"Prosperity has never trickled down from a wealthy few."

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• Top News

Private security is a tax break

Dozens of corporate boards, including those of Halliburton, Kraft, Home Depot and Waste Management, insist or recommend that their top executives fly on private jets for security reasons, whether going to Washington for business or Hawaii for vacation. In the name of security, companies also pay for home alarm systems, 24-hour monitoring and even chauffeurs. Are corporate chieftains really in that much danger? The answer has to be no in most cases. Rather, directors often dole out personal safety perks to ease a chief executive's tax bill. By classifying the benefits as security measures, the executives typically get a better tax treatment on the services. It's a common corporate tax trick. Each year, companies spend millions of dollars to ensure the ostensible safety of their executives, services that sometimes extend to others. Board members, too, can benefit. Last year, Northrop Grumman paid to put its lead independent director, Lewis W. Coleman, in a "more secure residence," according to a regulatory filing. For those who need translation, it seems that Northrop Grumman helped Mr. Coleman buy a new house. He's an expensive board member. Personal safety perks create big tax savings. Let's say you are a chief executive who wants to take the company's jet. If the trip is business related, then it's all pretty straightforward. The company pays for it and deducts the expense under a complicated formula. It's a different case for personal travel. In those cases, chief executives are required to pay income tax on the imputed portion of the flight — that is, the amount the company paid for the flight. So a chief executive who is a frequent flier can rack up a rather large tax bill. Luckily, the tax code offers executives a break. If an outside security consultant determines that executives need a private jet and other services for their safety, the Internal Revenue Service cuts corporate chieftains a break. In such cases, the chief executive will pay a reduced tax bill or sometimes no tax at all. Even when tax is due, the company sometimes takes care of it. Companies cite security issues to get their executives better tax treatment for things like personal air travel. It's also a way to justify the expense to shareholders. In this era of crimped earnings and sluggish economic growth, the benefits — and the reasons the companies give for them — ring especially hollow.

Court narrows reach of computer fraud law

A US appeals court rejected the government's broad reading of a computer fraud law to prosecute workers who steal from company computers, saying it could expose millions of Americans to prosecution for harmless activities at work. The 9-2 decision by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco diverges from broader readings of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by three other federal appeals courts. This raises the chance that the US Supreme Court might decide to try to resolve the issue. Critics say the government's interpretation would transform the law into an "sweeping Internet-policing mandate" to criminalize any unauthorized use of information from a computer, rather than simply a statute to thwart hacking. Proponents say It has everything to do with stealing an employer's valuable information to set up a competing business with the purloined data, siphoned away from the victim, knowing such access and use were prohibited in the defendants' employment contracts.

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1 - Woman charged with stalking Alec Baldwin - click here.

2 - Dotcom arrest costs taxpayer $70,000 - so far - click here.

3 - AOL strikes $1.1bn patent deal with Microsoft - click here.

4 - Brazil, U.S. move to boost cachaca, Tennessee whiskey trade - click here.

5 - US: Facebook buys Instagram for $1bn - click here.

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• MiMIC Journal
  

China jails land rights lawyer Ni

A Beijing court on Tuesday sentenced Chinese housing activist and lawyer, Ni Yulan, to two years and eight months in prison on charges of fraud and "inciting a disturbance" in Beijing. Ni's husband, Dong Jiqin, was also sentenced to two years in prison on similar charges. Ni and her husband had assisted victims of government land seizures, including those displaced by the Beijing Olympics project, prior to their arrest in August 2011. AI - Amnesty International called for Ni and her husband's immediate release, saying that that charges are false and meant to punish Yulan for her activist work.

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Israel bill would allow Parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions

The Israeli justice minister has proposed a bill that would allow the Israeli Knesset to reinstate laws that have been struck down by the Israeli Supreme Court. Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman last week proposed the bill, which would give parliament authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions that find laws unconstitutional. If a majority of 65 members vote in favor of the disputed law, then the law would be revived and valid for five years, after which parliament could vote to renew it for additional five-year periods. The proposed law has sparked debate. For example, Knesset legal adviser Eyal Yinon opposes the bill, saying that 65 votes does not represent a sufficient majority and that the law would give parliament too much power. However, Knesset member Reuven Rivlin said the proposal would reduce conflict between parliament and judiciary and said that he would pursue a vote on the bill during the summer session.

