I’d better write this up.. I dropped in to the lunchtime Openline show on DCUFM to do a review of this yesterday.

The IFI in Dublin was the venue for a preview and Q&A session with Christian McKay, star of Me and Orson Welles.

Based on the book by Ropert Kaplow, the story takes place in 1937 in the week leading to the legendary opening of Julius Caesar in the Mercury Theatre off Broadway.  Newcomer McKay, plays the role of Welles,  while High School Musical hero, Zac Efron plays Richard Samuels, a youngster in search of a big break.

McKay is a wonder as the colourful Welles and the resemblence is uncanny. He brings Welles’ mood swings and gigantic personality to life.  Efron, who is a surprising good actor, still gets his chance to sing a little with a little ukulele number.

Filmed in the Isle of Man, the film boasts an impressive supporting cast including Claire Danes (Romeo & Juliet) and Ben Chaplin (The Truth about Cats and Dogs) and Director Richard Linklater turned this into an interesting story and worthwhile viewing.

During the Q&A, McKay lets his humour show, even though he says its nerves. He tells how Linklater had the opportunity to film in Hollywood but turned it down as it would mean having a different leading man. Linklater showed some courage in choosing and sticking with an unknown, (It paid off too).

He also told of how the filming took place in the Isle of Man and of some of the madness that surrounded the cast as the heartthrob Efron attracted mobs of fans.

Nice guy, great film, really good way to spend an evening,

Nagyon jó volt újra együtt lenni az égerhátiakkal november 13-an. Az ottani ifjúság csupán két emberből áll, de ők mindig hívnak barátokat, ezzel gyarapodik a létszám es ugyanakkor az örömünk is:).

Lelkipásztorunk egy nagyon jó témával készült, arról volt szó, hogy hogyan álljuk meg helyünket akkor, mikor megaláznak, kicsúfolnak vagy kiközösítenek minket, azért mert vallást teszünk Krisztusról. Az alapige a Márk 13:3-13 volt, ahol arról ír az Ige, hogy az utolsó időkben nagy megpróbáltatások érnek majd minket, fájdalmak, szenvedések, üldözni fognak, de tudjunk arról, hogy ezeknek meg kell történniük, es kitartásunk nem marad jutalom nélkül.

A ”Braveheart” című filmből azt a részletet néztük meg, ahol a főszereplőt, aki sokat harcol a szabadságért, megkínozzák, arra akarják kényszeríteni, hogy kérjen kegyelmet, megtagadva mindazt, amiért addig küzdött, de minden megpróbáltatás ellenére ő azt kiálltja: „Szabadság!” Képes volt meghalni azért, amiben hitt. Fel kell tennünk magunkban azt a kérdést, hogy mi képesek lennénk meghalni Krisztusért, vagy inkább megtagadnánk Őt? Akarunk szabadulni a bűntől, vagy inkább elfogadjuk, megtűrjük? Sokan úgy vélik, hogy nincs szükségük Jézusra, mert szabadok akarnak lenni, de ez lehetetlen Nélküle, mert ha nem tudjuk Őt választani, akkor valami megkötöz, a Sátán rabjai vagyunk.

Elhangzott egy történet: egy maszkos, fegyveres férfi berontott a templomba és azt mondta, hogy megöli azokat, akik hisznek Jézusban, aki nem akar meghalni, hagyja el az épületet. Sokan felálltak és kimentek, alig maradtak néhányan. Ekkor a férfi kijelentette: ”Most már folytatódhat az Istentisztelet, megszabadítottalak titeket a képmutatóktól”. Vajon TE ott maradtál volna?

Beszélgettünk arról, hogy a mindennapokban milyen támadások érnek bennünket azért, mert keresztyének vagyunk, vagy érnek-e egyáltalán. Ha érnek, akkor hogyan szállunk szembe ezekkel, alázatosak maradunk vagy visszavágunk és valljuk Krisztust, de csak a szánkkal, tetteink pedig mást mutatnak, visszaütünk annak, aki e miatt gúnyolódik? Ha bizonyságtételünkért vagy életmódunkért (ha az Jézusét tükrözi) bántalmak érnek minket, ne keseredjünk el (a Biblia is ír erről, hogy mi nem e világból valók vagyunk, ezért a világ gyűlöl minket), örüljünk neki, hiszen ez azt jelenti, hogy valóban az Ő gyermekei vagyunk, és azt tesszük, ami az Ő akarata és üdvösségünk lesz.

Igyekezzünk úgy élni a mindennapokban, hogy Isten végül azt mondhassa: ”Jól van, jó és hű szolgám.”  Figyeljünk oda arra, hogy az apró dolgokban is Róla tegyünk bizonyságot, vállaljuk fel Őt, hogy olyan körülmények között is helytállhassunk majd, mint akik életüket adtak hitükért.

”Legyetek hűek a kis dolgokban, mert azokban rejlik erőtök.”

The fallout from the recent tax evasion settlement with UBS is reverberating throughout the G-20 community.  As we reported back in October,  the French Governments action directing banks to close branches and subsidiaries in non-OEDC compliant jurisdictions will pressure all G-20 participants to adopt a more uniform tax code and enforcement practice.  The drive to strengthen the respect of tax treaties and the closure of havens to custody assets beyond the reach of national tax authorities signals a new era in multinational cooperation and the eclipse of radical free market tax practices.

The principal drivers for this unprecedented level of cooperation and standardization is the dire need for national tax authorities to recognize and tax revenue streams to help address the burgeoning budget deficits the global economic crisis has has wrought.

Clearly the crackdown on tax evasion is gaining momentum since the global financial crisis has devastated national treasuries.  Enormous expenditures on stimulus programs and dramatically falling tax receipts has created a perfect storm and has created an enormous threat to the fiscal soundness of national treasuries.

Forbes reports that Singapore has become the latest in a flurry of jurisdictions complying with Office of Economic Cooperation and Development standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.  Fifteen jurisdictions have come into compliance since April 2009.  In addition to Singapore and the sea change occurring in the Suisse banking industry; other  governments that have lost revenue to tax havens are individually taking tough action:

–The U.K. government has informed the Isle of Man that it will reduce revenue transfers of value-added tax receipts to the island by 50 million pounds next year, 9% of the island’s revenue.

–French banks are starting to close down their operations in tax havens.

