Travelling is fun. But sometimes it can be a headache if you have to carry your huge bags around the place. Hiring a taxi to shuttle from airport, train station and hotels or for touring and sightseeing is a reliable and time saving option. Cab drivers provide a very useful service to visitors, employees and shoppers who want to get to their destination hurriedly.

But travelling in an unknown taxi can be risky, sometime even dangerous to people, especially single women travelers. Here are some tips to help you make your journey in a taxi a pleasant one.

· Before hailing a taxi, make sure it is not off duty. Many cabs have a sign on top with the cab number. The cab is available only when the light is lit.

· Never get into a cab which is already occupied. This may be a trap and can be very dangerous leading to kidnap or robbery.

· While hiring a taxi for short trips like night out or short trips, talk about the costs per kilometer or so before hand. This way there won’t be arguments and demands for more money later on.

· Hiring a taxi in the taxi stand is the best method. You can find these stands in many places of the city. These taxis will be reliable and safer.

· As soon as you get into the cab or even before, talk to the driver and tell him where you want to go. Explain your destination very clearly and then begin to rest. There are chances of misinterpretations and going to wrong places. This will just be a waste of money and time.

· Usually taxis will have meters that monitor time and mileage. If the taxi does not have one, talk about the prices beforehand. · If your trips are planned earlier, try to find cheap cab rentals through the internet. You will know about the rates and can compare them with other services. Some companies offer special discounts for online bookings.

· If the trip is short, avoid luxurious cars. There is no point in hiring a limo to reach your hotel from the airport.

· Hire a taxi according to the number of passengers. If you are a single traveler, hire a small car. If you are a group of 5 to 6 people, hire bigger SUVs.

· Preference should be given to professional chartered cab companies. Ask around and get feedback from other people who have been there and done that.

· Make sure that the taxi has its documents and licenses if you are going on a long trip. · Also find a taxi in good shape. Old and badly maintained cars can have flat tires or stop right in the middle of a jolly trip and spoil your exciting plans.

· If you are alone or travelling during the night, note down the taxi number and if possible the driver’s license number. Be alert and do not take a nap in the taxi no matter how tired you are.

Fathers, take a moment to feel peaceful love for your children. Then, check out these crucial tips to make your child safer and protect your precious offspring from lurking danger.

1. NOW I KNOW MY ABC’S If your child is old enough to learn their ABC’s, then teach them their phone number instead including 1, area code and number. Beginning at age two, children need to know their first and last names, your first and last names and complete address, including your town and state.

2. ROLE PLAY What if no one picked you up at school? What if someone knocks on the door with a package for you? What if Mom falls down and can not get up? What if someone told you we were dead or sick and wanted you to go with them to the hospital? Do you tell anyone on the phone that you are home alone? Teach your child to make an emergency call by dialing “911” or “0” in an emergency. Law enforcement officials would rather send out an officer on a false alarm then have a kid hurt or kidnapped.

3. SECRET WORD AND PLACE Always decide a designated meeting place in theme parks or malls like easily recognized McDonalds Restaurants. Many children, who get separated from their parents, do not consider themselves “lost” if they are still having fun. Be sure to clearly define “lost” as not with Mom or Dad. Make up a secret family pass-phrase that no adult could guess, and that is a funny visual picture your child will remember, such as “The blue hippopotamus is hungry.” Teach your child to ask permission from their parent, teacher or baby-sitter before they go anywhere.

4. TINGLY TUMMY Children have no experience with evil doers, but they do have survival instincts. They may not recognize a kidnapper or predator other than a funny feeling in their stomach that is warning them of creepy danger. Encourage this awareness by asking them in different situations, “Do you feel safe, does this feel right, can you sense danger?” when they are considering jumping off a high place, reaching to pet a strange dog, or when near a too friendly stranger or a loud bully.

5. BEHAVE APPROPRIATELY We teach our children to quietly acquiesce to adults but if they are taken by a stranger teach your child to throw a full blown tantrum, yelling, “Kidnapper, Help” while kicking and trying to break loose. Once they are safely away, they can go to an employee of the store, to a police officer or to a family for help if they get lost, frightened by an attempted kidnapping or predator. Tell your child not to stray from you in a public place because someone might try to steal them.

