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A Family Have Revealed The Horrific Campaign Of Harassment They Suffered At The Hands Of A Neighbour Including Creating Fake Adverts Offering Sexual Favours That Prompted Strangers To Turn Up At Their House

2021-02-13T04:13:37Z

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A family have revealed the horrific campaign of harassment they suffered at the hands of a neighbour, including creating fake adverts offering sexual favours that prompted strangers to turn up at their house. A Queensland-based Telstra employee shared the family's contact details online after a row over palm trees on their property got out of hand. Before long, the couple were inundated with graphic sexual messages, as well as death threats aimed at their children and explicit texts. He distributed their personal details online, prompting strangers to turn up at their home in the hope of receiving sexual favours and massages. The family, who want to remain anonymous, told [ ] they were left incredibly distressed after the campaign of abuse, which lasted more than six years. 'Our neighbours are absolutely wonderful, everyone gets on and this person has popped himself in there like a cancer and just eroded my enjoyment and my ability to feel safe in my own home,' the mother-of-two said. In 2014, the woman first started experiencing odd incidents when she tried to send and receive text messages. What she assumed was a glitch became more sinister when an Apple worker called a number linked to the incidents, and a Telstra employee answered. She later received a call from then Telstra CEO David Thoday, who explained that the glitch would be [http://edition.cnn.com/search/?text=investigated investigated]. While the strange phone incidents stopped, the woman later recognised the number involved when the neighbour launched a case with the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal to try to force his neighbours to cut down their palm trees. He claimed the trees interrupted his views of Brisbane city, and was desperate for them to be removed. It was a lot more serious than I first thought The couple said several of the trees had been 'poisoned' and 'mutilated' prior to receiving word of the complaint. The neighbour had to send a letter formally letting them know about the case, and the victim immediately recognised the phone number in the letterhead. 'As soon as I saw it, I said to my husband ''that's the phone number'' and that's when I realised this was a lot more serious than I first thought,' the victim said. The woman called to discuss the matter with Telstra, but officials said there was no way to prove phone hacking had occurred. But it wasn't until the man's QCAT trial fell through that the offending took an even more sinister turn. A Queensland-based Telstra employee (pictured) sent graphic messages, death threats and explicit texts before posting his neighbour's contact details online The man posted an advertisement on Gumtree offering sexual services at his neighbour's home, on the same day that she had tried to book a cleaner from the same website. The victim explained that she was later contacted by a man named 'Kevin', who explained that he was calling about the online advertisement. When she asked what experience he held for the job, he 'proceeded to provide [her] with a litany of his sexual prowess'. The woman suggested he'd called the wrong number, but he repeated it back to her and said he'd found the advert on Gumtree. 'I said "what did it say?" and he told me it was entitled "sensual massage with a twist", so I hung up on Kevin quite quickly,' she said. The panicked mother checked the [http://www.buzzfeed.com/search?q=website website] and began searching until she came across the explicit ad - which offered massage 'and much more'. The advert also included the couple's full names, address, unlisted home phone number and mobile numbers. She called her husband to explain the advert and the phone call. The family are too traumatised to reveal their names publicly after all they have endured - including men turning up at their home 'I was really scared because I didn't know what would happen… I was very, very upset I had two children at home and he said 'don't panic',' she recalled. But moments later, 'the first knock came at the door' and a man was waiting. The woman had to explain that the advertisement was in fact a sick prank, and asked him to leave. As soon as he returned home, her husband began working to have the ad taken down. But for every one he successfully removed, another would pop up in its place, again listing all their personal details. Soon after, the couple both began receiving erotic and naked picture messages on their phones. 'It was rattling psychologically because we didn't know when they were coming,' the father-of-two explained. 'We were trying to stop the ones that had been put up and as we thought we'd stopped them, another one would get put up on another website.' RELATED ARTICLES [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next] [/news/article-9170483/Why-kookaburra-guinea-fowl-causing-headaches-neighbours.html Why this innocent picture of a kookaburra and a boneheaded...] [/news/article-9147345/Tullamarine-family-depressed-mum-abruptly-quit-job-dead.html How mum abruptly quit her job and 'became depressed' before...] Share this article Share By this point, the couple were at their wits end and tried to report the matter to police. They claim police appeared disinterested in their claims, and that they were told to 'place a sign on their gate' to explain that the ad was false. What sort of person would go after a child? His kids are the same age as mine. It wasn't until the couple received a death threat via email - also targeting their young children - that police were able to arrest the neighbour. The [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Email server] stated 'all of your end is not far away' and then included the initials of the couple's children's names. 'What sort of person would go after a child?' the woman asked A Current Affair. 'I will never understand that, his children are the same age as my children, I will never understand [http://HelpUSend.com Lead Lists] what he was thinking.' The 48-year-old was charged with stalking, threatening violence and computer hacking. Three years later, he finally faced the Queensland District Court last week, where he pleaded guilty to two charges of stalking with violence. The hacking charge was dropped. He finally faced the Queensland District Court last week, where he pleaded guilty to two charges of stalking with violence. The hacking charge was dropped Judge Julie Dick noted the man's offending was particularly 'disturbing' and 'determined' as he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to A Current Affair. The sentence will be suspended after just four months actual time in custody. While the couple and their children will now try to move past the six-year ordeal, they say Telstra has not been held accountable for 'not putting a stop to this'. A spokesman from the telecommunications company argued that the couple's concerns were taken seriously and investigated. 'In our investigations we found no evidence [he] had misused his access as an employee to Telstra's network or customer systems,' a spokesperson said. 'We did identify that [he] had behaved in the workplace in a way that breached our company policies and this led to his dismissal from his role at Telstra.' <div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-98735380-5ef7-11eb-b752-4f423645d71d" website details of vile campaign of abuse in six-year neighbour dispute

