IRS fights identity theft

IRS cracks down on Identity Theft

When your information is stolen it can be time consuming, freighting and downright aggravating.  Identity Theft crimes have skyrocketed since the invention of the internet.

Identity Theft also comes in the form of tax crimes and the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department announced this week the results of a massive national sweep cracking down on suspected identity theft perpetrators as part of a stepped-up effort against refund fraud and identity theft.

Working with the Justice Department’s Tax Division and local U.S. Attorneys’ offices, the nationwide effort targeted 105 people in 23 states. The coast-to-coast effort took place over the last week and included indictments, arrests and the execution of search warrants involving the potential theft of thousands of identities and taxpayer refunds. In all, 939 criminal charges are included in the 69 indictments and information related to identity theft.

In addition, IRS auditors and investigators conducted extensive compliance visits to money service businesses in nine locations across the country in the past week. The approximately 150 visits occurred to help ensure these check-cashing facilities aren’t facilitating refund fraud and identity theft.

“This unprecedented effort against identity theft sends a strong, unmistakable message to anyone considering participating in a refund fraud scheme this tax season,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “We are aggressively pursuing cases across the nation with the Justice Department, and people will be going to jail. This is part of a much wider effort underway at the IRS to help protect taxpayers.”

“The Justice Department is working closely with the IRS to investigate, prosecute, and punish tax refund crimes committed through the theft of identities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Tax Division. “Now, more than ever, we must remain vigilant against the unauthorized use of identification information to defraud the U.S. government.”

The national effort is part of a comprehensive identity theft strategy the IRS has embarked on that is focused on preventing, detecting and resolving identity theft cases as soon as possible. In addition to the law-enforcement crackdown, the IRS has stepped up its internal reviews to spot false tax returns before tax refunds are issued as well as working to help victims of the identity theft refund schemes.

The law-enforcement sweep started last week across the country, reflecting investigative efforts stretching back months and even years.

Beyond the criminal actions, the IRS enforcement personnel conducted a special sweep last week and on Monday to visit 150 money services businesses to help make sure these businesses are not knowingly or unknowingly facilitating identity theft or refund fraud. The visits occurred in nine high-risk places identified by the IRS covering areas in and surrounding Atlanta, Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

In addition, the IRS has more than 250 check-cashing operations under audit across the country and will be looking for indicators of identity theft as part of the exam effort.

The information from these audits and compliance visits will be used to assist continuing IRS investigations into refund fraud and identity theft.

The IRS also is taking a number of additional steps this tax season to prevent identity theft and detect refund fraud before it occurs. These efforts includes designing new identity theft screening filters that will improve the IRS’s ability to spot false returns before they are processed and before a refund is issued, as well as expanded efforts to place identity theft indicators on taxpayer accounts to track and manage identity theft incidents.

To help taxpayers, the IRS earlier this month created a new, special section on IRS.gov dedicated to identity theft matters, including YouTube videos, tips for taxpayers and a special guide to assistance. The information includes how to contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit and tips to protect against “phishing” schemes that can lead to identity theft.

ha ha ha ha

THE WALKING DEAD – Season Two Premiere Analysis: The Fuck Up List…

THE WALKING DEAD – Season Two Premiere Analysis: The Fuck Up List…

19OCT

I wasn’t disappointed enough with Season 1 to write a review COUGH… scathing analysis. However after three minutes of the Season 2 Premiere I quickly changed my mind.

The Season starts off with a recap of how awful the 1st season was which I brought back fond memories of wasting hours of my life hoping the actors would suddenly learn how to act.

Then it kicks in with the main character Rick Grimes talking about his feelings over a walkie talkie to someone from the first or second episode thats been dead for weeks. It quickly moves to their caravan of survivors rolling out of ATL to Fort Bennett. They quickly become stuck on the highway due to overturned cars and gridlocked traffic. Oh and then their 30 year old RV surprisingly breaks down…

FUCK UP #1 – In the Zombie Apocalypse, invest in new whips and equipment and by INVEST I mean STEAL something new that isn’t 30 FUCKING YEARS OLD. Nobody gives a shit what you steal; EVERYONE IS FUCKING DEAD.