6. SMILE Police need a full face photo taken within the last six months or if your child is under the age of two, four times a year. Prepare a kit for each child that is an emergency box. Place a current photo, a detailed description of your child, including height, weight, age, eye and hair color, birthmarks, broken bones, scars, moles, physical characteristics or medical needs inside the box. Include names, addresses, and parents’ names of your child’s friends, favorite parks, and activities. Ask you dentist to prepare a full dental chart on your child that is updated with each new tooth change. Ask your doctor for a copy of your child’s medical records and remind them to note on their chart that information is never to be released without your written approval. Consider keeping in a sealed envelope an old toothbrush, baby teeth, a bloody band aid or a lock of hair as a DNA sample for the highest level of identification. Arrange with your local police department to have your child fingerprinted (officers make it easy and fun) and give you the fingerprint card. Just imagine if someone said your child belonged to them, not you. The contents of the box will help prove you are the parent and help police find the child if he or she is missing.

7. JUST FOR A SECOND A tired, burnt out parent only needs to drop their guard for a second to allow a predator time to act. Always accompany your child to the bathroom even if other adults act uncomfortable. To protect your child, never hesitate to take a child with you to a men’s or women’s restroom regardless of the sex of the child rather than send them in alone. A child is not safe playing unsupervised in your yard, walking alone, home alone or left in a vehicle, ever. The parents that have a toddler leashed to them may seem harsh but imagine how you would feel if your sweet, attention deficit child or unruly toddler wandered off in the opposite direction. When you have two or more children the difficulty of maintaining safety and order can grow exponentially.

8. YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO BE WATCHING Is someone drinking while watching the kids and protesting it is only a few beers? Someone needs to be the designated care taker and be sober, watchful, capable and kind. Become aware if your spouse or baby sitter seems oblivious or less sensitive to their duties. Depression, illness, alcohol and drug use in a care taker can leave a child virtually unattended. Do not permit it to continue. If a spouse wants to drink while on duty, sell the car and hire a daycare to keep your children safe. Drop in on babysitters and daycares unexpectedly. Sit around and watch for awhile. Listen to what your child says happens there after you are gone.

9. CHECK YOURSELF Are you attracted to younger and younger people? Do your friends wolf whistle at adolescent girls? Are you looking at pornography that uses young teenage girls or boys made to look older? Usually troubled runaways succumb to posing for these photographs because they are destitute or on drugs. When you buy this kind of pornography you are helping to exploit these children. “Developing and championing “model legislation” with regard to child pornography is crucial to a successful outcome in the fight against child pornography. Strong child pornography legislation is currently in place in only 5 of the 186 Interpol Member Countries.” (http://www.icmec.org/missingkids). Were you molested as a child? Sometimes if you were the victim you become extremely tuned in and more protective. Yet, too often old fear kicks in and leaves you powerless to protect a child, even when the truth is right in front of your eyes. Talk to a therapist confidentially and regain your ability to protect your children and others from knowing firsthand what you experienced.

10. CAN THEY TELL DAD Usually a child will try to tell an adult about molestation or incest once. If you do not believe them or tell them they are lying, often they will not tell anyone again. Let a child know that you will listen to them, believe them and stop anyone who tries to hurt them, even if the perpetrator is your best friend, grandpa, a relative or neighbor. Unfortunately, the child often knows the person who hurts them and that causes great confusion and guilt in the child. If a child is fearful or tries to avoid someone, you must pay attention, they are asking for your help. Some people use teasing and joking to grab and touch a child, then make fun of them if they complain. Those adults are using your child and hiding behind humor. Stop them. When your child puts personal information on their clothing or on the Internet it is an open door to every scumbag in the world. Simply say no to your child and explain why.