–In Germany, the hiding of funds in Liechtenstein bank accounts has prompted a backlash against tax havens.

–In the United States, White House advisor Paul Volcker in December is due to report on ways of eliminating revenue losses to tax havens.

This heightened regulation and standardization amongst  G-20 tax authorities is quickly closing any regulatory tax arbitrage opportunities for global investors.  The closure of preferential tax domiciles will heighten the power and reach of national tax agencies enforcement capabilities and the scope of their examination reach.  The IRS is stepping up its enforcement and institutional assets to assure that private equity and hedge fund industries comply with all the anti-money laundering laws and stringent tax codes.

Sum2’s IARP helps investment managers assess and manage the growing threat of audit and tax enforcement risk.  Sum2’s CARP helps large and mid-size corporations assess compliance and manage  IFI audit risk.

Risk: audit, enforcement, regulatory, tax, reputational, litigation

Okt. 30-án, péntek este 7 órai kezdettel, Koltón tartottuk meg az ifjúságit, ahol elég szép számban voltunk jelen. Énekeltünk és beszélgettünk. Beszélgetésünk témája a fogyasztói társadalom, avagy konszumerizmus volt, alapigéül pedig a Máté ev. 6:19-24 igeszakasz szolgált:

„Ne gyűjtsetek magatoknak kincseket a földön, ahol a moly és a rozsda megemészti, és ahol a tolvajok kiássák és ellopják, hanem gyűjtsetek magatoknak kincseket a mennyben, ahol sem a moly, sem a rozsda nem emészti meg, és ahol a tolvajok sem ássák ki, és nem lopják el.  Mert ahol a kincsed van, ott lesz a szíved is.” „A test lámpása a szem. Ezért ha a szemed tiszta, az egész tested világos lesz. Ha pedig a szemed gonosz, az egész tested sötét lesz. Ha tehát a benned lévő világosság sötétség, milyen nagy akkor a sötétség!” Senki sem szolgálhat két úrnak, mert vagy az egyiket gyűlöli, és a másikat szereti, vagy az egyikhez ragaszkodik, és a másikat megveti: nem szolgálhattok Istennek és a mammonnak.”

Bevezetésül arról beszélgettünk, hogy napjainkban mindenki el akar adni mindent, és hogy bármit el lehet adni manapság.

Beszélgettünk arról, hogy mindenkinek a legújabb cuccok kellenek és vannak, akik képesek akár lopni is, csakhogy megszerezzék azt, amire vágynak. A reklámra is kitértünk, hogy mennyire erős hatása van az emberekre, olyasmit is készek megvenni, ami eredetileg nem volt szándékukban. Azonban azt állapítottuk meg, hogy habár nagyon manipulatív hatása van, nem kell megtiltani a reklámozást, mert néha jól fog; megismerkedhetünk általuk olyan dolgokkal is, amikről másképp nem szerezhetnénk tudomást, pedig jó lenne.  Társadalmukban az emberek úgy gondolják, hogy akkor sikeresek és győztesek, ha a legtöbb dolgot össze tudják gyűjteni és mindenre szert tudnak tenni. Azonban megállapításunk szerint ez csak irigységhez és önzéshez vezet, és akármennyit is megszerezzen valaki, nem fog attól boldog és beteljesült lenni, mert a boldogságot nem valami dolgok hozzák, hanem a kapcsolatok, legfőképp az Istennel való kapcsolat.

Ezért tanít bennünket arra Jézus, hogy ne gyűjtsünk magunknak kincseket a földön, hanem a mennyben. De vajon milyen kincsekről beszél? Örökkévaló kincsekről, lelki dolgokról, mint például a Lélek gyümölcse: szeretet, öröm, békesség, türelem, szívesség, jóság, hűség, szelídség, önmegtartóztatás (Galata 5:22-23), és az, amit Jézusért teszünk, ahogy egyik énekben énekeljük.

A kérdés csupán az, hogy TE és ÉN milyen dolgok után vágyódunk valójában? Nem megy könnyen mindig, hogy a mennyeiek után vágyódjunk, ezért meg kell álljunk időnként, és el kell gondolkozzunk, hogy mit érnek azok a dolgok, amik után vágyódunk, és amelyeket gyűjtögetünk, legyen az bármi: kapcsolatok, számítógép, barátok, pasi, csajok, stb…

Végül pedig leírtuk egy üres papírra azokat a dolgokat, melyek után vágyódunk jelenleg, amiket szeretnénk, és azokat, amelyek után vágyódnunk kellene, és imádkoztunk.

Íme néhány kép (nem a legjobb minőségű) az alkalomról:

Few films have experienced the frenzied internet marketing hype that Paranormal Activity has received in the last few months: sure, this year has also given us the phenomenal trailer to Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (a far better experience than the film, reviewed here) and Neill Blomkamp’s debut feature District 9 proved that aliens could still rake in the cash at the box office. But the effortless success that Paranormal Activity has had in the US has kept the film riding high in terms of takings and hype. It’s even been a consistently trending topic on Twitter since even before its release.

Paranormal Activity doesn’t open this side of the Atlantic until the 25th November (though you might be lucky enough to catch a paid preview screening on Friday 13th) but it was also the surprise film at this year’s Horrorthon at Dublin’s IFI, and if that screening is anything to go by, the film will prove just as successful this side of the Atlantic as in the US.

Befitting a low-budget film (costing only $15, 000 to make), the film takes a mockumentary style in which the lines between reality and the film are blurred: some text at the beginning claims that the footage was found after the events of the film, footage which is recorded on a camcorder bought to record the strange nocturnal events in the home of Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston (the actors lend their own names to the characters in the pursuit of realism.) What follows are about three weeks of footage (cut down to a little over ninety minutes) as Micah and Katie come to realise that the disturbances in their house aren’t just neighbourhood children or creaking floorboards, but a malevolent presence that doesn’t take kindly to being challenged or recorded.

Paranormal Activity’s strengths lie in the fact that it knows how to play with its audience. There’s little identifiably scary in the film: turning its back on the zeitgeist, there’s no gore, no men with big knives standing behind the hero and heroine, not even a scary mask to be seen. Rather, this is a film that taps into some very primal fears, arguably in a very clever way, putting its audience through the same experiences as its characters and providing a fear that can neither be ignored, nor run away from.

