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Ancient Tablet Found: Oldest Readable Writing in Europe
Marks on a clay tablet fragment found in Greece are the oldest known decipherable text in Europe, a new study says.
Considered “magical or mysterious” in its time, the writing survives only because a trash heap caught fire some 3,500 years ago, according to researchers.
Found in an olive grove in what’s now the village of Iklaina (map), the tablet was created by a Greek-speaking Mycenaean scribe between 1450 and 1350 B.C., archaeologists say.
The Mycenaeans—made legendary in part by Homer’s Iliad, which fictionalizes their war with Troy—dominated much of Greece from about 1600 B.C. to 1100 B.C. (See “Is Troy True? The Evidence Behind Movie Myth.”)
So far, excavations at Iklaina have yielded evidence of an early Mycenaean palace, giant terrace walls, murals, and a surprisingly advanced drainage system, according to dig director Michael Cosmopoulos.
But the tablet, found last summer, is the biggest surprise of the multiyear project, Cosmopoulos said.
“According to what we knew, that tablet should not have been there,” the University of Missouri-St. Louis archaeologist Read more…
EARTHQUAKE and now BUBBLING SULPHURIC GAS in Quebec Canada!
Wow That Was Fast! Libyan Rebels Have Already Established A New Central Bank Of Libya
The rebels in Libya are in the middle of a life or death civil war and Moammar Gadhafi is still in power and yet somehow the Libyan rebels have had enough time to establish a new Central Bank of Libya and form a new national oil company. Perhaps when this conflict is over those rebels can become time management consultants. They sure do get a lot done. What a skilled bunch of rebels – they can fight a war during the day and draw up a new central bank and a new national oil company at night without any outside help whatsoever. If only the rest of us were so versatile! But isn’t forming a central bank something that could be done after the civil war is over?
According to Bloomberg, the Transitional National Council has “designated the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya and the appointment of a governor to the Central Bank of Libya, with a temporary headquarters in Benghazi.” Apparently someone felt that it was very important to get pesky matters such as control of the banks and control of the money supply out of the way even before a new government is formed.
Of course it is probably safe to assume that the new Central Bank of Libya will be 100% owned and 100% controlled by the newly liberated people of Libya, isn’t it?
Most people don’t realize that the previous Central Bank of Libya was 100% state owned. The Read more…
World powers agree to set up contact group to map out Libya’s future
“Participants of the conference agreed to establish the Libya Contact Group,” said a statement issued by Mr Hague, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting of more than 35 countries plus the UN and Nato.
“Qatar has agreed to convene the first meeting of the group as soon as possible,” the statement said.
The group will provide “leadership and overall political direction to the international effort in close co-ordination with the UN (United Nations), AU (African Union), Arab League, OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference) and EU (European Union) to support Libya.”
The London conference was called to map out Libya’s future following the fighting between forces loyal to the country’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi, and rebels opposed to his four-decade rule.
Britain, France and the United States had launched military strikes on Libya ten days ago to Read more…
Severe floods claim 11 lives in southern Thailand
BANGKOK, March 30 — The number of current flood-related deaths in the southern provinces now stands at 11 with the most casualties–seven persons–registered in Nakhon Si Thammarat followed by three victims in Surat Thani and one in Phatthalung, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Director-General Vibul Sanguanpong said on Wednesday.
Their Majesties the King and Queen have given funds to the Red Cross for emergency help to flood victims in southern provinces, naval and other ships are involved in rescue and supply operations, and the prime minister and flood relief coordinator Satit Wonghnongtaey have Read more…
Deaths and thousands infected with dengue in Paraguay and Bolivia
“We have 18 dengue deaths confirmed in Paraguay and 2.500 infected of which 1.300 are hospitalized” said Ivan Allende head of the Sanitary Vigilance Department in Asuncion. He also called on the population to immediately report to a clinic or hospital on suspicion of having contracted the disease, which again reappeared with extreme force in late December with the rainy season.
