Night Vision--IntaglioSunSet

Still Active

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:06:00 +0000

I'm sorry have not posted anything in awhile But I'm still active some new content will be coming very soon as well as some new projects that will be coming online soon.

World Of Warcraft Cataclysm A Cataclysmic Failure Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Tue, 31 May 2011 03:56:00 +0000

Well,

Its been a few months since my last review of World Of Warcraft Cataclysm and I'm not sure what I can say other than its still a Cataclysmic Failure. Blizzard just released a new patch and some new content, it looks like what they have tried to do is bribe the Tank and Healer classes with some goodie bags in order to try and entice them to que up more for the random Instances.

This in my opinion is just another failure! what Blizzard has done is reward bad behaviour these classes have all ready had an over blown sense of self importance due to game dynamics that make them seem to be more important than DPS classes. Blizzard/World Of Warcraft should have been working on making all classes important to a groups success rather than feeding the Tanks and healers more stuff.

One might argue that the wait times for new content are high still at the 30 to 45 min for DPS classes on the Blackwater Raider server for heroic top end content due a shortage of Tanks and Healers and an over abundance of DPS classes so you need to entice the tank and healers to join these randoms, what I have found is this has made tanks and healers feel even more untouchable for rude and plain asshole like behaviour, while it alienates the DPS (damage per second) classes even more and hey Blizzard if those classes are your bread and butter subscribers why do that?

Perhaps Blizzard should have been using the time to make the DPS classes more important after all if they are the majority of players why alienate them from the game even more? Also why not open up the DPS classes to more servers/Batlegroups to lessen wait times as opposed to bribes?

In the end I think the game is still broke and losing players because of this type of game design and dynamics, some people say the game has lost 2 million players although this might be due to some licensing problems with chinese servers or maybe the game content has just caused people to leave after all you can only take so much abuse from both players that have been given a sense of entitlement through bribes/gifts from Blizzard and Blizzard seeming to be willing to ignore the problems that the DPS classes are having because of this and game design.

What else can I say If you like playing a DPS class hold off buying the expansion there are still just too many problems for those classes, if you are good at being a tank or healer you will be fine.

In ending I want to know what you think, maybe you are on a different server and you have different experiences? maybe things are much better on your server? or worse though thats hard to imagine. Maybe you have a much different opinion about whats going on? I want to know about what you have been experiencing and thinking please leave comments.

Osama Bin Laden Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Mon, 02 May 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Osama Bin Laden has been killed the release with some early info follows belo

WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was killed in an operation led by the United States, President Barack Obama said Sunday.

A small team of Americans killed bin Laden in a firefight at a compound in Pakistan, the president said in a dramatic late-night statement at the White House.

A jubilant crowd gathered outside the White House as word spread of bin Laden's death after a global manhunt that lasted nearly a decade.

"Justice has been done," the president said.

Former President George W. Bush, who was in office on the day of the attacks, issued a written statement hailing bin Laden's death as a momentous achievement.

"The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," he said.

Few details were immediately available of the operation that resulted in bin Laden's death, although the president said none of the Americans involved was harmed.

The development comes just months before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, orchestrated by bin Laden's al-Qaida organization, that killed more than 3,000 people.

The attacks set off a chain of events that led the United States into wars in Afghanistan, and then Iraq, and America's entire intelligence apparatus was overhauled to counter the threat of more terror attacks at home.

Al-Qaida was also blamed for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 231 people and the 2000 attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 American sailors in Yemen, as well as countless other plots, some successful and some foiled.

Sony Playstation Network Hacked

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:13:00 +0000

I'm so pissed off right now just got an E-mail from Sony that their network was compromised and all sorts of personal information was compromised. I know I will no longer be buying Sony products if they can not be professional enough to have robust security to protect my information they don't deserve my business. A copy of the E-mail follows below let me know what you think?

Valued PlayStation Network/Qriocity Customer:

We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011,
certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account
information was compromised in connection with an illegal and
unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this
intrusion, we have:

1) Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;

2) Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a
full and complete investigation into what happened; and

3) Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our
network infrastructure by rebuilding our system to provide you
with greater protection of your personal information.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill
as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly
and efficiently as practicable.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident,
we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following
information that you provided: name, address (city, state/province,
zip or postal code), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation
Network/Qriocity password, login, password security answers, and handle/PSN
online ID. It is also possible that your profile data may have been obtained,
including purchase history and billing address (city, state/province, zip
or postal code). If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent,
the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained.
While there is no evidence that credit card data was taken at this time,
we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card
data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution
we are advising that your credit card number (excluding security code) and
expiration date may also have been obtained.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email,
telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive
information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email,
asking for your credit card number, social security, tax identification
or similar number or other personally identifiable information. If you
are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the
entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are
fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your
password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity
user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we
strongly recommend that you change them as well.

To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss,
we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements
and to monitor your credit or similar types of reports.

We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of
this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working
around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as
possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will
continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to
protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and
secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority.
Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment

World Of Warcraft Cataclysm A Cataclysmic Failure

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:10:00 +0000

Well its been a bit over a month since the newest expansion from Blizzard the creators of World Of Warcraft Cataclysm and I thought its about time I gave a review and some opinions on this newest release.

Now what can I say I feel like I got conned out of sixty bucks World of Warcraft Cataclysm is a Cataclysmic failure. Now I would like to get into some of the reasons why I feel this way. There are many bugs with questing in one case I was unable to quest in a zone because none of the quest-givers would give me the quests, sending in a ticket gets the response of we are aware of this thank you. This is a common response to numerous bug reports even though the game did go through a beta testing period.

The biggest problem though are wait times for dungeons for regular ones it averages twenty minutes for Damage Per Second classes it gets even worse at the heroic level with on average forty five minute wait times, this gets even more frustrating with the kick system being abused it's not uncommon to wait 45 minutes to help out in a heroic dungeon only to get kicked at boss fights. So on average you Que. wait 45 minutes play for a bit and repeat, this is in no way fun and really limits how you can progress in the game.

Now some might say try going the player versus player bit for gear, well the random battleground wait times average again about 20 minutes, so again its becoming wait play for a bit wait some more, in no way in my opinion is this a fun gameplay experience.

My advice to anyone that has not bought the expansion is keep your money and wait at least till you start to hear that Blizzard has made some moves to address these gameplay issues and for those of us that all ready spent the money well get ready for a really cataclysmic gaming experience.

