Author: Serkadis

  • Opera buys mobile ad network also

    opera_logo It seems mobile ad networks are a hot commodity at present, with Opera the latest to snap one up.  This follows Google buying AdMob for $750 million and Apple buying Quattro Wireless.

    Opera, who served web pages to 41 million people directly in November last year, up 150% from the same month the year earlier, purchased AdMarvel for an initial $8 million, with a further $15 million available depending on performance.

    "Every month about 50 million people surf the Web with Opera for mobile phones," says Lars Boilesen, who recently replaced Jon S. von Tetzchner at the head of Opera Software.  "With AdMarvel we believe we can play an important role in mobile advertising.”

    According to StatCounter, in December 2009 Opera had 26% of all mobile web browsing, ahead of Apple’s iPhone with only 21%. Gartner estimates that by in 2013 25% of revenues shops mobile downloads will come from advertising versus only 5% in 2009.

    It is not known yet if how this will affect users of either Opera Mini or Opera Mobile, but Opera Mini is most likely to see changes first, as all web traffic for the free browser travel through Opera’s servers at present.

    Via Mobinaute.com

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  • A Coruña. Rehabilitaciones

    Abro un nuevo post para ir comentando obras de rehabilitacion en edificios y zonas historicas de nuestra ciudad:

    1. Estas primeras foto son para mostrar una joya de nuestra ciudad poco conocida, la casa Salorio, en la Pza. Pontevedra. Cuando pase por alli estaban retirando el andamio y dando los ultimos retoques. La rehabilitacion me parece excelente aunque los colores elegidos me parecen menos vistosos que los que tenía. Es la primera vez que entro en el portal y me parece precioso, una buena muestra del modernismo coruñes.

    2. Estas otras dos fotos son de la casa de la esquina de la plza. de Lugo, donde tambien han terminado y estaban retirando los andamios. A simple vista, la rehabilitacion tambien parece excelente.

  • LIVE: Warren Buffett Talks Wells Fargo, The Economy, And The Bernanke On CNBC

    Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) CEO Warren Buffett is on CNBC talking to Becky Quick. We’re watching and hitting the key points.

    Key highlights:

    • Says he’s been a huge beneficiary of the government bailout, though he’s disappointed by the requirement that Wells Fargo (WFC) raise more shares. He mentions it several times.
    • He’s befuddled by the bank tax. “I don’t really understand the thinking behind the bank tax.”
    • Why not go after the members of Congress who let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fester?
    • On “Too Big To Fail”: If a bank ever has to go to the Federal Government, the CEO and any CEO previous is wiped out. “I want the CEO’s equation to be, if this place ever goes down, I’m busted!”
    • If I could vote twice for Bernanke, I would. If he’s not re-confirmed: “Tell me a day ahead of time so I can sell stocks”
    • Massachusetts: Definitely a referendum on healthcare on other matters.
    • On stimulus: Could have been done in a way that had more of an immediate impact.
    • On hiring: I’m not going to hire people just to stand around. “We’re worrying about hiring people because of what’s going in our order book… we’re not getting orders yet.”
    • On Kraft’s raied offer: “I feel poorer.” “If I had the chance to vote on this, I’d vot no!”
    • Still, he thinks the stock is undervalued.
    • On Burlington Northern: He says he hates issuing stock, and that if they had to pay any more, they wouldn’t have done the deal.
    • On Korean steelmaker POSCO: He says he has no plans to buy more unless the stock drops a lot.
    • Says he if had choice between holding cash or 30-year-bonds or equities, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second to hold equities. That’s the equivalent of not buying a farm because of one bad lousy weather year.
    • On real estate: The housing crisis is over, the commercial real estate problem is not.
    • Great line on investor uncertainty: “There was a lot of uncertainty on September 10, 2001, investors just didn’t know it was uncertain.”
    • Barring some huge exogenous factor, the odds of another financial crisis is low.
    • Biggest economic concern: a terrorist act.

    And that’s it!

    Video coming later.

    Join the conversation about this story »

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  • Michael Jackson 3-D Tribute Grammy Awards 2010

    The Recording Academy is staging a special 3-D tribute to the late King of Pop Michael Jackson at the 2010 Grammy Awards later this month.

    The year’s broadcast will feature a never-before-seen clip MJ made for his hit “Earth Song,” The Academy said Tuesday. The clip would have been part of Jackson’s London comeback shows last year.

