.7% Italy 45.4% 35.2% United Kingdom 33.5% 27.1% Japan 27.7% 24.9% United States 29.1% 11.9% Source: OECD, 2005 data Mysteries of the code In 2003, total federal state and local taxes in the United States were 24.2% of our gross domestic product, ranking among the lowest in the world, with only Mexico at 19.5% with a lower tax rate. Along with the higher taxes, the difference between the U.S. and some of the other industrialized countries are increased social services, such as pensions and health-care funding. But for many Americans laboring to file income taxes before the April 17 deadline, the main complaint is not the tax burden, but that confusing document called the U.S. tax code. “The tax system is much more complicated in America,” said Toder. “Taxes have become a much more stressful and complicated event, even if you are getting money back,” he said. In addition, there are often idiosyncratic taxes each state can levy. These taxes can be as wacky and as quirky as the character of each state. The local taxes can reflect what is important to residents and what activities residents may hope to curb. “Some of these are humorous and some probably don’t bring in much revenue,” said Lily Batchelder, an assistant professor at New York University who specializes in taxes and social policy. “There are a lot of ways we need to simplify taxes.” For example: Last year, Tennessee became the latest of more than 20 states to tax illegal drugs. Under the law, when you acquire an illegal drug, you have 48 hours to report to the state and pay your tax, although you aren‘t required to identify yourself. Once you‘ve paid, you’ll receive stamps to put on your illegal substance to show evidence you paid the tax. You don’t have to identify yourself to pay the tax. To help clean up Chesapeake Bay, Maryland residents must pay a “flush tax” tacked onto septic and sewer bills. In Maine, anyone who grows, purchases or sells blueberries there will pay a tax. In Utah, owners of “sexually explicit businesses,” where someone appears nude or partially nude, must pay a 10% tax. If you want to buy a deck of playing cards in Alabama, be prepared to pay a tax. In Mississippi, you’ll pay a 7% tax on all amusements, unless you are going to hear gospel music and the program is not mixed with “hillbilly or popular singing,” according to tax experts. In Arkansas, you’ll pay a tax if you get a tattoo or nose ring. Canada isn't exempt. In Ontario, boxes of breakfast cereal that contain a toy or bonus item are not subject to retail sales tax, provided the item is not liquor, wine or beer. Bellyaching since the revolution It wasn’t always this way. America, founded after a revolution sparked in part on tax resistance, had few taxes in its early history. From 1791 to 1802, the U.S. government was supported by taxes mostly on distilled spirits, refined sugar, corporate bonds and slaves. In 1817, Congress abandoned all internal taxes, instead relying on taxes levied on imported goods. During the Civil War, however, Congress enacted the nation’s first income tax law. Under that, people earning from $600 to $10,000 per year paid a tax of 3%, and those who made more than $10,000 paid higher tax rates. It was the beginning of our modern income tax system. In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution made the income tax a permanent fixture. The withholding tax on wages was introduced in 1943 and was instrumental in increasing tax collections to $43 billion by 1943. This year, about 132 million tax returns will be filed in the U.S., and about 43 million returns will get back every dollar that was withheld from their paycheck. The remaining 90 million returns will end 2005 having paid about $1 trillion in federal income tax. Noncompliance is hard to estimate, but by most international comparisons, Americans are paying the highest fraction of what they owe, experts said. “So we may bellyache, but we pay,” said Bill Ahern, spokesman for the Tax Foundation Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research group, who said part of that compliance may be the result of fear of the IRS. “But it may also be the amount is more reasonable. The higher the tax, the greater the incentive to evade,” he said. Lady Godiva and wacky taxes Hate these taxes? Well, you can take the path of one of the original tax protesters, Englishwoman Lady Godiva. In the 11th century, she successfully reduced a tax assessment on her husband, the Earl of Mercia, by riding naked on a white horse through the streets of Coventry. In fact, taxes have been around nearly as long as there have been kings and queens, dictators and governments to levy them. And historically, some taxes were even wackier than those we have today. For example: In England, William Pitt the Younger introduced a tax on every property with more than six windows. The taxes, levied during the 1700s and into the early 1800s, were used to pay for military campaigns in Ireland and elsewhere. As a result of the tax, many windows were bricked up. Also in England, during 1795 William Pitt introduced a tax on wig powder when the French fashion for wearing wigs was all the rage. The unpopular tax was short-lived. Salt, such an important commodity that the word "salary" stems from the practice of using it as part of a Roman soldier’s wages, has been taxed periodically by various nations. It has been taxed in China for thousands of years. Americans' resistance to taxes is as strong as ever. And so is confusion and anger about the U.S. tax code. Last year, the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform solicited ideas from the public to find out what exactly is wrong with the system. Complaints poured in from individuals, businesses and experts, with many upset about complexity. The panel is trying to simplify the tax code without losing its progressive nature, which forces Americans to pay more as they earn more. Some suggested a national sales tax that would replace the income tax. Others want a flat tax, exempting the poorest Americans. Some want value-added taxes, or VATs, which are common in Europe. These taxes are collected in small increments at every state of production of an item, such as a car. Whatever the solution in the long run, there’s only one thing to do on April 17. “You gotta pay up. Or ask for an extension,” said Batchelder. Rate this article

I don't mind Iran having low grade uranium with which to produce cheap electricity. The problem is that there is another objective - nuclear weapons. Listening to the things the president of Iran has said convinces me that the world would be a more dangerous place, should they acquire these weapons.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1754360,00.html

This one is extremely crude. A pork pie to the first one who can tell what it says in English: Job Tvojemadj

Hey I like that game of yours, but I don't think Atlantic will approve.... I made 440 feet, whats your best ?

great fun http://www.fastestbows.com/range/deer_elk1.html

Sounds good to me Snafu

You can learn a few by reading the war novels of Sven Hassel.

A careless writer perhaps, or maybe a planted forgery by the police

This is what they found in a jihadists home: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/jihadmanual.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1751797,00.html somebody better tell george dubya........

No I havn't, But I have read about them in newspapers. The one I remember the most is the old guy who got arrested and later was killed in police custody. They hadn't just given him a hiding, some arsehole stood on the old mans chest until he died. The dick head was identified because they had his boot prints on the dead mans shirt. The police did not prosecute, although the offender did retire from the police service. To maintain public confidence they should have prosecuted him for murder/manslaughter, but of course it didn't happen.

Iraq was stomped because they may have secretly had nuclear weapons. Iran may get stomped for trying to acquire nuclear weapons. What I do not understand is this. Neither of these countries have done anything more than North Korea, China, India, Pakistan and possibly others. So why will the others be left alone ? Why were they not stopped acquiring a nuclear capability ? I don't believe it really is as simple as the Iraq and Iran produce oil