Most horror films have a bad guy (or maybe the word ‘thing’ would be more appropriate) and many films depend on this ‘thing’ to bring the horror to the title, whether it’s purely visual (like the Necromorph in Alien) or experiential (who doesn’t squirm in terror at the helplessness experienced by hordes of teens as they’re followed by a slasher?) Paranormal Activity combines both aspects: in one of the opening scenes, Katie and Micah are visited by a paranormal investigator who tells them outright that this is not a ghost that they are dealing with, but rather a demon that has been haunting Katie since she was a child. As Micah investigates further, the book he reads on demons give us an idea of just what the presence in their house might look like, and some other scenes show us the kind of power it has. And that’s the point when things start to get scary.

There are two basic types of scene within the film: during the day, Micah (or occasionally Katie) will carry the camera around, watching footage recorded the night before or just talking about their experiences. The handheld camera makes sure that we look where they do (or rather where director Oren Peli wants us to.) By night, the camera rests on a tripod in the corner of Micah and Katie’s bedroom, focussed on their open bedroom door and the darkness of the stairs beyond. The fixed camera means there’s no chance to look away, no hope that the camera might break, and as there are crashes and sounds from downstairs (and sometimes, the sound of stomping up the stairs), there’s a constant fear that something’s there in the darkness, looking at the camera (and us) and is something that will become visible any minute.

The two types of scene begin to blur as the film progresses: as the demon’s manifestations become more difficult to ignore, Micah runs to the camera before leaving the room to investigate, meaning yet again that the audience have to investigate as well, and will be forced to confront whatever awaits the couple. It a roller-coaster ride of a movie, and once the tension picks up, rarely lets go, proving an insidious and uncomfortable force to sit and watch, in a way that only the best horror films can be.

But the film isn’t all about the bumps and scares, effective as they may be: Micah and Katie are both better realised as characters than those featured in many other horror films. Both are flawed and do stupid things, which may irritate some audiences, but also make their characters quite believable. Much like the characters, there are aspects of the film that might prove annoying, wondering why certain things weren’t done differently, but there are already two different versions of the film (the current cinematic release and the original version screened at festivals in 2007 with different scenes and an older, less effective ending that has already found its way onto the internet.)

For a small-budget film originally made over two years ago, Paranormal Activity has already proven itself to be one of the most successful movies of the year, even beating the gore-fest of Saw VI at the box office: the comparisons to The Blair Witch Project are already coming in droves, but admirably so, and this will hopefully encourage more horror movies that focus on being scary than just gruesome or gory excuses for special effects.

This is really one of those films you need to see in the cinema (if only to be sure that there’s nothing in the house with you when watching it) and it’s not just the first-person camera that gives this the feeling of being more an experience than a film. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything so insidiously terrifying, and even the most stalwart of viewers who’ll never admit to getting scared at a film will have to acknowledge how effective the film is, even if they’re the only ones able to get a good night’s sleep afterwards.

Zombie Rating: A-

Paranormal Activity is on general release now in the US and opens in Ireland on November 25th, with preview screenings on November 13th.

A recent survey published by Sabrix indicates that corporate tax audits are on the rise.   Eighty-three percent of companies surveyed report an increased number of audits due to state and local tax revenue shortfalls.  Survey respondents comprised 140 tax executives from the Forbes Global 2000 Index.

Ninety-six percent of the attendees said that despite the recession, transaction taxes such as sales and use taxes will continue to be an area of focus. In response to the economic downturn, 45 percent of the attendees said their companies had reduced their employee headcount, but 45 percent also increased their investment in tax technologies.

Eighty-one percent of the respondents have made sales and use tax and value-added tax a more strategic focus of their company due to the economy. A similar proportion said they have implemented new programs and processes to remain compliant.

The IRS is under pressure to enforce compliance with federal tax statutes.  The US Treasury coffers are seriously depleted given all the stimulus and economic recovery expenditures.  The IRS is mandated to assure that corporations comply with all tax laws.  The IRS has developed an Industry Focus Issue, (IFI) audit strategy that  profiles high risk corporate tax compliance statutes.   IFI guides field audit personnel through a risk based assessment of corporate tax compliance.  The IFI aggregates and ranks  Three Tiers of high risk tax compliance issues.  Examiners will conduct rigorous reviews of these issue sensitive factors.  The factors concern revenue recognition, sales tax, partnership reporting, and the repatriation of revenue derived in foreign domiciles.

Sum2 has published a product, IRS Audit Risk Program (IARP) that guides corporate tax managers and tax professionals through a risk assessment of their exposure to IFI risk factors.  The IARP helps corporate tax professionals score tax risk exposures, determine mitigation actions, estimate remediation expenses and manage tax controversy defense strategies.  The IARP is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Sum2 also has developed the Corporate Audit Risk Program (CARP).  The CARP is IRS tax risk assessment tool for corporate tax managers.  A  single user license for CARP can be purchased on Amazon.com.

Risk: compliance, tax audit, reputation, litigation

You Tube video: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Taxman

Misinterpretation of the tax code led to the NASDAQ delisting of Emmis Communications after investors dumped the stock following a restatement announcement.  In an 8-K Filing Emmis announced that its previously filed public financial statements cannot be relied on for accuracy.  Emmis’s stock price has been trading  below $1.00 per share after investors negative reaction to the company’s restatement of earnings and financial condition.  The restatement was necessary after Emmis discovered it improperly accounted for the tax treatment of Federal Communication Commission  (FCC) licensing rights.

Emmis operates a number of radio stations in key metropolitan markets and was forced to restate its financial statements for the past fiscal year and for the first quarter of this year to adjustments it made in its provision for income taxes.   Last year the company wrote down the value of its FCC licenses.  This put Emmis into a loss position leading the company to overstate the benefit for income taxes and understated deferred tax liabilities by $25.3 million for its fiscal year ended February 28, 2009.

Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan,  released a statement on the company website that read, “Certainly, ‘restating our earnings’ sounds ominous, but our restatement solely relates to a non cash technical tax issue that has no impact on our operations. While there might be big numbers involved and a lot of paperwork being filed, I don’t see anything to worry about.”

