ldquo;In the 1920s O G S Crawford invented aerial archaeology, one of many services this eccentric Marxist misanthrope performed for the study of antiquity.rdquo;
ldquo;Future archaeologists will perhaps excavate the ruined factories of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when the radiation effects of Atom bombs have died away.rdquo;
- O. G. S. Crawford, from Archaeology in the Field (1953)
Oil prices are hovering at a five-week low of about $64 a barrel, on fears that a global recovery could take longer than previously thought.
US crude fell by $2.47 a barrel from Thursday's close, to $63.99, after earlier hitting $63.85, the lowest intraday price since 28 May.
Meanwhile Brent crude shed $1.47 to $64.14 a barrel.
Poor economic data last week in both the US and Europe suggested that the global recession was not over.
US markets had been closed on Friday for the US Independence Day holiday.
'Stalling stock markets'
On Monday, the dollar strengthened - limiting oil's appeal as a safe haven investment.
Typically, investors shift towards commodities when the greenback weakens.
"It's a definite break to the downside, probably sparked by the poor economic data and stalling stock markets," said Christopher Bellew, a broker at Bache Commodities in London, in response to the latest fall in oil prices.
The global slowdown is denting demand for oil from both individual consumers and companies.
The market will be looking for clues about the state of the world economy when G8 industrial nations gather in Italy later this week for a three day meeting.
CATEDRA DE LA PAZ conjuntamente con la Fundación Don Bosco, en el marco del proyecto Ciudadanía Global, como integrantes de la RED INTERNACIONAL GLOBALINKS, se viene proyectando un CICLO DE PELICULAS para todo público en general, en especial, para los y las jóvenes de Mérida. Para este Miércoles 08 julio 2009, a las 6.30 pm en la Capilla Velatoria de Los Curos, Parte Media de Los Curos, en la ciudad de Mérida, se proyectara esta película. La Entrada Gratis, indico Walter Trejo Urquiola, Coordinador General de la Cátedra de la Paz y Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Los Andes.
El trama consiste en la historia de una joven que crece en el Irán de la Revolución Islámica. A través de los ojos de Marjane, una precoz y abierta niña de nueve años, vemos las esperanzas de un pueblo rotas al tomar los fundamentalistas el poder, imponiendo el velo a las mujeres y encarcelando a miles de personas. Inteligente y sin miedo, engaña a los "guardianes sociales" y descubre el punk, Abba y Iron Maiden. Pero cuando su tío es ejecutado sin piedad y las bombas caen alrededor de Teherán en la guerra entre Irán e Irak, el miedo diario que rodea su vida es palpable.
Continua reseñando Walter Trejo, que a medida que crece, la audacia de Marjane hace que sus padres se preocupen por su seguridad. Y así, a los catorce años, toman la difícil decisión de enviarla a una escuela en Austria. Vulnerable y sola en un país extraño, resiste los malos tragos típicos de un adolescente. Además, Marjane tiene que combatir el hecho de ser equiparada con el fundamentalismo religioso y el extremismo de los que tuvo que huir. Con el tiempo es aceptada, e incluso experimenta el amor, pero tras el instituto se encuentra sola y con una terrible nostalgia de su hogar.
Por eso es una buena oportunidad, para ver esta película y entender mucho la realidad de Irán en estos momentos, de forma crítica y alternativa, esperamos que la gente de Mérida, en especial, de Los Curos nos acompañe en esta proyección, culmino Walter Trejo.
Various UK organisations have issued advice to businesses about what preparations to think about now, and what to do in the event that the swine flu outbreak becomes a pandemic.
These are some of their recommendations.
