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The silver linings: Working from home in a pandemic

Originally posted on - blogs by NPG staff

I have mixed feelings about social distancing.  Read more




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From the frontline: A doctor’s tryst with COVID-19

Originally posted on - blogs by NPG staff

My heart skips a beat thinking of Thursday. That’s the day my scheduled week-long duty starts in COVID-19 wards and intensive care units (ICU) every fortnight.  Read more




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How coronavirus data from history is helping fight COVID-19

Originally posted on - blogs by NPG staff

Many of us had heard the term ‘coronavirus’ for the first time at the office lunch table. Our team lunches are unusual, discussing topics that range from evolution, to bodily functions to Bollywood. The scientific experts in the team were trying to explain how the coronavirus works, its relation to respiration and the conspiracy theories associated with it.  Read more




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PICKING ONE FROM THE PATCH




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ICAI waives off 75% registration fees for students from special states and UTs

ICAI waives off 75% registration fees for students from special states and UTs...




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Relating to download of CSI File from Oltas

Dear All,

I am filing TDS Return from RPU latest Version from NDSL site for the first time.
My topic is U/s 192 TDS Deducted from Salary.

According to my knowledge I have completed all the Setup & filing procedures.
The problem that I am Facing is while going through validation from FVU Version the content required is csi file.

Suppose I am filing tds Returns for Q2 in 24Q I have to select the date between which i have paid the challans, now with-in this period I have also paid challans for Contractor& Subcontractors U/s. 194C & also 194J how will I able to segregate these challan and download it & then upload it for successful validation.

Please suggest.........?




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EXTREMELY TOUGH QUESTIONS FROM ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE.

Section 115BBE ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS SECTION OF THE IT ACT.

My story belongs to Sec 115BBE one of the most dangerous section of the Income Tax Act 1961, and my story belongs to Appeal to Income Tax Applleate Tribunal against an order of CIT appeals.

Actually one of My case lying with an ITO regarding Cash on Demonitisation.
QUESTION NO 1) Should i proceed to ITAT against an order of CIT APPEALS for vacate of any demand arising under section 115BBE or not for a cash on demonitisation case and why ?
QUESTION NO 2) Should i move to CIT APPEALS AGAINST AN ORDER OF ITO for charging of penalty with tax under sec 115BBE during a Cash on demonitisarion case ? or Should i pay the whole amount of tax with fine which an ITO demands with penalty as tax on regular assessment and Why ?
QUESTION NO 3) What is the latest update of Sec 115BBE ?
QUESTION NO 4) Is there any probability of Special Audit during a cash on demonitisation case lying with CIT APPEALS and why ?
QUESTION NO 5 ) Is there any probability of relief of tax, if i move to CIT APPEALS OR EVEN to ITAT for vacate any demand arising out of Cash on demonitisation case Sec 115BBE ?

Disclaimer :- Only A qualified CA & CMA can answer to this query ( based on his/her practical approach ).

Regards




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‘Today is wonderful’: Relief in Lagos as Nigeria emerges from Covid-19 lockdown

Africa’s biggest city, Lagos, returned to work on Monday at the end of a five-week coronavirus lockdown.




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The Tiger King and I - My Stories from Working at America's Most Controversial Zoo

An exclusive look into the madness that was being an employee of 'Tiger King," a controversial zoo that is the subject of a wildly popular new Netflix documentary series.




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PYF Drawing of Shrek from memory

If you have not watched 2001's Shrek repeatedly until you know every line, you will never be half the vampire hunter Lt. Col Neville was. Also your drawings of Shrek might be off.




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EVERYMAN: A Product from Unilever™

You don't want it, but brother, we've got it! Give us your money! Now! NOW!!





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Taiwan’s vice president says 'possibility' that Covid-19 came from Chinese laboratory

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Taiwan's Vice President Chen Chien-jen, an epidemiologist by training, discussed his country's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, while criticising the response of China and the World Health Organization. Chen refused to rule out the "possibility" that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. He also expressed concern about a second wave of the virus appearing in autumn or winter.




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France records 178 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours as total toll from virus nears 26,000

France on Thursday recorded 178 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours, a 0.7 percent rise from the previous day in the lowest rate of increase in four days, taking the total number of deaths to 25,987. 