11. NEWBORNS In the past twenty years, the highest number of infant abductions has been in California, Texas and Florida. The profile of a typical abductor is an overweight female who usually plans the abduction ahead of time and takes advantage of an opportune moment to seize a baby. The woman often impersonates a nurse or healthcare worker and enters a hospital room and takes the baby for testing, etc. But an abductor could be anyone. “While it is normal for new parents to be anxious, being deliberately watchful over the newborn infant is of paramount importance. Never leave your infant out of your direct line-of-sight even when you go to the restroom or take a nap. If you leave the room or plan to go to sleep, alert the nurses to take the infant back to the nursery or have a family member watch the baby. .. If you are uncomfortable with anyone who requests to take your infant or unable to clarify what testing is being done or why your infant is being taken from your room, it is appropriate to go with your infant to observe the procedure…have at least one color photograph of your infant (full, front-face view) taken along with footprints and compile a complete written description of your infant including hair and eye color, length, weight, date of birth, and specific physical characteristics.” (www.missingkids.com)

12. CALL THEM

Professionals are ready to help you. “Since 1982, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has spearheaded the national effort to prevent child abductions and return missing and exploited children to their families. In partnership with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), NCMEC continues to enhance and expand its ability to offer critical intervention and prevention services to families and support law enforcement agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels.” (http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/fs200128.pdf). The Kentucky Missing and Exploited Children Unit was organized in 1984 to create a centralized clearinghouse to assist law enforcement agencies to locate and return missing children to their homes. Many stores, like Walmart, have a Code Adam plan of action–if a child is missing in the store, employees immediately mobilize to look for the missing child.

Check out http://www.missingkids.com, http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/missing/i_safety/icac.htm and http://www.take25.org for more information. The reality of today’s world requires parents to be super vigilant and take precautions and preventative measures to prevent kidnapping, exploitation, Internet crimes, pornography and violence. Take the lead, Fathers, in protecting your children by being there, being watchful, and being trustworthy guardians.

Introduction

Most people who drive cars that were built within the last year or two either know what GPS is and what it does, or have used GPS to find their way to their destinations.

Some Uses of GPS

Devices that utilize the position tracking capabilities of GPS are becoming commonplace. There are GPS enabled devices that parents can use to monitor the movements of their children in order to keep them safe. Older people with Alzheimer’s disease can be found if they wander out of the house.

Stolen cars can be tracked using GPS devices. Transportation companies use GPS devices to track the movements of their fleet to ensure efficiency in terms of fuel consumption and time spent on the road before arriving at the desired destinations. Knowing exactly where their vehicles are at any given point in time can also help transportation companies to be more flexible when necessary and redirect their drivers to use different routes to avoid delays due to accidents or natural disasters such as flash floods and fires.

Some Abuses of GPS

While there are many advantages to using GPS, there are also some privacy issues and problems when such devices are used to keep track of the movements of others without their permission. For example, ex-wives or ex-husbands could use such devices to stalk their ex-spouses. A divorced person who was denied custody of his or her children can use GPS to locate his or her children and kidnap them.

What Do You Think of GPS Enabled Engagement and Wedding Rings?

Here is an idea for using GPS to keep an eye on your significant other. Do you trust your spouse or significant other? How can you be sure that your significant other is not cheating on you? Do you know where your significant other is at any given time? If you have these questions, then you should consider buying, as soon as someone starts marketing such a product, a GPS enabled engagement or wedding ring for your significant other to wear.

You can track the movements of your significant other using a computer. Or smart phone. You can relax knowing where your significant other is at any given moment in time.

Would you buy a GPS enabled engagement or weeding ring and give it to your spouse to wear?

Would you wear such a ring if your spouse gave one to you and you know that it is GPS enabled?

“My dear friend, Nom, please forgive me for my sins. It was my evil act that ruined your business… “

Nom was stunned to hear that. He looked at the nearby bed, his friend, Lott had tears in his eyes. Lott sobbed his tears, had few awkward expressions as if he wanted to continue. That hospital room had only two beds, with those two patients. Lott continued,

“I know, we will not escape this tragic situation, you have heart attack and I have world’s strongest poison in my blood. Nom! Let my sins come out now. I even stole your company projects file and handed over to your competitors. “

Lott looked again at his bosom friend and lamented over his evil deeds. Nom was still dead quiet.

“Oh God! I want to admit how bad I was! I deceived our bond of friendship and made you go through all painful events from bankruptcy to divorce.”

Nom shook his head in a shocking style. Lott could not look into his eyes, and said in a depressing tone.