This is an interesting example of the consequences of tax risk.  Most tax risk events result in huge settlement amounts, damage to executive reputations and the company brand and sometimes prison terms for the persons and parties involved.  The delisting of the Emmis stock and the severe devaluation of shareholder equity is a more extreme result of the failure to mitigate tax risk factors.

Sum2’s  Corporate Audit Risk Program (CARP) guides corporate tax managers through a thorough risk assessment of exposures to IRS Industry Focus Issues (IFI).  CARP helps tax professionals score threats of IFI risk factors and implement mitigation actions.  The CARP lists Emmis tax problem as a Tier Three IFI risk factor.  It falls  under the communications  technology and media industry guidelines for amortization on intangibles, licensed programs and contract rights.  The CARP is an indispensable guideline and tool that may have provided insights into the tax risk that led to a costly delisting and evaporation of shareholder equity.

Emmis share price closed today at $1.32.  We wish the management, shareholders and employees a speedy remediation to the problems confronting the company and a recovery of the share price to reestablish its listing on the NASDAQ.

You Tube Music Radio: Bruce Springsteen, Radio Nowhere

Risk: tax, shareholder equity, reputation, regulatory

I walked the length and breadth of Dublin city yesterday. For two bloody hours I searched for somewhere that I could have a desk, a seat and a nearby socket to plug in my laptop. It didn’t even need to have wifi cos I had a dongle with me.

“Simple”, I thought, “I’ll get a few bits done once I settle down somewhere”.

A moment of genius led me to the Central Library, free desk space! Alas, the student population of Dublin had beaten me to it with their funky mini laptops, for the free wifi no doubt. Free desks, none with sockets.

Café in Easons O’Connell Street-no visible sockets and they were trying to shun people by fencing off parts of the seating areas – at 4.30pm.

I moved on. Insomnia on Jervis Street? It’s a pretty big coffee shop and it was 90% empty, woohoo! But no, the 10% were all sitting up against the walls and in the corners, hiding…and hogging all tables with any chance of having sockets.

Next.

The Church…a nice big pub, surely with plenty of empty tables and sockets to be had at 4.45 or so on a Wednesday evening…apparently not. Again, not very busy but everyone was hiding in the corner tables.

On I trudged to my old reliable spot, crossing the river to the IFI. Which was shut for renovations. I almost cried. And I think in my dazed and confused state I wandered back across the river…I think, I’m not even sure now.

An emergency tweet or two and I had two invitations to go join some people – back on the southside – so off I went for a much needed sit down, a cup of tea, and a chat with some nice people.

I can’t believe how difficult it is to find a usable, temporary workspace in Dublin. Perhaps I just don’t know where to look…I’m going hunting so next time, I know exactly where to go!

htp:// www.smc.com pour tous les produits Pro 10Gbits ou 108 Mbits/s

Depuis peu je vois que nos abonnés internet passe l’info a travers le Web de leur model de connexion ,heureusement que ma premiere connexion haut debit etait satellitaire NSS 7 via RTC+Parabole+compte proxy = Connexion Cyber Espace .

je vous présente mon modem Wifi depuis que ma premiere connexion a Djaweb plus precisement Easy ADSL very Difficult for use this line because customer algeria is a customer of marque TM me No i’s my chance .

Ok revenons a la becane malgré les obstacles causé par le beton de la maison ,les murs et le beton dans ma tete ,j’installe Ubuntu et Kismet en passant par Windows Vista (Sans tricot de Peau) bien sur . Meme Signal en Décibels bien sur ,ma radio IP bien sur pas de probleme ,un ipphone aussi est passé ,un pocket PC ,mon mobile pas encore j’attends mon Netbook 4G de Nokia NXXX. pour Voir .

Caracteristiques du Modem :

Réseaux

Technologie de connectivité: Sans fil, filaire

Commutateur intégré: Commutateur 4 ports

Débit de transfert de données: 54 Mbits/s

Bande de fréquence: 2.4 GHz

Format de codage de ligne: CCK, OFDM

Format de cadrage de ligne: G.711, ANSI T1.413

Protocole de liaison de données: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g

Méthode d’étalement du spectre: OFDM

Protocole de commutation: Ethernet

Protocole réseau / transport: TCP/IP, UDP/IP, ICMP/IP, PPPoE, PPPoA, AAL5

Protocole de Routage: RIP-1, RIP-2, routage IP statique

Protocole de gestion à distance: SNMP 1, SNMP 2, Telnet, HTTP

Indicateurs d’état: Statut du port, alimentation

Caractéristiques: Compatible DHCP, prise en charge NAT, fonction NAPT, prise en charge du réseau local (LAN) virtuel, Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), administrable, filtrage par adresse MAC

Conformité aux normes: IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.1D, ANSI T1.413, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g

Le SMC7908VoWBRA est une solution tout en un pour les petites structures et les particuliers. Il combine un routeur ADSL sans fil avec une passerelle Voix sur IP vous permettant de regrouper la voix et les données dans un seul équipement. Vous pouvez partager votre connexion ADSL entre plusieurs ordinateurs en filaire avec les 4 ports Fast Ethernet du routeur ou en sans fil en utilisant le point d’accès 54 Mbps. Vous pouvez également brancher votre téléphone et économiser de l’argent en appelant vos collègues et amis en passant par Internet avec la fonction Voix sur IP. Cette solution unique comprend également un firewall, un cryptage WEP/WPA, une fonction d’authentification et un support VPN pass-through pour une connexion sécurisée à l’intranet de votre entreprise.

Téléphonie ip:

Mon ex Numero etait IPPI,Voipstunt,Gizmo,phoneaxess,sipgate…..