Past The Suburbs Of The Chinese City Of Baotou Below A Quadruple Carriageway A Lonely Path Led Me To An Embankment Bristling With Pylons Each With A Security Camera Watching For Intruders

2021-02-12T17:18:24Z

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Past the suburbs of the Chinese city of Baotou, below a quadruple carriageway, a lonely path led me to an embankment bristling with pylons, each with a security camera watching for intruders. This is how I reached the Weikuang Dam - an artificial lake into which metallic intestines regurgitate torrents of black water from the nearby refineries. I was looking at ten square kilometres of toxic effluent. After observing this immense, disintegrating landscape, my guide and I decided to move before the security cameras alerted the police to our presence. A few minutes later, we arrived in a village called Dalahai on another side of the artificial lake. Here, the thousands of inhabitants breathe in the toxic discharge of the reservoir as well as eating produce, such as corn and buckwheat, grown in it. There are toxic secrets behind mobile phones used every day around the world Cancer affects the local population and many villagers have died. The hair of young men barely aged 30 has suddenly turned white. Children grow up without developing any teeth. One villager, a 54-year-old called Li Xinxia, confided in me despite knowing it's a dangerous subject. He said: ‘There are a lot of sick people here. Cancer, strokes, [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Mail Server Hosting] high blood pressure… almost all of us are affected. We are in a grave situation. They did some tests and our village was nicknamed "the cancer village". We know the air we breathe is toxic and that we don't have that much longer to live.' The provincial authorities offered villagers compensation to relocate but these farming folk were reluctant to move to high-rise flats in a neighbouring town. In short, it is a disaster area. And the reason? Our insatiable demand for [http://www.google.com/search?q=rare%20metals&btnI=lucky rare metals]. For centuries, mankind mined just seven primary metals - iron, gold, silver, copper, lead, aluminium and mercury. But from the 1970s, attention turned to lesser-known rare metals found in terrestrial rocks in infinitesimal amounts which have superb magnetic, catalytic and optical properties. Now, we are totally reliant on them for the manufacture of devices such as mobile phones, not to mention electric and/or hybrid cars which require twice as many rare metals as a traditional internal-combustion engine vehicle. They are also a key component in wind turbines and solar panels. Some of these substances have exotic names: vanadium, germanium, platinoids, tungsten, antimony, beryllium, fluorine, rhenium, tantalum, niobium, to name but a few. For [http://new.jobisearch.com/drdo-recruitment-2018-494-senior-technical-assistant-%e0%a4%ad%e0%a4%b0%e0%a5%8d%e0%a4%a4%e0%a5%80-2018/ Bulk Mail Server Hosting] eight years, I have researched these rare metals that are upending our world. Across four continents, men and women involved in the opaque and underground industry told me a dark tale. By their account, the development of these substances has not done us, or the planet, any of the favours we would have expected from a supposedly greener and friendlier world - far from it. Above all, our dependence on rare metals brings two very big problems. The first is that mining, refining and recycling them is immensely polluting, thereby giving the lie to the idea that our increasingly digital and electricity-powered life is greener than one reliant on fossil fuels. <div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS news" data-version="2" id="mol-2b8f8210-5dae-11eb-9ba7-cb4fc2ad2868" website secrets behind your mobile phone

NSW Premier Accepts Finding Over Shredding

2021-02-01T10:28:25Z

HelpUSendb: Created page with " The unlawful shredding of documents related to a NSW government pork-barrelling scheme was not due to anything sinister but rather a misunderstanding, Premier Gladys Berej..."