I'm interested in your thoughts did you have a the same experience or did you have a good one? I want to know feel free to leave your comments.

Woman, 66, freezes to death on Toronto driveway after her cries for help ignored

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:25:00 +0000

TORONTO - A 66-year-old woman, who was found without vital signs on a Toronto driveway in the bitter cold, died after no one answered her cries for help, police said Monday.

Police called it a "tragic death" that might have had a different outcome, if only someone had called them.

A newspaper delivery woman found the woman at about 5:30 a.m. Monday on Kennaley Cres. in the Brimley Road and McNicoll Avenue area, just a block away from her home, police said.

It's believed the woman, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, had wandered away from her home in -20 degree temperatures around 2 a.m., police said.

Sgt. David Dube said some neighbours heard the woman crying out in distress in the driveway, but no one called 911 or came to her aid.

"I can tell you around 2 a.m., through our investigation, there's a couple of neighbours in the area who did hear a scream," said Dube.

"We do not suspect foul play. We believe she was distraught and was perhaps looking for help," he said.

"I think one of them actually saw this person in a bit of distress but didn't know what was going on but did not call us," added Dube.

The veteran officer, who's been on the force for 24 years, said he was "somewhat surprised" no one called police, noting it is a good community. He urged people to call police immediately if they hear someone screaming for help.

"If you're going to be a community member I think we have an obligation to look after one another and do the right thing," said Dube.

"I think if someone would have called the police right away there could have been a different outcome," he added.

Police say the woman's husband had last seen his wife about 2 a.m. When he woke up and she wasn't there, he called police and a search was launched about 4:45 a.m., Dube said.

When she was found, the woman wasn't wearing her coat or glasses and she had no pulse.

"Our officers tried CPR. Due to her condition, the hypothermia, the chest compressions were difficult," said Dube.

Police said finger marks could be seen on a vehicle in the driveway where the woman had likely tried to pull herself up off of the ground.

There were also scratch marks on the screen door to the home and Dube said he suspects the woman may have tried to get inside.

The woman was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead at 7:05 a.m.

Toronto has been under an extreme cold weather alert since Saturday.

The city sends out the alerts when the temperature drops below -15 C, with or without the windchill.

All I can think of is this is pretty much typical of the society we now live in no one wants to get involved. Its really very sad and to those people that don't want to get involved I put this to you, think what if this was your grandmother,mother,sister a family member that died this way would you want to have gotten involved then or have at least the hope that some stranger would help them?

Ottawa Earthquake

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:21:00 +0000

I had a most amazing experince today, it was a little bit scary but there was an earthquake near Ottawa that was about 5.0 to 5.5 in magnitude. No One was hurt but there was some minor damage. At the time where I was at the walls and floor were all shaking this lasted for about 30 seconds or so long enough to get a bit of a scare.

E-Bay And Paypal In The European Union

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:32:00 +0000

You can now start filing legal action against E-Bay & PayPal in the European Union! You don't even need to hire a lawyer at all.

Firstly,read this; http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/treaties/index.htm .

Secondly,read this;
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/your_rights/your_rights_forms_en.htm .

Download the form marked 'en',then fill it in & send.

The European Commission will even accept complaints made anonymously,even if they are lodged from outside Europe.

Please state that you want to invoke Article 82d. of the European Union Treaty,which will generate a complaint against the authorities of all 27 European Union member states for failing to apply E.U. law against eBay & PayPal. - THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

If enough people file complaints to the European Commission against E-Bay & PayPal,they WILL take notice & they will file a legal case in the European courts on behalf of consumers.

If legal action does occur in Europe,then hopefully,that will spur the authorities in other countries,including both America & Canada,to file legal action against both E-Bay & PayPal in their own legal jurisdictions.

Coroner Rules Jackson's Death Homicide

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Well it looks like Michael Jacksons Death is going to be ruled a Homicide acording to an AP source sometime soon. I wonder how the family is going to respond and who will be charged.

LOS ANGELES – A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that the Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide.

The finding makes it more likely criminal charges will be filed against the doctor who was with the pop star when he died.

The official says the coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died in his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released.

Forensic tests found the powerful anesthetic propofol in Jackson's system along with two sedatives, the official says.

Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, is the target of a manslaughter probe headed by Los Angeles police.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

HOUSTON (AP) — A search warrant affidavit says Michael Jackson had lethal levels of the powerful anesthetic propofol in his system when he died.

The document unsealed Monday allowed officials to raid the Houston offices and storage facility of Dr. Conrad Murray last month.

It says Murray told a Los Angeles police officer he administered several drugs to Jackson the day he died, including 25 milligrams of the sedative, which he gave intravenously.

The affidavit says Murray never ordered, purchased or received any of the propofol but that the doctor found about eight bottles of it in Jackson's home along with numerous other vials and pills.

E-Bay Is Broken Buyers & Sellers Beware

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:52:00 +0000

Yet another writer and blogger descibing thier selling experinaces on E-Bay it's nice to see that the fruad problem is still around although not with coins this time it's still the clasic ongoing scam. Below for you convenince is a copy of the article.

I expected selling my computer on eBay to be easy.

Attempt 1: I listed it. Within hours, someone bought it -- from a hacked account, as eBay notified me, canceling the sale.

Attempt 2: I listed it again. Within hours, someone bought it, and asked me to send it to her via FedEx overnight. The buyer sent payment via PayPal immediately, and then -- near as I could tell -- immediately opened a dispute with PayPal so that the funds were put on hold. And then she sent me an e-mail saying "I paid you, now send me the computer." But PayPal was faster than she expected, I think. At the same time, I received an e-mail from PayPal saying that I might have received a payment that the account holder did not authorize, and that I shouldn't ship the item until the investigation is complete.

I was willing to make Attempt 3, but someone on my blog bought it first. It looks like eBay is completely broken for items like this.

It's not just me.

http://consumerist.com/5007790/its-now-completely-impossible-to-sell-a-laptop-on-ebay or http://tinyurl.com/55hprp

A copy of this essay, with all embedded links, is here:

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/06/fraud_on_ebay.html

Jackson Cardiologist Not A Suspect

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:49:00 +0000

More news on Jacksons Death and the Doctor who was present at the time.

LOS ANGELES – The cardiologist who was with Michael Jackson when he collapsed is "in no way a suspect" in the pop singer's death, a spokeswoman for the doctor said Saturday after a three-hour interview with detectives.