Fonctionnalité VoIP: Adaptateur de téléphone VoIP

Protocoles VoIP: H.323, SIP

Codecs vocaux: G.729a, G.711u, G.711a

Interfaces de téléphonie: 1 téléphone (FXS), 1 ligne (FXO)

Caractéristiques de la téléphonie IP: Génération de bruit de confort, détection d’activité vocale, annulation d’écho (G. 168), renvoi automatique, identification de l’appelant, tampon de décalages adaptatif

Antenne

Nombre d’antennes: 2

Communications

Type: Modem DSL

Protocole de signal numérique: ADSL Lite, ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+

Protocoles et spécifications: ITU G.992.2 (G.Lite), ITU G.992.3 (G.DMT.bis), ITU G.992.5, ITU G.992.1 (G.DMT) Annex A

Débit de transfert maxi: 24 Mbits/s

Extension/connectivité

Interfaces:

• 1 x modem – ADSL – RJ-11 ( WAN )
• 1 x modem – FXO – RJ-11
• 1 x modem – FXS – RJ-11
• 4 x réseau – Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX – RJ-45
• 1 x réseau – Radio-Ethernet
• 2 x USB

avec tout ca j’imagine mal qu’au niveau des agence commerciale on vous parle de ça ,du moins c’est sur que quelqu’un sait les details ,le fameux ingenieur com.mercial qui verra le jour dans le futur proche . un Marketeur ,ou un constumo serviteur . on invente rien en Algerie et quand l’information ne circule pas la mediocrité régne et on recoltera ce que nous avons semé . de l’ADSL trés haut haut vitesse .

A vous de présentez le votre .

Ah j’ai oublié la portée est de combien moi c’est l’Hotel Seybouse . ca deppase 30 Metres sans la fumée des voitures et les betons humains .

le sujet est traité ici depuis juillet 2009 http://bounatelecom.wordpress.com/mon-adsl/

This October at the IFI is all about the master of thrillers, Alfred Hitchcock. Focusing on his pre 1939 films, the IFI have collected together Hitchcock’s rarely seen works that were made before he left England for America. Our recommendation is to catch Under Capricorn, showing today at 2.00pm. But don’t worry if this doesn’t suit…Hitchcock season runs til the end of October.

An official at the French Banking Federation announced that French banks plan to close shut branches and subsidiaries in countries considered tax havens. France’s banks intend to halt business activities in countries that remain on the OECD’s so-called “gray list” at the end of March 2010.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development advocates regulatory standards for global banking industry. It tracks countries that do not comply with the basic regulatory guidelines and publishes a “gray list” of countries that do not comply with international tax information exchange rules.

All French Banks will comply with this action. BNP Paribas earlier announced it will stop operating in countries considered tax havens after the bank indicated that it would close branches in Panama and the Bahamas.

Global hedge funds that operate in OECD non-compliant jurisdictions have an increased tax risk profile.  Tax professionals need to assess the potential benefits derived from continued operations in these high risk domiciles with the rising compliance and tax risk factors these jurisdictions pose.

Sum2’s IRS Audit Risk Program (IARP)  helps tax professionals and compliance managers determine and score risk exposures of investment partnerships IRS Industry Focus Issues.

Click for more information on IARP.

Risk: compliance, regulatory, tax audit, reputation

IFI-Reform: Final Report by UN Commission

• Report of the Commission of Experts of the President of the United Nations General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System PDF (21 September 2009)
• Presentation of the Report of the Commission … at the Carnegie Council by Joseph Stiglitz MP3 (21 September 2009)

Gefunden bei un.org

UN Reform Commission

The Commission of Experts of the President of the UN General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System

The Commission will thus produce a report on recommendations to be considered in the preparatory process leading to the Conference at the highest level on the world financial and economic crisis and its impact on development called for in the final document adopted at Doha in December 2008 (resolution A/RES/63/239).

Members of the Commission

Mr. Joseph Stiglitz (USA) (Chair) University Professor, Columbia University, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (2001). Former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank.
Mr. Andrei Bougrov (Russia) Managing Director and member of the Board of Directors of the Interros Company. Former Principal Resident Representative of Russia, Executive Director and member of the Board of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Mr. Yousef Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) Minister of Finance. Chair of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund.
Mr. Jean-Paul Fitoussi (France) Professor of Economics at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris since 1982. Currently President of the Scientific Council of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and President of the Observatoire Français des Conjunctures Economiques.
Mr. Charles A. E. Goodhart (UK) Norman Sosnow Professor of Banking and Finance Emeritus, London School of Economics. Former Chief Advisor to the Bank of England and member of its Monetary Policy Committee.
Mr. Robert Johnson (USA) Former Chief Economist of the US Senate Banking Committee and former Senior Economist of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. Former managing director at Soros Fund Management. Member of the Board of Directors of the Economic Policy Institute and the Institute for America’s Future.
Mr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram (United Nations) Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
Mr. Benno Ndulo (Tanzania) Governor of the Bank of Tanzania.
Mr. José Antonio Ocampo (Colombia) Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Finance Minister, Colombia. Currently Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.
Mr. Pedro Páez (Ecuador) Former Minister for Economic Coordination, Ecuador.
Mr. Avinash Persaud (Barbados) Chairman of Intelligence Capital Limited. Member of council, London School of Economics. Founding director of the Global Association of Risk Professionals.
Mr. Yaga Venugopal Reddy (India) Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Mr. Rubens Ricupero (Brazil) Former Secretary-General of UNCTAD. Former Minister of Finance of Brazil.
Mr. Eisuke Sakakibara (Japan) Former Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs. Currently Professor at Waseda University, Tokyo.
Mr. Chukwuma Soludo (Nigeria) Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria.
Ms. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (Germany) Federal Minister of Cooperation and Development.
Mr. Yu Yongding (China) Director, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Former Member of Monetary Policy Committee, People’s Bank of China.
Ms. Zeti Akhtar Aziz (Malaysia) Governor and Chairman, Central Bank of Malaysia.

Rapporteur

Mr. Jan Kregel – Former UNDESA senior staff member now Senior Scholar, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and Distinguished Research Professor, University of Missouri, Kansas City.

Special Representatives of the President of the General Assembly

Mr. François Houtart (Belgium)
Mr. Ali Boukrami (Algeria)
Mr. Oswaldo Martínez (Cuba)

Swiss banking giant UBS, announced that it will inform American clients whether information about their bank accounts will be turned over to the US Justice Department in a tax evasion investigation.  UBS is required to disclose information on over 4,300 American citizens who are clients of the firms private banking division.  The US Justice Department believes that wealthy Americans are using these accounts to conceal assets and are using the bank to hide money under the protection of Switzerland’s storied bank secrecy laws.

