70 years without eating? 'Starving yogi' says it's true - The Body Odd - msnbc.com

70 years without eating? 'Starving yogi' says it's true - The Body Odd - msnbc.com: "70 years without eating? 'Starving yogi' says it's true"


Prahlad Jani, an 82-year-old Indian yogi, is making headlines by claims that for the past 70 years he has had nothing -- not one calorie -- to eat and not one drop of liquid to drink. To test his claims, Indian military doctors put him under round-the-clock observation during a two-week hospital stay that ended last week, news reports say. During that time he didn’t ingest any food or water – and remained perfectly healthy, the researchers said.

But that’s simply impossible, said Dr. Michael Van Rooyen an emergency physician at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an associate professor at the medical school, and the director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative – which focuses on aid to displaced populations who lack food and water.

Van Rooyen says that depending on climate conditions like temperature and humidity, a human could survive five or six days without water, maybe a day or two longer in extraordinary circumstances. We can go much longer without food – even up to three months if that person is taking liquids fortified with vitamins and electrolytes.

Bobby Sands, an Irish Republican convicted of firearms possession and imprisoned by the British, died in 1981 on the 66th day of his hunger strike. Gandhi was also known to go long stretches without food, including a 21-day hunger strike in 1932.


Sterling Hospitals / AFP - Getty Images file
Prahlad Jani was studied for two weeks.


Jani, dubbed "the starving yogi" by some, did have limited contact with water while gargling and periodically bathing, reported the news wire service AFP. While researchers said they measured what he spit out, Van Rooyen said he's clearly getting fluid somehow.

"You can hold a lot of water in those yogi beards. A sneaky yogi for certain," he said. "He MUST take in water. The human body cannot survive without it." The effects of food and water deprivation are profound, Van Rooyen explained. “Ultimately, instead of metabolizing sugar and glycogen [the body’s energy sources] you start to metabolize fat and then cause muscle breakdown. Without food, your body chemistry changes. Profoundly malnourished people autodigest, they consume their own body’s resources. You get liver failure, tachycardia, heart strain. You fall apart.”

The yogi, though, would already be dead from lack of hydration. If he really went without any liquids at all, his cardiovascular system would have collapsed. “You lose about a liter or two of water per day just by breathing,” Van Rooyen said. You don’t have to sweat, which the yogi claims he never does. That water loss results in thicker blood and a drop in blood pressure.

“You go from being a grape to a raisin,” Van Rooyen said and if you didn’t have a heart attack first, you’d die of kidney failure.

Smart Spending: Free treats and more for taxpayers - Yahoo! Finance

Had my free coffee this morning!: Free treats and more for taxpayers



NEW YORK (AP) -- Few truths are more universal: No one likes to pay taxes, and everyone loves to get things for free.
Restaurants and other retailers are offering freebies to reduce people's angst over their income taxes -- which must be postmarked or e-filed by Thursday.
From cupcakes and pancakes to dinners and coffee, the offers are meant to help people feel better as they help companies drum up business. No paperwork or proof is required for most of the offers.
Ice cream chain MaggieMoo's is giving away pieces of its new ice cream pizza in its second annual tax day giveaway. The company won't say what it cost to give away thousands of free scoops of ice cream at its 160-plus stores in 2009, but a spokeswoman says such promotions bring in new guests and new sales.
"They'll have free ice cream and then they'll get a drink or a smoothie or something else or take home an ice cream pizza," says Jenn Johnston, senior vice president of marketing for NexCen Franchise Management, the parent company of MaggieMoo's, Pretzel Time, The Athlete's Foot and other chains.
Here are some of the freebies and discounts on offer for tax season 2010.
-- FREE COFFEE AND TREATS
CINNABON: Get two free bite-sized cupcakes from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at participating mall locations as part of "Tax Day Bites!" Flavors include Chocolate Passion, 24-Carrot Cake, Vanilla Bliss and Cinnacake Classic.
MAGGIEMOO'S: Get one free slice of ice cream pizza -- ice cream with red frosting to look like sauce and white chocolate to look like cheese -- at participating locations from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.
STARBUCKS: Get free brewed coffee all day Thursday if you bring your own mug, a promotion the cafe chain says is friendly to the environment as well as taxpayers.
-- DISCOUNTED MEALS
BOSTON MARKET: For a "last-minute tax break" -- one free meal for each one you buy Thursday through Sunday -- show this coupon: http://bit.ly/d1YlRO
IHOP: Expanding on the tax deduction parents get for kids, the restaurant chain is offering free dinner for one child age 12 or younger with each adult meal purchased 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. all month long.
MCCORMICK & SCHMICK'S: The seafood restaurant is offering $10.40 dinner and drink specials in the bar on Thursday -- a nod to the 1040 tax form. Bar guests who come in April 15 also receive a $10.40 gift certificate for a later visit. And professional tax preparers, who may have to work right until the midnight deadline Thursday, get their freebie Friday: dessert on the house plus a $10.40 certificate if they show a business card.
P.F. CHANG'S: Get 15 percent off food purchases for dine-in or take-out, excluding alcohol and happy hour food and beverages.
-- STRESS RELIEF
HYDROMASSAGE: Get a free massage Thursday through Sunday at participating locations. The mall-based massage chain suggests calling ahead to book an appointment. Find a location at http://www.hydromassage.com/taxday.

