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Adventurers of the Year 2014
Each generation has a climber who takes the proverbial baton and runs with it, increasing the hardest grade in the sport and inspiring other climbers to see new possibility where they had seen only featureless rock. When sport climber Adam Ondra wrestled his way up 55 meters of wildly overhanging granite in a cave in Flatanger, Norway, and clipped into the anchors of the route Change, on October 4, 2012, he established a place for himself alongside the sport's reigning visionary, Chris Sharma, 32. The route, graded 5.15c, marked a new level of difficulty for the sport of climbing.
Just a few months later, the 20 year old Czech climber further raised eyebrows when, on February 7, 2013, he nabbed the first ascent of Sharma's long standing project, a route called La Dura Dura, the world's second 5.15c ever climbed.
"He's opening routes that would have been considered completely impossible a decade ago," says climber Alex Honnold, who is known for his big wall free soloing, or climbing without ropes. "He's focused on doing the hardest routes in the world, and he's succeeded, which pretty much changes what's considered possible in the world of climbing."
Sport climbing clipping into pre placed bolts drilled into the rock eliminates most of the risk found in traditional climbing, in which a climber places their own removable protection into fissures in the rock. In doing so, however, it allows for longer sequences of more difficult movements, redefining what is possible in the world of climbing as a whole.
"In some ways his climbing is a rather narrow thing just doing really, really hard moves but that's what it takes to push the sport," Honnold says.
In the '80s and early '90s German climber Wolfgang G almost singlehandedly bumped the highest grade in rock climbing from 5.13d to 5.14d. Ever since Sharma made the first ascent of the route Realization (Biographie), the first 5.15a, in 2001, he has carried the title of the strongest sport climber in the world. When Ondra climbed Change and then took the first ascent of La Dura Dura, a project that the two had worked on together, it seemed as if Sharma had passed along the title.
Ondra has lived and breathed climbing literally his entire life. He grew up in the city of Brno in the Czech Republic in a family of climbers. His parents started taking him to the crag before he could walk.
"Of course, it was not really serious climbing, it was just swinging on the rope," says Ondra. "I remember when I started climbing more seriously. That was when I was six years old."
At age six, Ondra started training and competing. He won the junior competition series every year from age 11 to 16. At 13, he climbed 5.14d. At age 15, he repeated Action Directe, G 5.14d. He has continued improving steadily ever since, despite having to balance climbing with the workload of a full time high school student. He postponed his first year of college to work on these routes.
"Finishing Change was like my childhood dream come true I'd been dreaming about finding something new in some almost virgin area, cleaning,van cleef replica necklace alhambra, bolting it,van cleef arpels replica alhambra necklace, and doing the first ascent that would possibly be the world's hardest route," Ondra says.
Ondra started university this fall,van cleef alhambra knock off necklace, and plans to direct his attention toward indoor training and competitions, as indoor climbing will complement school more readily than traveling to climb outside. He does not plan, however, to push straight through school without any breaks.
"I think it wouldn't be wise to lose the best years of my sports career at university," Ondra says.
Adventure: You've been climbing for pretty much your whole life. It seems as though you've been improving steadily the whole time. Have you ever hit a plateau in your climbing or gotten burned out?
Adam Ondra: Not really. I've never had problems about passionate motivation to just keep climbing and keep training and pushing. I've never really been injured, and I've never had any plateau where the progression would stop, but if it ever happened to me, I don't think it would be that difficult. I just simply love climbing.
AO: I don't really think about why I climb, I just simply love it. When I was six or seven, when I was able to read a bit, I had a book called Rock Stars. It had portraits of all the best sport climbers in the world back then. For me, it was very simple. I saw all these people on the rocks with smiles on their faces. I just told myself that this is something that I want to do. I want to be a climber. And, since then, I've been as happy as these faces on the picture. I don't ever regret my decision.
A: La Dura Dura, a film in the Reel Rock tour, drew a lot of attention to the work you and Chris Sharma did on that route. It contrasted a tan, muscular Sharma living in Spain with a beautiful girlfriend, with you, pale and skinny in comparison and traveling around in a van with your parents. How did you feel about their presentation?
AO: I did not have any objection about it. Since then, I think I have changed a bit, but then, I was pretty much like that. It was filmed in a bit of an American way. I think the competition thing was a bit emphasized. I wanted to do the route and Chris wanted to do the route, but I think, to be honest, it did not really matter too much whether I was the first or Chris was the first. We just went climbing together and had a good time.
A: Have you ever really worked on a project like that with someone before? Or do you tend to work on things by yourself more?
AO: I definitely tend to work on things by myself, because it's hard to find a partner. Of course, it would be ideal you work on a project with someone that has the same level, and you're pushing each other. But it's very hard to find a partner.
A: Is there a point where it is just too difficult to climb? Will there be a set point where we can say, it's never going to get more difficult than this?
AO: Not at all. I think sport climbing is still a relatively young sport. Not so many people are really focused into really structured and sophisticated training,van cleef replica necklace wholesale, and I think that there's still a lot of room to improve. I can imagine, easily, routes 9c [5.15d], 10a [5.16]. I can describe them, and I think I have even bolted some of the climbs that could have such a grade. I can imagine climbing them; I just don't have the power now. I might in a couple of years, I will see. I'm very excited about it.
Each generation has a climber who takes the proverbial baton and runs with it, increasing the hardest grade in the sport and inspiring other climbers to see new possibility where they had seen only featureless rock. When sport climber Adam Ondra wrestled his way up 55 meters of wildly overhanging granite in a cave in Flatanger, Norway, and clipped into the anchors of the route Change, on October 4, 2012, he established a place for himself alongside the sport's reigning visionary, Chris Sharma, 32. The route, graded 5.15c, marked a new level of difficulty for the sport of climbing.
Just a few months later, the 20 year old Czech climber further raised eyebrows when, on February 7, 2013, he nabbed the first ascent of Sharma's long standing project, a route called La Dura Dura, the world's second 5.15c ever climbed.
"He's opening routes that would have been considered completely impossible a decade ago," says climber Alex Honnold, who is known for his big wall free soloing, or climbing without ropes. "He's focused on doing the hardest routes in the world, and he's succeeded, which pretty much changes what's considered possible in the world of climbing."
Sport climbing clipping into pre placed bolts drilled into the rock eliminates most of the risk found in traditional climbing, in which a climber places their own removable protection into fissures in the rock. In doing so, however, it allows for longer sequences of more difficult movements, redefining what is possible in the world of climbing as a whole.
"In some ways his climbing is a rather narrow thing just doing really, really hard moves but that's what it takes to push the sport," Honnold says.
In the '80s and early '90s German climber Wolfgang G almost singlehandedly bumped the highest grade in rock climbing from 5.13d to 5.14d. Ever since Sharma made the first ascent of the route Realization (Biographie), the first 5.15a, in 2001, he has carried the title of the strongest sport climber in the world. When Ondra climbed Change and then took the first ascent of La Dura Dura, a project that the two had worked on together, it seemed as if Sharma had passed along the title.
Ondra has lived and breathed climbing literally his entire life. He grew up in the city of Brno in the Czech Republic in a family of climbers. His parents started taking him to the crag before he could walk.
"Of course, it was not really serious climbing, it was just swinging on the rope," says Ondra. "I remember when I started climbing more seriously. That was when I was six years old."
At age six, Ondra started training and competing. He won the junior competition series every year from age 11 to 16. At 13, he climbed 5.14d. At age 15, he repeated Action Directe, G 5.14d. He has continued improving steadily ever since, despite having to balance climbing with the workload of a full time high school student. He postponed his first year of college to work on these routes.
"Finishing Change was like my childhood dream come true I'd been dreaming about finding something new in some almost virgin area, cleaning,van cleef replica necklace alhambra, bolting it,van cleef arpels replica alhambra necklace, and doing the first ascent that would possibly be the world's hardest route," Ondra says.
Ondra started university this fall,van cleef alhambra knock off necklace, and plans to direct his attention toward indoor training and competitions, as indoor climbing will complement school more readily than traveling to climb outside. He does not plan, however, to push straight through school without any breaks.
"I think it wouldn't be wise to lose the best years of my sports career at university," Ondra says.
Adventure: You've been climbing for pretty much your whole life. It seems as though you've been improving steadily the whole time. Have you ever hit a plateau in your climbing or gotten burned out?
Adam Ondra: Not really. I've never had problems about passionate motivation to just keep climbing and keep training and pushing. I've never really been injured, and I've never had any plateau where the progression would stop, but if it ever happened to me, I don't think it would be that difficult. I just simply love climbing.
AO: I don't really think about why I climb, I just simply love it. When I was six or seven, when I was able to read a bit, I had a book called Rock Stars. It had portraits of all the best sport climbers in the world back then. For me, it was very simple. I saw all these people on the rocks with smiles on their faces. I just told myself that this is something that I want to do. I want to be a climber. And, since then, I've been as happy as these faces on the picture. I don't ever regret my decision.
A: La Dura Dura, a film in the Reel Rock tour, drew a lot of attention to the work you and Chris Sharma did on that route. It contrasted a tan, muscular Sharma living in Spain with a beautiful girlfriend, with you, pale and skinny in comparison and traveling around in a van with your parents. How did you feel about their presentation?
AO: I did not have any objection about it. Since then, I think I have changed a bit, but then, I was pretty much like that. It was filmed in a bit of an American way. I think the competition thing was a bit emphasized. I wanted to do the route and Chris wanted to do the route, but I think, to be honest, it did not really matter too much whether I was the first or Chris was the first. We just went climbing together and had a good time.
A: Have you ever really worked on a project like that with someone before? Or do you tend to work on things by yourself more?
AO: I definitely tend to work on things by myself, because it's hard to find a partner. Of course, it would be ideal you work on a project with someone that has the same level, and you're pushing each other. But it's very hard to find a partner.
A: Is there a point where it is just too difficult to climb? Will there be a set point where we can say, it's never going to get more difficult than this?
AO: Not at all. I think sport climbing is still a relatively young sport. Not so many people are really focused into really structured and sophisticated training,van cleef replica necklace wholesale, and I think that there's still a lot of room to improve. I can imagine, easily, routes 9c [5.15d], 10a [5.16]. I can describe them, and I think I have even bolted some of the climbs that could have such a grade. I can imagine climbing them; I just don't have the power now. I might in a couple of years, I will see. I'm very excited about it.
