A Final Thanks !!! I’m Buzzing !
3 hours ago
Monday, 10 January 2011
Welcome to Minegolia
For the first time in as long as anyone can seem to remember, there have been traffic jams in Ulan Bator -- a place previously known mainly either as the answer to a trivia question (Which capital city has the coldest average temperature?) or as a historical curiosity: Asia's Timbuktu, the fabled homeland of Genghis Khan. Until recently, the Mongolian capital had more horses than cars.
No longer. Mongolia is in the middle of an epic gold rush -- think San Francisco in 1849 -- but it's copper and coal that have enticed businessmen, investment bankers, and miners from London, Dallas, and Toronto by the planeload. Today, Ulan Bator is abuzz with talk of options and percentages, yields and initial public offerings. Not since the 13th century, when Genghis Khan consolidated the nomadic tribes of these remote steppes and established an empire that eventually spanned from Eastern Europe to Vietnam, has Mongolia seen so much action. The country's stock exchange (though still the world's smallest) rose 125 percent last year, and the IMF forecasts double-digit GDP growth rates for years to come. Others aren't nearly so pessimistic: Renaissance Capital -- an investment bank that specializes in emerging markets, one of many that have recently set up shop in Mongolia -- notes that overall economic output could quadruple by 2013.
"Mongolia is about to boom. Of that, there is no longer any doubt," says John P. Finigan, the Irish CEO of one of Mongolia's largest banks. A veteran of developing markets in scores of countries, he says the only comparable growth potential he has seen has been in the Persian Gulf oil states...
No longer. Mongolia is in the middle of an epic gold rush -- think San Francisco in 1849 -- but it's copper and coal that have enticed businessmen, investment bankers, and miners from London, Dallas, and Toronto by the planeload. Today, Ulan Bator is abuzz with talk of options and percentages, yields and initial public offerings. Not since the 13th century, when Genghis Khan consolidated the nomadic tribes of these remote steppes and established an empire that eventually spanned from Eastern Europe to Vietnam, has Mongolia seen so much action. The country's stock exchange (though still the world's smallest) rose 125 percent last year, and the IMF forecasts double-digit GDP growth rates for years to come. Others aren't nearly so pessimistic: Renaissance Capital -- an investment bank that specializes in emerging markets, one of many that have recently set up shop in Mongolia -- notes that overall economic output could quadruple by 2013.
"Mongolia is about to boom. Of that, there is no longer any doubt," says John P. Finigan, the Irish CEO of one of Mongolia's largest banks. A veteran of developing markets in scores of countries, he says the only comparable growth potential he has seen has been in the Persian Gulf oil states...
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Ron Gluckman @'FP'
When does that PR firm start working for you Julian?
iankatz1000 ian katz
Julian Assange: electronic tag he is required to wear under bail conditions is "like a chastity belt" http://bit.ly/g4echH (via @GregMitch)
Mark Kennedy: A journey from undercover cop to 'bona fide' activist
He turned up with long hair, tattoos and an insatiable appetite for climbing trees. Few people suspected anything odd of the man who introduced himself as Mark Stone on a dairy farm turned spiritual sanctuary in North Yorkshire.
He had come alone on 12 August 2003, in the middle of a heatwave, for a gathering of environmental activists known as Earth First.
Apart from the fact that "Stone" was apparently well-paid and ate meat, he appeared no different from the hundreds of other activists who gathered under marquees to smoke weed, play guitars and plan protests.
What no one could have known was that, despite appearances, the 33-year-old "freelance climber" was actually PC Mark Kennedy, an undercover police officer beginning an audacious operation to live deep undercover among environmental activists.
The Guardian can reveal just how successful – and controversial – the operation was.
From that day Kennedy would live a remarkable double life lasting more than seven years. So embedded in the protest community did he become that about 200 people turned up for a joint celebration of his 40th birthday, described as a "three-day bender" on a farm.
All were, of course, oblivious that Kennedy was feeding back detailed reports to his police commanders as he participated in, and sometimes even organised, some of the most high-profile demonstrations of the past decade...
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birgittaj Birgitta Jónsdóttir
heading for the airport - have to travel to Canada from Iceland via London instead of USA.
Journalism WikiLeaks Style
Yet the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has maintained a stony silence on the prospects for such a prosecution and has only stated that it is investigating the matter. Indeed, it is more than likely that no such prosecution will occur. This is in direct contrast to the fate of the original leaker, Pfc. Bradley Manning. Manning, whether under § 793(e) or other related charges, will likely spend the remainder of his life in a military prison.
What differentiates the destinies of Manning, the leaker, and Assange, the publisher, under the Espionage Act? The result is explained by the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by the attorney general...
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James Ching @'The National Law Journal'
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