TOP 100 NEWS SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Race and local authorities: how white are our councils? Are the council bosses of Britain's most diverse areas 'hideously white'?• Get the dataThis is a snapshot of top black staff in the town halls of the big cities that have the largest black and minority ethnic (BME) populations.Also surveyed were London boroughs with large BME populations. The-Latest.Com, the citizen journalism website, used Freedom of Information requests followed up by emails and phone calls over a three month period to gleans the information – and some authorities were less co-operative than others. According to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the data should have been collected by local authorities and acted on where it revealed inequality. But the Guinness effect of black people at the bottom of town hall staffing grades and white people at the top was uncovered.Here's the data behind the story we ran yesterday. What can you do with it?Download the data• DATA: download the full spreadsheetWorld government data• Search the world's government with our gatewayDevelopment and aid data• Search the world's global development data with our gatewayCan you do something with this data?Flickr Please post your visualisations and mash-ups on our Flickr group• Get the A-Z of data• More at the Datastore directory• Follow us on TwitterLocal governmentRace & religionRace issuesMarc Wadsworthguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Miners Braced for Media Crush The 33 miners saved from a Chilean mine this week emerged equipped to face the press: In the days before their rescue, they laid the foundation for how and when they would tell their story and even took lessons on how to deal with journalists. online.wsj.com |
Gold bullion – coming soon to a vending machine near you German inventor Thomas Geissler launches network of 'gold-to-go' machinesApart from the gold-plated exterior – and the fact that they are bulletproof – they seem much like any other vending machine. But instead of condoms or chocolate bars, a network of "gold-to-go" machines dispenses 24-carat bullion in a smart presentation box.Originally designed as a marketing device for an online gold trading business, the machines have become such a success that their inventor plans to build a global network, installing them everywhere from fitness centres to cruise ships.Thomas Geissler, the German businessman behind the machines, said their unexpected success was the result of a recent rush on gold, which has seen its price rise from $250 an ounce in 1999 and $800 dollars last summer to around $1,350 (£850) an ounce today."Ordinary people are starting to see its real value," he said .Since the first was installed in May, in the lobby of Dubai's Burj Khalifa hotel, 20 gold-to-go machines have been installed across Europe. Germany already has eight, with a ninth due to open at a luxury shopping centre in Berlin today. Next month the first machines will open in the United States, in Las Vegas and Boca Raton, Florida.Geissler is also meeting representatives of Harrods to discuss launching the first UK machine in the next few months. He plans to have launched 45 worldwide by the end of the year."Our customers are those who are catching on to the idea that gold is a safe haven at a time of financial instability," he said. Those who say it is just a bubble, he insists, tend to be those who have not invested in it."We notice the sales peak whenever there are signs that the markets are wobbling. When the Greek crisis was revealed in its entirety, our sales went up 10-fold. With the current troubles in currency markets, gold becomes even more attractive."He said it was no accident that the machines have taken off so well in Germany: "Just look at history," he said. "Germans are still traumatised by the hyperinflation of the 1930s, when people walked around with wheelbarrows full of notes, while Americans are still traumatised about the depression."He said most vending-machine customers were women, who tended to buy in smaller amounts, while the larger pieces — it is possible to buy up to 250 grams for around €8,000 — are bought by "well-off men, of on average 55 years of age".The machines are monitored from Geissler's company headquarters in Reutlingen, Germany, and the price of the gold is updated every 10 minutes, according to the market price. The company claims its gold is cheaper than that available from the banks, largely because its overheads are lower, and that unlike at a bank, where customers have to wait several days for their purchases, the machine gold is available immediately.GoldCommoditiesGermanyKate Connollyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
'Bin Laden' in warning to France Osama Bin Laden reportedly ties the kidnapping of five French people in Niger to France's treatment of its Muslim minority. bbc.co.uk |
Largest Solar Array in NJ - Video 2010 Renewable Energy Milestone: Janssen Turns On New Jersey's Largest Solar Energy System Sept. 23 feedproxy.google.com |