Swiss Court rejects disclosure of Credit Suisse client's data

A Swiss court rejected the disclosure to the US tax authorities of a Credit Suisse Group AG client's account data, saying a US request addressed only tax evasion not covered by a 1996 Swiss-American tax treaty. Credit Suisse employees did engage in conduct covered by the term "tax fraud and the like," the Federal Administrative Tribunal said in a April 5 ruling, adding that fraudulent intent couldn't be proved on the part of the bank's client. "Administrative assistance shall not be granted for presumed tax evasion, even if high amounts are at stake," the court said. "Mere failure to declare a bank account may be qualified -- at the utmost -- as a tax evasion."

US appeals court hears case of graphic tobacco ads

The US government on Tuesday defended graphic tobacco labels and advertising that use pictures of rotting teeth and diseased lungs as accurate and necessary to warn consumers about the risks of smoking. The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday asked a US appeals court to undo a lower court ruling that said such labels were unconstitutional, violating tobacco companies' free-speech rights. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates some 45 million US adults smoke cigarettes, which are the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Congress passed a law in 2009 that gave the FDA broad powers to regulate the tobacco industry, including imposing the label regulation. The law requires color warning labels big enough to cover the top 50 percent of a cigarette pack's front and back panels, and the top 20 percent of print advertisements.

Judge refuses to decertify Philip Morris class action

A federal judge has refused to decertify a class action lawsuit asking Philip Morris to provide medical screening for early signs of lung cancer to thousands of Massachusetts residents. The 2006 federal class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of Massachusetts smokers who want Philip Morris to pay for future damages for medical monitoring because of their exposure to cigarette smoke. They are asking the Court to supervise a screening program involving low-dose tomography (LDCT) that could identify and diagnose lung cancer in the early curable states. The program would cover an estimated 36,671 eligible participants, and run an estimated 28 years at a total cost of over $187 million. A federal court certified a class of current smokers, age 50 and older, who have smoked Marlboro cigarettes for at least 20 "pack years" (the average number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day, multiplied by the number of years the person has smoked) and have not been diagnosed with lung cancer. Philip Morris tried to decertify the class action lawsuit after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, arguing that "several intervening developments in the relevant law and facts require reconsideration of the court's order certifying a class in this action."

Europe rights court rules terror suspects will not face torture if extradited to US

The ECHR - European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that five terrorism suspects facing extradition from the UK to the US will not face inhumane prison conditions in the US. The court held that British citizens Syed Talha Ahsan, Babar Ahmad, Saudi-born Khaled Al-Fawwaz and Egyptian-born radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri will not experience prison conditions in the US in violation of Article 3 the European Convention on Human Rights provisions on the prohibition of torture and inhumane or degrading treatment, as well as on sentence duration. All five men are wanted in the US on terrorism charges and, if extradited, would face imprisonment without parole at ADX Florence, a super-maximum security prison in Colorado. In finding that the prison conditions would not be considered torture, the court said that solitary confinement may be appropriate for security reasons and that the men would have opportunities for recreation and outdoor exercise.

Egypt administrative court suspends constitutional panel

Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday effectively suspended the work of the 100-member panel responsible for drafting the country's new constitution after ruling in favor of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the formation of the panel. The lawsuit was filed by a number of prominent Egyptian lawyers challenging the process by which the panel was formed. Specifically, the lawsuit asserts that having half of the panel chosen from parliament violates a 1994 Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court prohibiting members of parliament from electing themselves to certain positions. The composition of the constitutional panel has been intensely debated, and the domination of the proceedings by Islamists has been extremely controversial. At least 20 percent of the members of the panel have indicated that they will withdraw from the panel, criticizing the under-representation of secularists. Islamists currently hold 65 percent of the seats on the committee, including 50 seats being held by members of the Muslim Brotherhood's FJP - Freedom and Justice Party, and the Salafist Nour Party.