Dr. Conrad Murray "helped identify the circumstances around the death of the pop icon and clarified some inconsistencies," spokeswoman Miranda Sevcik said in a statement. "Investigators say the doctor is in no way a suspect and remains a witness to this tragedy."

Police confirmed that they interviewed Murray, adding that he was cooperative and "provided information which will aid the investigation."

The statement said Murray rode in the ambulance and stayed at the hospital for hours, "comforting and consoling the Jackson family." It also said he has been in Los Angeles since Jackson's death, and plans to stay here until his cooperation is no longer needed.

Murray was with Jackson when the singer stopped breathing Thursday, and reportedly performed CPR until paramedics arrived.

News of the meeting came a few hours after the Rev. Jesse Jackson said the pop star's family is seeking a second autopsy of the pop icon because of unanswered questions about how he died.

"It's abnormal," he said from Chicago a day after visiting the Jackson family. "We don't know what happened. Was he injected and with what? All reasonable doubt should be addressed."

People close to Jackson have said since his death that they were concerned about the superstar's use of painkillers. Los Angeles County medical examiners completed their autopsy Friday and said Jackson had taken prescription medication.

Medical officials also said there was no indication of trauma or foul play. An official cause of death could take weeks.

The coroner's office released the body to Jackson's family Friday night. There was no immediate word on whether the second autopsy was being performed right away. Jesse Jackson described the family as grief-stricken.

"They're hurt because they lost a son. But the wound is now being kept open by the mystery and unanswered questions of the cause of death," he said.

One of Jackson's longtime lawyers was chosen to represent the family's legal interests, a person close to the situation said Saturday. Katherine Jackson, the singer's mother, selected L. Londell McMillan, who has represented Jackson in several cases, said the person, who requested anonymity because the matter is private.

Two days after Jackson died at a Los Angeles hospital, sisters Janet and La Toya arrived at the mansion Jackson had been renting. They left without addressing reporters.

Moving vans also showed up at the Jackson home, leaving about an hour later. There was no indication what they might have taken away.

The Jackson family issued a statement Saturday expressing its grief over the death and thanking his supporters.

"In one of the darkest moments of our lives we find it hard to find the words appropriate to this sudden tragedy we all had to encounter," said the statement made through People magazine. "We miss Michael endlessly."

The Jackson family did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.

There was also no word from the family on funeral plans. Many of Jackson's relatives have gathered at the family's Encino compound, caring there for Jackson's three children.

A person close to the family told the AP they feel upset and angry about a lack of information about those who were around the pop superstar in his final days. The person requested anonymity because of the delicate nature of the situation.

Jackson had been rehearsing for 50 London concerts aimed at restoring his crown as the King of Pop. He died Thursday at age 50 after what his family said appeared to be cardiac arrest.

Police towed Murray's car from Jackson's home hours after Jackson died and said later it could contain medication or other evidence. Coroner's officials also said Jackson was taking prescription medication but declined to elaborate.

Murray lives in Las Vegas but apparently left his practice and moved in with Jackson about two weeks ago. No one answered the door Saturday at his Las Vegas home, which property records show Murray bought five years ago for $1.1 million.

The promoter of the series of London concerts that Jackson was to begin next month has said Jackson personally insisted Murray be on the payroll.

Also Saturday, spiritual teacher Dr. Deepak Chopra said he had been concerned since 2005 that Jackson was abusing prescription painkillers and most recently spoke to the pop star about suspected drug use six months ago.

Chopra said Jackson, a longtime friend, asked him for painkillers in 2005 when the singer was staying with him following his trial on sex abuse allegations. Chopra said he refused. He also said the nanny of Jackson's children repeatedly contacted him with concerns about Jackson's drug use over the next four years.

He said she told him a number of doctors would visit Jackson's homes in Santa Barbara County, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. Whenever the subject came up, Jackson would avoid his calls, Chopra said.

Michael Jackson 911 Tape Released and Other Coverage

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:49:00 +0000

Some more news coverage of Michael Jackson's death the 911 call is interesting in that they say a doctor was present.

Pirate Bay Retrial Plea Rejected

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:02:00 +0000

It's kinda interesting that a Judge did not reveal some of the groups he belongs too that would seem like a conflict of interest to most lay people. What do you think does something stink about this and do you think they should have a new trial?

A Swedish court has thrown out a request for a retrial by the four men behind The Pirate Bay website.

The four were found guilty of promoting copyright infringement in April and face jail sentences and hefty claims for damages.

The Pirate Bay's lawyers called for a retrial when it emerged that one of the judges in the case belonged to several copyright protection groups.

The Swedish court said the judge's affiliations did not bias the case.

The Svea Court of Appeal said Judge Tomas Norstrom should have declared that he was a member of the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Swedish Copyright Association before the case went to trial.

"The fact that he failed to shed light on this does not however mean that there was any wrongdoing during the proceedings that would require a retrial," said the court in a statement.

"This was not a case of bias," concluded the court.

No appeal is allowed against the judgement.

The Pirate Bay is well-known for hosting lists of websites where people can get pirated copies of movies, music, software and TV shows.

The Pirate Bay defended itself saying that it did not infringe copyright because none of the pirated material is stored on its servers.

The court found them guilty because, it said, they continued to operate the service even when they knew users were being pointed to pirated material.

The four men behind The Pirate Bay, Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde, were sentenced to one year in jail and told to pay damages of 30m Swedish kronor (£2.3m, 2.7m euros) to entertainment companies such as Warner Bros and Sony Music Entertainment.

In response to the ruling Peter Sunde said The Pirate Bay would now file charges against Sweden for violating the human rights of the defendants.

Micheal Jackson Dead At 50

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:04:00 +0000

"I don't know how I'm going to do 50 shows. I'm not a big eater - I need to put some weight on"

Numerous sources other than TMZ.com are now reporting Micheal Jackson has died at the age of 50. He collapsed at his home at 3:19 Pacific time, first responders are reporting he did not have a pulse and CPR was administered. It took ten minutes to reach an hospital in LA. There are some reports that Doctors pronounced Micheal Jackson dead after being in a coma for a short span of time. At the time of writing this, the story is still developing and I'm sure more will be known over the next few hours and days.

Dalai Lama says Chinese-ruled Tibet 'hell on earth'

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has accused China of bringing "hell on earth" to his homeland. The 73-year-old monk also called for meaningful autonomy for Tibetans in his speech last Tuesday marking the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against China.

IE Eight Released Today

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:36:00 +0000

Microsoft Explorer 8 was released today. Are you going to use it? Let me know. I don't think I'm going to use it, I gave up on Microsoft products awhile ago,Firefox and Safari do everything I want them to do without any of the hassles.