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May Flowers, Plus a New Song From Matthew Ryan

Right on time. We had April showers all last week. Here’s to a lovely May. Also, my pal Matthew Ryan dropped a new cover song today. It’s a striking version, well worth the listen. Enjoy.




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Tales from the Interview: A Sterling Interview

Marissa's not-for-profit organization sought a college graduate with the ability to code and create basic software solutions. Given their organization's financial limitations, they...



  • Tales from the Interview



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youre from ohio

Today on Toothpaste For Dinner: youre from ohio




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how to keep avocados from turning brown

Today on Toothpaste For Dinner: how to keep avocados from turning brown


WE NEED YOUR HELP: Please chip in $1 or more on Patreon so I can continue to update Toothpaste For Dinner, Married To The Sea & The Worst Things For Sale online and updating daily. I can not do this without your support on Patreon.












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From the Philippines, Not With Love: A Plague of Publishing and Marketing Scams


Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware®

I've been expending a lot of words and time lately warning about the latest scam phenomenon to hit the writing world: fake publishing and marketing companies that, through outrageous prices and worthless services, extract enormous amounts of money from unwary writers.

Based in the Philippines (despite their apparent US addresses, phone numbers, and telemarketer names) and focusing primarily on small press and self-published authors (particularly authors who've published with one of the Author Solutions imprints), these companies recruit writers with relentless--and highly deceptive--phone and email solicitations. Some do provide the services authors pay for, albeit at seriously inflated prices and often of poor quality. Others just take the money and run. I'm hearing from a growing number of writers who've paid five figures in fees to one--or, in some cases, more than one--of these scams, with next to nothing to show for it.

Given how fast the scams are proliferating (I learn about a new one every few weeks), I thought it would be helpful to gather all the information I've put together about them in one place.

My posts about the scams--where they come from, how they work, and how to recognize them:

- Army of Clones: Author Solutions Spawns a Legion of Copycats
- Army of Clones Part 2: Twenty-One (More) Publishing and Marketing "Services" to Beware Of
- Solicitation Alert: LitFire Publishing
- Amelia Publishing and Amelia Book Company: Sons of LitFire Publishing
- Solicitation Alert: Book-Art Press Solutions and Window Press Club
- Solicitation (and Plagiarism) Alert: Legaia Books / Paperclips Magazine

Here's a list of the scams themselves--at least, the nearly 100 I've identified so far (the list is also posted in the sidebar of this blog). You'll note that a number of them operate under more than one name--I suspect the interconnection is much greater than this, but I've only indicated the additional names where I've been able to reliably document them.

Some have perished since I began the list--I've noted this, but left their names, for the sake of authors who may have been scammed while they were operational.