Signing James Toney is good business for UFC - News - FOX Sports on MSN

Signing James Toney is good business for UFC - News - FOX Sports on MSN

The Ultimate Fighting Championship made an interesting move this week with the signing of boxing great James “Lights Out” Toney.

Speculation surrounded the situation between Toney and UFC president Dana White for several months and reached a high point at the beginning of the year when the two discussed a possible deal that would make Toney the most notable boxer to make the move to any mixed martial arts promotion.

FOX SPORTS POLL
In MMA, James Toney will ...
62% Disgrace himself
32% Be decent
6% Be a very good fighter
Total Votes: 485

Toney is not necessarily MMA's highest-profile signing this year. That honor belongs to former college football great Herschel Walker, who won his debut fight in January.

While Walker is a tremendous athlete, his move to MMA seemed to be a publicity stunt of sorts for Strikeforce. Is that also true of Toney?

It’s going to be hard convincing anyone that the UFC signed the 41-year-old to be a large factor in any division, let alone a champion, although a pro boxing career that included 70 wins and a host of titles is a strong claim for legitimacy.

The most logical explanation is Toney's name recognition, and will be used, as did UFC with Kimbo Slice for its 10th season of "The Ultimate Fighter", to draw in the eyes of the fans and the green of their wallets.

After all, everyone is doing it.

The UFC signed current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar after just one mixed martial arts fight. While there is no comparison between Lesnar and Toney, the UFC champion’s history and fan base carried over from his stardom with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Toney is in a similar situation. His career in boxing has been spent accumulating wins, belts, and, perhaps most importantly, an enormous fan base, which the UFC no doubt looks to use to its advantage.

Given the current state of boxing vs. mixed martial arts, there has never been a better time for a MMA promotion to grab a boxer from the sport's dwindling list of stars.

Is Nas Going To Jail? | Hello Beautiful

Is Nas Going To Jail? | Hello Beautiful: "Is Nas Going To Jail?"


Nas and Kelis drama continues…

Kelis’s lawyer filed a contempt motion against Nas last week because he owes over $200,000 in unpaid child support, along with attorney fees. As you all know, he was ordered to pay Kelis over $50k a month in child and spousal support last year and hasn’t been able to keep up with the payments. Even though Nas pleaded Not Guilty he could face jail time if convicted.

Meanwhile, Nas went in on a new song about his child support situation and Kelis’s alleged affairs in a new song titled “Strong Will Continue”:

Twisted and mangled, sort of like Bruce Lee life, cursed with his son Brandon. If that’s you and me Knight, I pray our fates greater. How in the hell am I supposed to stay comfy, when I pay child support, alimony monthly

…So I’ve stuck with some married women so fine, cheating while their husband rushing on the 40-yard line. Wonder if this is what my ex did the whole time.”

avoid-an-audit-6-red-flags-you-should-Know: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

avoid-an-audit-6-red-flags-you-should-Know: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

If history is any indicator, less than 1% of Americans will be audited by the Internal Revenue Service in the coming year. And while some of these audits are totally random, and there's nothing that the individual taxpayer can do about them, many audits are actually instigated by the taxpayers themselves.

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• 9 Ways to Use a Tax Refund

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To that end, below is a list of "red flags" that can cause your return to be cherry picked by the IRS for review. Pay particular attention, as knowing what the flags are can keep you out of trouble.

1. Overestimating Donated Amounts

The IRS encourages individuals to donate things like clothes, food and even old automobiles to charities. It does this by offering a deduction in return for a donation. However, the problem with this system is that it is up to the taxpayer to determine the value of goods that are donated.