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68th Republic Day Parade
India's elite counter terrorism force, the National Security Guard (NSG), on Thursday made its debut at the Republic Day parade. A contingent of some 60 commandos in their black overalls and full armed gear marched on the Rajpath, giving ceremonial salute to President Pranab Mukherjee. The other commandos were on seven vehicles with hydraulic ladders mounted on them.
NSG's anti hijacking van 'Sherpa' a bullet proof armoured vehicle that can withstand powerful explosions and can be driven under water and on steep inclines also made its debut in the parade.
India's indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft Tejas made its maiden appearance at the Republic Day parade. Despite overcast conditions, three fighter jets flew at a height of 300 metres from ground at a speed of 780 km per hour in 'VIC' formation, leaving the spectators at Rajpath boulevard in awe. The LCA was earlier flown at the Indian Air Force Day last year. It was also flown at the IAF's fire power demonstration Iron Fist,van cleef flower fake necklace, Aero India,van cleef and arpels butterfly replica necklace, and the Bahrain International Airshow.
Developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency, and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited,clover necklace fake van cleef, Tejas,van cleef & arpels replica necklace, as a fourth generation aircraft, can fly at 1,350 km per hour and is comparable to the world's best fighters, including French Mirage 2000, American F 16 and Swedish Gripen.
3) Airborne Early Warning and Control System
Another aircraft making its debut the parade was the Airborne Early Warning and Control System. The AEW is an 'Eye in the Sky'. It is a force multiplier, developed by DRDO for IAF with Centre for Air Borne Systems as nodal agency.
AEW system consists of multiple sensors for Surveillance and Signal Intelligence. It helps in Air Defence operations and is capable of communicating using VHF, UHF, C Band and SATCOM links for Network Centric Operations. Induction of AEW into services will make the country self reliant and position India in top five countries having this capability.
Goods and Services Tax, India's single biggest tax reform initiative undertaken since independence, were part of the 23 tableaux showcased in this year's parade. Apart from this "Green India Clean India" and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were also be showcased among the tableaux from seventeen states and six ministries and departments.
The tableau by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was based on the theme of 'Transforming India through Skill development while that of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises were based on Khadi and Village Industries Commission.
India's elite counter terrorism force, the National Security Guard (NSG), on Thursday made its debut at the Republic Day parade. A contingent of some 60 commandos in their black overalls and full armed gear marched on the Rajpath, giving ceremonial salute to President Pranab Mukherjee. The other commandos were on seven vehicles with hydraulic ladders mounted on them.
NSG's anti hijacking van 'Sherpa' a bullet proof armoured vehicle that can withstand powerful explosions and can be driven under water and on steep inclines also made its debut in the parade.
India's indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft Tejas made its maiden appearance at the Republic Day parade. Despite overcast conditions, three fighter jets flew at a height of 300 metres from ground at a speed of 780 km per hour in 'VIC' formation, leaving the spectators at Rajpath boulevard in awe. The LCA was earlier flown at the Indian Air Force Day last year. It was also flown at the IAF's fire power demonstration Iron Fist,van cleef flower fake necklace, Aero India,van cleef and arpels butterfly replica necklace, and the Bahrain International Airshow.
Developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency, and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited,clover necklace fake van cleef, Tejas,van cleef & arpels replica necklace, as a fourth generation aircraft, can fly at 1,350 km per hour and is comparable to the world's best fighters, including French Mirage 2000, American F 16 and Swedish Gripen.
3) Airborne Early Warning and Control System
Another aircraft making its debut the parade was the Airborne Early Warning and Control System. The AEW is an 'Eye in the Sky'. It is a force multiplier, developed by DRDO for IAF with Centre for Air Borne Systems as nodal agency.
AEW system consists of multiple sensors for Surveillance and Signal Intelligence. It helps in Air Defence operations and is capable of communicating using VHF, UHF, C Band and SATCOM links for Network Centric Operations. Induction of AEW into services will make the country self reliant and position India in top five countries having this capability.
Goods and Services Tax, India's single biggest tax reform initiative undertaken since independence, were part of the 23 tableaux showcased in this year's parade. Apart from this "Green India Clean India" and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were also be showcased among the tableaux from seventeen states and six ministries and departments.
The tableau by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was based on the theme of 'Transforming India through Skill development while that of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises were based on Khadi and Village Industries Commission.
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5 Crazy But Intriguing Celebrity Conspiracy Theories
There are two constants in the life of a celebrity: Your life will be kind of insane, but not nearly as insane as the stories crazy people are going to make up about you. It's as reliable as Rule 34, only with even more madness, somehow. Once you become famous, someone somewhere is going to assume you're an iguana person wearing a badly made people mask as you plot the world's demise with your fellow Illuminati.
And that's if you get caught in one of the saner theories. Unless you ask the crazy people! In conspiracy theory circles, there is no shortage of theories of the "Miley Cyrus is an ex person" variety, and some of them don't even have anything to do with her current public personality. Oh, the hows and whys of her supposed end vary. Some say she died in a car accident as early as 2007. Others prefer the "overdose at the pool a couple of years ago" route, while others still manage to locate the most logical reason: Girl was clearly murdered by Disney.
Around this point, the theories tend to get depressing in the way you can probably imagine: Miley was killed off because she refused to partake in some Disney executive atrocity or another. That or any other imaginary horror scenario based on some interview where she said she'd kind of wanted a more normal childhood,van cleef fake necklaces, as opposed to Hannah Montana ing her way through puberty. But whatever the route to her conspiracy death, the end result is the same: The lovable chipmunk was caught in a drift store explosion, and what we see now is not the Miley of old, but instead a surgically grafted clone actress whatever.
'Course, the people touting this horsecrap utterly forget the most simple reason for Miley's current Mileyness: She's super rich, in her 20's, and living out the childhood she never had a chance to back in her days as a child star. Is there anything in her habits that can't be explained with some combination of those facts? No. The latter seems moderately sympathetic for a famous person, and also was, uh, Rachel. Maybe you'll find that cool. I won't judge, much.
However, a man known only as "grandmoviestar" certainly will. According to his far fetched but admittedly original claim, Diesel and Aniston have actually used their Hollywood powers to make a whole lot of blockbuster movies, such as all four Transformers and Avatar, completely disappear for over a decade meaning these films were actually made ten years earlier than we think. How? Why? Because "grandmoviestar" liked Sienna Miller more than Aniston, of course. Uncannily, said movie was one of the few that never rematerialized.
Hilariously, "grandmoviestar" also goes out of his way to note that Megan Fox (hitherto totally unmentioned in the theory) doesn't exist, and is actually a composite character played by 23 different people, much in the way Lassie was actually a ton of different dogs.
Via Pop Culture Keys
OK, that one I can sort of buy.
Be honest: Raise your hand if you actually want this theory to be true. My hand's raised, baby, and chances are that yours is, too. Think about it. I doubt many people would complain if the world had 23 times more Megan Fox than we assumed, especially since they appear courteous enough to make exactly as many Michael Bay movies as just one would. Shit, Vin and Jennifer can steal and hide all the Transformers movies they want, for all I care.
Actually, let's make a movie out of that. Isn't that funny?
No, it's not, according to conspiracy theorists. There's this weird trend whereby conspiracy buffs automatically assume that almost every single person with a face and a modicum of fame is an immortal overlord, or at the very least an alien reincarnation clone from Ancient Egypt or some shit. I wish I was making that up.
The "Nic Cage and Keanu Reeves are immortal vampire things" theory I've covered before is one subset of this phenomenon. However,van cleef knock off alhambra necklace, they're far from the only ones,van cleef and arpels clover replica necklace, and a great whooping way from cracking the Crazy Immortal Time Traveler Theory Top 10. Check it:
Ernest Schrodinger is James Woods? Shit, now I'm really worried about that cat.
Yep, any and every person with fame and a face is bound to end up in one of those lists sooner or later, either as some weird pharaoh time traveler reincarnation or a plain ol' immortal. Hell, let's point out right now that Vincent Van Gogh kind of looks like Chuck Norris, and we can be relatively sure that someone, somewhere is drafting that into a conspiracy. Maybe he's in part two of that video. it's uncanny.
Look, there are only so many ways to put a face together,van cleef necklace replica alhambra, and billions and billions of people have walked the earth over the years. Some folks are going to wind up looking like each other, even if they're not directly related. It's just natural and doesn't mean a thing.
There are two constants in the life of a celebrity: Your life will be kind of insane, but not nearly as insane as the stories crazy people are going to make up about you. It's as reliable as Rule 34, only with even more madness, somehow. Once you become famous, someone somewhere is going to assume you're an iguana person wearing a badly made people mask as you plot the world's demise with your fellow Illuminati.
And that's if you get caught in one of the saner theories. Unless you ask the crazy people! In conspiracy theory circles, there is no shortage of theories of the "Miley Cyrus is an ex person" variety, and some of them don't even have anything to do with her current public personality. Oh, the hows and whys of her supposed end vary. Some say she died in a car accident as early as 2007. Others prefer the "overdose at the pool a couple of years ago" route, while others still manage to locate the most logical reason: Girl was clearly murdered by Disney.
Around this point, the theories tend to get depressing in the way you can probably imagine: Miley was killed off because she refused to partake in some Disney executive atrocity or another. That or any other imaginary horror scenario based on some interview where she said she'd kind of wanted a more normal childhood,van cleef fake necklaces, as opposed to Hannah Montana ing her way through puberty. But whatever the route to her conspiracy death, the end result is the same: The lovable chipmunk was caught in a drift store explosion, and what we see now is not the Miley of old, but instead a surgically grafted clone actress whatever.
'Course, the people touting this horsecrap utterly forget the most simple reason for Miley's current Mileyness: She's super rich, in her 20's, and living out the childhood she never had a chance to back in her days as a child star. Is there anything in her habits that can't be explained with some combination of those facts? No. The latter seems moderately sympathetic for a famous person, and also was, uh, Rachel. Maybe you'll find that cool. I won't judge, much.