    “It was one of the most important portions of the concert tour to Michael and when Michael saw the film for the first time at his last rehearsal, there were tears in his eyes,” Ken Ehrlich, Grammy co-executive producer and longtime Jackson associate, said in a release.

    Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood, and Usher will sing in a tribute to the star.

    The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles Jan. 31 on CBS.


  • Wells Fargo Easily Beats Estimates

    wellsfargo-sign.jpg

    On first glance, it appears that unlike some of its other mega-financial peers, Wells Fargo (WFC) is kicking ass.

    The company beat on the top and bottom line and the stock is drifting higher pre-market.

    EPS of $.08 was ahead of exected loss of -$.01.

    More to come…

    Join the conversation about this story »

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  • Almost half of poor live in suburbs, study says

    The number of poor people increased 5.2 million in the last decade and almost of half of them are living in America’s suburbs, according to a report released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution.

    The number of poor grew by 25 percent in suburbs from 2000 to 2008–almost five times the growth rate in primary cities–making the suburbs home to the largest and fastest growing poor population in the country, according to the study, “The Suburbanization of Poverty: Trends in Metropolitan America, 2000 to 2008.”

    Chicago too has seen a significant increase in the suburban share of the metro area’s poor. In 2008, 51.9 percent of poor people lived in the Chicago area’s biggest cities, which include Naperville and Joliet, compared to 48.1 percent in the suburbs.

    Based on increases in unemployment throughout 2009, Brookings projects that the Chicago metro area may experience an increase in its poverty rate of approximately 2.3 percentage points.

    “This trend toward the ’suburbanization’ of poverty is only likely to continue in the wake of the most recent recession,” said Elizabeth Kneebone, a Brookings senior research analyst and co-author of the report.

    Nationwide, the poor population increased by 15.4 percent from 2000 to 2008, which led to a significant increase in the nation’s poverty rate. By 2008, 13.2 percent of Americans lived below the poverty line, which is $21,834 for a family of four.

    Kristen Mack

    Read the original article from Tribune News Services.


  • Michelle O In Wax

    I saw this over at FlyStyleLife and I had to share it with my fellow MOWatchers. Madame Tussaud has unveiled a new waxwork of First Lady Michelle Obama in London. While I don’t agree with Mecca Donna that the image is “spot on”. I will say that it is better than that awful Danbury Mint doll thing. But what’s up with the President’s hair? I guess if people keep trying one day someone will get the images just right. I hope.

     

     

     

     

     

    Posted by Aminah Hanan

    Post to Twitter Post to Plurk Post to Yahoo Buzz Post to Delicious Post to Digg Post to Facebook Post to MySpace Post to Ping.fm Post to Reddit Post to StumbleUpon

  • In the field: Temple of Berenike discovered at Kom el Dikka

    drhawass.com

    Press Release. With photos.

    An archaeological mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) led by Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, Head of Antiquities of Lower Egypt, discovered the remains of a temple of Queen Berenike, the wife of king Ptolemy III (246-222 BC), along with a cachette of 600 Ptolemaic statues.

    The discovery was made during routine excavations at the Kom el Dikka area in Alexandria, in an area that belongs to Alexandria Security Forces.

    Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, said that the discovered remains are 60 meters tall and 15 meters in width and extend under Ismail Fahmy street. He explained that the temple was subjected to destruction during later eras when it was used as a quarry, which led to the disappearance of many of its stone blocks.

    Dr. Abdel Maqsoud said that the mission, which includes 18 skilled excavators and restorers, unearthed a large collection of statues depicting the cat goddess Bastet, the goddess of protection and motherhood, which indicates that the temple was dedicated to this goddess.

    Dr. Maqsoud pointed out that the Bastet statues were unearthed in three different areas of the site along with other limestone statues of unidentified children and women. Clay pots as well as bronze and faience statues of different ancient Egyptian deities have been also uncovered, along with terracotta statues of the gods Harpocrates and Ptah.

    Early studies on site revealed that the temple’s foundation can be dated to the reign of Queen Berenike, making this the first Ptolemaic temple discovered in Alexandria to be dedicated to the goddess Bastet. It also indicates that the worship of the goddess Bastet continued in Egypt after the decline of the ancient Egyptian era.

