Customers of all sorts of businesses in Greece will be able to walk away without paying if they don't receive a record of their transaction, under rules set to take effect soon, an exclusive report of the Wall Street Journal website states today (November 9, 2012).
Restaurants -- seen as among the worst offenders, mainly because much of their business is transacted in cash -- will be required to add a notification about the right to refuse payment to their menus. Everyone -- from doctors and lawyers to plumbers and taxis -- also is liable to be stiffed if they don't give receipts.
The new regulations are the latest effort by the cash-strapped Greek government to crack down on rampant tax evasion -- adding an extra incentive for businesses to issue receipts. The receipts produce a record of the transactions, and authorities use that record to calculate taxes owed by the business.
"With this measure, the consumer is protected and a bold step is taken against tax evasion," said Athanasios Skordas, Greece's deputy development minister.
Tax dodging costs Greece about 28 billion euros ($36 billion) a year -- an amount equivalent to roughly 15 percent of Greece's annual economic output -- according to a recent study conducted by Margarita Tsoutsoura of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Parents Protest Yoga in Schools Is Rel. Practice; Cal. School District Allows Children to Refuse It
Parents in the California seaside town of Encinitas -- a suburb of San Diego -- are in a twist over yoga, saying that adding the ancient practice of meditative exercise to the school curriculum is tantamount to religious indoctrination into Hinduism, the California Catholic website reports today (November 9, 2012).
School officials never thought that yoga -- practiced by some 22 million Americans -- would be controversial when they accepted a $533,000 grant from a local yoga studio to include Ashtanga yoga in a program where students also learn about healthy eating and cultivate small gardens.
Soon after yoga teachers began leading students at five elementary schools in twice-weekly sessions of stretching, breathing, and relaxing, four dozen parents protested to the school board, saying yoga is a system of spiritual beliefs.
School officials quickly announced that parents could choose to have their children excused from yoga classes. But attorney Dean Broyles -- representing the parents -- said he plans to file a lawsuit to oust yoga from the school district.
School officials never thought that yoga -- practiced by some 22 million Americans -- would be controversial when they accepted a $533,000 grant from a local yoga studio to include Ashtanga yoga in a program where students also learn about healthy eating and cultivate small gardens.
Soon after yoga teachers began leading students at five elementary schools in twice-weekly sessions of stretching, breathing, and relaxing, four dozen parents protested to the school board, saying yoga is a system of spiritual beliefs.
School officials quickly announced that parents could choose to have their children excused from yoga classes. But attorney Dean Broyles -- representing the parents -- said he plans to file a lawsuit to oust yoga from the school district.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Some 200 Orth. Churches to Be Built in Moscow; Govt. Allocates 81 Plots for Const. of Churches
Some 200 Orthodox Christian Churches will soon be constructed both in Moscow and new territories adjacent to the city under "the Big Moscow expansion plan," Russia's Duma (Congress) Member of Parliament and Patriarch adviser Vladimir Resin said today (November 8, 2012), according to the Voice of Russia website.
Resin said that 37 churches are now under construction in Moscow, and the government has already allocated 81 plots of land for the project.
The Moscow government has placed billboards all across the city urging people to donate money for the construction of the churches.
Moscow -- and indeed most of Russia -- has been experiencing an incredible upsurge in the religious worship of millions of its people since the collapse of the communist and godless Soviet Union in 1991.
Resin said that 37 churches are now under construction in Moscow, and the government has already allocated 81 plots of land for the project.
The Moscow government has placed billboards all across the city urging people to donate money for the construction of the churches.
Moscow -- and indeed most of Russia -- has been experiencing an incredible upsurge in the religious worship of millions of its people since the collapse of the communist and godless Soviet Union in 1991.
Bishop John Welby to Become Abp. of Canterbury; Replaces Rowan Williams to Head 77M Anglicans
The Right Rev. Justin Welby -- the Bishop of Durham, England -- will be soon unveiled as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the Christian Post website reports exclusively today (November 8, 2012). Downing Street in London said that it expects an official announcement to be made soon.
Welby, 56 -- an Old Etonian (Eton College graduate) and former businessman in the oil industry -- will succeed Dr. Rowan Williams, 62, who will step down on December 31, 2012 to teach religion at Cambridge University. Dr. Williams served as Archbishop of Canterbury for the past 10 years.
Welby is known to support the biblical definition of marriage as between one man and one woman; he is against same-sex marriage; and he is opposed to homosexuals serving as bishops.
Theologically, he has been described by Britain's "The Telegraph" newspaper as "unashamedly part of the evangelical tradition, upholding a more traditional and conservative interpretation of the Bible than some in the Church of England." As Archbishop of Canterbury, Welby will be the leader of the world's 77 million Anglican Christians.