Laurie Higgins (she of the Illinois Family Institute) is a very stupid person. I don’t think that’s a controversial statement; either she’s stupid or she knows how to pander to her audience masterfully. As such, the following paragraph should come as no surprise to anybody:

Kevin Jennings, GLSEN, and Change.org [and virtually every scientific organization that has an opinion on the matter] believe that homosexuality is an ontological condition analogous to race rather than a condition defined by subjective feelings and volitional sexual acts. Those who believe in the legitimacy of including explicit mention of homosexuality in anti-bullying curricula need to ask whether they believe that other conditions defined by subjective feelings and volitional acts should also be included. Wherever homosexuality is mentioned in these curricula, let’s replace the term with aggression, or promiscuity, or polyamory, or selfishness–all conditions that are driven by powerful feelings that are not chosen and which often emerge very early in life. After all, aggressive, promiscuous, polyamorous, and selfish students ought not be bullied either. (Source)

The sheer spitefulness of this is incredible. Higgins could easily have chosen to replace compare homosexuality with neutral terms, but instead she chose to compare it with aggression, promiscuity, polyamory (God only knows why) and selfishness. I find it difficult to wade through the IFI website, so I have no idea if she subscribes to the ‘I love gay people really’ line, but if she does she’s a hypocrite as well as everything else.

That’s not the most interesting part of her latest missive, however. Near the bottom, we get this:

This exercise reveals that these anti-bullying curricula go much further than merely ending bullying acts. They seek to end bullying by normalizing homosexuality. They seek to deracinate the belief that homosexuality is immoral. And this is why homosexualists seek to expose our youngest children to their dangerous ideas. It’s not that there is a problem with kindergarteners bullying homosexual classmates. Rather, homosexualists seek to expose kindergartners to pro-homosexual ideas and images because it’s easier to indoctrinate five-year-olds than seventeen-year-olds. (Emphasis in the original)

‘Homosexualists’? Good grief.

Note the parting shot about indoctrination. This one is all too common; members of the religious right in particular are quick to claim that gay men and woman (men in particular, for some reason) want to ‘indoctrinate’ their children, which means varying things depending on who’s talking. Sometimes it simply means exposing children to the dangerous idea that anti-gay discrimination is bad, while the more fervently imaginative believe that gay people actually ‘recruit’ youngsters. How exactly this is done is a mystery, since nobody anywhere has ever managed to prove that it is possible to turn somebody gay just by talking to them.

Why do they do this? Is it just a cheap attempt at demonizing us? Yes and no; in this context, Higgins is certainly deploying a scar tactic. ‘Your children are in danger!’ she screams, hoping that you’ll believe her without stopping to think about the facts. (And if you’re her target audience, you probably will.) But there’s more to it than that. Anti-gay activists need to believe that children are being ‘turned’ by other gay people, for the simple reason that some of their children end up being gay as well. They can cope more easily if they believe with all their hearts that their child’s ‘condition’ is not something intrinsic to them, or even a bad choice that they’ve decided to make, but rather the result of nefarious corruption by some monstrous, faceless stranger. Their gay children can remain totally innocent, the victims, while they lay all the blame at the feet of an entirely imaginary adversary. You have to admit, it’s a clever trick.

I went to see Mid August lunch a few days ago at the IFI. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the blurb on the IFI website but given that I stalk all things Italian in Dublin, I decided to go along anyway. I was very pleasantly surprised by this odd little film set in Rome over the mid August holiday – a city all but deserted by all but tourists and those few Romans who haven’t managed to escape to the seaside for the August holidays. The film centres on middle aged Gianni who lives with his mother and is coerced into taking care of his landlord’s mother and elderly aunt for the weekend because he can’t afford to pay his bills. When his doctor begs Gianni to take care of his mother so that he can take the night shift at his hospital, Gianni finds himself in charge of four elderly and eccentric old ladies over the holiday weekend. Numerous adventures ensue ranging from tantrums over TVs, midnight pasta snacks and the challenge of finding food for the celebratory meal in a city that has been completely deserted for the weekend (as only Rome on the mid august bank holiday can be). While this may not exacly sound like riveting viewing material, the film manages to be both poignant and hilarious at the same time. Its lighthearted take on the smallest aspects of everyday life coupled with the very funny portrayals of the eccentric yet very realistic elderly women make it a unique ‘feel good’ film.

There has recently been a bit of a brouhaha in Illinois at which Hemant Mehta, "The Friendly Atheist", is the center.  Mr. Mehta is a math teacher in public school, Illinois’ District 204’s Neuqua Valley High School, to be exact, as well as a popular blogger.  The controversy started because of a conservative Christian organization, the Illinois Family Institute (italics all their own), whose writer Laurie Higgins, Director of the IFI, decided to let people know that they should avoid the "Bean" in Millennium Park in Illinois on Saturday, August 15 at 1:00 pm because the "Great Nationwide Homosexual Kiss-In" was going to be taking place there.  Lots of people responded to this, and Mr. Mehta was one of them.  On his blog he wrote, “The only thing that could make this kiss-in even better is if it took place just outside Higgins’ house.”  I want to say that, while funny, I don’t know that this was the most appropriate kind of response.  Mr. Mehta insists that the remark was sarcastic, and that “Obviously, I didn’t mean on her property (that’d be illegal). And not purposely in front of her children.”  I guess I’m much more bothered by the suggestion that people should show up on Ms. Higgins’ lawn in a sort of protest than I am that her kids might see some benign public display of affection.  My concern would be that a public school teacher could be seen as exhorting his students to break the law.  While Mr. Mehta later explicitly said that’s not what he intended, as the quote above indicates, I will say that such was not at all clear from the context of his initial post.  (As an aside, it’s weird to me that his response was phrased in such a way as to suggest that her children seeing some homosexual couple kissing would be “worse” than the couple illegally trespassing.  I mean, really?  There’s more I could say about that, but I do not want to get away from my actual point here.)

Mr. Mehta’s response to the IFI’s “warning” about the Kiss-In led Ms. Higgins’ to write an email to the entire administrative staff of Mr. Mehta’s school as well as every area school board member.  Part of that email read as follows:  “He, of course, has a First Amendment right to write whatever he pleases on his blog ‘The Friendly Atheist’ during his free time, but it’s unfortunate that a role model for students would write some of the things he writes.”  While the entire content of the letter is not available, Ms. Higgins did not stop with that email.  She wrote this article on the IFI website further condemning Mr. Mehta.  There she has published at least one response she received to her email:

Making District 204 leaders aware of Mr. Mehta’s comment was all I intended to do regarding this issue, that is, until I received an angry email from attorney and school board member, Mark Metzger. His email contained the following not-so-veiled threat of a lawsuit:

"Have you considered the possibility that if your actions caused Mr. Mehta to suffer consequences in his employment, you’d be subjecting yourself and/or your organization to liability? That’s potentially unwise to your organization’s self-sufficiency, surviival (sic) and mission."