- Access Media Group (aka Quill Space Media)
- Ace Media Creative Publication / Ace Media International / APM Media Production (aka Pearson Media Groups)
- ADBooks Media (aka Coffee Press / Okir Publishing, which is defunct)
- Alpha Books Solutions
- Alpha Books United
- Amelia Publishing / Amelia Book Company (aka LitFire Publishing / GoToPublish)
- AnalytIQ
- Ascribed LLC (defunct)
- Author Aide
- Author Codex (aka BookSpine Press)
- Author Media Express
- Author Pro Creatives and Marketing (defunct) (still doing business as Matchstick Literary)
- Author Reputation Press
- Author University
- AuthorCentrix (formerly BookBlastPro)
- AuthorLair
- Author's Note 360
- Authors Press (aka Westwood Books Publishing [formerly Greenberry] / Creative Books)
- Beacon Books Agency
- Black Lacquer Press & Marketing
- BooConn Marketing
- Book Agency Plus (aka BookTrail Agency)
- Book Art Press Solutions (aka Window Press Club / Booktimes)
- Book Avenue Publishing (aka Nivra Press, which is defunct)
- Book Magnets
- Book Reads Publishing (defunct)
- BookSpine Press (aka Author Codex)
- Booktimes (aka Book Art Press Solutions / Window Press Club)
- BookTrail Agency (aka Book Agency Plus)
- Book Vine Press
- Books Scribe
- BookVenture Publishing
- BookWhip (aka Carter Press / PRM Solutions)
- Box Office Media Creatives (aka Buzz Media Creatives)
- Bright Lights Distribution
- Buzz Media Creatives (aka Box Office Media Creatives)
- Capstone Media Services (defunct) (now doing business as Stampa / Stampa Global)
- Carter Press (aka BookWhip / PRM Solutions)
- Chapters Media & Advertising (aka Techbooks Media)
- Coffee Press (aka ADBooks Media) (formerly Okir Publishing)
- Creative Books (aka Westwood Books Publishing / Authors Press)
- Creative Titles Media  (aka TrueMedia Creatives)
- Crest Media Distribution
- Diamond Media Press
- Dream Books Distribution
- EC Publishing
- Editor's Creative Media (aka Editor's Press and Media)
- Editor's Press and Media (aka Editor's Creative Media)
- Global Summit House
- Gold Touch Press
- Golden Ink Media Services
- Goldman Agency
- GoToPublish (aka LitFire Publishing / Amelia Publishing / Amelia Book Company)
- Happy Media Consulting
- Haynes Media Group
- IdeoPage Press Solutions (aka The Writer Central)
- Legaia Books
- Lettra Press
- LitFire Publishing (aka Amelia Publishing / Amelia Book Company / GoToPublish)
- Maple Leaf Publishing
- MatchStick Literary (aka Author Pro Creatives and Marketing --defunct)
- McNaughton Books / McNaughton Publishing (website is currently dead)
- Netsfilm & Media Press
- New Leaf Media
- New Reader Media
- Nivra Press (defunct) (still doing business as Book Avenue Publishing)
- Okir Publishing (defunct) (still doing business as ADbook Press / Coffee Press)
- Outstrip (defunct)
- PRM Solutions LLC (aka Carter Press / Bookwhip)
- Pacific Books
- PageClapp Media
- PageTurner, Press and Media
- Parchment Global Publishing
- Paradigm Print
- Paramount Books Media
- Pearson Media Groups (aka Ace Media Creative Publication / Ace Media International)
- Press To Impress Publishing
- Pubkits.com
- Quill Space Media (aka Access Media Group)
- Readers Magnet
- Royale House (defunct)
- Rushmore Press
- Sherlock Press (defunct)
- Silver Fox Media
- Stampa / Stampa Global (formerly Capstone Media Services)
- Stonewall Press (aka Uirtus Solutions) (both defunct)
- Stratton Press
- Techbooks Media (aka Chapters Media & Advertising)
- Toplink Publishing
- TrueMedia Creatives (aka Creative Titles Media)
- Uirtus Solutions (aka Stonewall Press) (both defunct)
- Universal Book Solutions
- URLink Print and Media
- Vivlio (a.k.a. Vivlio Hill, Vivlio Hill Publishing, Vivlio Solutions, Vivlio Marketing Solutions)
- WestPoint Print and Media
- Westwood Books Publishing (formerly Greenberry) (aka Authors Press / Creative Books)
- Window Press Club (aka Book Art Press Solutions / Booktimes)
- WorkBook Press
- The Writer Central (aka IdeoPage Press Solutions)
- YourOnlinePublicist
- Zeta Publishing

(I'm continuously updating this list--adding new companies as I discover them, noting the ones that disappear.)

I know my warnings are having an effect, not just because I'm hearing from writers who've found my posts or my list and have been able to avoid being ripped off, but because some of the scams are getting...a little defensive. Book-Art Press now includes this in its solicitation emails:
The links are to anti-Writer Beware screeds from people WB has exposed.

The grievance is definitely on display in this one, from MatchStick Literary (it also showcases the scams' trademark fractured English):

See ya at Writer Beware, scammers!

UPDATE 12/10/19: I want to highlight this recent comment, which illustrates how ubiquitous and persistent these scams are. Bottom line: if you self-publish, you can count on being solicited. Be on your guard. (By "GoTo", I'm assuming the commenter means GoToPublish.)