However, a man known only as "grandmoviestar" certainly will. According to his far fetched but admittedly original claim, Diesel and Aniston have actually used their Hollywood powers to make a whole lot of blockbuster movies, such as all four Transformers and Avatar, completely disappear for over a decade meaning these films were actually made ten years earlier than we think. How? Why? Because "grandmoviestar" liked Sienna Miller more than Aniston, of course. Uncannily, said movie was one of the few that never rematerialized.
Hilariously, "grandmoviestar" also goes out of his way to note that Megan Fox (hitherto totally unmentioned in the theory) doesn't exist, and is actually a composite character played by 23 different people, much in the way Lassie was actually a ton of different dogs.
Via Pop Culture Keys
OK, that one I can sort of buy.
Be honest: Raise your hand if you actually want this theory to be true. My hand's raised, baby, and chances are that yours is, too. Think about it. I doubt many people would complain if the world had 23 times more Megan Fox than we assumed, especially since they appear courteous enough to make exactly as many Michael Bay movies as just one would. Shit, Vin and Jennifer can steal and hide all the Transformers movies they want, for all I care.
Actually, let's make a movie out of that. Isn't that funny?
No, it's not, according to conspiracy theorists. There's this weird trend whereby conspiracy buffs automatically assume that almost every single person with a face and a modicum of fame is an immortal overlord, or at the very least an alien reincarnation clone from Ancient Egypt or some shit. I wish I was making that up.
The "Nic Cage and Keanu Reeves are immortal vampire things" theory I've covered before is one subset of this phenomenon. However,van cleef knock off alhambra necklace, they're far from the only ones,van cleef and arpels clover replica necklace, and a great whooping way from cracking the Crazy Immortal Time Traveler Theory Top 10. Check it:
Ernest Schrodinger is James Woods? Shit, now I'm really worried about that cat.
Yep, any and every person with fame and a face is bound to end up in one of those lists sooner or later, either as some weird pharaoh time traveler reincarnation or a plain ol' immortal. Hell, let's point out right now that Vincent Van Gogh kind of looks like Chuck Norris, and we can be relatively sure that someone, somewhere is drafting that into a conspiracy. Maybe he's in part two of that video. it's uncanny.
Look, there are only so many ways to put a face together,van cleef necklace replica alhambra, and billions and billions of people have walked the earth over the years. Some folks are going to wind up looking like each other, even if they're not directly related. It's just natural and doesn't mean a thing.
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Alcor Life Extension Foundation
In 1972,replica van cleef earrings ebay, Alcor was incorporated as the Alcor Society for Solid State Hypothermia in the State of California by Fred and Linda Chamberlain. (The name was changed to Alcor Life Extension Foundation in 1977.) The nonprofit organization was conceived as a rational, technology oriented cryonics organization that would be managed on a fiscally conservative basis. Alcor advertised in direct mailings and offered seminars in order to attract members and bring attention to the cryonics movement. The first of these seminars attracted 30 people.On July 16, 1976, Alcor performed its first human cryopreservation. That same year,van cleef sweet alhambra earrings replica, research in cryonics began with initial funding provided by the Manrise Corporation. At this time, Alcor's office consisted of a mobile surgical unit in a large van. Trans Time, Inc., a cryonics organization in the San Francisco Bay Area,replica vca alhambra earrings, provided long term patient storage until Alcor began doing its own storage in 1982.In 1977, articles of incorporation were filed in Indianapolis by the Institute for Advanced Biological Studies (IABS) and Soma, Inc. IABS was a nonprofit research startup led by a young cryonics enthusiast named Steve Bridge, while Soma was intended as a for profit organization to provide cryopreservation and human storage services. Its president, Mike Darwin, subsequently became a president of Alcor. Bridge filled the same position many years later. IABS and Soma relocated to California in 1981. (Soma was disbanded while IABS merged with Alcor in 1982.)In 1978, Cryovita Laboratories was founded by Jerry Leaf, who had been teaching surgery at UCLA. Cryovita was a for profit organization which provided cryopreservation services for Alcor in the 1980s. During this time Leaf also collaborated with Michael Darwin in a series of hypothermia experiments in which dogs were resuscitated with no measurable neurological deficit after hours in deep hypothermia, just a few degrees above zero Celsius. The blood substitute which was developed for these experiments became the basis for the washout solution used at Alcor. Together, Leaf and Darwin developed a standby transport model for human cryonics cases with the goal of intervening immediately after cardiac arrest and minimizing ischemic injury. (Leaf was cryopreserved by Alcor in 1991; since 1992 Alcor has provided its own cryopreservation as well as patient storage services.) Today, Alcor is the only full service cryonics organization that performs remote standbys.Alcor grew slowly in its early years. The organization counted only 50 members in 1985, which was the year it cryopreserved its third patient.In 1986 some of Alcor's members formed Symbex, a small investment company which funded a building in Riverside, California, for lease by Alcor. Alcor moved from Fullerton, California, to the new building in Riverside in 1987. Alcor cryopreserved a member's companion animal in 1986, and two people in 1987. Three human cases were handled in 1988, and one in 1989.By 1990 Alcor had grown to 300 members. In response to concerns that the California facility was too small and vulnerable to earthquake risk, the organization purchased a building in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1993 and moved its patients to it in 1994. In 1997, after a substantial effort led by then president Steve Bridge,sweet alhambra earrings replica, Alcor formed the Patient Care Trust as an entirely separate entity to manage and protect the funding for cryopatients. Alcor remains the only cryonics organization to segregate and protect patient funding in this way.In 2001 Alcor adapted cryoprotectant formulas from published scientific literature into a more concentrated formula capable of achieving ice free preservation (vitrification) of the human brain (neurovitrification). In 2005 the vitrification process was applied to the first whole body subject (as opposed to brain only). This resulted in vitrification of the brain and conventional cryopreservation of the rest of the body. Alcor contended that the drug was administered after her death. No charges were ever filed;[1] however, former Riverside County deputy coroner Alan Kunzman claims this is due to mistakes and poor decision making by his office.[3]Ted WilliamsIn 2002, Alcor drew considerable attention when baseball star Ted Williams was placed in cryonic suspension. This grew out of an extended family dispute over how Williams wanted to have his remains disposed. In 2003, Sports Illustrated published allegations by former Alcor COO Larry Johnson that the company had mishandled Williams' head by drilling holes and accidentally cracking it. The story also reported that some of Williams' DNA was missing, possibly in connection with his son, John Henry Williams' desire to sell some of the DNA. Alcor denied the allegations, and explained that microscopic cracking can result as part of the process of freezing the head. John Henry Williams' remains are also stored at Alcor.1992 deathIn addition, Johnson handed over to the police a taped conversation, in which Alcor facilities engineer Hugh Hixon reportedly stated that an Alcor employee deliberately hastened the 1992 death of a terminally ill AIDS patient, with an injection of Metubine, a paralytic drug.[4]
In 1972,replica van cleef earrings ebay, Alcor was incorporated as the Alcor Society for Solid State Hypothermia in the State of California by Fred and Linda Chamberlain. (The name was changed to Alcor Life Extension Foundation in 1977.) The nonprofit organization was conceived as a rational, technology oriented cryonics organization that would be managed on a fiscally conservative basis. Alcor advertised in direct mailings and offered seminars in order to attract members and bring attention to the cryonics movement. The first of these seminars attracted 30 people.On July 16, 1976, Alcor performed its first human cryopreservation. That same year,van cleef sweet alhambra earrings replica, research in cryonics began with initial funding provided by the Manrise Corporation. At this time, Alcor's office consisted of a mobile surgical unit in a large van. Trans Time, Inc., a cryonics organization in the San Francisco Bay Area,replica vca alhambra earrings, provided long term patient storage until Alcor began doing its own storage in 1982.In 1977, articles of incorporation were filed in Indianapolis by the Institute for Advanced Biological Studies (IABS) and Soma, Inc. IABS was a nonprofit research startup led by a young cryonics enthusiast named Steve Bridge, while Soma was intended as a for profit organization to provide cryopreservation and human storage services. Its president, Mike Darwin, subsequently became a president of Alcor. Bridge filled the same position many years later. IABS and Soma relocated to California in 1981. (Soma was disbanded while IABS merged with Alcor in 1982.)In 1978, Cryovita Laboratories was founded by Jerry Leaf, who had been teaching surgery at UCLA. Cryovita was a for profit organization which provided cryopreservation services for Alcor in the 1980s. During this time Leaf also collaborated with Michael Darwin in a series of hypothermia experiments in which dogs were resuscitated with no measurable neurological deficit after hours in deep hypothermia, just a few degrees above zero Celsius. The blood substitute which was developed for these experiments became the basis for the washout solution used at Alcor. Together, Leaf and Darwin developed a standby transport model for human cryonics cases with the goal of intervening immediately after cardiac arrest and minimizing ischemic injury. (Leaf was cryopreserved by Alcor in 1991; since 1992 Alcor has provided its own cryopreservation as well as patient storage services.) Today, Alcor is the only full service cryonics organization that performs remote standbys.Alcor grew slowly in its early years. The organization counted only 50 members in 1985, which was the year it cryopreserved its third patient.In 1986 some of Alcor's members formed Symbex, a small investment company which funded a building in Riverside, California, for lease by Alcor. Alcor moved from Fullerton, California, to the new building in Riverside in 1987. Alcor cryopreserved a member's companion animal in 1986, and two people in 1987. Three human cases were handled in 1988, and one in 1989.By 1990 Alcor had grown to 300 members. In response to concerns that the California facility was too small and vulnerable to earthquake risk, the organization purchased a building in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1993 and moved its patients to it in 1994. In 1997, after a substantial effort led by then president Steve Bridge,sweet alhambra earrings replica, Alcor formed the Patient Care Trust as an entirely separate entity to manage and protect the funding for cryopatients. Alcor remains the only cryonics organization to segregate and protect patient funding in this way.In 2001 Alcor adapted cryoprotectant formulas from published scientific literature into a more concentrated formula capable of achieving ice free preservation (vitrification) of the human brain (neurovitrification). In 2005 the vitrification process was applied to the first whole body subject (as opposed to brain only). This resulted in vitrification of the brain and conventional cryopreservation of the rest of the body. Alcor contended that the drug was administered after her death. No charges were ever filed;[1] however, former Riverside County deputy coroner Alan Kunzman claims this is due to mistakes and poor decision making by his office.[3]Ted WilliamsIn 2002, Alcor drew considerable attention when baseball star Ted Williams was placed in cryonic suspension. This grew out of an extended family dispute over how Williams wanted to have his remains disposed. In 2003, Sports Illustrated published allegations by former Alcor COO Larry Johnson that the company had mishandled Williams' head by drilling holes and accidentally cracking it. The story also reported that some of Williams' DNA was missing, possibly in connection with his son, John Henry Williams' desire to sell some of the DNA. Alcor denied the allegations, and explained that microscopic cracking can result as part of the process of freezing the head. John Henry Williams' remains are also stored at Alcor.1992 deathIn addition, Johnson handed over to the police a taped conversation, in which Alcor facilities engineer Hugh Hixon reportedly stated that an Alcor employee deliberately hastened the 1992 death of a terminally ill AIDS patient, with an injection of Metubine, a paralytic drug.[4]
5 Interesting Old People Who Robbed Banks
We often think of younger or middle aged people as bank robbers; however,van cleef lotus earrings replica, history has shown that there have been numerous people who were older when they robbed a bank. Some of these geriatric bank robbers robbed more than 1 bank. There are enough senior citizen bank robbers to fill a book with but I will list 10 of them here who I find interesting.