“Your wife was having an affair with me, and I forced her to hurt you, give you divorce and insult you in public. Please forgive me, I was such a devil. I did all this just because I was jealous from you. You always were wiser and better. Now, in these last moments of our lives or at least mine, I admit all my crimes.”

Nom was still not uttering a single word. He was eying at the spider’s web on the wall and a strong expression of disbelief on his face. Lott got frustrated,

“For heaven’s sake, respond to me. I am your guilty, just say a word, abuse me but please say something. Oh I can’t hold any more, I am already on death bed. Nom! I know that I am a devil. I even hired criminals to kidnap your only child, and you had to pay them ransom. I thought that I had won. “

A doctor, along with a nurse, entered and had a check up.

“Mr Nom! You are lucky that you survived the worst heart attack. Be happy.” The doctor looked at Lott with kind of a “farewell message in his eyes” and said nothing.

On their leaving, Lott put together his efforts for one last time.

“You saw that scary look in his eyes? He is sure that I am not going to survive. Thank God! You will, and that is one compensation with which I leave this world. Good bye, my friend Nom! Forgive me if you can and I know you will not speak to a devil like me.” Lott wept again and closed his eyes.

Nom smiled for the first time and said in a satisfying tone,

“That’s okay my friend. I was the one who poisoned you, so have a safe journey to hell. Good bye! “

The Okoya family in Isuaniocha in Awka north Local government Area of Anambra State is presently full of praises for the Nigerian police, over the arrest of two of the suspects linked with the murder of their son.

The family is however calling on the same police to track down one Anthony Onyeagolu, former president-general of Isuaniocha Development Union, in Awka, Anambra State, who is alleged to be the principal suspect in the incident.

Okoye recalled that his late brother, Angus Okoye, a 48-year-old businessman, was allegedly kidnapped at about 1.30 am, December, 16, 2018, at his home at Ifite Isu village, Isuaniocha, Awka north LGA.

But, family sources alleged that Angus’ offence was that he was a star witness in a case of N100million fraud instituted by the community with EFCC against Anthony Onyeagolu.

However, the next day, the lifeless body of the kidnapped victim was found dead at the boundary between Isuaniocha and Nawgu community.

Spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, Haruna Mohammed, then a Superintendent of Police, said “following the report, police patrol team attached to Dunukofia division visited the scene in conjunction with vigilante group”.

According to Haruna, the victim was photographed and rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor on arrival, while preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was one Angus Okoye ‘m’ aged 48 years.

He was allegedly kidnapped from his residence at Ifite Isu village, Isuaniocha in Awka North LGA on the 15/12/2018 at about 11:30 pm.

“The victim was shot on the head and neck by his assailants and his Honda Pilot with REG number Lagos.FST 430 DM was abandoned “according to police investigators, which the autopsy carried out by FCID also confirmed.

Media reports also quoted Haruna as further explaining that the incident may not be unconnected with the recent crisis in Isuanioha community in which the community was warned by the police not to take laws into their hands.

However, family sources said that Anthony Onyeagolu, the 42-year-old principal suspect in the attempted and murder cases, allegedly fled to Ghana at the peak of police investigations into the incident, in order to escape arrest.

But, when one Chidiebere Okoye, an indigene of the community, who was one of those allegedly kidnapped, tortured, shot and presumed dead, survived and was invited by the police to make statement on the incident, where he allegedly indicted Anthony Onyeagolu and his gang members, now at large.

Chidiebere Okoye also named others linked to the incident as: Chiefs Boniface Enweani, Augustine Adigwe, Mr Moses Emebo, Stephen Ibeania and others.

The Okoye family has sincerely expressed their gratitude to the Force Police Investigations Department, FCID, Abuja, for coming to their aid and tracking down two of the suspects, namely Mr Moses Emebo and Cyprian Onyeagolu, who is the senior brother to Anthony Onyeagolu.

It was gathered that as soon as Onyeagolu heard that Chidiebere survived the incident and was invited by the police to shed more light on what actually happened, he was said to have returned to Abuja from Ghana and petitioned one of the units of the Nigerian Police Force in Abuja.

He also sent his petitions to the Senate and other notable indigenes of Anambra State, where he peddled his falsehood and fictitious statements, thereby misleading the police and the public on the true picture of the incident, where attempted and actual murder, allegedly perpetuated by him, were involved.