As the kids wander off in a sea of cars and they all meander away solo to reluctantly scavenge supplies, an old man on a roof keeping watch doesn’t see a pack of zombies walk up behind him from the direction they just came 10 minutes ago (somehow driving right past a pack of 200 zombies?). Finally, they notice they have company. They are 50 yards away… Officer Rick Grimes stands among the cars with his sniper rifle breaking all rules of having a fuckin sniper rifle in your hands.

FUCK UP #2 – Put someone with a SNIPER RIFLE and better vision than a 70 year old on fucking roof for look out detail.

He warns the group of the impending horror and has everyone hide in the safest places possible with the easiest way to escape… underneath cars and trucks.

FUCK UP #3 – Don’t hide from a wandering herd of zombies underneath cars and trucks. No where to run and you have to watch your buddies get eaten alive if they are seen.

The stupid blonde (that put her hand BEHIND her sisters head before blowing her head off in the last episode) finds herself in the RV trying to solve the impossible puzzle of reassembling her handgun which is in a mere 5 pieces. She suddenly realizes she’s in the midst of a few hundred zombies and brings all her gun pieces into the shower dropping them and making noise.

FUCK UP #4 – They didn’t let this bitch die in the shower.

One of the last zombies find the little girl and she runs into the woods with two zombies chasing her. Rick Grimes gives pursuit and rolls down a hill losing his rifle in the process… He still has his Sheriff issue circa 1875 giant chrome revolver.

FUCK UP #5… ughhh don’t lose your weapons…

Rick Grimes finds the girl, hides her, runs a quarter mile, bonks the zombies on the head with a rock and smashes their brains out, and when he comes back three minutes later the girl has wandered away and completely disappeared thus wasting more of my life.

FUCK UP #5 – Bonk them with rocks without losing a little girl and wasting 2 days. Actually just fuckin shoot them. This decision ends up fucking him sideways.

Him and some other men search for the girl until dark with no luck and continue the next day. Also the son conveniently finds a bag of the entire line of Gerber Bear Gryls machetes, knives and hatchets. (Yay for shameless product placement…) They resume the search in the morning with no luck. The law of stupid decisions has a chain of negative reactions…

Dumb bitch walking thru woods with a machete resting on her neck...

FUCK UP #6 – The group is too incompetent to split up and cover more ground despite having a large amount of functioning guns.

They can’t find her and the most of the group gets sent back to the RV. At this point I realize that they are almost all walking around with purses and shitty backpacks and clothes. One lady is wearing a doyle sweater shirt… she must have checked the weather forecast.

FUCK UP #7 – Don’t go on a Search & Rescue hike in the woods with bags and food you can’t easily run with if needed. Wear legitimate clothes.

For a lack of having his walkie talkie, Rick talks to Jesus this time and makes me loathe the profession of acting. I’m still waiting for someone in the cast to die…  Oh and I mean in real life, not on the show.

Rick, his son, and Shane Walsh, his partner are walking back through the woods when they see a white tail deer in their path. Shane levels his gun to shoot it but the son Carl unexplainably walks towards it and Rick calls Shane off. The men smile gaily while Carl walks towards the deer (in his blaze orange jacket)… and eats a fuckin bullet in the chest that passes right through the deer. PWNED.  Must have been one of those domesticated deers that don’t give a shit if walk up to them despite the fact there 3 men with guns standing close by.

FUCK UP #8 – If you are in a survival situation, SHOOT THE FUCKING DEER.

Is it wrong that I cheered out loud when the boy got shot? Has retard karma finally come full circle for this group? Don’t know and don’t care, all I know is that someone got smoked in this episode and that’s the only reason I’m watching it.

I also found it HILARIOUS that the reason the girl got lost is because Rick didn’t want to shoot his gun to save her life and his son just got smoked through the LUNG by someone merely catching a MEAL. HA! IRONY! See ya next week bitches!

Disclaimer: Yes I have Zombie OCD when it comes to attention to detail.  Go fuck yourself!

