Category: News

The Internal Revenue Service has been increasing the number of liens that places on taxpayers. Some watchdog groups are saying that this action actually hurts the taxpayers who want to pay. The issue is coming to a head soon while both sides continue to debate the issue.

The IRS says that liens are only placed after the taxpayer has been notified that they are delinquent. They say taxpayers are given many chances to pay or to enroll in a payment plan. I am sure this issue will continue to be debated.

In Japan, there is a huge fish market. The Tsukijji fish market is home to hundreds of auctions every day where fish are bought and sold. One of the more expensive fish to be had is the giant tuna. A new record price for such a fish was set at the first auction of the year.

The blue fin tuna weighed in at 754 pounds and fetched a record price of $396,000 dollars. This averages out to about $526 dollars per pound. The tuna was bought by the owners of Japan’s Kyubey restaurant.

It was interesting to me to hear that the Navy will ban smoking on submarines starting this week. I had no idea that smoking was allowed on these vessels in the first place. The decision came after a study found that second hand smoke reached dangerous levels when the subs were under water.

While many of the sub crews hail the decision, some do not like the policy. The navy is providing ways to help the smokers quit by providing patches and gum for smokers. I hope those who smoke will be able to quit and can improve their health.

The U.S. senate recently voted to end the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy about gays in the military. The vote was 65 to 31. The pentagon is now looking for ways to implement the policy in such a manner as to keep everyone rights in view. The Obama administration is happy that they have finally won a long standing battle on human rights.

Many republicans are vowing to try to have the policy repealed but it doesn’t look like it will end soon. The debate will surely go on and I have a feeling that this is not the end of the argument. Anyway, I guess we’ll have to see what happens!

One reason the war in Afghanistan has been so troublesome for U.N. forces is that the Taliban are very good at hiding out from our forces. It’s very difficult to kill the enemy if you can’t find them. One thing that is needed is increased cooperation with the neighboring country of Pakistan.

There is some thought that much progress can be made if this could happen. Some officials have been encouraged by the recent helpful disposition of Pakistan. I hope this war can end soon and that our troops can come home.

It seems that the cell phone is causing some problems for the Indian village Lucknow. The people in this part of the world traditionally arrange marriages between their sons and daughters. They do this in part to ensure that boys and girls of the same clan do not marry. There are occasional exceptions though and that is where the cell phone comes in.

It seems that the young girls are using the phones to meet boys and they then arrange to elope. This causes real problems as marrying a member of your own clan is punishable by death. The local village council has decided to ban cell phone use for the girls and to severely limit their use by the boys.

I was glad to hear that Mexican marines shot and killed a drug baron. Ezequiel “Tony Tormenta” Cardenas was killed in a shootout on Friday. The incident happened just across the U.S. border near Brownsville Texas. The shootout caused mayhem in the town but was a victory in the war on drugs.

It took about 150 marines to do the job. Unfortunately, three marines were killed in the firefight. My heart goes out to their families. Mexican drug violence has become increasing a problem and anything that could help is a bonus. I’m glad there is one less bad guy out there and hope the authorities will be able to apprehend or kill many more.