Sep
2
The thrill of having a reservation at a boutique hotel in New York can’t be underestimated. It suggests that not only is there a fantastic vacation just up ahead, but one that will be based in the heart of unique and luxurious accommodations. Our boutique hotels speak of an individuality that is perfectly suited to New York City, embracing difference in true quality lodgings. Discerning travelers looking for an alternative to the chain hotel will find a splendid answer here, with unique style and substance that speaks to contemporary trends and the sumptuous details of antiquity. New York specializes in service, and you’ll know that you are important when you stay in our boutique hotels.
We aim to help replenish a tired body and mind, so that you are free to enjoy all the enchantments of the city. New York is perhaps the most exciting place in the world. It has caught the imaginations of artists and poets for generations, and has long been a magnet for some of the world’s best minds. The past blends into the future here, where the newest innovations come with memories of a recent past. Literary tours of New York are excellent ways to get to know the city, and it would be difficult to look at literary New York without coming across the Beat movement. It was a revolution in poetry and prose, and Brooklyn born Diane Di Prima was at the center of it.
Born in 1934 and currently living in San Francisco, Diane Di Prima had already caught the attention of Ezra Pound before she found herself at the center of the Beatniks. Her poetry has won multiple awards, she has almost won the post of poet laureate of California, awards from the NEA, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Poetry Association. She was close to some of the biggest names in countercultural literature, like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Timothy Leary, has worked with Le Roi Jones, and also teaches at Boulder’s Naropa Institute. Teaching Buddhist principles and writing workshops, her work continues to influence young and creative minds from all over the world.
Sep
2
The history of the success of Hong Kong is a long history. Rumors had been going around various countries for the ten years following the handing over of Hong Kong to China from Great Britain. But those rumors of the social and the economic demise of the city were unfounded and the Hong Kong has become a booming center for trade, commerce and tourism. The Hong Kong hotel industry as well as the other service industries of the restaurants, the bars, and the convention centers have been steadily becoming more successful.
And the day to day living has become more normal, in the political sectors as well as the social and financial realms. This is a very small region that is having a global effect, and doing so with the self confidence gained from the years of struggle and the successes related to that struggle. In a world wherein many countries are suffering from financial and economic downturns and the effects of the recession, Hong Kong markets, and the city itself, are busier than ever. And while the city is again part of the motherland of China, they are under their own independent rule, with their own governments systems in place. Only ten percent of the land mass of Hong Kong, is home to just about seven million people.
And added to that number are the floods of tourists, from South East Asia as well as from around the globe. Those traveling to the city, and the locals as well, are generally fond of one of the two aspects of the city. One aspect is the busy metropolis and the incredible architecture of the skyscrapers. Many love to walk along the city streets and feel the vibe of excitement while others prefer to view from the top of Victoria Peak. The other aspect is that of the outdoors. There is an expanse of undeveloped countryside surrounding the city, and this draws many bikers, hikers and campers to the region. The city itself has been gradually becoming more westernized, however the peaceful core of the philosophy remains totally Chinese in nature. These contrasts are what make Hong Kong one of the most interesting destinations in the world.
Sep
2
We planned to rent a car in Jaipur, even though neither I nor Marcy had ever driven in India and drive around without much of a plan with our digital cameras and just take a lot of pictures. We did have list of Jaipur hotelsin our GPS navigation unit we kept partially hidden lest (we thought) someone reach in through the window and snatch it. the list made us feel better about the wild streets of Jaipur as we could always retreat to Mulligatawny soup and gin and tonics. We picked up our rental car at the airport, a scruffy Fiat with a wheezy motor, but we felt free, both of us car driving junkies who just loved the freedom a set of wheels gives you, even if it was squat, yellow and had a tear in the upholstering. Marcy also bought a infra red scope to see a night, sea sickness pills in case we go out to see, a mini water purifier, iodine tabs, enough Pepto Bismolto soothe a horse, and a set of mini walkie talkies in case we got separated, a USB folding laptop cooling pad, which wasn’t really a bad idea there as our Macbooks ran hot, on infra red remote controlled alarm system, various travel adapter plugs, hats, sunscreen with never before heard of protection numbers, sunglasses and spares, ear plugs, nose drops, a travel French press, a phrase book, a universal cell phone and charger plus a solar charger, dust and pollen filter masks, hand cleaner, toilet paper, and a pair of orange Crocs she was sure she could get someone to accept in exchange for a lavender sari or a golden Buddha. All this she packed in a shoulder bag, she the expert travel packer one can imagine. When she traveled, she came loaded.
Sep
2
Anti-corruption agencies around the world quite often are looking at a variety of crimes when they investigate someone who is laundering money. The only reason someone needs to clean their cash is that they came into that cash through previously committed illegal activities. Drug dealers deal with large sums of money. The mafia and the gang members of the cities across American as well, deal with cash transactions that are not easy to explain. Therefore their past actions require a bit of cleansing.
When someone is intending to fund the acts of terrorism and those who will commit those acts, they are cleaning the money for their future illicit activities. Either way, money laundering is done in order to evade the law and/or to evade paying taxes. Sometimes the laundering takes place at the financial institutions, by way of withdrawals and deposits or by depositing the money into accounts in foreign banks. Other times it is carried out through cover businesses. In this way, they are making some profit that they claim to the government, and it just seems that they are unusually busy business owners, as none of the cash transactions can be proven, so they get away with it, for a while.
However, even if the law enforcement agencies do not take notice, you can bet that the Internal Revenue Service will. That is why coin operated businesses such as car washes or laundromats are so effective. For unlike a bar or a restaurant which needs to place orders, documents that can be analyzed and compared to profit margins, the untraceable people just simply washing their clothes or their vehicles do not leave a paper trail. This is why so many organized crime syndicates choose these types of businesses under which to take cover. Gangsters of old did it, and the gang members of today are doing it.
|