ECCC releases full text of Khmer Rouge leader appeal judgment

The Supreme Court Chamber of the ECCC - Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia on Monday released the full text of its appeals judgment in the case of Kaing Guek Eav, also known as "Duch." Case 001,, which was the first case before the ECCC, was originally decided by the Supreme Court Chamber on February 3 of this year, but the full judgment was not released until Monday. Kaing was found guilty and sentenced to life for committing various crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Convention of 1949. In its full judgment, the Supreme Court Chamber addressed issues concerning personal jurisdiction, errors of law, and errors concerning the original sentencing among others in its full opinion.

Bolivia 'axes Amazon road deal'

Bolivia is to cancel the contract of a Brazilian firm that was building a controversial road through the Amazon rainforest, Evo Morales says. He accused the firm, OAS, of not complying with the terms of the deal, ignoring instructions and failing to meet various contractual obligations. Morales did not say if the road project would continue or if OAS would be compensated. Work on the central section of the road - which was to pass through the Isiboro-Secure reserve (Tipnis) - was suspended last year after a protest march by indigenous tribes.

Obama, Rousseff to boost US-Brazil ties

Dilma Rousseff has stressed the growing importance of relations with the US after meeting Obama at the White House. She said there was potential to deepen co-operation, in areas of mutual interest like oil, gas and energy industry. She expressed concern about expansionist monetary policies in developed countries, saying they were impairing growth in emerging economies. "She said this was damaging economic growth in developing countries and amounted to a form of "exchange-rate protectionism." Another key focus of Rousseff's visit is education, as Brazil seeks to tackle its shortage of skilled workers. The Brazilian government has unveiled a program to send some 100,000 students overseas to study at the world's best universities, with about a fifth destined for US institutions. The visit has a strong accent on trade and business: Rousseff and Obama engaged in a meeting with business leaders from both countries. Obama, who is on a campaign to double US exports, is especially interested in Brazil, where the United States has been shouldered aside by China as the country's biggest trade partner. Obama said US-Brazil relations "had never been stronger". Brazil is also seeking to boost its international standing, and wants US support for its bid for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

Bernanke says recovery not complete

Bernanke has said the US economy is yet to fully recover from the impact of the global financial crisis. He said that more regulatory action was needed to ensure the stability of the financial markets. However, he warned that as these procedures were put in place new risks might emerge. "Even as we make progress on known vulnerabilities, we must be mindful that our financial system is constantly evolving and that unanticipated risks will develop over time. An inevitable side effect of new regulations is that the system will adapt in ways that push risk-taking from more-regulated to less-regulated areas, increasing the need for careful monitoring and supervision of the system as a whole."

Malaysia parliament considering new security law

The Malaysian parliament is considering a new law that would replace the ISA - Internal Security Act of 1960. The new law, introduced on Tuesday, will significantly limit the time period for which a person can be detained by the police without trial from an indefinite period to a maximum of 28 days. Within the time frame, police can investigate allegations of whether detainees pose a security threat, after which they may be released or charged. In addition, the new law will prohibit detention of individuals solely based on their political beliefs. However, it allows prosecutors to detain individuals, even if they are acquitted at trial level, so long as all appeals have been addressed.

A roadblock to recovering money for Madoff's victims

The trustee appointed on behalf of investors steps into the shoes of the perpetrator of the fraud, and any knowledge of wrongdoing is attributed to the trustee, so that a claim against another participant in the scheme runs into the "in pari delicto" doctrine.

Fannie, Freddie weigh mortgage write-downs

Some economists say the government-run enterprises should be allowed to help distressed homeowners by lowering their loan principals to reflect today's lower values. But critics of the move say it would cost taxpayers money and encourage strategic defaults.