    An inscribed base of a granite statue from the reign of King Ptolemy IV (205-222 BC) was also unearthed. It bears ancient Greek text written in nine lines stating that the statue belonged to a top official in the Ptolemaic court. Dr. Maqsoud believes the base was made to celebrate Egypt’s victory over the Greeks during the Battle of Raphia in 217 BC.

    The mission also found a group of old structures, including a Roman water cistern, a group of 14 meter-deep water wells, stone water channels, and the remains of a bath area, well as a large number of clay pots and sherds that can be dated to the fourth century BC.

    Abdel Maqsoud believes that this find is the first trace of the real location of Alexandria’s royal quarter.

  • Porsche Design takes its P’9522 to the matte with new Black Edition

    Filed under: , ,

    You didn’t think Porsche would let Mercedes-Benz AMG (or much less, Dacia) monopolize the use of the color black, now did you? Of course not. So while everyone else is going for blinged-out shiny this and sparkling that, Porsche Design has re-released its cutting-edge P’9522 mobile phone all in black.

    The feature set is the same as the existing, award-winning P’9522 released last year, which means it’s made of solid aluminum and packs fingerprint authentication, WiFi and GPS, to short-list just a few of its features. But instead of the shiny stuff, the special edition – mimicking the original Porsche Design Chronograph I and the instruments on competition-spec 911s – is decked out in the matte stuff, all without the need for a vinyl wrap and giving RIM a run for its nomenclature money.

    Check it out in the high-resolution image gallery below and the press release after the jump.

    [Source: Porsche Design]

    Continue reading Porsche Design takes its P’9522 to the matte with new Black Edition

    Porsche Design takes its P’9522 to the matte with new Black Edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • New Study Says Social Networks Not Making Kids Stay Up Late

    While there were some studies last year claiming that heavy social networking users were likely to have lower grades (though, there were lots of problems with that study), it apparently isn’t because it keeps kids up late at night. A new study that looked at students and their social networking habits didn’t find much difference in the amount of sleep heavy social network users got vs. those who weren’t spending all their time on Facebook and Twitter. My guess is that, with both of these things, there are so many other factors that finding any sort of causal relationship is unlikely in a simple comparison of two variables. There could be many other factors that lead to either good or bad grades, and also impact how much a person uses social networks or the amount of sleep they get. And, in the end, looking for something to blame for either really misses the point. It’s an attempt to blame a technology for something else, rather than look at the real underlying reasons why a student doesn’t get enough sleep or doesn’t do well at school.

    But, of course, don’t expect that to stop the debate. As I was finishing up this post, along comes a different study that again notes a correlation between really heavy users and bad grades. But, the study also finds that for kids these days, they’re pretty much online all the time somehow — even more than the study’s authors thought possible.

    Permalink | Comments | Email This Story





  • SENATOR SCOTT BROWN!

    “This isn’t Ted Kennedy’s seat. This is the people’s seat.” ~Scott Brown

    I hope Teddy can see up this high.

    So truthfully, I was so incredibly jazzed about a Republican sitting in “the liberal lion’s seat” that I hadn’t even read much about Scott Brown prior to the election (other than the posing naked in Cosmo thing of course).

    First, kinda cool that his daughter is named ‘Ayla’ (I guess he’s also a Jean M. Auel fan…) Apparently, she was an American Idol contestant. But some things that actually matter:

  • He has worked to tighten sex offender laws and increase sexual abuse victims’ rights.
  • He is pro-choice but has the endorsement of the Massachusetts Citizens for Life, who believe he would vote for a pro-life Supreme Court judge. Against partial-birth abortion and for parental notification.

    -“Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, and I don’t plan on overturning it, but I’ve always felt that, you know, I’m against partial-birth abortions and believe in parental consent, a strong parental notification law.” The Boston Globe, Nov. 20, 2009

  • Is against gay marriage but favors civil unions.
  • Why was every Democrat that was interviewed last night drumming the “Republicans were riding the populist wave” line –Nate said that here too…I guess it’s the DNC talking point for the loss.

    Populist: a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people. (www. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/populist)

    The common man vs. the elites…isn’t that what the DNC always purports to be? SO why are they saying it like it’s a bad thing now? If Obama and his minions are pushing through a health care bill that the majority of Americans are against…isn’t that indeed the common man vs. the elites?