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Make your own 2020 calendar from past calendars! PLUS: Progressive calendar free download

Although there is no 2020 Wondermark calendar per se, observant Marksman Gary T. let me know that dedicated calendar fans can make a 2020 calendar at home with the aid of: • January–February: The 2014 Wondermark calendar • March–December: Either the 2009 or 2015 Wondermark calendar It’s Leap Day this year that throws things off. SO, […]



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  • blog: stuff I made

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Cartoons from the March 9, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the March 9, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the March 16, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the March 16, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the March 23, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the March 23, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the March 30, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the March 30, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the April 6, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the April 6, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the April 13, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the April 13, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the April 20, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the April 20, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the April 27, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the April 27, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the May 4, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the May 4, 2020, Issue




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Cartoons from the May 11, 2020, Issue


Cartoons from the May 11, 2020, Issue




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Speaking From Experience




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From Youzo To Mezo

bleah




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Superheroes, from near and far, join Indonesia's coronavirus battle

Volunteers clad as Superman and Spider-Man sprayed disinfectant against the coronavirus on Indonesia's island of Java, flanking a colleague wearing the winged helmet of local superhero Gatotkaca who shouted, "Wear masks, wash hands and stay alert."




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From chickpeas to savoury porridge: Yotam Ottolenghi's thrifty recipes

A weekday lunch of braised chickpeas, a savoury brunch porridge and a grown-up take on rice pudding

The world has seen more than its fair share of closed doors lately – shops, restaurants, the barber, your neighbours’ – but that has, in turn, led to the opening of some others.

And if there is one door that has swung wide open in recent weeks, it’s the one that leads into the kitchen. From the keenest of cooks to the humblest of beginners, the kitchen has provided us all with the one thing we’ve been missing the most: freedom.

Continue reading...




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Why BAME people may be more at risk from coronavirus – video explainer

NHS staff from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds may be given roles away from the frontline under plans to reduce their disproportionately high death rate from Covid-19.

The Guardian revealed last week that minority groups were over-represented by as much as 27% in the overall Covid-19 death toll. Additionally, 63% of the first 106 health and social care staff known to have died from the virus were black or Asian, according to the Health Service Journal.

Senior reporter Haroon Siddique looks at the figures and explains why BAME people may be more at risk.

Continue reading...




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From stage star to Vogue cover: Why age cannot wither Judi Dench

She is the oldest person to grace the fashion bible’s cover – and she’s a hit on social media. Who says that getting older signals an end to vitality?


You can’t call Judi Dench lazy when it comes to contributing to society, but she’s been particularly dedicated to boosting morale of late. Who knows, perhaps she felt pressured to make up for her turn in the unhinged Cats film, where her feline character horrified viewers by appearing to wear a coat made of its own fur. Dench has provided vital comic relief during this time of crisis, predominantly with silly social media clips – a Twitter video of her wearing a novelty dog hat with pop-up ears in which she instructs us to “keep laughing” racked up 5.4 million views. Now she has supplied a far meatier pick-me-up by becoming, at 85, British Vogue’s oldest cover star.

Related: Judi Dench becomes British Vogue's oldest cover star

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Roy Horn of Las Vegas's famous Siegfried and Roy act dies from Covid-19

Horn was famed for introducing a pet cheetah to the magic show and was mauled on stage by a tiger in 2003

Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, the duo whose extraordinary magic tricks astonished millions until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act’s famed white tigers, has died from coronavirus complications. He was 75.

Horn died of on Friday in a Las Vegas hospital, according to a statement released by his publicist Dave Kirvin.

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VE Day: coronavirus lessons from 75 years ago

This week the Upside reflects on the community spirit felt in our current crisis and the one that ended in 1945

Guardian colleagues have been up to all sorts during lockdown – when they’ve not been working hard that is. At least three have acquired pets and many are digging up the garden or allotment. Potato printing, street chalk drawing, spring cleaning, DIY, it’s all going on. One particularly ingenious staffer is knitting woollen hats for boiled eggs.

Continue reading...




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Fifteen Cats From Tech Support Who Are Busy Making An Update To Your PC (Memes)

"Don't worry, I'm from tech support...Just lemme get a closer look."

Well...it seems like these cats are more interested in all those mouses and cookies hiding in your computer.  




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Stunning Winning Photos From The GDT's Nature Photographer Of The Year 2020

The German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) has announced its Nature Photographer of the Year 2020. 

This year, for the first time in the GDT's history, voting was carried out online, due to the pandemic.