Odyssey Marine Shipwreck Holds 200,000 Gold Coins

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Odyssey Marine has started work on another shipwreck that could hold about four tons of gold the full story follows below.

Odyssey Marine, the southern Florida shipwreck experts that have found more coin treasures than any other salver, has discovered the wreck of HMS Victory, it was announced Feb 2.

HMS Victory sank in the English Channel on Oct. 4, 1744, taking 1,150 sailors and four tons of Portuguese gold to the bottom of Davy Jones' locker.

About 200,000 gold coins are believed to be part of the treasure, whose sinking caused a major embarrassment to King George II in 1744, and whose recovery in 2009 could well become a cause celebre in international legal circles.

The wreckage of the HMS Victory, found below about 330 feet of water, may carry an even bigger jackpot than the $500 million in sunken treasure discovered two years ago off the coast of Spain.

Research indicates the HMS Victory was carrying 4 tons of gold coins when it sank in storm, said Greg Stemm, co-founder of Odyssey Marine Exploration, ahead of a Feb. 2 news conference in London.

So far, two brass cannons have been recovered from the wreck, Stemm said. The Florida-based company said it is negotiating with the British government over collaborating on the project.

"This is a big one, just because of the history,'' Stemm said. "Very rarely do you solve an age-old mystery like this.''

Thirty-one brass cannons and other evidence on the wreck allowed definitive identification of the HMS Victory, the 175-foot (53-meter) sailing ship that was separated from its fleet and sank in the English Channel on Oct. 4, 1744, with at least 900 men aboard, the company said. The ship was the largest and, with 110 brass cannons, the most heavily armed vessel of its day. It was the inspiration for the HMS Victory famously commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson decades later.

Odyssey was searching for other valuable shipwrecks in the English Channel when it came across the Victory. Stemm wouldn't say exactly where the ship was found for fear of attracting plunderers, though he said it wasn't close to where it was expected.

"We found this more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) from where anybody would have thought it went down,'' Stemm said.

Federal court records filed by Odyssey in Tampa seeking the exclusive salvage rights said the site is 25 miles to 40 miles (40 kilometers to 64 kilometers) from the English coast, outside of its territorial waters. Odyssey Marine has previously discovered vessels with treasure that sailed under the flags of Spain, Peru, England and others.

In order to assert ownership, Odyssey Marine commenced an action in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, located in Tampa. The technical term is to "arrest" the vessel, a principal whereby the salver recovers some portion of the ship or its cargo and brings it before the court. In this case, it was a brass cannon.

The Victory - the same name was used for Lord Nelson's shop at Trafalgar generations later - is only called an "Unidentified vessel" in the title of the complaint, the better to confuse those who might seek to take the treasure from under the noses of the competition - other treasure salvers.

Odyssey's claims for salvage rights for other vessels were asserted under either international law of the sea or the law of salvage, which sometimes conflict. They are litigating against the Kingdom of Spain and Republic fo Peru over Spanish galleons found after a shipwreck in the 17th century.

English shipwrecks have a common law background, different from the civil law of Spanish countries, which reserve treasure to the sovereign - and provide that it cannot be salvaged without the consent of Her Majesty's government. On another less important wreck, Odyssey got to keep 80 percent of the first $50 million in salvage value on a diminishing scale until above $500 million the profits would be split 50-50.

Under international maritime law and the law of the sea, going back to the time of Hugo Grotius in the year 1600, when an owner of a vessel abandons it, it may be claimed by anyone who finds it. When it is not abandoned, a wreck may be salvaged by anyone who claims it ("arrests" the wreck, in the arcane language of admiralty law).

They may not necessarily be able to keep the goods, but must be compensated for the salvage work that they have done the payment can be quite liberal - if there is a right to work the vessel and its treasure in the first place.

In most instances, available technology at the time the ships surrendered to the depths limited the ability to salvage the ships, rescue persons or property. The situation with the Mercedes (another Odyssey litigation with Spain) is also similar to more than 600 other Spanish wrecks that are known to have populated the East Coast of the United States.

This very factor, and the wreck of other ships, prompted the U.S. Congress in 1987 to try and regulate control over the marine tragedies that took place inside the three-mile limit. Essentially, they were ruled to be owned by the United States, which in turn delegated the ownership to the individual states.

The Victory is located in the English Channel, about 60 miles from its last reported position which solved a historical mystery - and Odyssey claims that no nation has the right to regulate who can salvage it. The British Foreign Office disagrees.

Regardless of the state or nation involved, the general principals of law are essentially the same. When sunken ships or their cargo are rescued from the bottom of the ocean by those other than the owners, courts generally favor applying the law of salvage over the law of finds.

"Finds" can be summed up by that childish taunt, "Finder's keepers".

Finds law is generally applied, however, where the previous owners are found to have abandoned their property. Abandonment must be proved to the Court's satisfaction by clear and convincing evidence, typically by an owner's express declaration abandoning title. (It can be proved indirectly through actions, too).

In some instances, a commercial shipments of gold may be insured, and the underwriters are usually asked to promptly pay the claims. The payment of the claims vests title to the gold in the underwriters, who can no more salvage the boat than the government can.

The position of the Department of State, as expressed in a Report of the House of Representatives in 1988 is that "the U.S. only abandons its sovereignty over, and title to, sunken U.S. warships by affirmative act; mere passage of time or lack of positive assertions of right are insufficient to establish such abandonment."

A 1902 treaty of friendship and commerce with Spain provided the key that the Court will look to: "Spanish vessels can ... be abandoned only by express renunciation. Both Spain and the United States agree that this treaty provision requires that in our territorial waters Spanish ships are to be accorded the same immunity as United States.

So the shipwreck of the century is headed to Tampa and court, where it will all be sorted out in the coming months. Meanwhile, the salvers will be looking for the coins that they know are on board, under 300 feet of the English channel and many pages of history.

Accugrade Lawsuite

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:38:00 +0000

This is an interesting development in the Third party coin grading world. Accugrade is suing the ANA and others the details of the suite follow below. It should be interesting to see what the outcome will be in my opinion some questions arise around peoples freedom of expression. To what degree are people allowed to express an opinion and at what point does that freedom stray into harm?