But, instead of Onyeagolu to report at the FCID, having being declared wanted by the police to clear his name in connection with the murder case, the former leaders is busy spreading falsehood in alleged attempt to kill the murder case and truncate justice.

The family is using this medium to inform the whole world that the suspected murderer-in-chief has been deceiving the police and the public with falsehood, while playing hide and seek game in Abuja, to avoid invitation from FCID in the last one year, in order to release his brother, presently under police detention through back door.

It could be recalled that the Onyeagolu family has been using all police channels since the murder of late Angus Okoye to intimidate, harass, and labeled all sorts of false allegations against family members of the deceased, in order to truncate justice or silence the case, while the body of the late Angus still remains at the mortuary till date, he family said.

Today, the FCID has finally heard the cries of the family and swung into action to unravel the killers of Angus Okoye, which led to the arrest of Cyprian Onyeagolu and Moses Emebo, who are still undergoing interrogation at the FCID in Abuja, while still searching for the remaining suspects, including Anthony Onyeagolu, the suspected murderer- in- chief.

The family is crying out to enlighten the public and the police to avoid being deceived by Anthony Onyeagolu, who is being wanted by the FCID to answer his crime, while appealing to the public and the police to arrest him instead and hand him over to the homicide section of the FCID, to answer to his crimes.

Stranger danger education is everywhere. It is in our schools, in parenting magazines and blogs. It is touted by law enforcement officials as well as the evening news. When a child is kidnapped or abused the knee-jerk reaction is as predictable as it is useless: “we need more stranger danger education!” Unfortunately stranger danger does not work. It is actually dangerous to kids and I think it should be abolished.

Let’s take a look at what the classic stranger danger curriculum says. In a nutshell, it tells kids not to talk to strangers. Apparently this is supposed to protect children from being kidnapped or abused. Some ill-conceived programs have even gone to the lengths of using flashcards to “teach” kids who strangers are.

Kids who have gone through stranger danger education then, are left with the following truisms:

1. Strangers are dangerous

2. Non-strangers are less dangerous if not outright safe

3. They, as kids, are equipped to determine whether someone is a stranger or not

Unfortunately, all of these “truisms” are actually false.

Strangers are Responsible for a Very Small Portion of Offenses Against Children. Let’s start with the proposition that strangers are actually dangerous to kids. This proposition would only hold water if the number of kidnappings and sexual abuse cases by strangers constituted a significant portion of total such cases. In fact it does not. A study of almost 60,000 kidnapping cases by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention revealed that only less than 0.2% of the cases involved strangers. The statistics for sexual abuse cases are equally slanted toward non-strangers.

Upon reflection, this makes perfect sense. The best way for a child predator to gain easy access to a child victim (and to prevent reporting of the abuse) is to ingratiate themselves to the child and his/her family. In that way, by the time the child predator strikes, he is no longer a stranger but a trusted friend.

Stranger Danger Creates False Sense of Security. Any parent knows how literal-minded their children are and it is this literal-mindedness that makes stranger danger education so dangerous for kids. By over-reinforcing the dangers posed by strangers, stranger danger education gives kids a very dangerous message:that non-strangers are safe!. As stated earlier, almost every child predator tries to be a trusted friend to their victims and their families both to facilitate abuse and to prevent reporting. By encouraging kids to lower their guards to non-strangers, stranger danger education is playing right into the hands of these predators.

Kids Cannot Tell Who is a Stranger. Who is a “stranger” anyway? One popular stranger danger program defines “strangers” as “a person you have never met.” I don’t know about you, but I would have a hard time applying that definition in my life. What does “met” mean? Do I have to be formally introduced in order to have “met” someone? What if I wave to them every day and they look familiar but I don’t know their name? What if a member of my family knows them? If this definition is so difficult for adults to apply, how can we expect kids to use it to keep themselves safe?

A Better Way. Instead of stranger danger education, I recommend teaching kids about Situational Awareness and predator Danger Sign Recognition. For more about these strategies and tools, please visit my website.