Welby, 56 -- an Old Etonian (Eton College graduate) and former businessman in the oil industry -- will succeed Dr. Rowan Williams, 62, who will step down on December 31, 2012 to teach religion at Cambridge University. Dr. Williams served as Archbishop of Canterbury for the past 10 years.
Welby is known to support the biblical definition of marriage as between one man and one woman; he is against same-sex marriage; and he is opposed to homosexuals serving as bishops.
Theologically, he has been described by Britain's "The Telegraph" newspaper as "unashamedly part of the evangelical tradition, upholding a more traditional and conservative interpretation of the Bible than some in the Church of England." As Archbishop of Canterbury, Welby will be the leader of the world's 77 million Anglican Christians.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
US Man Behind Anti-Islam Film Gets a Year in Jail; It Incited Anti-US Rage, Deaths in Muslim Nations
The convicted California scam artist -- whose crude anti-Islam film sparked protests and killings against the United States across the Muslim world -- was sentenced to a year in jail today (November 7, 2012) over probation violations stemming from his role in the video, according to the Reuters website.
The Egyptian-born Coptic Orthodox Christian -- who has been publicly identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, but whose legal name is Mark Basseley Youssef -- admitted to several probation violations during a hearing today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The 13-minute film -- titled "The Innocence of Muslims" and attributed to Youssef, 55 -- portrays the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and a sexual deviant, although cast members have said they were misled by Youssef into appearing in a film they believed was an adventure drama called "Desert Warrior."
The film touched off a torrent of anti-American unrest in Muslim countries. The start of the violence on September 11 coincided with an attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in the Libyan city of Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
The Egyptian-born Coptic Orthodox Christian -- who has been publicly identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, but whose legal name is Mark Basseley Youssef -- admitted to several probation violations during a hearing today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The 13-minute film -- titled "The Innocence of Muslims" and attributed to Youssef, 55 -- portrays the Prophet Mohammad as a fool and a sexual deviant, although cast members have said they were misled by Youssef into appearing in a film they believed was an adventure drama called "Desert Warrior."
The film touched off a torrent of anti-American unrest in Muslim countries. The start of the violence on September 11 coincided with an attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in the Libyan city of Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
Franklin Graham: US Is on a "Path of Destruction;" Billy's Son Says Re-electing Obama Was Mistake
The Rev. Franklin Graham -- son of the world-famous evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham -- said he believes that America is on a "path of destruction" due to yesterday's election results, the Christian Post website reports today (November 7, 2012).
Graham said the path he was referring to involved -- among other things -- the legalization of same-sex marriage.
"If we are allowed to go down this road in the path that this president wants us to go down, I think it will be to our peril and to the destruction of this nation," Graham said.
Last May, Graham declared that Obama had "shaken his fist at the same God who had created and defined marriage." At that time, Graham said, "It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more."
Graham said the path he was referring to involved -- among other things -- the legalization of same-sex marriage.
"If we are allowed to go down this road in the path that this president wants us to go down, I think it will be to our peril and to the destruction of this nation," Graham said.
Last May, Graham declared that Obama had "shaken his fist at the same God who had created and defined marriage." At that time, Graham said, "It grieves me that our president would now affirm same-sex marriage, though I believe it grieves God even more."
Pakistan Parents Kill Daughter for Looking at Boy; Case of Islam Honor Killing of "Immoral" Women
A Pakistani couple -- accused of killing their 15-year-old daughter by pouring acid on her -- carried out the attack because she stigmatized the family's honor by looking at a boy, the Newsmax World website reports today (November 7, 2012).
The girl's death illustrates the problem of so-called "honor killings" in predominantly Islamic Pakistan , where women are often killed for marrying non-Muslims or because they are perceived to have dishonored their family.
The girl's parents, Mohammad Zafar and his wife Zaheen, recounted the October 29 incident from jail. The father said the girl had turned to look at a boy who drove by on a motorcycle, and he told her it was wrong.
The father then threw the acid on the girl. The girl's mother said, "It was her destiny to die this way."
The girl's death illustrates the problem of so-called "honor killings" in predominantly Islamic Pakistan , where women are often killed for marrying non-Muslims or because they are perceived to have dishonored their family.
The girl's parents, Mohammad Zafar and his wife Zaheen, recounted the October 29 incident from jail. The father said the girl had turned to look at a boy who drove by on a motorcycle, and he told her it was wrong.
The father then threw the acid on the girl. The girl's mother said, "It was her destiny to die this way."
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