This case is also somewhat unique in it's the first one I know of where an online coin discussion board called REC.COLLECTING.COINS or RCC for short is named in a suite. This in my opinion strays into some unknown territory as the internet by it's very nature can be very free in how people chose to express their opinions and the question arises do they have a right to express those thoughts freely? or is there a limit? Let me know what you think?

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

ASA ACCUGRADE, INC.,
a Florida Corporation
P.O. Box 915103
Longwood, Florida 32791

Plaintiff, CASE NO.: 1:04-cv-02213-RWR

v.

AMERICAN NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION,
a Federally Chartered Non-Profit Association,
HERITAGE CAPITAL CORPORATION, a
foreign corporation, COLLECTOR’S UNIVERSE, INC.,
a foreign corporation d/b/a Professional Coin
Grading Service, PROFESSIONAL
NUMISMATISTS GUILD, INDUSTRY COUNCIL
FOR TANGIBLE ASSETS, BARRY STUPPLER & CO., INC.
a foreign corporation, NU GRADE, LLC, a foreign limited
liability company f/k/a TRU GRADE SERVICES,
and REC.COLLECTING.COINS a/k/a RCC,

Defendants.

____________________________________/
COMPLAINT

COMES NOW Plaintiff, ASA ACCUGRADE, INC., a Florida corporation, by and through its undersigned counsel, and sues Defendants, AMERICAN NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION, a Federally Chartered Non-Profit Association, HERITAGE CAPITAL CORPORATION, a foreign corporation, COLLECTOR’S UNIVERSE, INC., a foreign corporation d/b/a Professional Coin Grading Service, PROFESSIONAL NUMISMATISTS GUILD, INDUSTRY COUNCIL FOR TANGIBLE ASSETS, BARRY STUPPLER & CO., INC., a foreign corporation, NU GRADE, LLC, a foreign limited liability company f/k/a TRU GRADE SERVICES, and REC.COLLECTING.COINS a/k/a RCC, and alleges as follows:
NATURE OF ACTION

1. This is an action for damages and injunctive relief brought pursuant to the provisions of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 15 and 26) based on Defendants’ violations of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 2) that have and continue to harm competition in the rare coin grading and authentication industry and to cause grave and irreparable injury to Plaintiff.
PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

2. Plaintiff, ASA ACCUGRADE, INC. (“ACG”) is a Florida corporation organized and operating under the laws of the State of Florida with its principal place of business located in Longwood, Florida. ACG has been incorporated and engaged in the rare coin grading and authentication business in the State of Florida since 1995 and before that in the State of Connecticut since 1984.

3. Defendant, AMERICAN NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION (“ANA”) is a federally chartered not-for-profit Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3) entity that acts as a quasi-governmental body over numismatic collectors and dealers and wields great influence in the industry. In addition, the ANA provides a forum for resolving complaints against it members and disputes between its members. The President of ACG was a life member of the ANA in good standing until she resigned in April 2003 as a result of Defendants’ antitrust activities. The ANA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado but does business throughout the United States, including in the District of Columbia. The President of the ANA is Gary E. Lewis and its Executive Director is Christopher Cippoletti. During all times material hereto, Barry Stuppler and Michael S. Fey were members of the ANA’s Board of Governors and in March 2003 Stuppler was Chairman of the ANA’s Consumer Protection Committee.

4. Defendant, HERITAGE CAPITAL CORPORATION (“HERITAGE”) is a Texas corporation that does business throughout the United States, including in the District of Columbia, as a rare coin dealer and auctioneer. The founders and principals of HERITAGE are R. Steven Ivey and James L. Halperin. In March 2003, Gregory Rohan represented himself publicly as President of HERITAGE.

5. COLLECTOR’S UNIVERSE, INC. d/b/a Professional Coin Grading Service (“PCGS”) is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters located in the State of California that is in the business of grading rare domestic and international coins throughout the United States, including in the District of Columbia. PCGS is a competitor of ACG. David Hall is the founder and President of PCGS and the President of COLLECTOR’S UNIVERSE, INC. PCGS has hundreds of “featured dealers” and “authorized dealers” throughout the country, including HERITAGE and BARRY STUPPLER & CO. INC. which are both “featured” and “authorized”.

6. PROFESSIONAL NUMISMATISTS GUILD (“PNG”) is an Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3) organization of rare coin dealers that consists primarily of PCGS “featured and/or authorized dealers”. R. Steven Ivy, President of HERITAGE, is a member of the Board of Directors of PNG. The Executive Director of PNG is Robert Brueggeman. PNG operates throughout the United States, including in the District of Columbia.

7. INDUSTRY COUNCIL FOR TANGIBLE ASSETS (“ICTA”) is an Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3) organization that holds itself out as being the “National Trade Association” for the rare coin industry. R. Steven Ivey, President of HERITAGE, Christopher Cippoletti, Executive Director of the ANA, and Barry Stuppler of BARRY STUPPLER & CO., INC. are members of the Board of Directors of ICTA. The Executive Director of ICTA is Eloise Ullman. ITCA operates throughout the United States, including in the District of Columbia.

8. BARRY STUPPLER & CO., INC. (“STUPPLER & CO.”) is a California corporation that does business throughout the United States, including in the District of Columbia. STUPPLER is a competitor of ACG as it specializes in coin appraisal and grading services. Barry Stuppler is the owner and operator of STUPPLER and was one of the founders of PCGS.

9. NU GRADE, LLC (“NU GRADE”), is a Pennsylvania limited liability company formerly known as TRU GRADE SERVICES that does business throughout the United States, including in the District of Columbia. NU GRADE is a competitor of ACG as it specializes in coin grading and authentication services. John Callandrello is the owner and operator of NU GRADE.

10. REC.COLLECTING.COINS a/k/a RCC is an ANA sanctioned coin club and Internet users newsgroup consisting of coin dealers and collectors headed up by GARY E. LEWIS, MARK GREENE, BRUCE HICKMOTT, IRA STEIN and ERIC TILLERY. RCC is broadcast over the Internet internationally, including in the District of Columbia. The other documented members of RCC are JOHN BAUMGART, JOHN P. CARNEY, JASON S. CRATON, PETER T. DAVIS, TOM DeLOREY, PHILLIP DEMAYO, JR., MICHAEL S. FEY, ROBERT A. FLAMINIO, REID GOLDSBOROUGH, ALAN HERBERT, WILLIAM A. KRUMMEL, EDWARD KUSZMAR, BARRY KUTNER, HARVEY R. LASER, GREG MARGULIES, SAMUEL L. MORGAN, STUART J. MILLER, FRED A. MURPHY, DAVID W. PARRISH, DONN PEARLMAN, TOM REA, BYRON L. REED, PAUL J. ROBERTS, JONATHAN ROSENTHAL, WILL ROSSMAN, STUART SEGAN, JEFFREY SALTZMAN, SCOTT STEVENSON, JOHN STONE, BARRY STUPPLER, ALAN WILLIAMS, CHYRSTA WILSON, DOUGLAS A. WINTER, PETER ZIMMERMAN, and DAVID M. ZUTS.