“In previous years we never had so many people hospitalized” added Allende who indicated that only zero temperatures can help eliminate the mosquito larvae. “Until then we must insist people must collaborate watching out for stagnant water in bottles, old tyres, and flower pots and obviously in toilets and sewage”.
In Bolivia the death toll has climbed to 20 and the number of infected totals 1,670. Read more…
Drought In Amazon Could Lead To Accelerated Global Warming
A new study reveals a drought last year in the Amazon basin caused the forest to lose significant levels of vegetation, which in turn could accelerate the pace of global warming.
The study, conducted by an international team of scientists and funded by NASA, uses specific satellite imaging data provided by the agency to draw its conclusions. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellites provided more than a decade’s worth of data for scientists who studied the de-vegetation of the Amazon rainforest.
(Photo: NASA/BU) NASA satellite sensors, such as MODIS, showed an average pattern of greenness of vegetation on South America: Amazon forests which have very high leaf area are shown in red and purple colors, the adjacent cerrado (savannas) which have lower leaf area are shown in shades of green, and the coastal deserts are shown in yellow colors.
The scientists say changing climates with warmer temperatures and altered rainfall could lead to the rainforests turning into grasslands or woody savannas. This causes carbon stored in the rotting wood to be released into the atmosphere, which would add to the greenhouse gases present.
“The greenness levels of Amazonian vegetation — a measure of its health — decreased dramatically over an area more than three and one-half times the size of Texas and did not recover to normal levels, even after the drought ended in late October 2010,” Liang Xu, the study’s lead author from Boston University, said in a statement.
“The MODIS vegetation greenness data suggest a more widespread, severe and long-lasting impact to Amazonian vegetation than Read more…
US NATO Commander Admits Al-Qaeda Linked To Libyan Rebels
Steve Watson
Infowars.com
March 29, 2011
A top ranking NATO Commander has admitted that intelligence has uncovered elements of “al qaeda” amongst Libyan rebel fighters currently receiving tactical military support from US and European led operations inside the country.
The admission serves as yet more confirmation that radical Islamic fundamentalists are part of the opposition groups attempting to oust the nationalist dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, with the help of the US and its NATO allies.
“We are examining very closely the content, composition, the personalities, who are the leaders of these opposition forces,” Admiral James Stavridis, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and also the commander of U.S. European Command, said during testimony at the U.S. Senate.
“…we have seen flickers in the intelligence of potential al Qaeda, Hezbollah, we’ve seen different things.” Stavridis said, while adding that the rebels leadership appeared to be comprised also of “responsible men and women”.
Ohio panel OKs measure to limit collective bargaining rights for 350,000 public workers
Democrats and union leaders blasted the latest Republican changes to Senate Bill 5 today, including those that would allow workers to decline to pay union dues, even if they are covered by a union contract, and allowing government employers to refuse to deduct union payments that are directed to political action committees.
“They’ve clearly made a horrible bill even worse,” said William Leibensperger, vice-president of the Ohio Education Association.
Under many negotiated contracts, workers who do not want to join a union, but are still covered by terms of the union contract, must still pay dues known as “fair share.” The bill would no longer allow a fair-share requirement in union contracts.
“That kind of amendment really shines the light on what this bill is all about, which is silencing the voice of people who collectively bargain on behalf of their members, and, in our case, on behalf of the children we work with,” Liebensperger said.
Republicans have argued that workers who do not want to join the local union should not have Read more…
Four Develop Vaccinia Infections Stemming From Smallpox Shot
Four individuals became infected with the vaccinia virus through direct or second-hand exposure to a U.S. service member who had been vaccinated against smallpox, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported on Monday (see GSN, Feb. 3).
The service member received his smallpox shot on February 23, 2010. Four days later he participated in wrestling matches, during which the covering over the injection spot fell off. The two men he wrestled against developed skin lesions within several days. One of the men on March 5 wrestled another man, who later Read more…
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