    A Republican vowing to be the vote needed to slow down/stop the health care bill sitting in the seat occupied by Teddy Kennedy for the last 46 years. Pinch me. And this time last year the MSM was saying the GOP was a dead party…

    But just so you don;t think the delusions have subsided– the Washington Post’s headline after the Brown win: Massachusetts race wasn’t a referendum on health-care reform

    Stuart Smalley was so stoked to be the 60th vote…he must be fuming. How wonderful.

    Now, are we just an angry mob? Just a bunch of tea baggers…?

    Update: Why don’t Democrats realize that doing interviews today proclaiming that the reason Scott brown lost is because health care ‘wasn’t explained good enough’ and that the President needs to ‘get out there and talk about it in simpler terms’ is SO INCREDIBLY INSULTING/patronizing…is their group think bubble really that impenetrable?

  • Why You Should Start A Company In Boulder, New York, or Somewhere Else

    A few weeks ago Fast Company published an interview between me and Laura Rich titled Why You Should Start a Company in… BoulderThis morning I woke up to Fred Wilson’s discussion of his article Why You Should Start a Company in… New York

    Fred and I did our interviews separately – there was no coordination between us.  I was struck by a common theme – startup hubs take a while to develop.  Fred says:

    we’re into the second decade now, and what the second decade is really turning out to be is serial entrepreneurs who’ve done it one, two, three, sometimes four times now, who can bring teams together very quickly, often teams that have worked together very quickly, can get on opportunities fast, can get money raised fast, can build companies pretty fast.

    Compare that to what I said:

    “You have a lot of those entrepreneurs that had a success. Wasn’t necessarily their first company, but they had a success. And then, they had a failure between the 1998 and 2003 timeframe. So they started another thing or made some investments that got caught up in the bubble. So they had both a success and a failure in that time. So some set of those people started companies from 2004 forward. They were very mature entrepreneurs. They’re entrepreneurs that had success AND failure and understand what was required to both win and also were humble enough to recognize that you could lose.

    Then, we both talk about mentors and the engaged cycle of old and new entrepreneurs in building and sustaining the entrepreneur ecosystem.  This – as I’m sure you know if you’ve been reading this blog – is a core thesis behind the TechStars program now running in Boulder, Boston, and Seattle.  Again – first Fred:

    “And now you have role models. So the first time entrepreneurs can find angel investors. It’s exactly what has been going on in Silicon Valley for three, four decades now. Marc Andreessen becomes hugely successful, makes a bunch of money, becomes an angel investor, backs a bunch of people, mentors them, becomes a VC. That migration path is now playing out here in New York, and so most of the investments we do at the first angel-round stage is ourselves and a bunch of serial entrepreneurs in New York who are now making twenty-five- to fifty-thousand dollar investments as angels in these companies, sometimes acting as informal advisers and mentors to the first-time entrepreneurs.”

    Now me:

    So you had that against a backdrop of, everybody here is at most two degrees of separation away from any other entrepreneur, because there’s only 100,000 of us, right? And that then is great because what you have is this easy access to everybody. And even though there’s competitive dynamics and occasionally friction, and there’s plenty of personalities. More generally, you tend to see that people try to help each other here, especially around the thing that I think is the generator of new entrepreneurial activity, which is young, first-time entrepreneurs.”

    Finally, even though both Boulder and New York are actively in the midst of an entrepreneurial renaissance, it requires continual effort to sustain this.  I’ve committed the balance of my professional life to this (hopefully at least 20 years) – not just in Boulder, but in other entrepreneurial communities around the United States, including New York (which I love to both spend time in and work in.)  See my parting comment:

    “I think there’s been a ton of energy by entrepreneurs in energizing Boulder in the last four or five years. And that has to continue. There’s no such thing as resting on your laurels. There’s no such thing as being complacent. The entrepreneurial beast is hungry. And if you want to have a great entrepreneurial ecosystem you have to keep feeding the entrepreneurial beast. And it has to be fed all up and down the chain, from some entrepreneurs who are young to experienced entrepreneurs, and they have to keep caring about the place they live in, their community, and the dynamics amongst them, the people in the community.”

    I’m curious to see if Laura picks up similar themes in her other interviews.  Knowing some of the people and cities involved, I expect she will.


  • Leo DiCaprio Bar Refaeli Getting Married?

    Are wedding bells on the way for Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli and Hollywood modelizer Leonardo DiCaprio? That’s the word from The National Enquirer!