Mr. Robert W, described by prosecutors as a “deranged fiend” who kidnapped, raped, brutally tortured and nearly murdered a Columbia University graduate journalism student in 2007, was sentenced on July 24, 2008 to 422 years in prison. The sentence was the maximum allowed by New York law. His victim was not in court at the sentencing. She wrote a letter to prosecutors stating that she was “afraid to go outside.” The victim narrowly survived her ordeal of being kidnapped, raped, sliced with a butcher knife, scalded with boiling water, drugged to the brink of death, having her lips Krazy glued together and then left for dead tied to her burning living room couch. Mr. W attempted to opt out of the sentencing hearing but was carried into the hearing by six helmeted, shield carrying state court officers. Mr. W had already spent most of his adult life in prison.

Prison is surely where Mr. W belongs and it appears that he did everything he could to make sure that he would get back there for life.

Then there is the story of Tremayne D, 36, of Portland, Oregon who was sentenced to life in prison with the chance for parole after thirty years. Mr. D was sentenced for the murder of one Adam Calbreath, over a business deal that had gone bad. Instead of going to trial Mr. D availed himself of a very unusual plea deal offered by the prosecutor. He had sat in jail almost two years awaiting trial and missed the greasy food he liked to eat. So, when the prosecutor offered him a fast food buffet in exchange for his guilty pleas Mr. D admitted he had shot Calbreath.

His buffet deal included gorging himself on KFC and Popeye’s chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, carrot cake, a pizza, two calzones, lasagna and ice cream. The judge readily signed off on the plea deal and Mr. D downed the food at two settings. The cost to the Oregon taxpayers was only $41.70. A murder trial would have cost the state at least $4,000.

This was certainly one way to take a bite out of crime.

Finally, there is the story of the Ohio murderer who tried to avoid being executed by claiming that he was too fat for the State of Ohio to give him a lethal injection. Richard C, who at 5 foot 7 tipped the scales at 267 pounds, was scheduled to die in October 2008. He had argued in numerous legal challenges that his weight problem would make it difficult for prison staff to find suitable veins to deliver the deadly chemicals, a problem that had delayed previous executions in the state. Mr. C, who had been convicted in the 1986 murders of two University of Akron students, spent 22 years on death row. Mr. C was 75 pounds heavier on his execution day than when he went to death row – the result of prison food and 23-hour-a-day confinement. His execution was carried out in October 2008, without problem.

It appears that the prison’s head chef was much too good to Mr. C. One would think that the prevailing wisdom would hold that one should lose weight on death row and not gain.

Marine Insurance

Piracy against shipping is probably as old as maritime navigation and trade.

Like international trade, piracy has developed along with the expansion of commerce and transportation.

The recent seizure by pirates of the Saudi owned super tanker “Sirius Star” and its reported $100 million of crude oil cargo has highlighted the huge impact a few armed individuals in small boats can inflict on international trade.

This bulletin gives a brief overview of the current problem and likely coverage options for Hull and Cargo risks.

Introduction

The increasing incidents and boldness of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Yemen and around the ‘Horn of Africa’ recently has seen increased alarm and an international effort to try to secure the busy waterways leading to/from the Suez Canal.

Nigeria and Indonesia continue to feature heavily on Piracy Reporting Centre statistics and highlight the broad geographic spread of the problem.

Generally speaking the term Piracy is given to incidents of armed attack and burglary against ships. Kidnap of the crew and ransom demands are common, and in some cases an attack will result in the complete loss of the vessel.

Marine Insurance – Hull Cover

The perils clause of the predominately used Institute hull clauses (1983) includes “Piracy”. The intention is to embrace the likes of – violent acts of persons who board the vessel with an intention to steal. Cover would include damage to or loss of the vessel. The Marine Insurance Act 1909 (Cwlth) goes on to include within the legal definition of “Pirates” – “passengers who mutiny and rioters who attack the ship from the shore”.

Loss of Hire cover can be purchased to secure the earnings capability of the vessel. Further investigation is recommended in order to gauge the effectiveness of this type of cover.

Marine Insurance – Cargo Cover

The ‘All Risks’ nature of the commonly used Institute Cargo Clauses (A)

He was considered a genius; a compassionate man who gave freely to the poor. But Caspar Holstein made his fortune in the Harlem numbers policy game, which he helped invent.