1. Ethel Arata The Grandma Bandit
Ethel Arata had a wealthy father when she was growing up. Ethel Arata father at one time was worth an estimated 20 million dollars. That was is a lot of loot, especially when you consider this was in the early 1900s. Ethel Arata grew up wealthy but eventually her father lost almost all of his money and he died a pauper. The sad tragedy of Ethel Arata though was just beginning. Ethel Arata was arrested after she got caught robbing a bank in Arcadia, California.
When police arrested her they were stunned. Ethel Arata admitted to other bank robberies. It was obvious that police had finally caught the ban robber that had been nicknamed The Grandma Bandit. Ethel Arata admitted that she was the one who had robbed to other banks, but like a lot of women was sensitive about her age. Ethel Arata stated that she was only 52 years old and she was not a grandma.
Ethel Arata said that she needed money and that is why she robbed the banks; however, she also gave most of the money away to people who were in need of the money more than she was. Some of the money went to her friends who needed money and some of the money she gave to complete strangers. It appeared to police that the Grandma bandit was really a Robin Hood Type Bandit because she robbed from the rich banks and gave the money to the poor or those in need. Police believed this because when they arrested Ethel Arata she only had .63 to her name. Ethel Arata was broke. Ethel Arata was sentenced to serve a 10 year prison term.
On a side note, when the police were looking for the Grandma Bandit there was a lot of coverage in the newspapers about this elderly robber. Ethel Arata was working for a Reverend of a Church. One day Ethel Arata was at Church with the Reverend and a group of people who attended church there. One of the ladies came out holding the newspaper with an article about the Grandma Bandit. Ethel Arata turned to the Reverend and admitted that she was the bank robber the police and FBI were looking for. Everybody laughed because they thought she was simply joking around.
2. Walter Unbehaun
Walter Unbehaun was 73 years old. He had recently got released from prison after serving a 10 year term for bank robbery. At 63 year sold he entered prison for bank robbery. After 10 years Walter Unbehaun was released. He then went and robbed another bank. He is now facing another 20 years behind bars. Walter Unbehaun did not wear any masks or disguise himself when he robbed the Chicago Bank. Walter Unbehaun was simply looking to get arrested so he could live out the rest of his life in jail.
3. J. L. Rountree
The oldest bank robber ever was J. L. Rountree,van cleef flower earrings replica. J. L. Rountree was 91 years old when he walked in and robbed a Texas bank. He had no weapon and when he handed the note to the teller demanding money she asked him a couple of times if he was serious. J. L. Rountree was sentenced to 12 years in prison. This might seem like a harsh sentence for this little old man but he was also convicted of robbing a bank when he was 87 years old and they let him off with only 3 years of probation.
4. Harold Van Horne
Harold Van Horne was arrested in December 2012 for bank robbery. Harold Van Horne used one of the best getaway vehicles available to bank robbers, the bicycle. Yes a bicycle! Each year numerous bank robbers escape the police and FBI by riding off on their bicycle. You have to give Harold Van Horne some credit. Not only can Harold Van Horne still get around at age 69, but he can get off on a bicycle after robbing a bank. He only got caught when he was at a Wal Mart. The employees thought he was acting suspicious so they called the police. The police showed up and recognized him from the surveillance videos at the bank when he robbed it. I guess he should have ridden his bicycle to a different State.
5. John Stolarz
John Stolarz was 47 years old when he got sentenced to Prison for bank robbery. John Stolarz has robbed multiple banks in multiple States,van cleef vintage alhambra earrings replica. He had a lot of time to reflect on his life and the choices he made. 1 Day after being released from prison John Stolarz attempted to rob another bank. Things did not go too well and John Stolarz ended up getting shot in the leg by police.
You would think that if you were spending 22 years in prison that you would have enough time to be able to plan the perfect bank heist and get away with it. Nope John Stolarz. Stolarz entered the bank in Manhattan with a steak knife for a weapon,replica van cleef butterfly earrings. He headed to the information desk at the bank and attempted to rob some money. Unfortunately dumbass John Stolarz did not know that the information desk at the bank did not carry any money behind the counter.
We often think of younger or middle aged people as bank robbers; however,van cleef lotus earrings replica, history has shown that there have been numerous people who were older when they robbed a bank. Some of these geriatric bank robbers robbed more than 1 bank. There are enough senior citizen bank robbers to fill a book with but I will list 10 of them here who I find interesting.
1. Ethel Arata The Grandma Bandit
Ethel Arata had a wealthy father when she was growing up. Ethel Arata father at one time was worth an estimated 20 million dollars. That was is a lot of loot, especially when you consider this was in the early 1900s. Ethel Arata grew up wealthy but eventually her father lost almost all of his money and he died a pauper. The sad tragedy of Ethel Arata though was just beginning. Ethel Arata was arrested after she got caught robbing a bank in Arcadia, California.
When police arrested her they were stunned. Ethel Arata admitted to other bank robberies. It was obvious that police had finally caught the ban robber that had been nicknamed The Grandma Bandit. Ethel Arata admitted that she was the one who had robbed to other banks, but like a lot of women was sensitive about her age. Ethel Arata stated that she was only 52 years old and she was not a grandma.
Ethel Arata said that she needed money and that is why she robbed the banks; however, she also gave most of the money away to people who were in need of the money more than she was. Some of the money went to her friends who needed money and some of the money she gave to complete strangers. It appeared to police that the Grandma bandit was really a Robin Hood Type Bandit because she robbed from the rich banks and gave the money to the poor or those in need. Police believed this because when they arrested Ethel Arata she only had .63 to her name. Ethel Arata was broke. Ethel Arata was sentenced to serve a 10 year prison term.
On a side note, when the police were looking for the Grandma Bandit there was a lot of coverage in the newspapers about this elderly robber. Ethel Arata was working for a Reverend of a Church. One day Ethel Arata was at Church with the Reverend and a group of people who attended church there. One of the ladies came out holding the newspaper with an article about the Grandma Bandit. Ethel Arata turned to the Reverend and admitted that she was the bank robber the police and FBI were looking for. Everybody laughed because they thought she was simply joking around.
2. Walter Unbehaun
Walter Unbehaun was 73 years old. He had recently got released from prison after serving a 10 year term for bank robbery. At 63 year sold he entered prison for bank robbery. After 10 years Walter Unbehaun was released. He then went and robbed another bank. He is now facing another 20 years behind bars. Walter Unbehaun did not wear any masks or disguise himself when he robbed the Chicago Bank. Walter Unbehaun was simply looking to get arrested so he could live out the rest of his life in jail.
3. J. L. Rountree
The oldest bank robber ever was J. L. Rountree,van cleef flower earrings replica. J. L. Rountree was 91 years old when he walked in and robbed a Texas bank. He had no weapon and when he handed the note to the teller demanding money she asked him a couple of times if he was serious. J. L. Rountree was sentenced to 12 years in prison. This might seem like a harsh sentence for this little old man but he was also convicted of robbing a bank when he was 87 years old and they let him off with only 3 years of probation.
4. Harold Van Horne
Harold Van Horne was arrested in December 2012 for bank robbery. Harold Van Horne used one of the best getaway vehicles available to bank robbers, the bicycle. Yes a bicycle! Each year numerous bank robbers escape the police and FBI by riding off on their bicycle. You have to give Harold Van Horne some credit. Not only can Harold Van Horne still get around at age 69, but he can get off on a bicycle after robbing a bank. He only got caught when he was at a Wal Mart. The employees thought he was acting suspicious so they called the police. The police showed up and recognized him from the surveillance videos at the bank when he robbed it. I guess he should have ridden his bicycle to a different State.
5. John Stolarz
John Stolarz was 47 years old when he got sentenced to Prison for bank robbery. John Stolarz has robbed multiple banks in multiple States,van cleef vintage alhambra earrings replica. He had a lot of time to reflect on his life and the choices he made. 1 Day after being released from prison John Stolarz attempted to rob another bank. Things did not go too well and John Stolarz ended up getting shot in the leg by police.
You would think that if you were spending 22 years in prison that you would have enough time to be able to plan the perfect bank heist and get away with it. Nope John Stolarz. Stolarz entered the bank in Manhattan with a steak knife for a weapon,replica van cleef butterfly earrings. He headed to the information desk at the bank and attempted to rob some money. Unfortunately dumbass John Stolarz did not know that the information desk at the bank did not carry any money behind the counter.
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8 times that a 10 Commandments monument had its day in court
Last week, Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to display a 10 Commandments monument on statehouse grounds. But Oklahoma Gov. over a 3,000 pound Ten Commandments monument on the City Hall's front lawn. They viewed this as a governmental endorsement of religion and demanded the removal of the monument. The city argued that private parties funded and erected the monument after the city council passed a resolution allowing for residents to build historical monuments. The plaintiff, argued that city leaders,replica van cleef and arpels alhambra earrings, instead of residents, led the efforts in building the monument. They claimed that the monument was proposed by Kevin Mauzy,replica van earrings, who was on the city council when the proposal was made. Additionally, the plaintiff asserted that the majority of the funding came from the city. Green sued on the basis that the monument violated the First Amendment's separation of church and state. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Green won the case. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the monument must be removed but it was permitted to stay while the Haskell County Commissioners appealed the case. However, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal and in March 2010,van cleef clover earrings replica, it was decided that the monument had to go. The monument was moved a few feet away from the courthouse to the lawn of the American Legion.