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

11. Beginning in 1995, ACG incorporated in the State of Florida and has provided superior coin grading and authentication services to rare coin dealers and collectors throughout the United States and Canada, including in the District of Columbia. ACG has never had any major complaints since its inception.

12. From in or about 1999 until in or about 2001, ACG gradually increased its share in the marketplace of entities that provided rare coin grading and authentication services to rare coin dealers and collectors throughout North America. By in or about June 2001, ACG enjoyed an approximate eight (8%) percent share in the overall relevant market pertaining to rare coin grading and authentication services in the United States. The eight (8%) percent share was comprised of a twelve (12%) percent share of the E-Bay coin market and a fifty (50%) percent share of the major coin trade show market.

13. ACG’s gradual increase in market share and corresponding profitability came at the expense of PCGS, HERITAGE, PNG, ICTA, and STUPPLER inasmuch as its increase in market share was the result of its superior pricing and efficiency in providing rare coin grading and authentication services to dealers and collectors throughout the marketplace. This was particularly true in the major coin trade show market as ACG began to focus on that market in 2000 and ultimately obtained one-half of the market share pertaining to major coin trade shows.

14. Commencing in or about 2001, Defendants, ANA, PCGS, HERITAGE, PNG, ICTA, STUPPLER, and RCC, in an effort to drive ACG out of business for the primary purpose of destroying competition in the marketplace, entered into an agreement to defame ACG and tortiously interfere with its advantageous business relationships with its dealers and customers (hereinafter referred to as the antitrust conspiracy).

15. Subsequent to entering into the antitrust conspiracy, the Defendants committed a myriad of illicit and overt acts in an effort to further the primary purpose of the antitrust conspiracy (i.e., anti-competition) including, but not limited to:

* RCC and PCGS published Internet websites and engaged in various forms of Internet communications that contained false and disparaging statements about ACG, its President, and its head grader;
* RCC and STUPPLER proposed, organized, and carried out a group boycott of ACG products and services;
* RCC created a “legal defense fund’” to respond to correspondence from ACG’s attorney urging Defendants to cease and desist their anticompetitive conduct;

d. ANA attempted to disallow ACG from bringing its coin slabbing equipment to ANA coin shows, attempted to bar ACG’s head grader from attending trade shows, and located ACG’s table in the least advantageous locations at the trade shows;

o RCC and STUPPLER, with the assistance and complicity of DAVID KREAMER and ROBERT K. BRUCE, knowingly submitted counterfeit coin(s) to ACG for the purpose of attempting to deceive it into violating the law and causing an unwarranted complaint to be submitted to the ANA;
o ANA and STUPPLER made unwarranted complaints against ACG and its head grader to the ANA resulting in the ANA attempting to deny ACG “bourse” space at ANA coin shows;
o PNG, ITCA, PCGS, HERITAGE, ANA and STUPPLER concocted “bogus” PNG/ICTA coin grading surveys in 2002 and 2004 and publicized the illegitimate results of the “survey”;
o PNG, PCGS, HERITAGE, and STUPPLER formed a PNG “Internet Rules Committee” made up of R. Steven Ivy, Douglas A. Winter and Barry Stuppler, among others, in direct response to the immense popularity of the ACG sponsored coin grading Internet website and catalogue known as “I 2 Collect.Com” which fostered true competition among the various coin grading services;

i. RCC and ANA caused RCC to become an official ANA member coin club and ANA President Gary E. Lewis paid its ANA dues;

* RCC, STUPPLER, and PNG published ACG dealers’ network on the Internet and thereafter attacked ACG dealers systematically until they ceased doing business with ACG; and
* NU GRADE, through its principal, John Callandrello, made false and disparaging statements about ACG before the ANA.

16. Beginning in 2001 and continuing thereafter through the present date, in furtherance of the antitrust conspiracy, Defendants RCC and PCGS began a campaign of defamation against ACG, its President, Diane Hager, and its head grader, Alan Hager. The campaign consisted of the publication of false and disparaging statements made by RCC members, via its Internet user newsgroup, and PCGS, through its message board, about ACG and the Hagers that are far too numerous to list. However, such statements include, but are not limited to:

* IRA STEIN’S statement that ACG “knowingly grades ‘counterfeit’ coins, and ‘fakes’”;
* MARK GREENE’S statement that ALAN HAGER is a “blatant crook”;
* BYRON L. REED’S statement that DIANE HAGER is a “whore” and those who deal with ACG are her “johns”;
* IRA STEIN’S statement that ACG was sued for committing “fraud” against an elderly 80+ year old woman by selling her over-graded coins;
* BRUCE HICKMOTT’S and FRED MURPHY’S statement that DIANE HAGER is a “screaming fishwife”;
* BYRON L. REED’S statement that ALAN HAGER has been “found liable for misrepresenting coins”;
* ERIC TILLERY’S statement that ALAN HAGER was “proven to be a fraud -- once a fraud, always a fraud”;
* REID GOLDSBOROGH’S statement that “many people get cheated by ACG every day”;
* REID GOLDSBOROGH’S statement that there is a “huge repository of evidence…that [ACG’S] very business model is based on deception and cheating”;
* BRUCE HICKMOTT’S statement that “ACG is knowingly providing a tool that others are using with intent to defraud”;
* GREGORY ROHAN’S statement that ACG is “basically a fraud;”
* GREGORY ROHAN’S statement that “ I have lost track of the number of counterfeit coins I have seen in ACG holders”;
* BARRY STUPPLER’S statement that “ coins in ACG holders can be 2 to 6 grades lower” and “have no liquidity”;
* JOHN a/k/a dog_xx, Dog97, Dog (ME)’s statement that ACG’s President was arrested in Longwood, Florida for same-sex prostitution; and
* BARRY STUPPLER and MICHAEL S. FEY’S statement that ACG’s head grader is a convicted felon and has spent time in jail.