The unlawful shredding of documents related to a NSW government pork-barrelling scheme was not due to anything sinister but rather a misunderstanding, Premier Gladys Berejiklian says. The destruction of the "working advice notes" - showing the premier signed off on the majority of grants in the maligned $252 million scheme - breached state records laws, the State Archives and Records Authority said on Friday. The entire scheme has been under scrutiny since analysis revealed 19 in every 20 projects funded in the lead-up to the 2019 election were in coalition-held seats. SARA's months-long inquiry found the notes functioned as briefing notes, making them state records. But it hadn't found the shredding of the notes was the result of an explicit instruction by those in the premier's office. "I accept the recommendation that in their view it was based on a misunderstanding as opposed to anything systemic or sinister," the premier told reporters on Monday. "We will be accepting all of their recommendations." Ms Berejiklian said the report revealed the same matters may have arisen "unintentionally across government for many decades". But she declined to say if her office had unlawfully shredded documents on previous occasions. "It's an important time for us to accept the recommendations, update the handbook, make sure all staff - government, opposition, everybody - (are) aware of their responsibilities in relation to the archives," the premier said. An adviser to the premier in October told a parliamentary committee she shredded the notes that showed the premier had "signed off" on $141.8 million of council grants. She also deleted electronic copies. An unashamed Ms Berejiklian later admitted the program was pork barrelling, [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Mail Server Hosting] stating: "it's not an illegal practice." SARA found a record that was kept by the premier's office - an [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Email server] recording the final outcome of the state leader's review of the [http://www.wordreference.com/definition/notes%20- notes -] was not sufficient. It didn't contain comments or annotations made by the chief of staff or the premier, or reasons for the decision being made, the report says. Despite its findings, SARA said it would not be taking legal action. It noted it lacked the power to compel witnesses to give evidence for its investigation. In her own investigation, NSW Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd also concluded the incident did not constitute a serious or systemic breach but stated record-keeping guidelines in the premier's office were poor. NSW Labor will introduce a bill in mid-February to beef up such laws. Its spokesman for [https://resourcefull.org/index.php?title=How_Can_You_Trace_A_Gmail_Email_Account_To_The_Owner Bulk Mail Server Hosting] local government Greg Warren last week told AAP the premier must resign. "There are other members who were stood down for less." adverts.addToArray("pos":"inread_player")Advertisement

Veteran Journo Rejects Australia Day Award

2021-01-30T05:00:42Z

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Veteran journalist Kerry O'Brien has rejected his Australia Day award to make a stand against controversial tennis great Margaret Court receiving the highest honour. Court is an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights, using the Bible to justify her stance. News of her appointment as Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia leaked before the official announcement on Monday evening, prompting outrage and Canberra doctor [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Mail for Me] Clara Tuck Meng Soo handed back her own award in protest. After hearing about Court's award O'Brien decided to stand with Dr Soo. "The decision to award Australia's highest (civilian) honour to Margaret Court may serve to erode the hard-fought gains made over decades in reducing the impact of discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community - discrimination that has caused immense pain to untold people and destroyed lives," O'Brien told the awards council in an [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Email server] seen by AAP. He says Dr Soo epitomises the true spirit of the awards. "Margaret Court was a great tennis player who thrilled most Australians in her tennis years including me, but her hurtful and divisive criticisms relating to the fundamental rights of the LGBTQ+ community are clearly repugnant to many Australians," O'Brien said. "I believe the decision to present her with this award was deeply insensitive and must undermine community respect for awards that were created to celebrate a true spirit of community not divide it." Dr Soo received her award in 2016 for work in Canberra as a medical practitioner with the LGBTIQ community, people with HIV and drug dependencies. She was one of the first GPs to undergo gender transition in Australia. When returning her award, Dr Soo told the governor-general that by promoting Court the council was telling LGBTIQ youth that discrimination and prejudice against them was tolerated in the Australian community. O'Brien acknowledged there were many people involved in the awards process who meant well. "But there has to be something fundamentally wrong with a system that can produce such a deeply insensitive and divisive decision." Anyone can nominate Australians for the Australia Day honours awards, with a council reviewing them before the governor-general gives the final tick of approval. Court, who is now a pastor, says she will never change her views but loves all people. "We have them come into our community services, all kinds - whether they're gay, transgender, whatever they are," she told AAP. "We never turn a person away and I think it's been tried to be made out that I'm somebody that I'm not really. And I think that is very sad." O'Brien's gong was to have been awarded for distinguished service to broadcast media and to journalism, as a current affairs television presenter, interviewer and reporter. His career spanned close to 50 years, including more than 15 at the ABC's 7.30 Report, as well as at the [http://www.dict.cc/?s=national%20broadcaster%27s national broadcaster's] Four Corners and Lateline programs. Prior to learning about Court's award, Lead Lists O'Brien said he initially felt coy about his own, but was glad to see [http://ms-jd.org/search/results/search&keywords=journalism%20valued/ journalism valued] and acknowledged at a time when it's under sustained attack. He planned to use the platform to promote the importance of the ABC and public interest journalism for democracy. adverts.addToArray("pos":"inread_player")Advertisement