Related: GOPer: I won remove 10 Commandments statueSummum Church of Pleasant Grove, Utah requested to build their own privately funded statue on the grounds of a public park where a statue of the Ten Commandments was displayed. Summum Church asserted that if the Ten Commandments could be displayed, then they could erect a statue for their church. The petitioners to Summum's request was the American Center for Law and Justice, who argued that there is a difference between government speech and private speech. They said that while the government was allowed to display the Ten Commandments, it does not need to endorse all private speech. DeMille donated the monument to the government, which decided to erect the monument on the state capitol grounds. Thomas Van Orden a homeless man with a suspended law license challenged the constitutionality of displaying this monument on Capitol grounds in 2005. It violated, he argued, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In the subsequent case Van Orden v. Supreme Court ruled in a 5 4 vote that a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol was constitutional. In the ensuing case McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky, the ACLU claimed that the religious displays were in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled in November 2003 that Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's the placement of a 2.6 ton granite Ten Commandment monument in the state building violated the Constitution's principle of separation of church and state. Moore,clover earrings van cleef replica, however, refused to follow through and did not remove the monument. US Judge Robert Echols agreed and ordered for the removal of the Ten Commandments in 2004. However, Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold posted the Ten Commandments in his department's lobby, next to a copy of the Bill of rights and the Declaration of Independance. These parents argued that a Kentucky statute that required the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments in each public school classroom violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In the ensuing case Stone v. Graham, the court ruled 5 2 in the parents' favor: the Commandments, they decided, "had no secular legislative purpose" and were "plainly religious in nature."
Last week, Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to display a 10 Commandments monument on statehouse grounds. But Oklahoma Gov. over a 3,000 pound Ten Commandments monument on the City Hall's front lawn. They viewed this as a governmental endorsement of religion and demanded the removal of the monument. The city argued that private parties funded and erected the monument after the city council passed a resolution allowing for residents to build historical monuments. The plaintiff, argued that city leaders,replica van cleef and arpels alhambra earrings, instead of residents, led the efforts in building the monument. They claimed that the monument was proposed by Kevin Mauzy,replica van earrings, who was on the city council when the proposal was made. Additionally, the plaintiff asserted that the majority of the funding came from the city. Green sued on the basis that the monument violated the First Amendment's separation of church and state. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Green won the case. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the monument must be removed but it was permitted to stay while the Haskell County Commissioners appealed the case. However, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal and in March 2010,van cleef clover earrings replica, it was decided that the monument had to go. The monument was moved a few feet away from the courthouse to the lawn of the American Legion.
Related: GOPer: I won remove 10 Commandments statueSummum Church of Pleasant Grove, Utah requested to build their own privately funded statue on the grounds of a public park where a statue of the Ten Commandments was displayed. Summum Church asserted that if the Ten Commandments could be displayed, then they could erect a statue for their church. The petitioners to Summum's request was the American Center for Law and Justice, who argued that there is a difference between government speech and private speech. They said that while the government was allowed to display the Ten Commandments, it does not need to endorse all private speech. DeMille donated the monument to the government, which decided to erect the monument on the state capitol grounds. Thomas Van Orden a homeless man with a suspended law license challenged the constitutionality of displaying this monument on Capitol grounds in 2005. It violated, he argued, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In the subsequent case Van Orden v. Supreme Court ruled in a 5 4 vote that a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol was constitutional. In the ensuing case McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky, the ACLU claimed that the religious displays were in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled in November 2003 that Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's the placement of a 2.6 ton granite Ten Commandment monument in the state building violated the Constitution's principle of separation of church and state. Moore,clover earrings van cleef replica, however, refused to follow through and did not remove the monument. US Judge Robert Echols agreed and ordered for the removal of the Ten Commandments in 2004. However, Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold posted the Ten Commandments in his department's lobby, next to a copy of the Bill of rights and the Declaration of Independance. These parents argued that a Kentucky statute that required the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments in each public school classroom violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In the ensuing case Stone v. Graham, the court ruled 5 2 in the parents' favor: the Commandments, they decided, "had no secular legislative purpose" and were "plainly religious in nature."
10 ways to beat the taxman honestly
But while few of us are wealthy enough to justify moving assets to an offshore tax haven, employing armies of accountants or using complex trust structures, there are far simpler, and perfectly legal, ways of reducing our spiralling tax bills.
Critics have argued that the politicians seem to be blurring the line between tax evasion and tax avoidance. The former involves breaking tax rules and is,van cleef lucky alhambra necklace replica, of course, illegal. The latter involves sticking to the rules but planning your finances carefully so you don't pay more tax than you have to. This could be as simple as using tax efficient savings plans such as Isas, pensions and Premium Bonds, or utilising legitimate tax reliefs efficiently. And despite the rhetoric, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, was forced to concede that middle class taxpayers were "perfectly entitled" to use accountants to lower their tax bills.
In fact, it could be argued that we need to be more vigilant about such measures: many families are feeling the strain on their finances thanks to increased National Insurance contributions, rising inflation, the new 50p top tax rate and the fact that many also face additional tax demands, thanks to HM Revenue Customs' computer errors.
Follow our suggestions below to make sure you keep your tax bills to the minimum.
THINK AS A FAMILY, NOT AS AN INDIVIDUAL
We all pay tax on our own individual earnings and assets. But thanks to a number of reliefs and allowances offered to married couples and civil partners, it is possible to reduce the total amount of tax you pay as a couple if you arrange your finances correctly. This, though, works only if one partner pays a lower tax rate. Frank Nash of accountants Blick Rothenberg recommended switching income producing assets, such as shares, investment funds, bank and building society accounts and jointly owned property, into the name of the partner who pays the lower rate of tax. This way, you pay less tax on dividends, rent and savings interest. "The general rule that jointly owned income is taxed 50/50 can be altered by making a specific election where there has been a genuine outright gift of assets," Mr Nash said. If you are unmarried and transferring assets, this could potentially trigger a capital gains tax (CGT) bill.
MAKE THE MOST OF 'JOINT' OWNERSHIPS
For assets likely to trigger a capital gain (such as a property or shares) it may be worth owning them jointly. Much will depend on how much annual income they generate, when you are likely to sell them and the size of the potential gain. But if a buy to let home, for example, is held in joint names, you will be able to use both spouses' CGT allowance. Gary Heynes, a partner at accountants Baker Tilly, said: "In this way up to 20,200 of capital gains can be realised before you pay tax, rather than just 10,100."
Basic rate taxpayers pay CGT at 18pc, rather than the standard 28pc rate. But couples need to be careful. When calculating CGT, the gain realised is added to the income earned in that tax year; if these two combined push you into the higher tax bracket you will pay the 28pc rate on the gain. People realising "lumpy" assets, such as a second home, are usually better off jointly owning the asset to take advantage of two CGT allowances, as in practice either partner, regardless of earnings, often pays the higher CGT rate.
CHECK YOUR TAX CODE
The problems with HMRC's computers have led to thousands of people paying the wrong tax through their tax code. Even if you are not one of the six million taxpayers receiving a letter saying tax has been over or underpaid, it's worth checking your code. Older readers should check they are getting appropriate higher personal allowances. Those over 65 can earn 9,490 before tax is charged, rising to 9,640 for those 75 and over. The standard personal allowance is 6,475.
PLAN AHEAD
There are a number of little known exemptions allowing you to reduce future inheritance tax bills. Everyone has an annual gift exemption worth 3,000,van cleef rose gold necklace replica, which removes this money from your estate regardless of how long you live. In addition, grandparents can give 2,500 to each grandchild who marries; parents can give 5,000. Wealthier taxpayers can also make regular gifts out of income,van cleef and arpels 11 motif necklace replica, which will also be IHT free. Mike Warburton of accountants Grant Thornton said: "These can be paid monthly, annually or even termly, if, for example, it was to help pay school fees. Get your relative to write a letter stating that it is their intention to make this a regular gift from their excess income. Investors can make a bigger dent in their tax bill by putting their money in an enterprise investment scheme (EIS) or venture capital trust (VCT). Both are designed to encourage private investment in smaller companies.
Mr Heynes said: "Taxpayers can put up to 500,000 in certain small companies under the EIS rules. Buying shares in a qualifying company gives a reduction in tax of 20pc,van cleef and arpels blue necklace replica, so a 10,000 investment means a 2,000 reduction in that person's tax bill." The maximum investment therefore wipes 100,000 off your tax bill. The shares are free from capital gains tax and inheritance tax.
You can invest in a wider range of shares through a VCT. This gives a tax reduction of 30pc of the amount invested, up to 200,000. A 10,000 investment would knock 3,000 off your tax bill, the maximum investment cutting your tax by 60,000. Mr Warburton said it could make sense to increase borrowing on a buy to let property and use this money to reduce the main mortgage paid on your residential home, where no tax relief is granted.
He said: "This has to be done properly. I would always recommend opening a business bank account and making sure all rental money and expenses go in and out of this account. But you can use any profits made on the rental business to reduce your own mortgage, which would be a tax efficient way of structuring your borrowing."
People can borrow only up to the original value of the property when they started letting it.
GO OFFSHORE
There is often little tax advantage in using one of the popular offshore regions such as the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Luxembourg or Liechtenstein for those resident in Britain.
Taxpayers here are required to declare their worldwide earnings, including interest paid on overseas bank accounts. And thanks to new data sharing arrangements, HMRC can now access information on these accounts.
But some offshore bonds may still be beneficial to higher rate taxpayers, as they essentially allow people to defer tax. These are complex products and often expensive, so seek independent advice.
But while few of us are wealthy enough to justify moving assets to an offshore tax haven, employing armies of accountants or using complex trust structures, there are far simpler, and perfectly legal, ways of reducing our spiralling tax bills.
