A team of international archaeologists is working round the clock to rescue the wreck of what is thought to be a 16th Century Portuguese trading ship that lay undisturbed for hundreds of years off Namibia's Atlantic coast. Ivory tusk and a piece of cannon The shipwreck, uncovered in an area drained for diamond mining, has revealed a cargo of metal cannonballs, chunks of wooden hull, imprints of swords, copper ingots and elephant tusks. It was found in April when a crane driver from the diamond mining company Namdeb spotted some coins. The project manager of the rescue excavation, Webber Ndoro, described the find as the "the most exciting archaeological discovery on the African continent in the past 100 years". "This is perhaps the largest find in terms of artefacts from a shipwreck in this part of the world," he said.
The ship may have been unable to withstand the currents in the volatile seas off the Namibian shore. The area is also known as the Skeleton Coast and is associated with the skeletons of wrecked ships and past stories of sailors wandering through the barren landscape in search of food and water.
The site is about 130km (80 miles) south of the Namibian harbour town Luderitz, in an area long sealed off for mining. The mines are established by sea-walling the ocean and dredging the dry seabed for diamonds. Pumps ensure the sea does not reclaim the land - an exercise that is costing thousands of dollars each week.I must know more ...
Bruno Werz, the archaeologist leading the excavations, said the shipwreck was particularly valuable because it had not been tampered with. "This collection has not been disturbed by human interference," he said, "we are very fortunate to have found an untouched wreck with all the material that was on site still here in one collection."
You can see some of the workings on Google Maps ... here ... and here. Old ones here. Can anyone spot any more of the current ones ?Inside the forbidden zone is the city of Oranjemund, with its own food-producing farms and reservoirs. The vast mining area runs alongside the Atlantic Ocean. To enter into the mining area, one has to insert his plastic security badge into a slot in the wall and wait for a door to slide open automatically. The central computer, which opens and closes these passageways, tracks the comings and goings of everyone in the mining area. De Beers' helicopters constantly patrol overhead, and closely monitor the activities of the fishing craft that pass by in the ocean (even though the enormous waves would make landing a boat on the beach all but impossible). Behind the beach, a pack of Alsatian guard dogs patrol the no-man's-land between the two barbwire fences. And behind the barbwire fences is the Namib Desert, one of the most inhospitable areas on earth. It is made impenetrable by 1,000-foot-high sand dunes and 120 degree temperatures.
The extraordinary security procedures are considered necessary in Namibia because what is recovered from the 200 mile-long beach is not kimberlite ore but pure gem diamonds, which can be easily pocketed by anyone. In one small crevice in a rock outcropping, some 15,000 carats of sparkling diamonds were found on this beach some years ago.
The mine, if it can be called a mine, is actually the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean. To get at the richest lodes of diamonds, the ocean must be literally pushed back and held back long enough to dig out the diamonds. The mechanism for holding back the pounding surf is a ten-story high mound, which, 600 feet out in the ocean, runs parallel to the beach.
Standing on this sandy mound, I looked down into the "mine," which was actually the exposed floor of the ocean. It was an incredible sight; a full-scale battle between man and nature.
(Mind, you, to think that you have to believe (as Susan does) that a Macca concert is A Good Thing, rather than (as Laban does) a crime against humanity).Think about it. It was lovely Linda who turned Paul on to vegetarianism. Then there was all that rolling about with seals with Heather. Now he has a Jewish girlfriend, the glamorous Nancy Shevell, he's suddenly playing concerts in Israel and 'finding out for myself what the situation is'.
Suspicious? I think so. Let us pray that I'm wrong.
Walthamstow, Ilford, Forest Gate.
Four people have been arrested in London over an alleged terror attack which may be linked to the publishing of a controversial book. The arrests are thought to be linked to a fire at a property in Islington, north London, which is used as the home and office of publisher Martin Rynja.
His company, Gibson Square, recently agreed to publish a controversial novel about the prophet Muhammad and his child bride, entitled The Jewel of Medina. The blaze, which led to people being evacuated from the house, may have been started by a petrol bomb pushed through the letter box.
Initially, three men, aged 22, 30 and 40, were detained at around 2.25 am this morning in the Islington area of north London after a fire at a property in Lonsdale Square. Two were stopped by armed officers in Lonsdale Square, and the third was seized following an armed vehicle stop near Angel underground station. Police are searching four addresses around north-east London - two in Walthamstow, one in Ilford and one in Forest Gate.
The men, who were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, are being questioned at a central London police station. Later a fourth person, a woman, was arrested at a property in Ilford for allegedly obstructing the police, a spokesman for Scotland Yard said.
Admittedly Cambridge is the service sector capital of the UK.
My wife made a new friend this year, the wife of a Visiting Scholar at Cambridge, a Chinese. After a few weeks here she had a good question. "I don't understand how this country is so rich", said she, "where are all your factories?"
What happens if and when the countries of the Middle and Far East decide that they no longer wish to use their massive surpluses to fund the massive deficits of the West ?
"Why don't people stop it ?"
"Has it always been like this ?"
"Now tell us a little about your career, Mr O'Meara. What was your previous position ?"
"Global head of risk management for Lehman Brothers, sir"
"I see. That will be all. Next please !"