17. In or about 2004, ACG initiated legal action in Circuit Court for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida against several individual RCC members for defamation and tortious interference based on, among other things, statements published as part of the aforementioned internet users newsgroup. Once this action was commenced and as part of and in furtherance of the antitrust conspiracy, the ANA created an unprecedented legal defense fund for the individual defendants in order to obstruct ACG from vindicating its rights and restoring true competition to the rare coin grading industry.

18. Thereafter, Defendants ANA and STUPPLER agreed, as part of and in furtherance of the antitrust conspiracy, to publish a patently false and damaging “advertisement” in the July and August, 2004 issues of ANA’s monthly magazine, “The Numismatist” that further severely disparaged ACG and insured that it would continue to be unable to provide rare coin dealers and collectors with economical, fair, and competitive coin grading and authentication services or to restore its market share in the coin grading and authentication industry.

19. The natural and proximate effect of the illicit agreement and overt acts of the Defendants as set forth above was to diminish competition in the coin grading and authentication marketplace by removing ACG’s market share and allowing PCGS to increase its market share to the point where it exclusively controls prices in the market. Defendants, ANA, HERITAGE, PNG, ICTA, STUPPLER, and NU GRADE, have all benefited from the diminishment of ACG’s market share and the boycott of ACG that have resulted from the antitrust conspiracy and substantive antitrust violations engaged in by Defendants.

20. A secondary but equally devastating cause of the antitrust conspiracy and substantive antitrust violations is the grave economic injury suffered by ACG in that it has literally lost millions of dollars in revenue and profits as the result of Defendants’ anticompetitive conduct.

21. ACG has retained the undersigned attorneys and has agreed to pay them a reasonable fee for their services.

COUNT ONE-CIVIL CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT SHERMAN
ACT VIOLATIONS (ANTITRUST CONSPIRACY)
(ALL DEFENDANTS)

22. This is an action for civil conspiracy to commit violations of the Sherman Act on the part of the Defendants.

23. Plaintiff adopts and realleges paragraphs 1-21 above as though fully set forth herein.

24. Commencing in or about 2001, the Defendants combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed to engage in acts that constitute per se violations of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 2) as set forth in paragraphs 14-18, above. This conspiratorial agreement caused antitrust injury in that it harmed competition in the rare coin grading and authentication industry by destroying ACG’s measurable market share, particularly in the “trade show” portion of the industry.

25. ACG has suffered severe economic damage as a direct and proximate result of the antitrust conspiracy.

WHEREFORE Plaintiff, ASA ACCUGRADE, INC., respectfully requests that the Court enter a judgment in its favor and against the Defendants, jointly and severally, that:

a. prohibits the Defendants from carrying out any additional acts in furtherance of the antitrust conspiracy;

b. awards Plaintiff three times the amount of the pecuniary damages it has suffered;

c. awards Plaintiff the reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs it has incurred in initiating and prosecuting this action; and

d. provides such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

COUNT TWO-SUBSTANTIVE SHERMAN ACT VIOLATIONS
(ALL DEFENDANTS)

26. This is an action for violations of the Sherman Act on the part of the Defendants.

27. Plaintiff adopts and realleges paragraph 1-20, above as though fully set forth herein.

28. Commencing in or about 2001, the Defendants engaged in various acts and conduct that constitutes violations of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 2).

29. The Defendants’ antitrust violations are set out in detail in paragraphs 14-18, above. These acts constitute per se antitrust violations and have resulted in the eradication of ACG’s market share thereby significantly harming competition in the rare coin grading and authentication industry.

30. ACG has suffered severe economic injury as a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ antitrust violations.

WHEREFORE Plaintiff, ASA ACCUGRADE, INC., respectfully requests that the Court enter a judgment in its favor and against the Defendants, jointly and severally, that:

* prohibits the Defendants from carrying out any additional antitrust acts;

b. awards Plaintiff three times the amount of the pecuniary damages it has suffered;

c. awards Plaintiff the reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs it has incurred in initiating and prosecuting this action; and

d. provides such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

JURY TRIAL DEMAND

In accordance with Rule 38, Fed.R.Civ.P., Plaintiff, ASA ACCUGRADE, INC. hereby demands a trial by jury of all issues so triable.

DATED this day of December, 2004.

Respectfully Submitted,

HARRISON T. SLAUGHTER, ESQUIRE
Florida Bar No. 194822
Leventhal & Slaughter
111 N. Orange Ave., Ste. 700
Orlando, Florida 32801
Telephone: 407-849-6161
Facsimile: 407-843-03738

DANIEL N. BRODERSEN, ESQUIRE
Florida Bar No.: 0664197
BOGIN, MUNNS, & MUNNS
2601 Technology Drive
Orlando, Florida 32804
Telephone: (407) 578-1334
Facsimile: (407) 578-2801
Attorneys for Plaintiffs, ASA ACCUGRADE

Odyssey Marine Finds More Coins

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Odyssey Marine has found another wreck only time will tell if legal issues don't tie this one up as well. The Full article follows below. Let me know what you think should they be searching these wrecks? Also do you think this one will get tied up in the courts like some of the others?

Odyssey Marine, the southern Florida concern that has found more coin treasurers than any other salver, has a new discovery as of Feb. 2: the wreck of HMS Victory, which sank in the English Channel on Oct. 4, 1744 taking 1,150 sailors and four tons of Portuguese gold to the bottom of Davy Jones's locker.

About 200,000 gold coins are believed to be part of the treasure, whose sinking caused a major embarrassment to King George II in 1744, and whose recovery in 2009 could well become a cause celebre in international legal circles.

The wreckage of the HMS Victory, found below about 330 feet of water, may carry an even bigger jackpot than the $500 million in sunken treasure discovered two years ago off the coast of Spain.

Research indicates the HMS Victory was carrying 4 tons of gold coins when it sank in storm, said Greg Stemm, co-founder of Odyssey Marine Exploration, ahead of a Monday news conference in London.

So far, two brass cannons have been recovered from the wreck, Stemm said. The Florida-based company said it is negotiating with the British government over collaborating on the project.

"This is a big one, just because of the history,'' Stemm said. "Very rarely do you solve an age-old mystery like this.''

Thirty-one brass cannons and other evidence on the wreck allowed definitive identification of the HMS Victory, 175-foot (53-meter) sailing ship that was separated from its fleet and sank in the English Channel on Oct. 4, 1744, with at least 900 men aboard, the company said. The ship was the largest and, with 110 brass cannons, the most heavily armed vessel of its day. It was the inspiration for the HMS Victory, famously commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson decades later.