Critics have argued that the politicians seem to be blurring the line between tax evasion and tax avoidance. The former involves breaking tax rules and is,van cleef lucky alhambra necklace replica, of course, illegal. The latter involves sticking to the rules but planning your finances carefully so you don't pay more tax than you have to. This could be as simple as using tax efficient savings plans such as Isas, pensions and Premium Bonds, or utilising legitimate tax reliefs efficiently. And despite the rhetoric, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, was forced to concede that middle class taxpayers were "perfectly entitled" to use accountants to lower their tax bills.
In fact, it could be argued that we need to be more vigilant about such measures: many families are feeling the strain on their finances thanks to increased National Insurance contributions, rising inflation, the new 50p top tax rate and the fact that many also face additional tax demands, thanks to HM Revenue Customs' computer errors.
Follow our suggestions below to make sure you keep your tax bills to the minimum.
THINK AS A FAMILY, NOT AS AN INDIVIDUAL
We all pay tax on our own individual earnings and assets. But thanks to a number of reliefs and allowances offered to married couples and civil partners, it is possible to reduce the total amount of tax you pay as a couple if you arrange your finances correctly. This, though, works only if one partner pays a lower tax rate. Frank Nash of accountants Blick Rothenberg recommended switching income producing assets, such as shares, investment funds, bank and building society accounts and jointly owned property, into the name of the partner who pays the lower rate of tax. This way, you pay less tax on dividends, rent and savings interest. "The general rule that jointly owned income is taxed 50/50 can be altered by making a specific election where there has been a genuine outright gift of assets," Mr Nash said. If you are unmarried and transferring assets, this could potentially trigger a capital gains tax (CGT) bill.
MAKE THE MOST OF 'JOINT' OWNERSHIPS
For assets likely to trigger a capital gain (such as a property or shares) it may be worth owning them jointly. Much will depend on how much annual income they generate, when you are likely to sell them and the size of the potential gain. But if a buy to let home, for example, is held in joint names, you will be able to use both spouses' CGT allowance. Gary Heynes, a partner at accountants Baker Tilly, said: "In this way up to 20,200 of capital gains can be realised before you pay tax, rather than just 10,100."
Basic rate taxpayers pay CGT at 18pc, rather than the standard 28pc rate. But couples need to be careful. When calculating CGT, the gain realised is added to the income earned in that tax year; if these two combined push you into the higher tax bracket you will pay the 28pc rate on the gain. People realising "lumpy" assets, such as a second home, are usually better off jointly owning the asset to take advantage of two CGT allowances, as in practice either partner, regardless of earnings, often pays the higher CGT rate.
CHECK YOUR TAX CODE
The problems with HMRC's computers have led to thousands of people paying the wrong tax through their tax code. Even if you are not one of the six million taxpayers receiving a letter saying tax has been over or underpaid, it's worth checking your code. Older readers should check they are getting appropriate higher personal allowances. Those over 65 can earn 9,490 before tax is charged, rising to 9,640 for those 75 and over. The standard personal allowance is 6,475.
PLAN AHEAD
There are a number of little known exemptions allowing you to reduce future inheritance tax bills. Everyone has an annual gift exemption worth 3,000,van cleef rose gold necklace replica, which removes this money from your estate regardless of how long you live. In addition, grandparents can give 2,500 to each grandchild who marries; parents can give 5,000. Wealthier taxpayers can also make regular gifts out of income,van cleef and arpels 11 motif necklace replica, which will also be IHT free. Mike Warburton of accountants Grant Thornton said: "These can be paid monthly, annually or even termly, if, for example, it was to help pay school fees. Get your relative to write a letter stating that it is their intention to make this a regular gift from their excess income. Investors can make a bigger dent in their tax bill by putting their money in an enterprise investment scheme (EIS) or venture capital trust (VCT). Both are designed to encourage private investment in smaller companies.
Mr Heynes said: "Taxpayers can put up to 500,000 in certain small companies under the EIS rules. Buying shares in a qualifying company gives a reduction in tax of 20pc,van cleef and arpels blue necklace replica, so a 10,000 investment means a 2,000 reduction in that person's tax bill." The maximum investment therefore wipes 100,000 off your tax bill. The shares are free from capital gains tax and inheritance tax.
You can invest in a wider range of shares through a VCT. This gives a tax reduction of 30pc of the amount invested, up to 200,000. A 10,000 investment would knock 3,000 off your tax bill, the maximum investment cutting your tax by 60,000. Mr Warburton said it could make sense to increase borrowing on a buy to let property and use this money to reduce the main mortgage paid on your residential home, where no tax relief is granted.
He said: "This has to be done properly. I would always recommend opening a business bank account and making sure all rental money and expenses go in and out of this account. But you can use any profits made on the rental business to reduce your own mortgage, which would be a tax efficient way of structuring your borrowing."
People can borrow only up to the original value of the property when they started letting it.
GO OFFSHORE
There is often little tax advantage in using one of the popular offshore regions such as the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Luxembourg or Liechtenstein for those resident in Britain.
Taxpayers here are required to declare their worldwide earnings, including interest paid on overseas bank accounts. And thanks to new data sharing arrangements, HMRC can now access information on these accounts.
But some offshore bonds may still be beneficial to higher rate taxpayers, as they essentially allow people to defer tax. These are complex products and often expensive, so seek independent advice.
50 million in diamonds at Belgian airport
Monday, eight masked men in two vehicles burst through the perimeter fence of Brussels Airport and sped toward the aircraft on the tarmac.
While no shots were fired and no one was injured,vca sweet alhambra necklace replica, the pilot, co pilot and a transport security guard were all threatened at gunpoint, said Ine Van Wymersch, of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Brussels.
Within three minutes,van cleef inspired clover necklace replica, the thieves had snatched the diamonds from the hold, said airport spokesman Jan Van der Cruysse.
Drag queens, fake beards and chocolates: Notable diamond heists
Moments later they left the scene,van cleef and arpels zipper necklace replica, racing out through the same breach in the airport periphery through which they had entered.
The robbers, four in each car,pink van cleef necklace replica, had broken a hole in the fence where it ran between two construction sites, Van Wymersch said at a news conference.
"This was a very precise, almost military organized and well executed robbery," Van der Cruysse said.
He said it was a "big surprise" that such a slick heist been possible but pointed the finger at organized crime.
"We are an airport that is, as all international airports are, subject to very strict aviation security and safety regulations," he said.
The aircraft targeted was a regular passenger flight operated by Helvetic Airways on behalf of Swiss, Switzerland's national airline.
Monday, eight masked men in two vehicles burst through the perimeter fence of Brussels Airport and sped toward the aircraft on the tarmac.
While no shots were fired and no one was injured,vca sweet alhambra necklace replica, the pilot, co pilot and a transport security guard were all threatened at gunpoint, said Ine Van Wymersch, of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Brussels.
Within three minutes,van cleef inspired clover necklace replica, the thieves had snatched the diamonds from the hold, said airport spokesman Jan Van der Cruysse.
Drag queens, fake beards and chocolates: Notable diamond heists
Moments later they left the scene,van cleef and arpels zipper necklace replica, racing out through the same breach in the airport periphery through which they had entered.
The robbers, four in each car,pink van cleef necklace replica, had broken a hole in the fence where it ran between two construction sites, Van Wymersch said at a news conference.
"This was a very precise, almost military organized and well executed robbery," Van der Cruysse said.
He said it was a "big surprise" that such a slick heist been possible but pointed the finger at organized crime.
"We are an airport that is, as all international airports are, subject to very strict aviation security and safety regulations," he said.
The aircraft targeted was a regular passenger flight operated by Helvetic Airways on behalf of Swiss, Switzerland's national airline.
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A Historic Explorer Leads the Way on an Epic African Journey
In 1550, Leo Africanus, a Muslim born diplomat and traveler who served Pope Leo X, produced the first geographical description of Africa to be published in Europe. In The Timbuktu School for Nomads: Across the Sahara in the Shadow of Jihad, Jubber tells the story of his epic journey by camel, bus, and motorbike from Morocco to Mali.
Speaking from his home in London, Jubber explains how Leo Africanus got a few things wrong, why you need to learn how to ride a camel if you are thinking of traveling in the region, and why books are among the region's most precious objects.
He grew up in Fez, Morocco, the nephew of an important ambassador, and accompanied his uncle on a diplomatic mission to Timbuktu and the Songhai kings. During that journey he saw an enormous amount of Africa. Later he was kidnapped by pirates off the Mediterranean coast and ended up as a prot of Pope Leo X, whose name he took when he was christened. In his day,van cleef and arpels necklaces fake, he was regarded as one of the most well traveled people in the world. If you compare him with some of the great travelers of medieval times, like Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta, he matches up pretty well.
What's particularly unique about Leo Africanus is that for hundreds of years his book became the most influential source of knowledge and information about Africa. Even the mistakes in his book were absorbed by later explorers. One of the misunderstandings was about the direction of the Niger River, which Leo Africanus mistook. That was why Mungo Park, traveling at the end of the 18th century, had such a hard time reaching Timbuktu.
Timbuktu is a byword for the end of the world. But it was once a great, cultural crossroads, wasn't it?
Absolutely. It was in this perfect position at the edge of the desert, so a lot of the caravans coming through from the south up to the Mediterranean stopped there, bringing all sorts of things: gold, ostrich feathers,van cleef butterfly necklace fake, slaves. When the gold mines of West Africa were at their peak, Timbuktu was also at the heart of that trade.
One of the exciting things about being there is the continuity of history. Even though it's fallen on hard times recently, you're still very aware of the past. You can still see many of the great monuments, like the Sankore and Djinguereber Mosques, which Leo Africanus saw.
The Tuareg, or "blue men," are perhaps the most famous of those nomads. There's even a German SUV named after them. Have they been romanticized?
Absolutely, and they've been very much misunderstood. They are called the "blue men" because of their veils, which were traditionally dyed with blue indigo, staining their skin blue. These days they tend to wear inexpensive, Chinese made veils, which don't do that.
Their origins are clouded in mystery. There are all sorts of theories that they are descended from one of the lost tribes of Israel, or from a troop of crusaders who got lost in the desert after coming out of the Middle East. Because their culture has traditionally been oral and only goes back a number of centuries, it's been difficult for academics to tease out what the truth might be. But over the last millennium, there has been continuity in their presence in the Sahara.