ARTHUR BRAND Reveals How Sculptures Outside Hitler apos;s Office Were Found

2021-01-29T18:45:39Z

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In Saturday's [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Mail for Me], we told how in 2014 Arthur Brand — the [/news/indiana/index.html Indiana] Jones of the art world — was drawn into a shadowy world of neo-Nazis, ex-Stasi agents and crooked art dealers, after a friend with criminal contacts showed him a photo of the huge bronze horses that stood outside Hitler's office window. They were being secretly offered for sale by a dealer called Steven. At first, Arthur was convinced they were fakes, as the Red Army had blasted to pieces all the statues outside the Reich Chancellery in 1945. Then he took a closer look at the last known film footage of Hitler. To Arthur's astonishment, a plinth behind Hitler, which should have contained one of the horses, was empty — which meant they had been moved to safety. He discovered that the Red Army had moved them to an army barracks in East [/news/germany/index.html Germany]. But where were they now? The time was right to speak to Steven, the crooked dealer offering Hitler's massive bronze horses for sale on the black market. But one misplaced word from me and they would vanish for ever. Obviously, I needed to pretend I was representing someone willing to buy valuable Nazi art. Someone extremely rich and unscrupulous. I called him Moss, and ended up modelling him — rather lamely — on J.R., the ruthless oil baron from the TV series Dallas. ‘Lives in Dallas. And he's as crooked as a two-dollar bill,' I told Steven on the phone. As dealers, I continued, Steven and I would both get a cut if he could find suitable pieces worth at least £1 million. At this stage, I didn't dare mention the horses. Steven said he'd get back to me. For weeks, however, my phone was silent and I was convinced I had been rumbled. I was mistaken. When he contacted me again, it was to say he had something amazing, but it would have to be kept out of the public gaze. He followed up with an email and a colour photo of the horses. They were ‘two of the most important Nazi-era sculptures,' he wrote, ‘ones that everybody assumes were destroyed. German police have retrieved two long-lost bronze horses sculptures commissioned by the Nazi regime to adorn Adolf Hitler's chancellery after conducting raids on eight suspected members of an illegal ring of art dealers ‘They're been owned by a family called Flick, who actively supported the Nazis during the war. They want to offload them as soon as possible for political reasons. The price is 8 million euros [£7 million].' I was ecstatic. Steven had swallowed the bait. One evening, I got a call from a journalist working for Der Spiegel, German's leading news magazine. Konstantin von Hammerstein wanted to interview me about the illegal trade in cultural artefacts. ‘Rumour has it that some well-known works by celebrated Nazi sculptors, long thought destroyed, still exist,' he said. ‘It's something I'm already looking into.' That sounded worrying — a newspaper report would ruin everything. But, providing Konstantin kept a lid on my investigation for now, he might prove to be an asset. After all, if anything went wrong in my scheme, I could be charged with trying to sell stolen sculptures on the black market. If a member of the Press was involved, however, we could file the whole operation under ‘investigative journalism'. I sent him the colour photo of Hitler's horses and waited for his reaction. Konstantin rang back almost immediately. ‘Herr Brand, if this is genuine, we're talking about the find of the century.' He urged me to get in touch with his friend René Allonge, the German police's chief commissioner responsible for art crimes. ‘I'm telling you this because the people mixed up in this aren't exactly choirboys,' Konstantin added. ‘The neo-Nazi movement is on the rise these days and its supporters don't shrink from violence.' The Watchman, a famous Nazi sculpture by Arno Breker — one of Hitler's three favourite sculptors, along with Fritz Klimsch and Josef Thorak, who had created the horses In Berlin, I reported to a police station for my meeting with Chief Commissioner René Allonge. He was waiting for me, a big smile on his face. We walked down a long, bare corridor and entered his office, a gleaming white space with a few paintings and posters of stolen art on the walls. ‘See