    After an on-and-off three-year romance, The Departed actor is expected to pop the question to the Sports Illustrated model this Valentine’s Day, sources say. After splitting last June, Leo and Bar reignited their romance during a Thanksgiving getaway in the Bahamas.

    A close friend told the tab: “Leo’s mother Irmelin never forgave Leo for missing the boat with his ex-girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen. His mom told him before Christmas, ‘You had better not let this one get away!’”

    We hear Leo already has his eye on a “rare canary yellow diamond ring” that he hopes to present to Bar.


  • Another Banking Miss: Bank Of America Is Light On Revenue And Earnings, Posts $5.2 Billion Loss

    bank of america atm bofa

    Bank of America (BAC), continuing a trend set by Citigroup and JPMorgan, is coming in a bit light on earnings:

    —-

    AP: Bank of America Corp. says it lost $5.2 billion during the final three months of 2009 as consumers struggled to make their mortgage and credit card payments.

    The bank’s results, released Wednesday, followed the pattern of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., which reported continuing losses for their lending operations during the third quarter. The losses are raising concerns about the impact of credit problems on the economic recovery.

    The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank set aside $10.1 billion to covered soured loans during the quarter, nearly 14 percent less from the previous quarter. But it also reported big losses in its mortgage and credit card businesses.

    Bank of America said $4 billion of its loss came from the costs of paying back $45 billion in government bailout money.

    The bank lost 60 cents per share, more than the 52 cents analysts were expecting, according to Thomson Reuters.

    The bank’s stock was down 7 cents at $16.25 in pre-opening trading.

    Join the conversation about this story »

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  • VATH Mercedes E63 AMG with 605HP

    The tuners at VATH recently revealed details on their latest project, based on the new E-Klasse from Mercedes and offering both visual and performance enhancements for the German sedan. The VATH 2010 Mercedes E63 AMG is propelled by the standard engine that has been modified to output 605 hp and 690 Nm of torque.

    This allows the vehicle to reach a top speed of 340 km/h and a 0 to 100 km/h sprint time of 4.1 seconds. The extra performance comes from special forged pistons, valves, sports cam … (read more)

  • El Google Phone por dentro


    Como nos tienen acostumbrados en iFixit, acaban de hacerse de un movil Nexus One que lo desarman completamente para mostrarnos que hay dentro. Quien lo hizo fue Walter Galan tardando 30 minutos para desmontarlo completamente.

    Lo sorprendente es que al desarmarlo se puede ver que la pantalla táctil es fabricada por Samsung proveedor del Zune HD de Microsoft y el Bluetooth y chip wifi son de Broadcom que son exactamente los mismo que utiliza Apple en su Ipod Touch..

    Algunas Imágenes

  • Hotel e Estância Serra Negra, em Patrocínio – MG (luxo, decadência e abandono)

    Olá skyscrapercitianos!

    No meu primeiro thread de 2010, gostaria de mostrar a vocês um dos maiores e mais decadentes tesouros do interior do nosso estado de Minas Gerais, a Estância Hidromineral do Hotel Serra Negra, no município de Patrocínio.

    Construído aos pés de uma imensa cratera vulcânica, o Hotel conta com fotes de água mineral e sulfurosa (como na fonte Andrade Júnior em Araxá), uma gigantesca área de mata preservada, trilhas para cavalgada e um lago de água mineral no que era a boca do extinto vulcão.

    Minha família tem raízes profundas em toda essa região, então é um lugar que conheço de certa forma. Meus avós e tios falam com muita nostalgia do hotel, lembrando da época de glamour e dos grandes figurões que um dia passaram pelos seus salões. Segundo consta, o hotel foi construído para suprir uma demanda que a crescente elite cafeeira da região tinha por um local mais refinado, visto que o Grande Hotel de Araxá não fica tão próximo de Patrocínio. Construído em 1935 no mesmo estilo Missões do Grande Hotel, não localizei a data de seu fechamento, que se deu pelo falecimento do proprietário e um embate judicial que se arrasta até os dias de hoje entre seus herdeiros.

    Nos arredores do hotel temos uma engarrafadora de água mineral, a Serra Negra.

    Ia com certa frequência ao hotel quando criança, mas já na época ele estava fechado. Aproveitando o feriadão do fim do ano, resolvi voltar lá e me daparo com um cenário de completo abandono, lamentável em se tratando de uma área com tanto potencial turístico.