Casper Holstein was born on December 7, 1876, in St. Croix, Danish West Indies. His parents were of mixed African and Danish descent, and his father’s father was a Danish officer in the Danish West Indies Colonial militia. The Holstein family moved to New York City in 1894. Holstein, an extremely bright boy, graduated from high school in Brooklyn, which was no mean accomplishment for a black man before the turn of the century. After graduation, he enlisted in the Navy, and during World Ward I, he visited his homeland, which by then was known as the West Virgin Islands.

When Holstein was discharged from the Navy, he worked at various odd jobs, including being a doorman in an Upper East Side building. He also became a personal assistant to a wealthy white couple, and years later after he made his fortune, and they had lost theirs, Holstein supported this couple, then paid for their funeral.

Looking to better himself, Holstein wandered down to Wall Street, where he got a job, first as a messenger, then head messenger, for a commodities brokerage firm on Wall Street. Holstein became enamored of gambling, especially the horses, but he also dabbled in the stock market, perusing daily figures from the Boston and the New York City Clearing Houses. One day, an idea came to Holstein that would improve his lot dramatically. He knew that people in black neighborhoods, such as Harlem, loved to gamble, but most didn’t have enough spare cash to do so. When he had saved enough money to start his endeavor, Holstein devised a scheme where people could bet as little as a dime on a random set of three digits numbers, that would appear daily in the New York City newspapers.

Using the Boston and New York City Clearing House figures, Holstein took two middle digits from the New York number and one middle digit from the Boston number. So if the two clearing house totals were 9,456,131 and 7, 456,253 respectively, the winning number would be 566; the “56” being the two digits before the last comma of the first figure, and the “6” being the last digit before the last comma of the second figure. This system was so random, it could not be manipulated, like it would be later, when gangster Dutch Schultz muscled in on the Harlem numbers racket, and began using race track figures, which indeed he did manipulate. By the early 1920’s, Holstein’s system was the rage in Harlem. Holstein became known as the “Bolita King”, earning an estimated $5000 a day.

Using his newfound wealth, Holstein contributed generously to worthwhile causes. He gave huge amounts of cash to the the St. Vincent Sanitarium, the nationalist Garvey Movement, and he funded prizes for Opportunity Magazine’s literary awards, which discovered much of Harlem’s young talent. Holstein built dormitories at black colleges, and he financed many of Harlem’s artists, writers and poets. He also helped start a Baptist school in Liberia and he established a hurricane relief fund for his native Virgin Islands. The New York Times said that Holstein was, “Harlem’s favorite hero, because of his wealth, his sporting proclivities and his philanthropies among the people of his race.”

Seeing how Holstein and Stephanie St. Clair had turned Harlem into a financial bonanza due to their numbers rackets, gangster Dutch Schultz barged in and took over their games. Just like that. Schultz had big politicians, including the disgraced Jimmy Himes in his back pocket. Schultz also bought off the cops, and killed black numbers runners in droves. Schultz eventually forced St. Clair to work for him, but Holstein refused Schultz’ offers to consolidate their number rackets.

In 1928, Holstein was kidnapped for $50,000 ransom, by five white gangsters, whom were presumed by the Harlem public to be goons sent by Schultz. The news of Holstein’s kidnapping made national headlines. The New York Times reported that Holstein had been seen at Belmont Racetrack just days before his abduction, betting more that $30,000 on the ponies. Holstein was released after three days in custody, insisting he had paid no ransom. His explanation was that his captors had felt sorry for him and had released him with $3 cab fare.

Yet Holstein’s tale carried little weight, when he soon cut down on his policy activities. A few years later, Holstein completely stopped his street operations and operated only as a lay-off better. In 1935, despite the fact that he was barely in the game, Holstein was arrested for illegal gambling. He was tried and convicted, and spent one year in prison. Holstein claimed he was framed, possibly by Schultz, but he did his time in jail uneventfully. When he was released from prison, Holstein got involved in the real estate business, and he provided mortgages for people in Harlem, whom the regular banks shunned.

Casper Holstein died on April 5, 1944, at the age of 68. More than 2,000 people attended his funeral at Harlem’s Memorial Baptist Church. A scholarship at the University of the Virgin Islands and a housing development in St. Croix are named in Holstein’s memory.