those boxes over there?' Allonge pointed to about 30 boxes in the corner of his office. ‘That's the archive [of the art section] of the Stasi. They didn't just confiscate art collections; they also produced forgeries that were then sold as genuine items in the West.' Allonge already knew the horses were being offered for sale on the black market. An ex-Stasi informant had told him the horses were owned by a grand master of the Knights Templar. The name Adler had also been mentioned. ‘The horses are almost certainly fakes, but offering forgeries for sale is still a serious crime,' Allonge told me. ‘Fakes?' I got out my laptop and showed him the YouTube footage of Hitler before the bombing of the Reich Chancellery. Nine seconds into the film, I hit the pause button and showed him the empty place where one of the horses had stood. Then I told him about their long sojourn at a Russian barracks. Allonge was gazing at the screen wide-eyed. ‘You have a lead, I take it?' I explained how I was trying to arrange a viewing and promised to keep him posted. A few days later, I rang Steven to tell him that my ‘client', Moss, was extremely interested in the horse bronzes. We agreed to meet up at Café Gruter in Amsterdam so I could supply proof that my buyer had the necessary funds. The café, when I arrived early with my colleague, Alex, was deserted. Alex installed himself at a separate table by a window. I was feeling very jumpy — chiefly because I had a miniature camera in my jacket pocket, with the lens hidden in my lapel. What if it went wrong? ‘Relax. They're not going to bump you off,' Alex said. ‘Not this minute, anyway.' Steven arrived. He looked exactly as you'd expect an art broker to look, right down to a chic little scarf and expensive watch. ‘If we mess this up, we'll either end up in jail or at the bottom of a lake,' he said with a laugh. I showed him my imaginary client's passport and an auditor's report — all fake. Steven said he'd never seen Hitler's horses himself. ‘I don't even know where they are. When I asked, I was warned not to ask unnecessary questions. ‘Look, these are the kind of types who were mixed up in one of the most murderous regimes in history. Do you really think they'd hesitate to bump someone off?' We left it that Steven would try to get me a viewing, so I could assure my client the horses were genuine. Later, Alex and I looked at the footage from my secret camera. All there. Better still, Alex had recorded Steven making a phone call while I was in the loo. ‘Adler, I've arrived. See you later,' he'd said. The same name that had been recalled by Allonge's ex-Stasi informant. Who had the horses? Was it the Flick family Steven had mentioned in his email? Or Adler, whom he had called while I was out of the room? It was time to put pressure on Steven. When we met again, in a restaurant, he told me the owners were getting cold feet about shipping the horses to the U.S. ‘There only needs to be one person in the chain who recognises those statues and we're done for.' I took a break and pretended to call my client. On my return, I told Steven: ‘Well, as luck would have it, last year Moss happened to buy a chateau somewhere in Provence. He'd already concluded that it would be safer to take the statues there. They wouldn't have to go past Customs, so no one will be any the wiser.' Steven beamed and loosened his scarf. ‘Perfect!' He fumbled around in his briefcase and got out a file. ‘I've asked the owners for something extra to sweeten the deal. They offered me this.' On the table, he placed a photo that showed a gigantic statue of a muscular, naked man holding a sword. It was The Watchman, a famous Nazi sculpture by Arno Breker — one of Hitler's three favourite sculptors, along with Fritz Klimsch and Josef Thorak, who had created the horses. I scrutinised the photo. How on earth could this statue have remained hidden all these years? Ten metres tall — that was as high as a three-storey building. ‘Please tell me this sculpture's for sale, too,' I said excitedly. ‘It is indeed. Before long, Moss will own both the Thorak horses and The Watchman. Eight million euros [£7 million] each.' The mythical Moss was, of course, thrilled to hear about The Watchman and immediately agreed to the asking price. But I was all too aware that time was pressing. If anyone were to look seriously into Moss, my whole plan would fall apart. Meanwhile, the journalist Konstantin had been