As a general rule, the IRS likes to see individuals value the items they donate at anywhere between 1% and 30% of the original purchase price (unless special circumstances exist). Unfortunately many, if not most, taxpayers either aren't aware of this, or simply choose to ignore this fact.

There are several other tips that the taxpayer can use to ensure that he or she is valuing donated goods at a "fair" price. Aside from the 30% and under rule mentioned above, consider having an appraiser write a letter. (In fact, for individual items valued at $5,000 or more, an appraisal is required.). Another benchmark the IRS uses that could come in handy is the willing-buyer-willing-seller test.

This means that taxpayers should value their goods at a point or price where a willing seller (who is under no duress) would be able to sell his property to a willing buyer (who also is under no duress to purchase the item). Using such a benchmark will keep you out of trouble and prevent you from placing an excessive value on your dad's old Frank Sinatra albums.

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2. Math Errors

While this may sound simple, many returns are selected for audit due to basic math errors. So when filling out your tax return (or checking it after your accountant has completed the form) make sure that the columns add up. Also make sure that the total dollar value of capital gains and/or losses are properly calculated. Even a small error can raise eyebrows.

3. Failure to Sign the Return

A large percentage of folks simply forget to sign their tax returns. Don't be a part of that number! Failure to sign the return will almost guarantee that it will receive additional scrutiny. The IRS will wonder what else you might have forgotten to include in the return.

4. Under-Reporting Income

Tempting as it might be to exclude income from your tax return, it is vital that you report all money that you received throughout the year from work and/or from the sale of an asset (such as a home) to the IRS. If you fail to report income and you are caught, you will be forced to pay back-taxes plus penalties and interest.

How can the IRS tell if you've reported everything? In some situations it can't. After all, the system isn't perfect. However, a common way some individuals get caught is that they accept cash for a service they've performed. If the customer or individual who paid that individual the cash gets audited, the IRS will see a large cash disbursement from his or her bank account. The IRS agent will then follow that lead and ask the individual what that cash layout was for. Inevitably, the trail leads right back to the individual who failed to report that money as income.

In short, it's better to be safe than sorry. Make sure you report all of your income.

5. Home Office Deductions

Be careful with home office deductions. Excessive or unwarranted deductions can raise red flags. In addition, large deductions in proportion to your income can raise the ire of the IRS as well.

For example, if you earned $50,000 as an accountant (operating from home), home-office related deductions totaling $30,000 will raise more than a few eyebrows. Trying to write off the value of a new bedroom set as office equipment could also draw unwanted attention.

Deduct only items that were used in the course of your business.

6. Income Thresholds

There is nothing the individual taxpayer can do about this one, but if you earn more than $100,000 each year, your odds of being audited increase exponentially. In fact, some accountants put the odds of being audited at one in 72, compared to the one in 154 odds for people with lower incomes.

Other Sensitive Tax Areas

Partnership/Trust/Tax Shelter Risk

If you own shares in a limited partnership, control a trust or partake in any other tax shelter investments, you are more apt to be audited. While there may be no way to avoid such an audit, individuals that have a stake in such an entity should be aware that they have a target on their backs. They should also take even greater care to document deductions, donations and income.

Small Business Ownership

Small business owners are an easy target - particularly those with cash businesses. Bars, restaurants, car washes and hair salons are exceptionally big targets, not only because they deal in so much cash, but also because there is so much temptation to under-report income and tips earned.

Incidentally, other actions that go part and parcel with business ownership may draw unwanted IRS interest too, including putting family members on the payroll and over-estimating expenses.

In short, business owners must know that they can't "push the envelope". If they want to stay in business and avoid the scrutiny of an audit, it's best to remain on the straight and narrow.

So why does the IRS seem to be cracking down more and more on individuals and small business owners these days? It's simple. According to the IRS there is roughly an annual $300 billion gap between what Americans pay in taxes versus what they owe. That equates to about $2,680 per household. The Congress knows this too, and given the deficits the United States government has run up over the past 20 years, there is enormous pressure on legislators and the IRS to collect all tax funds.

Being Audited

What should you do if you are audited? Be honest with the auditor and respond to all inquiries as quickly as possible. Don't be afraid to show all of your documentation. If possible, have a qualified accountant and/or tax attorney represent you.

Bottom Line

Audits have and will remain a part of the tax collection process for a long time to come, but that doesn't mean that you have to be among the "lucky" few to be chosen. The key to avoiding an audit is to be honest, document your deductions, donations and income.

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