Time management tips give you lots of power – so how do you feel when others’ urgent demands steal that power away? Accomplishing your goals becomes awfully challenging when others’ crises crowd to the front of your line.

Maybe family members count on you to be the strong one. Perhaps colleagues confront you with surprise deadlines or frequent crises with ever-higher stakes. If you aren’t prepared to handle others’ urgency, their agendas will consistently undermine your best plans.

It’s frustrating! And fortunately, it’s workable. You can turn this dynamic around.

How do you protect your priorities without appearing uncaring and possibly jeopardizing your career or straining significant relationships?

You Have the Power to Clear Crisis Clutter! These 7 Simple Strategies are designed help you both stay on track and clarify your relationships.

1. Remember: Others’ Urgency Is Not Your Emergency. Urgency is often a hallmark of strong personalities. But their crises needn’t become yours! You control your time. So first, try using that time to do nothing.
   • Simply pause. Breathe. Carefully weigh your response. This is a powerful assertion of boundaries in itself.
   • By remaining thoughtful and not matching or reacting to frantic energy, you claim full responsibility over your choices and your time.

2. Conduct an Independent Assessment. Use the space you’ve taken to explore two fundamental questions:

• What is your level of responsibility for the problem? Trust your own fair evaluation here. Guilt is an insidious boundary buster. Don’t let it kidnap your time!

• What is your stake in the outcome? Again, remain as neutral as possible as you weigh this for yourself. What is the consequence of staying true to your own plans versus following an urgent agenda?

Now you can decide how much time, if any, to devote to problem-solving. If you do wish to be supportive, consider the terms. Are there opportunities here for meaningful reciprocity?

3. Listen Actively and Compassionately, Without Adopting a Crisis Mentality. Restate the predicament from your perspective. When you re-frame the situation, you:
   • Defuse the drama. Summarizing things calmly and realistically deflates urgent energy.

   • Confirm that you truly understand the issue. Feeling heard helps people relax and listen to your ideas.

   • Find your feet, so you can create a solid base for your own decision. Whether or not the person you are speaking with clings to a crisis mentality is beside the point. (This is a significant boundary issue. You are responsible for your feelings alone!)

4. Create a Broader Perspective. Urgency may engender tunnel vision in others. You needn’t join them in that tunnel! You can genuinely empathize from a spacious vantage point. In fact, the more separate you remain, the more understanding you can be. (And you are less likely to feel defensive or resentful when you trust your boundaries and know that your time can’t be commandeered.)

5. Offer Alternatives That Work for You. You stand a better chance of succeeding when you articulate everyone’s baseline needs and build from there. Be sure to make your parameters clear so that your own projects remain on track.

6. Allow Others Their Responses. This is the hardest part for many! Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is… absolutely nothing. When you set a limit:

• The ball is in the other person’s court, and so is the responsibility for her or his own feelings.

• Others may express hurt, anger, indignation or retreat into stony silence. On your end, do your best to cultivate calm openness. Try breathing into your belly if you find yourself becoming anxious as you take this step.

With practice, you’ll find it easier to accept others’ dissatisfaction without defensiveness. Your openness demonstrates:

• You respect their right to their feelings and

• The powerful, self-referenced fact that your time priorities don’t require their approval.

7. Focus on Your Areas of Positive Control. Clarifying your end of relationships takes time. And it rewards you richly. Share what you feel comfortable doing, and specify how much time you are willing to spend doing it. This clarity encourages open communication – and that can lead to genuine progress.

Have the Courage to Reframe Important Relationships. Relationships are often constructed out of unspoken contracts. As you change your end the dance, your “dance partner” may initiate changes in response.

• Others may be called upon to help, as you become less available for last-minute crises. This expands roles and relationships and can be very enriching.

• You may be asked to coordinate schedules and priorities more closely with colleagues. Flexibility and collegiality can grow as a result.

• The road may seem rockier as changes evolve and all parties regain their footing. Ultimately, you benefit. You enjoy more productive, crisis-free time; and, quite often, your relationships grow and deepen.

So experiment, taking small steps as you clear crisis clutter! As you do so, you’ll find more satisfaction with how you use your time.