DEPT FOR BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM (BERR)
•Employers should make their own individual judgements about whether to stay open
•Businesses should plan for a possible outbreak as they do all health and safety issues
•Prepare a business contingency plan
•The Cabinet Office has published a leaflet: Introductory advice to staff on planning for pandemic influenza •It has also released a checklist of things businesses should be considering
•The checklist suggests firms should identify which parts of their business are critical and consider having a pool of workers who could complete such tasks if necessary, such as contractors of retirees
•Consider how they would limit face-to-face contact among employees or between employees and customers
•Think about whether you computer systems or communications equipment need upgrading to allow staff to work from home or engage with customers via video conferencing
•Get the latest information on the Department of Health's swine flu website
BUSINESS LINK
•Recommends e-mailing all staff the NHS leaflet on swine flu
•The key advice is to always carry tissues, use them to cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze and bin the tissues after one use
•Wash your hands often with soap and hot water or a sanitizer gel
•Avoid non-essential travel to Mexico and be aware of other countries having outbreaks
•Business link has a page of advice on what businesses can do to deal with swine flu
EMPLOYERS' ORGANISATIONS
•The CBI recommends that companies consider reviewing their sickness and emergency planning procedures
•It suggests firms stay across the latest medical and travel advice through the Department of Health and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office •The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) have a page of information for business travellers •They also suggest keeping up to date with the information on the World Health Organisation's website
LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
•Consider measures to allow employees to work further apart within the workplace
•Establish clear criteria for employees returning to work - at what stage will they cease to be infectious?
•Plan for disruption to suppliers, even those providing basic facilities such as power or water
•Consider health screening for employees when they enter the office
the child rescue mission which could be found at http;//orgs.tigweb.org/38159 want to construct a RESCUE VILLAGE with basic, quality and free of cost educational opprtunities for the above mentioned category in post war sierra Leone West Africa.
this village will help these young people learn different skills for self empowerment and sustainable development in their different communities after the completions of this training which will last for 1 year. they will be provided with start up kids in the different skills learnt.
Therefore, we are soliciting support through partners and other interested individuals and groups in bringing positive changes in the lives of these young underprivileged persons in this post war country.
Our email is child.rescuemission@gmail.com and we look forwards to your kind responses.
As one human being you don’t have enough brain cells and heart pulses to care for the people you have connected with in your life. It’s harder when you’re actually a good hearted person, because everyone wants your time. This social chatty internet shit makes it more confusing with how to spend your time living a healthy life. You’re not really “supposed” to be in touch with everyone you’ve met.
It’s harder for us to know who our true friends are and who really deserves our energy. So my suggestion is whoever makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin is worth your time. Others shouldn’t matter as much. The more real you are with yourself, and the more you surround yourself by people who “really” know who you are, the less stress you have to deal with.
Stop the frontin’. Your time is valuable and your brain shouldn’t be so distracted by caring about so many other problems. We all just have one body to deal with and one brain to be creative with and one heart to really squeeze and pour-your-love-out with. Maximize its use by minimizing its service.
The Bank of England says conditions in the financial system are easing, although the banking system is fragile and vulnerable to disruption.
In its Financial Stability Report, it said the total losses from the financial crisis reached $15tn (£10tn).
However, that is a substantial improvement from March's estimate of a $25tn fall in the value of such assets.
The Bank also calls for further regulation to prevent banks getting too big and tougher controls on lending.
Prevention and cure
With the debate now shifting on how to prevent future financial crises, Paul Tucker, the deputy governor for financial stability said: "The policy debate now underway matters enormously if we are to achieve a more stable financial system in the future."
Recent statements by Governor Mervyn King have highlighted differences between the Bank of England, the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) about how to regulate the banks in the future.
Mr King would like the Bank of England to have a larger role in any future regulation, and in the Financial Stability Report the Bank sets out its stall.
It would like to see:
•Strengthened market discipline: Greater disclosure by banks backed by a credible threat that the government will close failing banks
•Greater self-insurance: Banks required to hold more capital and liquidity reserves, including putting extra money aside in good times
•Improved management of risk within the financial system as a whole, not just of individual banks
•Size and structure of banks to be limited
•Clear principles of public support, avoiding future moral hazard, which encourages banks to take more risks because they know they will be bailed out
In some of its conclusions, the Bank still seems at odds with the chancellor, who for example, is not in favour of limiting the size of banks.