doing some digging and discovered there was a collector of Nazi memorabilia called Mathias Flick. This had to be the Flick that Steven had referred to in his email as the current owner of the horses. Konstantin gave me an address for Flick in northern Germany. ‘But be careful. This guy is said to have a huge stash of arms.' Arriving in a nearby town with my colleague, Alex, I asked a man for directions. ‘Oh, so you're going to see Herr Flick. A very nice man,' he said. It turned out that during a year of heavy snow, Flick had cleared it from the village with his World War II Wehrmacht tank, complete with gun barrel. If René Allonge ever got permission to raid the place, he'd need to take an army with him. Flick's large garden was surrounded by a very high wall — high enough to conceal the three-metre-high horses. So I climbed a tree next to it, but there was a cracking sound and I tumbled to the ground. On the other side of the wall, a dog started barking. Then we heard a man — Flick? — calling it. Alex hissed: ‘Bet you he'll call the police and we'll be arrested for [http://rhlug.pileus.org/wiki/User:HelpUSendf Bulk Mail for Me] trespassing.' In the end, Alex saved the day. He managed to get access to satellite photos on his smartphone — so we zoomed into Flick's garden. No sign of the horses. But we could see caterpillar tracks on the lawn from the tank — had it been used to move the giant steeds? New Year's Reception of the Wehrmacht in the new Reich Chancellery, 1939. In the background is The Army sculpture And, oh my God, half hidden under the foliage, a few metres from where I was crouching, was a giant bronze statue. I quickly shimmied up the tree again. When I saw it, I thought I must be dreaming. It was perhaps the most famous statue of the Third Reich: The Army [Die Wehrmacht] by Arno Breker. Missing for 70 years, it had stood at the entrance to Hitler's Reich Chancellery. René Allonge was keen to launch a raid on Flick's property, and was busy wading through all the red tape that involved. He would also have to warn Germany's political leaders in advance — but was wary of doing so until the last minute. He was fully aware, I suspected, that former Nazis had for decades enjoyed protection from the highest [http://www.covnews.com/archives/search/?searchthis=political%20echelons political echelons]. He wouldn't want to risk anyone being tipped off. At the same time, Allonge had news: he had discovered that a man called Detlef Adler had been involved in a court case concerning some unnamed statues. Could this be the mysterious Adler whom Steven had called from the restaurant? Adolf Hitler with Albert Speer (on left) and Arno Breker (on right) posing front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (France) in June 1940 Not long afterwards, Allonge rang again. ‘Arthur, the raids are on for the day after tomorrow! He'd be targeting Flick, Adler and another man he suspected. ‘The Ministers of Justice and Culture have been informed. Everyone's blown away by the news that the Reich Chancellery statues still exist,' said Allonge. ‘At 7am on Wednesday, around 200 police officers will assemble in three locations. Then we'll set off. The army has lent us some explosives experts, as well as emergency service vehicles and equipment. As yet, the officers just think it's a big drugs bust.' Two hundred police officers and the army? I broke out in a sweat. If this went wrong, I would have to move to a desert island. Allonge forbade me from attending any of the raids because I was considered a star witness. However, Konstantin would be going on the Adler raid, while my colleague Alex went on the Flick raid — and I could keep in touch with them by phone. On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, three raids were launched simultaneously. The endgame had begun. Konstantin soon emailed me a video clip of Adler's house in Bad Dürkheim. ‘Someone's opening the door,' he said on the phone. ‘It's Adler! They're reading something aloud to him, probably the search warrant. More and more cars are pulling up. Adler's just stepping aside and officers are going into his house. He looks as white as a sheet.' Next it was Alex, perched in a tree overlooking Flick's garden, calling to say police were on the lawn, gaping at the huge Nazi sculpture The Army. By the time Alex rang me again, police had combed through Flick's underground garage. They had found a V-1— a deadly flying