In addition, he suggested I was setting "a poor example for families"…

Whatever the total content of the email was, it is clear that at least one school board member recognized that such correspondence could have the result of Mr. Mehta being fired.  And this gets to the heart of the reason I’m addressing this.  In this same article Ms. Higgins writes:

Of course, teachers have a First Amendment right to blog or speak publicly about anything they want. And parents have every right not to have their children in the classroom under the tutelage of someone whose publicly articulated views they find fallacious and deeply troubling. Having a First Amendment right to speak freely does not guarantee public approval or public silence. And the public response may be that parents choose not to have their children in the class of those who espouse views that parents find foolish and destructive.
Parents have a justifiable concern that the personal views of teachers may find their way into the classroom, either through curricular choices or classroom commentary. Those parents who want nothing more than that their children will believe in God may find someone whose mission in life is to persuade young people to reject a belief in God to be a poor role model.

If you read this as a call to action, you are not alone.  Indeed, I cannot imagine who could read this as anything but a call to action for conservative, Christian parents to do something.  But what is that something?  It would appear that she wants these parents to band together to somehow get Mr. Mehta removed from his position as a public school teacher.  What other action could she be suggesting?  Giving her the benefit of the doubt that she is not wishing her readers to do actual violence to Mr. Mehta, I just cannot see what she would want the parents who “have every right not to have their children in the classroom under the tutelage of someone whose publicly articulated views they find fallacious and deeply troubling” to actually do if not that.  In Ms. Higgins’ own article she provided evidence that someone reading similar words would take that call to action to be getting Mr. Mehta fired from his job, so she is clearly aware that that is just how her words will be taken.  Since she continued to use similar words in her article to the public as she did in her letter to the school administration (“He, of course, has a First Amendment right to write whatever he pleases on his blog ‘The Friendly Atheist’ during his free time, but it’s unfortunate that a role model for students would write some of the things he writes.” vs. “Of course, teachers have a First Amendment right to blog or speak publicly about anything they want. … Those parents who want nothing more than that their children will believe in God may find someone whose mission in life is to persuade young people to reject a belief in God to be a poor role model.”), it would be absurd to suggest that she did not understand how her words would be understood.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Mehta responded to this article on his own blog.  In it he writes, “It seems I have a conservative ‘family’ group angry with me because of this website. And they’re trying to attack my character (and my teaching position) as a result.”  The following day Ms. Higgins posted this in the IFI site:

District 204 parents really should spend some time perusing Neuqua Valley math teacher, Hemant Mehta’s website to determine whether he is the kind of man with whom they want their children to spend a school year. He absolutely has a First Amendment right to promote any feckless, destructive, offensive, and immoral ideas he wants via his blog, but, as I mentioned in my earlier article, parents have the right not to have him as a teacher and a role model for their children. I want to be very clear about what I’m suggesting: I am suggesting that parents who have serious concerns about Mr. Mehta’s potential influence on their children’s beliefs politely insist that their children be placed in another teacher’s class.

One notes the post here gives an explicit claim as to what is being suggested, and this differs from the earlier interpretation of the call to action that I claimed was reasonable.  Here Ms. Higgins says that she simply thinks that parents should “politely insist that their children be placed in another teacher’s class.”  Of course, one must ask how reasonable such a suggestion is.  If it turns out that a significant number of parents continue to insist that their child be taught by someone else, and if the school is under any obligation to respect that demand, there seems to be little way that they could continue to employ Mr. Mehta.  Further, and this needs to be addressed, is it reasonable to believe that Ms. Higgins wants any child taught by someone who promoting “feckless, destructive, offensive, and immoral ideas” in his capacity as a role model?  I would think not.  So, while it might not be the case that Ms. Higgins called for parents to phone the school board demanding Mr. Mehta’s immediate firing, it seems ridiculous to suggest that she wants anything other than that.

Of course, that’s just how Mr. Mehta took the article.  He then wrote, “The Illinois Family Institute’s Laurie Higgins is going after me (and my job) again.”  This would appear to be a wholly reasonable thing to say given what Ms. Higgens has actually written.  So, here comes the big issue, Ms. Higgens responded by publishing an open letter to Mr. Mehta on the IFI site.  It begins with the quote from Mr. Mehta above, and then follows with, “I have never in any context suggested that you should be fired or that you should resign. In fact, I don’t believe the school has any legal right to fire you. You should have fact-checked before you posted that inaccurate statement.”

So, for those of you still following along, here’s where the meat of my post comes.  It is patently absurd to insist that you want anything other than the removal of a teacher when you have done everything in your power to make that happen!  Did Ms. Higgins ever explicitly say she wanted him fired?  No.  But the reason for this is clear in her article.  “In fact, I don’t believe the school has any legal right to fire you.”  So, the reason she has not publically called for such a thing is because she does not believe that Mr. Mehta’s actions legally warrant that response by the school.  But, of course, that is what Ms. Higgins desires.  She has made that repeatedly clear, and the fact that she cannot legally get her desire in no way diminishes that.  It is wholly dishonest for her to pretend that anything other than that is what’s going on here.

All that leads me to my big question.  Why is she so deceitful?  How does her lying about what she’s attempting to accomplish promote her values?  And the answer is obvious.  By taking the route she does she hopes to provide an actual reason for Mr. Mehta being removed from his position.  It would not be what he’s written on his blog, because that will not cut it.  But a large movement by area parents who refuse to let their children be taught by Mr. Mehta will have a similar result.  Mr. Mehta will be unable to do his job, will face public ridicule, and, I suspect, the refusal of parents to let their children be taught by someone can be used in some way so as to provide a legal reason to fire Mr. Mehta. 