And although the Bank of England is in broad agreement with the FSA on many of these principles, there is a dispute over who should be the lead enforcer.
Mr King said earlier this month that he did not just want to preach "sermons" to the banks without having the power to enforce them, and he appears to have won the backing of the Conservatives in his bid for a more central role.
Large losses
The Bank says that the unprecedented policy action by governments and central banks had prevented disaster when "the financial system came close to collapse in the autumn of 2008, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers".
But the consequence was that the banking system received some $14 trillion in support or guarantees by central banks in the US and Europe, equivalent to half of their GDP.
Almost half of the world's largest 20 banks received direct government investment, and central banking lending to the economy more than doubled.
And although losses are less now than they were in March, the world financial system has taken a huge knock.
Losses at major UK banks soared from £150bn to £400bn between October and December, and have outpaced bank attempts to raise additional capital of around £100bn.
However, in recent months the Bank says that "sentiment has improved", with stock markets recovering some 25% to 35%.
Key bond markets have also recovered, with losses on residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) -the key instrument that hit banking balance sheets - now estimated at $1.3tn compared with $1.8tn, and total losses on all debt instruments down $4.6tn compared with $2.7tn it estimated in March.
Funding gap
However, the huge losses have made the banks more reluctant to lend.
The Bank of England estimates that UK banks had a "large and rising funding gap" of £800bn, half of which was backed by securitisations which will be difficult to refinance.
And they are finding it more difficult to bridge that funding gap (the difference between what they lend and the amount they get in from savers).
The Bank warns that when the emergency support it is providing expires, some banks may find it difficult to raise enough funds.
And it says the difficulty in raising money cheaply on capital markets could be made worse if the UK and other governments still have huge budget deficits, which could make the cost of borrowing more expensive for everyone.
The infolinks challenge is an online video contest about smart ways of making money online. So what are you waiting for? film your creative way of making money online and win the $5000 Challenge! ..
There are signs that the financial services sector is emerging from the worst of the downturn, a quarterly survey from the CBI suggests.
The UK's finance services sector could be on a "gradual" road to recovery, said the survey by the business group.
Incomes and profitability fell in the three months to June, but at a lower rate and business volumes are tipped to rise in the next quarter, said the CBI.
But the group warned of "significant job losses" ahead and investment cuts.
And the business group said conditions for banks remained tough, with rising debt levels a further concern for the industry.
'Lower profitability'
Finance sector firms saw lower business volumes in the quarter to June, but it was not as bad as that seen in the three months before.
Of those surveyed some 22% saw business volumes climb in the period to June, and 50% saw business volumes drop.
The balance of 28% seeing contraction was less than the 47% seeing a fall in the quarter to March.
"Having seen business volumes tumble continuously for 21 months, some parts of the financial services sector look like they may be starting to come through the worst," said CBI chief economist Ian McCafferty.
However, he added: "We can still expect lower profitability, significant job losses and cuts to investment in the coming months".
On the upside, firms were more positive regarding the next three months about business volumes than they have been since March 2007 as 29% of firms predict an increase, while 18% foresee a fall.
'Worst may be over'
And a balance of 13% of firms were more upbeat regarding the general business outlook than in the previous quarter - marking the first rise in two years.
The UK economy is stabilising but it will not be until early next year that a "slow and gradual" recovery will begin, business leaders have said.
The economy will contract by 3.9% over 2009 before seeing a return to growth of 0.7% next year, the CBI predicted.
"The harshest period of the recession looks to be behind us," said CBI director general Richard Lambert.
But he warned people against getting carried away by talk of "green shoots" in the economy.
In the Budget, the chancellor forecast the economy would shrink by 3.5% this year before expanding by 1.25% in 2010.
Of the CBI's less optimistic forecast, Mr Lambert said: "The return to growth is likely to be a slow and gradual one; difficult credit conditions are still affecting business behaviour.
"For positive growth to return, lenders need to feel more confident so that credit can start flowing again."
Bloody Old Britain: O G S Crawford and the Archaeology of Modern Life![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