I met a lot of them around Timbuktu and northern Mali. The Tuareg were credited with having founded Timbuktu as a place where they left their baggage and booty when they set off across the Sahara. As Timbuktu grew and flourished, they would sometimes be part of that growth, and sometimes they would be seen as a problem by the settled people there. They have always had this difficult, complex relationship with the sedentary communities of northern Mali. This has continued to this day and is at the heart of some of the current political problems in Mali.
Say "nomads" and we think camels and sand. But there are waterborne nomads, aren't there? Tell us about your trip down the Niger River and the wonderfully named Bozo people.
I find them fascinating. It's such a different kind of nomadism from the camel , goat , or cattle herding cultures, with its own musical and spiritual traditions. You hear a lot about genies and djinns on the river. Among the Bozo, there's a tradition of offering rice in the hope that the spirit of the river will bless your fishing trip.
They are proper river rats, who float down the river in long, wooden canoes called pirogues. They have a very intimate knowledge of the river system, like where the best places to find fish at any particular time of year are. But it's a lifestyle that's being complicated by environmental and political problems, like the reduction in fish numbers due to damming on part of the Niger and overfishing by people not traditionally from a fishing background. One of the things Ibrahim, a fisherman I traveled with, pointed out is that if you catch a baby fish, you should always put it back into the river and wait until it's fully grown, which he said was something the newer fishing people weren't doing.
In recent years, Timbuktu has been in the crosshairs of history in a different way. Tell us about Mokhtar Belmokhtar, aka Mr. Marlboro, and the atmosphere in Timbuktu when you arrived in the city shortly after the jihadists were driven out.
I heard the name Mokhtar Belmokhtar, "the One Eyed," all over the region. He's probably the most high profile of the many bandit chiefs. He started out peddling bootlegged cigarettes, then discovered Western hostages were a much more lucrative form of contraband. He then spread his net a little wider and became one of the most powerful, and volatile, jihadists in the region. He seems to have been constantly falling out with his colleagues and various other jihadist groups, but he spreads a large shadow over the region. While I was traveling there, the jihadists took over Timbuktu. When I came back, after they had been pushed out by the French, there were all sorts of stories of people who'd been flogged or had their property incinerated for minor crimes, like smoking cigarettes.
Most of the world's population lives in cities today or settled communities. Tell us about the lifestyle and culture of the Sahara nomads you spent time with and whether they have a future.
It's certainly a very different lifestyle from the Western urban lifestyles that you or I are used to. It's very much connected to, and living with, the landscape. There's a lot of doom mongering at the moment about the nomadic way of life being on its last legs and the numbers falling away. At the same time, I met a lot of people who talked about the continuity of their lifestyles and how they felt that nomadism will never disappear.
In some ways, it can't because it's such a practical way of living in that particular landscape. And with desertification expanding in many parts of North Africa, being able to live in and around the desert is actually growing in its relevance. It's important for security, too, because the more of a thriving community of nomads you have, the more they will be able to provide a kind of shield against banditry and jihadism.
The love of books seems at odds with the nomadic lifestyle. But there's been a long tradition of bibliophilia in the Sahara, hasn't there?
Books have always been some of the most precious objects in the region. Leo Africanus describes how, at the time he was traveling, books were considered to be worth more than a slave. So if you wanted to build up a bit of a fortune for yourself, having a big stock of books could be quite lucrative.
One of the places that encapsulates this is Chinguetti, in Mauritania, where there are magnificent family libraries, with heirlooms handed down for generations. Some families have hundreds of manuscripts some in very tattered condition but still full of fascinating knowledge. When the jihadists took over Timbuktu, one of the first things they did was try to locate the private libraries. Luckily there was a very effective project to secretly remove many of the books before the jihadists could destroy them and to safeguard them in Mali's capital, Bamako.
There were a lot of moments when I was really anxious. Jihadism was in the headlines, and there was this constant fear of bumping into the wrong people. On one journey, riding with 20 other people in a van across the Sahara, we got stuck in the sand, so we all had to get out and push.
A few moments later we were suddenly encircled by motorbike lights. There had been a kidnapping in Timbuktu previously, and I thought, this is the moment the jihadists are going to come and take me away.
It was actually just some local farmers coming to guide us back onto the right track. But the next day, on the same route, another van was attacked by bandits.
There were lots of other threats, too, from getting sunstroke to being kicked by a camel. Traveling around the Sahara you are constantly aware of all the things that can go wrong.
The high point was staying in the camps with nomadic families. One that was particularly fun was a well keeper called Ishmael, who lived about 10 miles outside Timbuktu. He welcomed me into his tent and sat reciting verses from the Koran, telling me old tales about his tribe, the Berbers. When I left he sang a song of blessing to wish us well on the rest of our journey. He was in his 70s, but his voice was still wonderfully rich and resonant.
One of the things I did was to travel a bit into the Sahara in Morocco. It's not as rough as Mali, so it's a good place to learn about camel riding and getting used to desert life. I also advise anybody thinking of traveling in the Sahara to research the history of the different communities,van cleef pendant necklace fake, who lives where and who's herding what kinds of animals. Try and learn the language, too. One of the things that helped me a lot was learning Arabic before going to Mauritania and Mali.
Equipment isn't that necessary because once you're traveling with nomads in the Sahara, you get used to doing things their way. One of the things I loved when traveling with the nomads was sitting around a campfire, waiting for an extremely long time for things to happen. You relax into that companionship sitting around,van cleef necklace fake, drinking tea, letting the hours pass by. You lose that urban impatience and get used to just enjoying being with each other in the desert.
In 1550, Leo Africanus, a Muslim born diplomat and traveler who served Pope Leo X, produced the first geographical description of Africa to be published in Europe. In The Timbuktu School for Nomads: Across the Sahara in the Shadow of Jihad, Jubber tells the story of his epic journey by camel, bus, and motorbike from Morocco to Mali.
Speaking from his home in London, Jubber explains how Leo Africanus got a few things wrong, why you need to learn how to ride a camel if you are thinking of traveling in the region, and why books are among the region's most precious objects.
He grew up in Fez, Morocco, the nephew of an important ambassador, and accompanied his uncle on a diplomatic mission to Timbuktu and the Songhai kings. During that journey he saw an enormous amount of Africa. Later he was kidnapped by pirates off the Mediterranean coast and ended up as a prot of Pope Leo X, whose name he took when he was christened. In his day,van cleef and arpels necklaces fake, he was regarded as one of the most well traveled people in the world. If you compare him with some of the great travelers of medieval times, like Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta, he matches up pretty well.
What's particularly unique about Leo Africanus is that for hundreds of years his book became the most influential source of knowledge and information about Africa. Even the mistakes in his book were absorbed by later explorers. One of the misunderstandings was about the direction of the Niger River, which Leo Africanus mistook. That was why Mungo Park, traveling at the end of the 18th century, had such a hard time reaching Timbuktu.
Timbuktu is a byword for the end of the world. But it was once a great, cultural crossroads, wasn't it?
Absolutely. It was in this perfect position at the edge of the desert, so a lot of the caravans coming through from the south up to the Mediterranean stopped there, bringing all sorts of things: gold, ostrich feathers,van cleef butterfly necklace fake, slaves. When the gold mines of West Africa were at their peak, Timbuktu was also at the heart of that trade.
One of the exciting things about being there is the continuity of history. Even though it's fallen on hard times recently, you're still very aware of the past. You can still see many of the great monuments, like the Sankore and Djinguereber Mosques, which Leo Africanus saw.
The Tuareg, or "blue men," are perhaps the most famous of those nomads. There's even a German SUV named after them. Have they been romanticized?
Absolutely, and they've been very much misunderstood. They are called the "blue men" because of their veils, which were traditionally dyed with blue indigo, staining their skin blue. These days they tend to wear inexpensive, Chinese made veils, which don't do that.
Their origins are clouded in mystery. There are all sorts of theories that they are descended from one of the lost tribes of Israel, or from a troop of crusaders who got lost in the desert after coming out of the Middle East. Because their culture has traditionally been oral and only goes back a number of centuries, it's been difficult for academics to tease out what the truth might be. But over the last millennium, there has been continuity in their presence in the Sahara.
I met a lot of them around Timbuktu and northern Mali. The Tuareg were credited with having founded Timbuktu as a place where they left their baggage and booty when they set off across the Sahara. As Timbuktu grew and flourished, they would sometimes be part of that growth, and sometimes they would be seen as a problem by the settled people there. They have always had this difficult, complex relationship with the sedentary communities of northern Mali. This has continued to this day and is at the heart of some of the current political problems in Mali.
Say "nomads" and we think camels and sand. But there are waterborne nomads, aren't there? Tell us about your trip down the Niger River and the wonderfully named Bozo people.
I find them fascinating. It's such a different kind of nomadism from the camel , goat , or cattle herding cultures, with its own musical and spiritual traditions. You hear a lot about genies and djinns on the river. Among the Bozo, there's a tradition of offering rice in the hope that the spirit of the river will bless your fishing trip.
They are proper river rats, who float down the river in long, wooden canoes called pirogues. They have a very intimate knowledge of the river system, like where the best places to find fish at any particular time of year are. But it's a lifestyle that's being complicated by environmental and political problems, like the reduction in fish numbers due to damming on part of the Niger and overfishing by people not traditionally from a fishing background. One of the things Ibrahim, a fisherman I traveled with, pointed out is that if you catch a baby fish, you should always put it back into the river and wait until it's fully grown, which he said was something the newer fishing people weren't doing.
In recent years, Timbuktu has been in the crosshairs of history in a different way. Tell us about Mokhtar Belmokhtar, aka Mr. Marlboro, and the atmosphere in Timbuktu when you arrived in the city shortly after the jihadists were driven out.
I heard the name Mokhtar Belmokhtar, "the One Eyed," all over the region. He's probably the most high profile of the many bandit chiefs. He started out peddling bootlegged cigarettes, then discovered Western hostages were a much more lucrative form of contraband. He then spread his net a little wider and became one of the most powerful, and volatile, jihadists in the region. He seems to have been constantly falling out with his colleagues and various other jihadist groups, but he spreads a large shadow over the region. While I was traveling there, the jihadists took over Timbuktu. When I came back, after they had been pushed out by the French, there were all sorts of stories of people who'd been flogged or had their property incinerated for minor crimes, like smoking cigarettes.