Super Bowl Nachos

Total Time:

30 min

Prep

15 min

Cook

15 min

Yield:

4 entree servings

Level:

Easy

Ingredients

• 2 bags corn tortilla chips in 2 colors or different flavors, such as blue corn, red corn, yellow corn, lime flavored, chili flavored or black bean chips -- pick 2 favorites

Pico de Gallo Salsa:

• 4 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped, for medium to hot heat level
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup, 2 handfuls, cilantro leaves, finely chopped -- substitute parsley if cilantro is not to your liking
• Salt

Beef and Beans Topping:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dark chili powder
• 1 1/2 ground cumin, half a palmful
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce, giving you medium to hot heat level
• 1 can black beans, 15 ounces, drained

Cheese Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded, about 2 1/2 cups

Additional toppings to choose from, optional:

• Sour cream
• Chopped scallions
• Chopped black olives
• Diced pimento
• Sliced avocado, dressed with lemon juice
• Hot pepper sauces

Directions

Arrange a mixture of 2 varieties of corn chips on a very large platter or use your broiler pan as a platter.

Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and set aside for flavors to marry.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, onion and peppers to the pan and saute 2 minutes, then add meat and crumble with wooden spoon. Season meat with salt, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper sauce. Cook meat 5 minutes, then stir in beans and reduce heat to low.

In a medium sauce pot, melt butter and add flour to it. Cook flour and butter 1 to 2 minutes over moderate heat, then whisk in milk. When milk comes to a bubble, stir in cheese with a wooden spoon. Remove cheese sauce from the heat.

Pour cheese sauce evenly over the massive spread of chips and top evenly with beef and beans and the pico de gallo. UBER NACHOS! Serve immediately as is or, garnish with your choice of extra toppings from the toppings list.

embargoed tattoo

Archaeopteryx: The Embargoed Tattoo

A fair number of scientists like to get a tattoo to celebrate their research. Ryan Carney, a biologist at Brown University has taken the practice one step further. He’s gotten a tattoo that shows the key finding of a paper he and his colleagues have just published today. They studied a fossil feather from Archaeopteryx, the iconic bird (or almost-bird). They conclude it looked just like this tattoo.

Carney collaborated on the research with a team of scientists who have developed a method to reconstruct colors from fossils. One source of colors in animals is a cellular structure called a melanosome. Depending on the size, shape, and spacing of melanosomes, they can produce a range of hues. It turns out that melanosomes are incredibly rugged, sometimes enduring for millions of years.

As I wrote in the New York Times in 2009, the scientists first found melanosomes in the ink sac of a fossil squid and then went on to look at a 47-million-year-old bird feather.  Then they went on to look at the feathers and feather-like structures of dinosaurs, reconstructing some of the colors of their plumage. The color pattern, which included stripes and tufts, hints that dinosaurs may have been using their feathers to show off to each other long before they evolved flight. (More details can be found in this story I wrote for National Geographic last year.)

No examination of feather evolution would be complete, of course, withoutArchaeopteryx. For over 150 years, it’s been at the center of debates about the history of birds–not to mention evolution itself.

The first fossil of Archaeopteryx was a single feather–the one that Carney has turned into a tattoo. It was discovered in 1861 in a limestone quarry near the town of Solnhofen and brought to Hermann von Meyer, one of Germany’s leading paleontologists at the time. As scientists would later determine, this exceptional feather was 145 million years old. Despite its antiquity, the feather looked much like the feathers on the wings of living birds.

The fossil was so extraordinary that Von Meyer wondered if some forger had etched it. After all, Solnhofen limestone was prized for making finely detailed lithographic prints. But then von Meyer compared the slab and the counterslab and found them to be identical.

“No draughtsman could produce anything so real,” he declared.

Even as von Meyer was studying the feather, the quarry at Solhofen yielded another spectacular fossil: an entire animal cloaked in feathers. Word of the fossil spread fast, but only a few scientists got to glimpse the fossil in person. Its owner, a local doctor, was carefully managing the access to his fossil to fuel a bidding war for his entire fossil collection. Those few glimpses were enough to electrify scientists across Germany and beyond. The animal looked in some ways like a bird. It had wing feathers draped from its arms, for example. But other parts of its body looked more like a reptile’s, such as its long bony tail. It was unlike anything alive today.

At the end of 1861, Von Meyer came up with a name to describe both fossils: Archaeopteryx lithographica—the lithographic first bird.