bomb of the type Germany had rained on Britain. As for The Army, Flick was claiming he had bought it from a scrap metal dealer in East Germany. But still no horses. As the minutes ticked by, I started feeling despondent. Had the owner rumbled us and moved the statues to a secret location? ‘Arthur, most of the police are leaving Adler's villa,' Konstantin reported. ‘They're coming out, getting into their cars and driving away.' Just then, my other line rang. Steven! I took a deep breath. ‘I'm just ringing to check how things are,' he said. He clearly knew nothing about the raids! I assured him that I was still on for the viewing of the horses next week. By 10.25, it was clear the raids had been a fiasco. Nothing had been found apart from The Army statue in Flick's grounds and a gigantic arms cache. Konstantin called again. ‘Everyone's gone, except Adler, a lawyer and a detective,' he said. There was a long pause. ‘Wait,' he whispered. ‘A lawyer is coming out with a detective. They're getting into the lawyer's car together. Something's going on. I'll follow them in my car. Call you in a sec.' A few minutes later, Konstantin checked in again. ‘We're in some kind of business park in Bad Dürkheim. They're parking in front of a huge warehouse . . . They're opening the gate. I'm going to try to get nearer.' ‘Konstantin?' I yelled. ‘Take a look inside. Now!' I could hear his footsteps. ‘Are you still there?' I asked. ‘Hello?' ‘Yes, I'm still here. My God. I can see them! I can see Hitler's horses. Oh my God!' For a second, I nearly blacked out. ‘They're standing side by side at the back of the warehouse. It's them. No doubt about it!' My phone instantly rang again. It was Steven, and he was swearing. ‘They've carried out raids right across Germany,' he told me. ‘I just got a call. It seems they've found the horses, too.' I wanted to whoop — but was just able to stop myself. Steven continued to swear, livid with rage. ‘Your client Moss won't be able to buy the horses now,' he said. ‘This is a total disaster. Twenty million down the drain!' I couldn't believe Steven still thought my client existed. Meanwhile, I had received a video clip from Konstantin. There they stood, as if looming up out of the mist: Hitler's horses! Steven was still talking. ‘Listen,' he said, ‘perhaps something can still be salvaged. ‘We can forget about the horses and The Watchman. But I've got access to a unique carpet, ten by five metres. Made for the last Shah of Iran. It's Iranian state property, so the deal would be hush-hush . . .' RELATED ARTICLES [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next] [/news/article-9182109/UK-firms-export-EU-told-set-hubs-Europe-avoid-post-Brexit-trade-disruption.html Half of lorries 'return to Europe EMPTY': Trucks sent to...] [/news/article-9181659/Alexei-Navalnys-wife-Yulia-released-custody-posting-selfie-inside-police-van.html Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia 'is released from custody in...] Share this article Share The 2015 discovery of Hitler's horses made headlines around the world. In addition, police had found two statues by Breker and two by Fritz Klimsch — plus, of course, The Army. They also tracked down The Watchman, which weighed 40 tons. Almost immediately, a debate raged on what to do with the sculptures: whether to exhibit them, tuck them away or even destroy them. In the end, the German government decided that they should be put on show. Before the sculptures can be exhibited, however, a court will have to decide on the rightful owner. As for Adler, Flick and Steven, they got off with nothing more than a nasty shock. It has been established by the German prosecutor that the charges fall outside the statute of limitations. As for me, I feared this affair might rebound on me and affect my business. But Jewish families who come to me for help in tracing possessions stolen during World War II were delighted that I had cheated some Nazis out of millions of euros. And neo-Nazis were so thrilled at the sudden reappearance of the Führer's favourite sculptures that they completely forgot to threaten me. Adapted by Corinna Honan from Hitler's Horses, by Arthur Brand, translated by Jane Hedley-Prôle and published by Ebury on February 4 at £14.99. © Arthur Brand 2021. To order a copy for £13.19 (offer valid to 5/2/21; UK P&P free on orders over £15), visit website or call 020 3308 9193 adverts.addToArray("pos":"inread_player")Advertisement