All that means that what Ms. Higgins has said is bullshit.  Flat out.  She has danced around, deceived, and outright lied about her intentions in order to get what she wants.  I have no doubt that Ms. Higgins holds “truth” to be an important value for families.  And yet, she has no problem abandoning that value when it is convenient for her.  If values can be discarded on a whim, that should suggest that those values are of little importance in the first place.  People like Ms. Higgins should be shunned and her opinions fully disregarded by all sides.  Their organizations should receive no support from anyone, especially not those who actually hold dear the values that Ms. Higgins parodies.  Those who are genuine in their adherence to conservative, Christian values should view Ms. Higgins as the worst kind of enemy, a traitor within their own camp.  And, of course, those who think her values of hatred and misrepresentation of those who differ from her are garbage should see her as nothing less than a genuine threat exemplified by all those who would plunge us into a new Dark Ages.

Laurie Higgins of the IFI has issued an open letter to Hemant Mehta (AKA The Friendly Atheist), in which she explains that, no, she isn’t trying to get him fired…she just wanted to let parents know about hisdangerous ideas. By sending a letter to his supervisors.

By sending a letter only to his supervisors.

Head on over and give Mehta your support. Yes, some of us atheists can be awfully mean and disrespectful to the specialness that is religion, but Mehta definitely does not deserve to be tarred with that particular brush.

The IRS has reached agreement with UBS over disclosure of the identity of US citizens holding private bank accounts with the firm in Switzerland.  The agreement calls for UBS to release the names of 4,450 clients who are suspected of using the bank to hide assets and avoid taxation.   UBS has private banking relationships with with over 52,000 US citizens with assets approximating $15 billion.

Private banking is an important pillar of the Suisse economy.  This action may pose a significant threat to the Suisee banking industry.   Compliance with the IRS request for the names of private bank account holders  damages the venerated wall of secrecy Suisse banks employ to attract assets and clientele.  Other EU banking centers like Luxembourg and Liechtenstein may also feel pressure to comply with news standards of transparency and disclosure.  This may have the effect of driving investors to seek more exotic havens to park assets.  Offshore domiciles in the  Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and Latin America may benefit from this action.  It may also add to the risk of investors seeking safe havens for their assets.

For US taxpayers, the resolution signifies that the IRS is serious about its intention to ramp up enforcement of the tax code.  The IRS has enhanced its focus on US citizens and corporations utilizing foreign banks and offshore investment vehicles.  The agency is concerned that investment products and financial services offered by foreign banks have enabled US citizens and corporations to avoid tax liabilities.  Products such as credit cards, hedge funds and other investment partnerships are coming under the exacting microscope of the IRS.

The IRS is under pressure to enforce compliance with federal tax statutes.  The US Treasury coffers are seriously depleted given all the stimulus and economic recovery expenditures.  The IRS is mandated to assure that compliance is adhered to so taxpayers pay taxes on all legal capital gains and income.  As this blog reported, the IRS has developed an Industry Focus Issue, (IFI) audit strategy that  profiles investment partnerships and other corporations that use offshore domiciles to harbor assets.  IFI guides field audit personnel through a risk based assessment of investment partnerships.  The IFI aggregates and ranks  Three Tiers of high risk tax compliance issues.  Examiners will conduct rigorous reviews of these issue sensitive factors.  Many of the factors concern the recognition of income and assets in custody outside of the US and repatriation of revenue derived in foreign domiciles.

Sum2 has published a product, IRS Audit Risk Program (IARP) that guides corporate tax managers and tax professionals through a risk assessment of their exposure to IFI risk factors.  The IARP is a strategic tool that corporate tax professionals utilize to score risk exposures, determine mitigation actions, estimate remediation expenses and manage tax controversy defense strategies.  The IARP is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

The IRS action against UBS is the opening salvo in the new era of enhanced compliance.  UBS is a marquee brand that indicates that the IRS is serious about compliance. As a result of the UBS settlement other Suisse banks are coming forward to make voluntary disclosures about US citizens suspected of tax-evasion.  Those bank  include, Credit Suisse, Julius Baer Holding, Zurcher Kantonalbank and Union Bancaire Privee.  UBS has  previously turned over approximately 250 names to the IRS.  It is believed that the IRS has issued indictments to 150 people from that list of names.

This high profiled action against UBS has helped to publicize the IRS amnesty program that expires September 23rd.  In an effort to encourage Americans to voluntarily disclose information about  accounts they illegally withheld, the IRS created an amnesty program. Under the amnesty program, any taxpayer who successfully completes the requirements will not be criminally prosecuted for their acts.  More details on the IRS amnesty program can be found here on the FIND LAW website.

Risk: tax, reputation, compliance,

Moon Film Poster

Afternoon pop pickers! On the way to Marley Park to Fatboy Slim & Co. In the meanwhile thought I’d let you know about Duncan Jones’ new movie ‘Moon’ which I went to see last night in the IFI in Dublin.

Duncan introduced the movie and stuck around for a Question and Answer session after the screening.

Moon tells the story of Sam Bell, remarkably played by Sam Rockwell, a worker on a three year solo contract on the Sarang facility on the moon for Lunar Industries.

Made on a budget of a measly five million dollars, Moon tips its hat at some classic sci fi movies such as 2001 and even Alien and it also reminded this viewer of childhood tv memories of Space 1999.

Moon deals with themes of isolation, loneliness, long distance relationships and the age old question of if we were put in the situation would we actually like or even get on with ourselves.

During the Question and Answer session Duncan explained that as a first time director, learning to prioritize became one of the major issues he had to learn about.

I found it quite amusing, as questions were being asked, that some viewers were trying to take more from the movie than was neccessary. One audience member questioned what had happened Sam, the answer to the question is it really doesn’t matter what happened, we must look at the information we were given on screen. As Duncan said ‘I know what happened Sam, that’s all that matters’.

I enjoyed the movie but felt as we were leaving that a number of people went without looking at what genre of movie it was and only attended because of who Duncan’s Dad is.

If I had to ask a question yesterday I think it would have been about his Dad’s part in ‘The man who fell to Earth’ The 1976 (I think) film starred Duncan’s dad, David Bowie. The title song was given a second life by Nirvana in the nineties.

While Bowie’s Space Oddity paid homage to the original Moon landings and space voyages, its good timing that the Duncan Jones film gets its UK and Ireland release around the 40th anniversary on the Neil Armstrong Moon landing and as the Space Ship Endeavour returns to Earth following its stay at the International Space Station.

Go see Moon, independent film at its best!

Original PDF Letter can be viewed at:  http://iicobserver.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/letter2.pdf