Activist challenges Georgia 'no duty to retreat' law

A civil rights activist on Monday filed suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to challenge the state's "No Duty to Retreat" law, a piece of legislation that he believes is too vague and may lead to bias-based killings of minorities. The lawsuit, filed by Rev. Markel Hutchins, finds support for its "vagueness" argument by asserting that "it is not clear what actions would create 'reasonable belief' that deadly force is necessary," thus "an individual seeking to stand their ground ... has no way of knowing if their 'reasonable belief' comports with the standards protected by the law." The suit further contends that the law does not guarantee equal protection to African Americans, as some courts have actually accepted a victim's race as evidence to establish the reasonableness of a killer's fear in cases of justifiable homicide. The office of the Georgia Attorney General declined to comment on the allegations.

No excuse for lawyer's chronic lateness

A defense attorney who showed up to a trial 30 minutes late has been slapped with sanctions by a Brooklyn judge who said she's fed up with his "pattern of practice to delay trials."

• Daily Press Review

North Korea starts to fuel rocket
Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar

UN: 613 killed in Iraq in first 3 months of 2012
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England

Syrian opposition says 1,000 killed in last 8 days
Egyptian Gazette, English-language, Cairo, Egypt

Gorge damaged by construction of high-speed rail to Jerusalem, Israeli environmentalists say
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

Clinton pressures Russia to toughen stance on Syria
JPost, Conservative, Jerusalem, Israel

Syria's promise to Annan on truce
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

Annan optimistic of Syria cease-fire amid new shelling
CNN International, London, England

Baby alive after 12 hours in morgue
Daily Express, Conservative tabloid, London, England

Only 40% of border scandal foreign criminals have been deported in the last six years
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

One Direction in Australia: Niall Horan tries 'horrible' Vegemite for the first time
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

North Korea fuels rocket ahead of launch
EuroNews, International news, Ecully Cedex, France

FRANCE - SYRIA : Still hope for Syria ceasefire deadline, Annan says
France 24, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

Syrian situation gets serious
Hurriyet Daily News, (Liberal, English-language), Istanbul, Turkey

George Zimmerman's lawyers resign
Independent The, London, England

Megafon in negotiations to buy Yota - news reports
Moscow News The, Independent, Moscow, Russia

9/11: the day of judgment is nigh
Telegraph The, Conservative daily, London, England

Oona Chaplin: I was forced out of ballet because of the size of my backside
Telegraph The, Celebrity news, London, England

ADB: 2012 GDP growth 5.5%
Bangkok Post, Independent, Bangkok, Thailand

Santorum suspends campaign, leaves field to Romney
China Post, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Time to Think About the Lot of Ethnic Koreans from China
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea

Pakistan rapidly developing its nuclear arsenal: Report
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India

Delhi receives rain for second consecutive day
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India

Capture your ideas any which way with these USB peripherals
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan

Neighbourhood watch shooting: Lawyers quit
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

Rose-made Easter egg in Ukraine
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China

Taleban suicide bombers kill at least 16 in Afghanistan
Straits Times, Pro-government, Singapore

Angela's big decision
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia

UCLA sent wrongly email to nearly 900 waitlisted students, told they admitted
Taiwan News, English-language daily, Taipei, Taiwan

Vedanta says full-year iron ore production drops
The Economic Times, Business, Mumbai, India

Fresh violence in Syria a day before ceasefire
Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Ontario

The moral vacuum of India's middle class
Globe and Mail The, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada

US Justice Department May Sue Apple Over E-book Pricing On Wednesday: Report
International Business Times, Business news organization, New York, U.S

U.S. Still Importing Illegal Timber
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy

Dow, S&P fall for fifth day, but Alcoa up late
Reuters, Business News, New York, U.S

Syrian forces press assault as peace plan falters
Reuters, World News, New York, U.S

'Lousy wife' but no arsonist: GM manager denies starting fire at lover's home
Toronto Star, Toronto, Ontario

South Sudan 'captures oil field'
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

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