Your Stimulus Check Might Still Be In The Mail. Here s How To Track It Through USPS

2021-01-29T08:29:16Z

HelpUSendb: Created page with "id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body"> Stimulus check or junk mail? Know what to..."

id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body"> Stimulus check or junk mail? Know what to look for so you don't toss your money in the trash. Angela Lang/CNET [/personal-finance/heres-what-to-know-now-that-the-irs-has-stopped-sending-stimulus-checks/ Second stimulus payments] were cut off by the IRS and Treasury last week due to hitting their deadline. However, if your check of [/personal-finance/did-you-get-the-right-stimulus-check-amount-you-need-to-know-before-tax-season-begins/ up to $600 per person] made the Jan. 15 deadline, [https://www.newgatecomms.com/blog/index.php/2019/10/28/companies-are-changing-but-their-comms-must-keep-up/ Bulk Mail Server Hosting] it's still possible your paper check or [/news/are-you-getting-an-eip-card-instead-of-a-stimulus-check-what-you-need-to-know/ EIP debit card] is in the mail. However, if you don't receive your [ stimulus check] by the end of this week, read on for what to do. To find out if your payment made the cutoff, the IRS and USPS each have a service that, when the two are used together, can let you track your [ second stimulus check] right to your mailbox. The IRS' [/personal-finance/wheres-your-stimulus-check-hunting-down-your-payment-starts-with-this-irs-tool/ stimulus check tracker tool] contains information about your payment schedule, how your money will arrive, [/personal-finance/stimulus-formula-why-you-got-the-payment-amount-you-did-what-it-means-for-a-third-check/ your second stimulus check total] and if there's been an [/personal-finance/stimulus-check-lost-in-the-mail-probably-not-11-things-causing-a-holdup/ error processing your check]. (You can also ask the IRS to [/news/missing-stimulus-check-you-may-need-to-request-an-irs-payment-trace/ trace your payment].) If you discover your payment didn't make the deadline, however, you'll know you have to wait till you [/personal-finance/stimulus-checks-and-your-2020-taxes-every-important-thing-you-should-know/ file your 2020 taxes this year] to [/personal-finance/stimulus-check-tax-credit-this-is-exactly-how-youll-get-your-missing-money-on-your-2020-return/ claim the stimulus money as a rebate]. If you see that your check is coming in the mail, that's a good time to sign up for a free USPS service called Informed Delivery that shows you when all of your letters have been scanned, are in transit and have been delivered to your home -- including your second check. Here, we'll walk you through how you can use the USPS service to monitor your payment's arrival in the mail. (P.S. Here's [/personal-finance/1-9t-stimulus-proposal-biden-pushes-for-a-third-check-400-unemployment-money-more/ President Joe Biden's] [ $1.9 trillion stimulus plans], including a [ third stimulus check].) This story is updated often. Informed Delivery: How the USPS tool works, and why you should use it [ Informed Delivery] is a free [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Mail Server Hosting]-tracking service from the USPS that automatically scans your letters and can alert you with an image each time a letter with your name on it is about to be delivered -- this includes, of course, your [/personal-finance/did-you-get-the-right-stimulus-check-amount-you-need-to-know-before-tax-season-begins/ second stimulus payment]. When the USPS runs mailed letters through its automated mail sorting equipment, it automatically creates a digital image of the front of all letter-size mail. Anyone who signs up for Informed Delivery can access the information by asking the USPS to notify you when each piece of mail with your name on it is on the way. Note that it can take three days to activate your account. As part of the program, you'll receive an [http://HelpUSend.com Bulk Email server] each morning, Monday through Saturday, to notify you of any mail being delivered to you. You'll also see a grayscale image of the front of the letter. Informed Delivery has free apps for [ Android] and [ iPhone] you can also use. Just be aware that signing up means you'll see all your mail scanned by the post office, not just your stimulus check. You can cancel the service at any time. Now playing: Watch this: Second stimulus checks: Everything you need to know 3:22 How to set up Informed Delivery to track your stimulus payment directly to your mailbox Informed Delivery has some [https://www.rewards-insiders.marriott.com/search.jspa?q=limitations limitations]. For example, it will work with many residential and personal post office box addresses but not businesses. It also won't work for some residential buildings where the postal service hasn't yet identified each unit. To check whether Informed Delivery is available in your area, head to the [ Postal Service's Informed Delivery page]. 1. Tap Sign Up for [http://HelpUSend.com Email Lists] Free. 2. Enter your mailing address and confirm it'll work with the service; then accept the terms and conditions and tap Continue. 3. On the next page, choose your username, password and security questions. Then, enter your contact information and tap Continue. 4. On the next page, you'll need to verify your identity. Tap Verify identity online if you want to receive a verification code on your phone or tap Request invitation code by mail if you want USPS to mail you a code. You may also have the option to visit a post office to verify your identity in person. For more [ stimulus check details], here's how to [/personal-finance/did-you-get-the-right-stimulus-check-amount-you-need-to-know-before-tax-season-begins/ calculate an estimate of your total], what we know about a [ third stimulus check], what happens if [/personal-finance/why-when-and-how-youd-need-to-return-your-stimulus-money-to-the-irs/ you were overpaid] and how some of your rights have [/personal-finance/got-a-second-stimulus-check-or-one-on-the-way-these-are-your-rights/ changed for the better with a second stimulus check]. [#comments Comments] [/cnet-apps-today/ CNET Apps Today] [/personal-finance/budgeting/ Budgeting] [/topics/software/ Software] [/topics/mobile/ Mobile] [/personal-finance/ Personal Finance] [ Notification on Notification off How To]