    Pesquisei sobre a estância no Google, mas obtive pouquíssima informação.

    Então, vamos às fotos:

    1.Região do entorno do Hotel, com destaque para a imensa cratera

    2. A cratera e a região do Hotel em destaque

    3.Zoom na região do Hotel

    4.Portaria

    5.Fachada

    6. Detalhes da fachada

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    17. Mato, mato, mato…

    18. Caldeira

    19. Idem

    20. Como o Hotel está fechado e trancado, consegui poucas fotos do interior

    21. Um dos salões

    22. Varanda em frente ao salão

    23. Outro salão

    24. Garrafões da água mineral (virou depósito!!!!!)

    25

    26. O telhado, DENTRO de um dos salões

    27

    28. Nos anos 80, cogitou-se uma reabertura do Hotel e iniciaram uma ampliação, que nunca foi concluída:

    29

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    Área externa

    32. Parque infantil

    33. Fonte de água mineral

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    36. Fonte de água sulfurosa

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    40. Casa de Banhos

    41

    42. Natureza

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    47. Foto antiga do hotel, ainda com jardins bem cuidados:

    Panoramio de alexlimaptc

    Agora compartilho com vocês algumas das poucas informações que achei no google sobre o Hotel:

    (29/01/2009)Hotel Serra Negra
    Ainda em Belo Horizonte, em relação ao Hotel Estância Hidromineral Serra Negra que está fechado há vários anos devido a um litígio entre herdeiros, Alberto Sanarelli ligou para a Secretária do sócio majoritário, Ricardo Nascimento, na manhã de quinta-feira, dia 28, com o objetivo de marcar uma audiência com o mesmo para saber mais sobre a questão e de uma possível reabertura. Como não obteve nenhum retorno, o vereador vai iniciar estudos junto a advogados para se informar sobre um possível tombamento ou até mesmo uma desapropriação por se tratar de uma área de interesse público. Sanarelli salientou: “o que não pode é uma área de reserva ambiental, lazer e recursos mineirais como esta ficar fechada há anos por interesse de poucos em detrimento da vontade de muitos”.

    Na área do Hotel, além da água mineral se encontra também a água sulfurosa e outras, com propriedades medicinais. O local tem uma vegetação exuberante e um clima ameno.

    No passado o hotel hospedou grandes políticos e outras personalidades como os presidentes Juscelino Kubischekt e Tancredo Neves, além de governadores, deputados, artistas e outras grandes personalidades.
    http://www.cmpatrocinio.mg.gov.br/no…erta.php?id=88

    [19/11/2009] – Em entrevista Silas Brasileiro parabeniza Difusora e fala sobre outros assuntos no ‘Comentário do Dia’

    (…)Turismo de negócios

    O parlamentar patrocinense acredita que existe a possibilidade da capital do café transformar-se em um importante setor turístico de Minas, se explorada sua produção tradicional, como o turismo de negócios. “Poderíamos fazer projetos ambiciosos para a recuperação da lagoa do Chapadão, do Hotel Serra Negra e tornar Patrocínio um centro turístico. Turismo, este, na área de café, fazendas com “tour” mostrando a produção de café, como ela é realizada. Nossos engenhos na produção de rapadura, nossa farinha preparada no tacho, transformando assim Patrocínio num pólo turístico”, finalizou o deputado.
    http://www.sistemadifusoraderadio.co…php?idnew=3766

    (…)A 15 Km da cidade se localiza a Estância Hidromineral de Serra Negra, expressivo ponto turístico e hidrográfico, com o Hotel Serra Negra e o engarrafamento da água mineral " Serra Negra" , que é comercializada por todo país. A estância é nacionalmente conhecida por suas águas e lama sulfurosa medicinal.
    http://www.funcecp.br/modules.php?na…howpage&pid=30

    Dentre os atrativos, podem se apontar: o Parque Hotel Serra Negra – localizado a 20 km do centro. Possui fontes de água mineral, banhos térmicos de água sulfurosa e de lama, duchas, lago, bosque de 30 ha, curral e montarias. Há ainda a criação de suínos e cabras e produção de leite, queijo, doces, frutas e legumes. Lagoa do Chapadão do Ferro – no topo da serra a 1.200 m de altitude, na cratera de um vulcão extinto, com 6 km de diâmetro, de águas minerais. E a Casa da Cultura.
    http://www.turminas.mg.gov.br/patrocinio.html