The debut of Archaeopteryx 150 years ago was a case of beautiful timing. Just two years earlier, Charles Darwin had published The Origin of Species, in which he claimed that living animals had evolved from transitional ancestors. “Had the Solenhofen quarries been commissioned – by august command – to turn out a strange being a la Darwin – it could not have executed the behest more handsomely – than in the Archaeopteryx,” wrote the paleontologist Hugh Falconer.

Darwin agreed. “It is a grand case for me,” he confided to a friend.

In later years, more fossils of Archaeopteryx emerged, and it became even more of a chimera. Like a bird, it had feathers on its entire body. But unlike living birds, it had teeth in its mouth and claws on its wings. Darwin’s followers continued to argue that it marked a transition in the origin of birds. But opponents of Darwin and his followers argued that a single species—especially one with feathers no different than those on living birds—did not establish a full-blown transition.

“Their views must be at once rejected as fantastic dreams,” the German paleontologist Andreas Wagner declared.

Wagner turned out to be wrong. A number of bird-like dinosaurs have come to light in the years since the discovery of Archaeopteryx, and researchers have been able to work out many of their relationships to each other. There’s still plenty of debate about just how wellArchaeopteryx itself could fly, as well as its precise place in the dinosaur-bird tree of life. Last July fellow Discover blogger Ed Yong wrote about a new study suggesting other dinosaurs were more closely related to living birds than Archaeopteryx.

In a study funded by the National Geographic Society, Carney and his colleagues were able to sample tiny bits of the original, lone Archaeopteryx fossil, housed in a museum in Germany. They examined its melanosomes, comparing them to the melanosomes in 115 living birds. As they report today, the feather was most likely straight black, as you see it in Carney’s tattoo.

While a single feather isn’t enough to reconstruct Archaeopteryx’s entire appearance, it does provide some interesting clues about the animal. The feather was what’s known as a covert, meaning that it was sandwiched in the middle of the wing, covering the primary flight feathers but covered in turn by the feathers at the wing’s leading edge. As a result, it was mostly hidden from sight. So its black color couldn’t have served to attract the opposite sex or to camouflage it from enemies. It’s possible that the whole wing was black, and this particular covert just went along on the evolutionary ride. It’s also possible, Carney and his colleagues speculate, that the melanosomes were serving another function in this particular feather. In living birds, melanosomes can block bacterial infections, and they can also make feathers hard, preventing them from breaking under the forces of flight.

As for the function of black pigmentation on the shoulders of biologists–well, that’s another story.

Reference: R.M. Carney et al, “New evidence on the colour and nature of the isolated Archaeopteryx feather.” Nature Communications 2012 doi: 10.1038/ncomms1642

this is cool

safehouse news updatee

Falkirk police issue “tattoo party” warning

Published on Thursday 20 October 2011 14:43

Police are cracking down on “tattoo parties” after receiving information that children as young as nine have been tattooed.

A recent incident in the Falkirk area saw youngsters under the age of 18 receiving tattoos from an unlicensed tattooists at a drink and drug-fuelled gathering in a house referred to as a “tattoo party”.

Sergeant Allyson Blair, of the interventions, intelligence and information bureau, said: “The legislation - Tattooing of Minors Act 1969 - states it is an offence to tattoo a person under the age of eighteen except when the tattoo is performed for medical reasons by a duly qualified medical practitioner or by a person under his direction.

“Further research is being carried out into the information we have received but we would strongly advise anyone who is carrying out such acts to think of the potential consequences both in legal and criminal terms as well as health implications.”

Doctor Henry Prempeh, NHS Forth Valley Public Health Consultant, added: “Getting a tattoo can lead to serious infection if it is not done with clean equipment and under safe conditions by a properly trained tattoo artist.

“The risks increase significantly if tattooing is carried out in premises that are not fit for purpose and regularly maintained such as a licensed tattoo parlour.

“Typical symptoms of a local bacterial infection are redness, swelling, warmth and pain. In some individuals these infections may become complicated and pose a serious threat to health and can result in blood borne infections, such as hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and HIV - the virus which causes AIDS.

If anyone has information on tattoo party-related activities they should call police immediately.

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tattoo flash and stuff

i found my tattoo here