Looking into the future gives further cause for concern: "The bulk of these loans," notes a Federal Reserve economist, "have been made during a period in which we have not experienced an economic downturn." The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's own success stories make you wonder how much CRA-related carnage will result when the economy cools. The group likes to promote, for instance, the story of Renea Swain-Price, grateful for NACA's negotiating on her behalf with Fleet Bank to prevent foreclosure when she fell behind on a $1,400 monthly mortgage payment on her three-family house in Dorchester. Yet NACA had no qualms about arranging the $137,500 mortgage in the first place, notwithstanding the fact that Swain-Price's husband was in prison, that she'd had previous credit problems, and that the monthly mortgage payment constituted more than half her monthly salary. The fact that NACA has arranged an agreement to forestall foreclosure does not inspire confidence that she will have the resources required to maintain her aging frame house: her new monthly payment, in recognition of previously missed payments, is $1,879.That piece was dated 2000. Can't say no warning was given.
From: Minister of the Treasury Paulson
Subject: Request for urgent confidential business relationship
Dear Sir: I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude. I am minister of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of US$700bn. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you. We would in exchange for assistance be prepared to pay you a fee of 1% of funds transferred - $7bn.
This transaction is 100 per cent safe. This is a matter of great urgency. We need the funds as quickly as possible. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as intermediary so the funds can be transferred safely to my country. Please reply with the following details and also re-confirm to me the followings
1) Your full name.
2) Phone, fax and mobile #.
3) company name, position and address.
4) profession, age and marital status.5) Bank name and address, sort code and account number
As soon as this informations are received, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds and the methods of transmission to be used. Your payment will be made to you in a certified bank draft so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction.Yours faithfully, Minister of Treasury Paulson, Nigeria, Washington DC
(via the Indie, first sighted at Lew Rockwell)
The professionals in the world of money seem to make so much of that money themselves. How do they justify the size of the paychecks ?
"I don't," said the $2 billion money manager.
"I can't defend it," said David the floor broker.
"They shouldn't be making it," said the specialist.
....
We ordinary toilers at the cubicle farm. Why don't we rise up ?Why don't we get rid of the capitalist system and replace it with something that's nicer and more predictable, and gives everybody an even break ?
"What," I asked all the Wall Street people I interviewed, "does the investment industry give to society ?"
But this time they had an answer.
"Liquidity," said the $2 billion money manager.
"Liquidity," said the investment banker.
"Liquidity," said the other investment banker who'd told me things could move stupidly.
"Liquidity," said the Irish specialist broker.
"It provides liquidity," said David.
Liquidity is the Wall Street word for having things you can do with your money and being able to do them. Liquidity is the essence of the free market. Men with more time to explain themselves might have said something like "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these re Life, Liberty and Ka-ching ! Ka-ching ! Ka-ching !"
The sale surprised many industry experts who questioned the wisdom of BNFL selling one of the world's largest producers of nuclear reactors shortly before the market for nuclear power is expected to grow substantially; China, the United States and the United Kingdom are all expected to invest heavily in nuclear power.
The Westinghouse sale will provide a windfall for the UK Treasury. But industry experts have expressed concern that such an asset is being sold off when the demand for new nuclear power stations is set to surge.
"Are you concerned that your son has done x ?"
"Well, my daughters have already done y and z"
"Thank you"
aka
"EDF's acquisition of our nuclear power industry can be seen as a powerful message of hope."
"Hey, guess what ? I'm not a friendless nerd ! That big kid who ignored me before wants to sit down and share my sweets ! "aka
"It's a spectacular vote of confidence from La Republique no less that the United Kingdom is anything but bust."
Global central banks are pumping $180bn (£99bn) of extra money into the markets in a co-ordinated move to lift the amount of funds available.
The $180bn has been released by the US Federal Reserve to five other main central banks, who in turn are issuing the funds in their own countries.
The Bank of England is making $40bn available, while the European Central Bank is to provide $55bn.
Central banks in Switzerland, Canada and Japan are also taking part.
The Swiss National Bank is releasing up to $15bn extra, while the Bank of Japan is offering $60bn, and the Bank of Canada $10bn.
Commercial banks in each country will be able to access the funds in the form of loans to boost their short-term funding requirements.
What exactly does all this mean ? No-one's pumping any money in my direction. And if the central banks are making loans to the commercial banks, where's that central bank cash coming from ? Reserves ? Are they just inventing the stuff ? And what are central bank reserves anyway - where did they come from ? In the days of Prudence, when the Government ran a budget surplus, was the unspent tax handed over to the Bank of England with a note saying "whack this lot in the reserves, my son" ?
Immigration levels have pushed population density in England to a higher level than any other major country in Europe. The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, indicate there is an average of 395 people in every square kilometre in England. This is an increase of five per sq km in the past two years. The increase has pushed England's population density above the previous highest figure set by the Netherlands.
The European Union's statistics office has projected a British population on the rise, growing from the current level of 61 million people to 77 million over the next 50 years. As incoming migrants and rising birth rates multiply the number of Britons, Germany, currently Europe's most populous nation, is projected to decline from 82 million to 71 million people by 2060.
Field claims in the pamphlet, entitled Balanced Migration, that the government's solution of an Australian-style points system for non-EU migrants based on skills amounts to an open door for tens of thousands to migrate, since any work permit holder staying on for more than five years will be qualified to apply for permanent residence in Britain or probationary citizenship. He claims the rate of inflow is higher than any other previous period of immigration since the Norman Conquest in 1066, making Britain the most crowded land in Europe.
The Rev G P Taylor, who has sold millions of books worldwide, claims that a producer at the corporation told him they couldn't be "seen to be promoting Jesus". The author of Shadowmancer, which spent 15 weeks at the top of the British book sales charts in 2003, says that he has been the victim of political correctness that favours minority religions at the expense of Christianity, a claim the BBC denies.