    Construído em 1935, em estilo missões, possui fontes de água mineral, banhos térmicos de água sulfurosa e de lama, duchas, lago, bosque de 30 ha, curral, montarias, criação de suínos e cabras, produção de leite, queijos, doces, frutas e legumes. Situa-se em uma reserva natural, com 274.00 ha.
    http://www.brasilchannel.com.br/muni…=MG&tipo=lazer

    Esta é uma das únicas estâncias minerais do estado que ainda está na mão da iniciativa privada. Graças ao fantástico trabalho que a CODEMIG (Companhia de Desenvolvimento de Minas Gerais) realizou em Araxá, ainda tenho esperanças de que veremos mais um pólo turístico se desenvolvendo no nosso estado.

    Como há escassez de informações, peço aos amigos foristas que tenham algo a acrescentar que por favor o façam, pois esse pedaço de paraíso esquecido merecer ser revitalizado, ainda que na memória.
    Um grande abraço a todos e um excelente 2010!

  • In the field: January 2010

    Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)

    With photos.

    Abbasid gold coins in Fayoum, two rock- hewn tombs in Saqqara and a four- cornered, mud-brick tower on the wall of Islamic Cairo are the latest antiquities discovered in Egypt.

    Wherever a mission digs in Egypt it is obvious that they will come up with a treasure. An archaeological mission from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of Warsaw University excavating in a monastic building at Deir Al-Malah Monastery at Naqlun in Fayoum recently unearthed a decorated clay cup of Aswan production full of coins. The hoard consists of 18 gold coins and 62 fragments of coins, all of them provisionally dated to the Abbasid period.

    Under the charred remains of a collapsed wall, archaeologists also uncovered a chandelier and a well-preserved oil lamp, both made of bronze.

    “The whole treasure was found inside a room that seems to have been hastily abandoned during a fire,” said Woldzimierz Godlewski, head of the Polish mission. He added that the monastic complex of Naqlun was built in the early sixth century AD, while the area excavated this season dated to the seventh century and was destroyed by a massive fire in the eighth or at the beginning of the ninth century AD.

  • Free Fry Mumia

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a court ruling that invalidated former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence for killing a Philadelphia police officer in 1981.

    Since Abu-Jamal’s 1982 conviction, activists in the United States and Europe have rallied in support of his claims that he was the victim of a racist justice system. Abu-Jamal has kept his case in the spotlight through books and radio broadcasts.

    The appeals court upheld Abu-Jamal’s conviction but held his death sentence invalid. The Supreme Court earlier rejected Abu-Jamal’s appeal of his conviction…

    The case is Beard v. Abu-Jamal, 08-652.” (source)

    Anyone left out there that may still harbor some hesitation as to whether it was Mumia that killed Officer Daniel Faulkner in cold blood…only need read the transcripts. They even made a convert of one of my liberal brothers whose friends were all on the ‘Free Mumia bandwagon’…thankfully he did the reading.

    Is it sad or amusing that the LA Times is calling a decision by the Supreme Court to keep the death penalty a setback for Mumia. Setback?

    “This assassination has been made a circus by those people in the world and this city who believe falsely that Mumia Abu-Jamal is some kind of a folk hero,” then-Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham said when the federal appeals court upheld the conviction. “He is nothing short of an assassin.”
    (source)

    (photo credit: reuters)

  • In the field: More re Giza cemetery

    Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El Aref)

    On Monday morning on the Giza plateau workers were busy removing sand from the newly discovered tomb of Idu, overseer of the construction of the Great Pyramid. They were surrounded by a media scrum, gathered around admiring their work, taking photos and trying to glimpse what has been uncovered.

    During routine excavation and cleaning at the plateau an Egyptian archaeological mission, led by Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), stumbled upon what is believed to be a collection of early Fourth Dynasty tombs belonging to workers who built Khufu and Khafre’s pyramids.

    “The tombs belong to the late fourth and fifth dynasties (2649-2374 BC),” says Hawass, who argues that they constitute one of the most important discoveries of the 20th and 21st centuries, shedding light on the early period of the Fourth Dynasty and contradicting assertions that the Pyramids were built by slaves.

    “These tombs were built beside the king’s pyramid, which indicates that these people were not slaves. If they had been they would not have been allowed to build their tombs beside their king’s,” said Hawass.