Most of the world's population lives in cities today or settled communities. Tell us about the lifestyle and culture of the Sahara nomads you spent time with and whether they have a future.
It's certainly a very different lifestyle from the Western urban lifestyles that you or I are used to. It's very much connected to, and living with, the landscape. There's a lot of doom mongering at the moment about the nomadic way of life being on its last legs and the numbers falling away. At the same time, I met a lot of people who talked about the continuity of their lifestyles and how they felt that nomadism will never disappear.
In some ways, it can't because it's such a practical way of living in that particular landscape. And with desertification expanding in many parts of North Africa, being able to live in and around the desert is actually growing in its relevance. It's important for security, too, because the more of a thriving community of nomads you have, the more they will be able to provide a kind of shield against banditry and jihadism.
The love of books seems at odds with the nomadic lifestyle. But there's been a long tradition of bibliophilia in the Sahara, hasn't there?
Books have always been some of the most precious objects in the region. Leo Africanus describes how, at the time he was traveling, books were considered to be worth more than a slave. So if you wanted to build up a bit of a fortune for yourself, having a big stock of books could be quite lucrative.
One of the places that encapsulates this is Chinguetti, in Mauritania, where there are magnificent family libraries, with heirlooms handed down for generations. Some families have hundreds of manuscripts some in very tattered condition but still full of fascinating knowledge. When the jihadists took over Timbuktu, one of the first things they did was try to locate the private libraries. Luckily there was a very effective project to secretly remove many of the books before the jihadists could destroy them and to safeguard them in Mali's capital, Bamako.
There were a lot of moments when I was really anxious. Jihadism was in the headlines, and there was this constant fear of bumping into the wrong people. On one journey, riding with 20 other people in a van across the Sahara, we got stuck in the sand, so we all had to get out and push.
A few moments later we were suddenly encircled by motorbike lights. There had been a kidnapping in Timbuktu previously, and I thought, this is the moment the jihadists are going to come and take me away.
It was actually just some local farmers coming to guide us back onto the right track. But the next day, on the same route, another van was attacked by bandits.
There were lots of other threats, too, from getting sunstroke to being kicked by a camel. Traveling around the Sahara you are constantly aware of all the things that can go wrong.
The high point was staying in the camps with nomadic families. One that was particularly fun was a well keeper called Ishmael, who lived about 10 miles outside Timbuktu. He welcomed me into his tent and sat reciting verses from the Koran, telling me old tales about his tribe, the Berbers. When I left he sang a song of blessing to wish us well on the rest of our journey. He was in his 70s, but his voice was still wonderfully rich and resonant.
One of the things I did was to travel a bit into the Sahara in Morocco. It's not as rough as Mali, so it's a good place to learn about camel riding and getting used to desert life. I also advise anybody thinking of traveling in the Sahara to research the history of the different communities,van cleef pendant necklace fake, who lives where and who's herding what kinds of animals. Try and learn the language, too. One of the things that helped me a lot was learning Arabic before going to Mauritania and Mali.
Equipment isn't that necessary because once you're traveling with nomads in the Sahara, you get used to doing things their way. One of the things I loved when traveling with the nomads was sitting around a campfire, waiting for an extremely long time for things to happen. You relax into that companionship sitting around,van cleef necklace fake, drinking tea, letting the hours pass by. You lose that urban impatience and get used to just enjoying being with each other in the desert.
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630 police swoop in massive drug operation
Forty two people are in custody after the biggest drug operation in Victoria's history sent 630 police storming into scores of properties allegedly linked to a $400 million cannabis farms syndicate.
Police raided 68 properties early today, all allegedly connected to a cannabis cartel producing indoor hydroponic crops each worth $80,000.
Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones this morning revealed the raids would have happened sooner but US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Melbourne had diverted too many resources.
But Sir Ken said suggestions the raids had been timed to benefit the State Government days before the election were "absolute rubbish".
"We're not going to threaten our operations to suit any political cycle," he said.
Today's raids are part of a long term police investigation codenamed Entity.
Many of the properties raided today were used as hydroponic "farms''.
Police have seized more than 7200 cannabis plants.
As part of the investigation police have previously raided 50 properties in Victoria and New Zealand, seizing more than $20 million in assets.
The investigation involves Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police, customs, tax and immigration officials.
Investigators say the main targets are members of the Vietnamese community.
Police say some of the funds reaped from the marijuana crops have been used to buy heroin in Vietnam,van cleef necklace knock off alhambra, which has been imported into Australia.
Detective Superintendent Gerry Ryan said early reports were the operation was going well.
Police have long maintained there is a direct link between Vietnamese syndicates trafficking in both cannabis and heroin.
Police have identified seven major heroin syndicates, which have recruited more than 100 Melbourne based couriers.
Police were ready to raid the houses two weeks ago,van cleef arpels replica alhambra necklace, however the operation had to be delayed because of US Secretary of State Hillary Ms Clinton's visit.
Drug Taskforce investigators say the syndicates target members of the Vietnamese community with gambling debts who are susceptible to pressure from loan sharks.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade figures show 25 Australian nationals are in Vietnamese jails on drug charges.
Since 2003, seven Australians sentenced to death in Vietnam have had their penalty commuted after pleas for clemency from the Australian Government.
A police taskforce of drug taskforce detectives, Customs and Border Protection officers, the Australian Crime Commission and Australian Federal Police has been set up to investigate the syndicates.
Operation Ripsaw has resulted in the arrest of more than 30 suspects in Australia and Vietnam in the past two years.
In August police seized commercial and residential properties valued at $20 million they allege had been purchased through laundered funds made by the syndicates through heroin trafficking.
More than 20 suspects have been arrested and $3 million in cash seized during the raids in Fitzroy, Brunswick, St Albans, Maribyrnong, Footscray, Sunshine and Collingwood.
Detectives say heroin couriers fly into Melbourne from Vietnam every week and some have made several trips.
They have identified one female syndicate leader in her 30s, who bet $3.7 million at Crown Casino in six months and regularly wagered $50,000 a hand.
Another key figure bet $12 million in Australian casinos in just over five years,van cleef arpel knock off necklace.
Couriers are paid up to $24,000 to import four 70 gram heroin pellets (80 percent pure). Syndicates can net more than $700,000 from the drugs sold on Melbourne streets.
On June 4, 2006,van cleef arpels alhambra replica necklace, Australian Federal Police arrested Vietnam Airlines pilot Van Dang Tranas at Sydney International Airport with more than $540,000 concealed in his cabin luggage.
The Australian Crime Commission money laundering Taskforce Gordian found that he had smuggled $6.5 million out of Australia in less than 12 months. He pleaded guilty and in 2007 was sentenced to a minimum of two years' jail.
Forty two people are in custody after the biggest drug operation in Victoria's history sent 630 police storming into scores of properties allegedly linked to a $400 million cannabis farms syndicate.
Police raided 68 properties early today, all allegedly connected to a cannabis cartel producing indoor hydroponic crops each worth $80,000.
Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones this morning revealed the raids would have happened sooner but US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Melbourne had diverted too many resources.
But Sir Ken said suggestions the raids had been timed to benefit the State Government days before the election were "absolute rubbish".
"We're not going to threaten our operations to suit any political cycle," he said.
Today's raids are part of a long term police investigation codenamed Entity.
Many of the properties raided today were used as hydroponic "farms''.
Police have seized more than 7200 cannabis plants.
As part of the investigation police have previously raided 50 properties in Victoria and New Zealand, seizing more than $20 million in assets.
The investigation involves Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police, customs, tax and immigration officials.
Investigators say the main targets are members of the Vietnamese community.
Police say some of the funds reaped from the marijuana crops have been used to buy heroin in Vietnam,van cleef necklace knock off alhambra, which has been imported into Australia.
Detective Superintendent Gerry Ryan said early reports were the operation was going well.
Police have long maintained there is a direct link between Vietnamese syndicates trafficking in both cannabis and heroin.
Police have identified seven major heroin syndicates, which have recruited more than 100 Melbourne based couriers.
Police were ready to raid the houses two weeks ago,van cleef arpels replica alhambra necklace, however the operation had to be delayed because of US Secretary of State Hillary Ms Clinton's visit.
Drug Taskforce investigators say the syndicates target members of the Vietnamese community with gambling debts who are susceptible to pressure from loan sharks.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade figures show 25 Australian nationals are in Vietnamese jails on drug charges.
Since 2003, seven Australians sentenced to death in Vietnam have had their penalty commuted after pleas for clemency from the Australian Government.
A police taskforce of drug taskforce detectives, Customs and Border Protection officers, the Australian Crime Commission and Australian Federal Police has been set up to investigate the syndicates.
Operation Ripsaw has resulted in the arrest of more than 30 suspects in Australia and Vietnam in the past two years.
In August police seized commercial and residential properties valued at $20 million they allege had been purchased through laundered funds made by the syndicates through heroin trafficking.
More than 20 suspects have been arrested and $3 million in cash seized during the raids in Fitzroy, Brunswick, St Albans, Maribyrnong, Footscray, Sunshine and Collingwood.
Detectives say heroin couriers fly into Melbourne from Vietnam every week and some have made several trips.
They have identified one female syndicate leader in her 30s, who bet $3.7 million at Crown Casino in six months and regularly wagered $50,000 a hand.
Another key figure bet $12 million in Australian casinos in just over five years,van cleef arpel knock off necklace.
Couriers are paid up to $24,000 to import four 70 gram heroin pellets (80 percent pure). Syndicates can net more than $700,000 from the drugs sold on Melbourne streets.
On June 4, 2006,van cleef arpels alhambra replica necklace, Australian Federal Police arrested Vietnam Airlines pilot Van Dang Tranas at Sydney International Airport with more than $540,000 concealed in his cabin luggage.
The Australian Crime Commission money laundering Taskforce Gordian found that he had smuggled $6.5 million out of Australia in less than 12 months. He pleaded guilty and in 2007 was sentenced to a minimum of two years' jail.
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