Odyssey was searching for other valuable shipwrecks in the English Channel when it came across the Victory. Stemm wouldn't say exactly where the ship was found for fear of attracting plunderers, though he said it wasn't close to where it was expected.

"We found this more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) from where anybody would have thought it went down,'' Stemm said.

Federal court records filed by Odyssey in Tampa seeking the exclusive salvage rights said the site is 25 miles to 40 miles (40 kilometers to 64 kilometers) from the English coast, outside of its territorial waters. Odyssey Marine has previously discovered vessels with treasure that sailed under the flags of Spain, Peru, England and others.

In order to assert ownership, Odyssey Marine commenced an action in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, located in Tampa. The technical term is to "arrest" the vessel, a principal whereby the salver recovers some portion of the ship or its cargo and brings it before the court. In this case, it was a brass cannon.

The Victory the same name was used for Lord Nelson's shop at Trafalgar generations later is only called an "Unidentified vessel" in the title of the complaint, the better to confuse those who might seek to take the treasure from under the noses of the competition other treasure salvers.

Odyssey's claims for salvage rights for other vessels were asserted under either international law of the sea or the law of salvage, which sometimes conflict. They are litigating against the Kingdom of Spain and Republic fo Peru over Spanish galleons found after a shipwreck in the 17th century.

English shipwrecks have a common law background, different from the civil law of Spanish countries, which reserve treasure to the sovereign and provide that it cannot be salvaged without the consent of Her Majesty's government. On another less important wreck, Odyssey got to keep 80 percent of the first $50 million in salvage value on a diminishing scale until above $500 million the profits would be split 50-50.

Under international maritime law and the law of the sea, going back to the time of Hugo Grotius in the year 1600, when an owner of a vessel abandons it, it may be claimed by anyone who finds it. When it is not abandoned, a wreck may be salvaged by anyone who claims it ("arrests" the wreck, in the arcane language of admiralty law).

They may not necessarily be able to keep the goods, but must be compensated for the salvage work that they have done the payment can be quite liberal if there is a right to work the vessel and its treasure in the first place.

In most instances, available technology at the time the ships surrendered to the depths limited the ability to salvage the ships, rescue persons or property. The situation with the Mercedes (another Odyssey litigation with Spain) is also similar to more than 600 other Spanish wrecks that are known to have populated the East Coast of the United States.

This very factor, and the wreck of other ships, prompted the U.S. Congress in 1987 to try and regulate control over the marine tragedies that took place inside the three-mile limit. Essentially, they were ruled to be owned by the United States, which in turn delegated the ownership to the individual states.

The Victory is located in the English Channel, about 60 miles from its last reported position which solved a historical mystery and Odyssey claims that no nation has the right to regulate who can salvage it. The British Foreign Office disagrees.

Regardless of the state or nation involved, the general principals of law are essentially the same. When sunken ships or their cargo are rescued from the bottom of the ocean by those other than the owners, courts generally favor applying the law of salvage over the law of finds.

"Finds" can be summed up by that childish taunt, "Finder's keepers".

Finds law is generally applied, however, where the previous owners are found to have abandoned their property. Abandonment must be proved to the Court's satisfaction by clear and convincing evidence, typically by an owner's express declaration abandoning title. (It can be proved indirectly through actions, too).

In some instances, a commercial shipments of gold may be insured, and the underwriters are usually asked to promptly pay the claims. The payment of the claims vests title to the gold in the underwriters, who can no more salvage the boat than the government can.

The position of the Department of State, as expressed in a Report of the House of Representatives in 1988 IS that "the U.S. only abandons its sovereignty over, and title to, sunken U.S. warships by affirmative act; mere passage of time or lack of positive assertions of right are insufficient to establish such abandonment".

A 1902 treaty of friendship and commerce with Spain provided the key that the Court will look to: "Spanish vessels can ... be abandoned only by express renunciation. Both Spain and the United States agree that this treaty provision requires that in our territorial waters Spanish ships are to be accorded the same immunity as United States.

So the shipwreck of the century is headed to Tampa and court where it will all be sorted out in the coming months. Meanwhile, the salvers will be looking for the coins that they know are on board, under 300 feet of the English channel and many pages of history.

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:34:00 +0000

Happy New Year Everyone

Mysterious Fireball Lights Up Western Canadian Sky II Video

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:29:00 +0000

Mysterious Fireball Lights Up Western Canadian Sky

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:48:00 +0000

Here are some follow up articles and images, I'm also going to try and post video as well. Let me know what you think.

Link To Video

Mysterious fireball lights up western Canadian sky

CTV Edmonton security cameras caught the meteor approach and then create a massive flash in the skyline on Thursday evening, Nov. 20, 2008.

CTV Edmonton security cameras caught the meteor approach and then create a massive flash in the skyline on Thursday evening, Nov. 20, 2008.
Amateur astronomer Alister Ling, based in southwest Edmonton, captured a bright flash in the sky from a camera that constantly monitors the sky.

Amateur astronomer Alister Ling, based in southwest Edmonton, captured a bright flash in the sky from a camera that constantly monitors the sky.

A mysterious fireball has lit up the sky in western Canada and may have been a meteorite which slammed into central Alberta, according to local reports.

While it's still unknown what caused the bright light, residents from northern Saskatchewan to southern Alberta have reported seeing it, the RCMP said.

MyNews user Dan Charrois, who lives about 50 kilometres north of Edmonton, said security cameras set up at his home managed to capture some grainy footage showing a big flare in the night sky.

"It happened so fast I don't think anyone would have had the reaction time to get it," he told CTV.ca, adding that his computer software business has written programs which track meteors.

Though Charrois didn't see the fireball himself, he decided to check the security tapes after his friends and neighbours called him to find out where the light may have came from.

"I only had to rewind a couple of minutes and it was there," he said, noting the security time stamped the flash at 5:26 p.m. local time.

"You kind of see a flash, which lasts about two seconds or so," he said.

CTV Calgary has also received several calls about the fireball, and one witness said it was so bright that it was visible from the Deerfoot freeway in the city's core.

Other witnesses in Lloydminster, located on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, said the light was so strong that it appeared to be daylight when it passed over the area.

And locals at the Red Pheasant First Nation, 100 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, said the walls of their band office shook when the fireball streaked overhead.

The fireball may have crashed into the ground about 200 kilometres south of Calgary, according to witness Rob Westland.

Westland told CTV Calgary that he was driving with his son when the pair spotted a massive light.

The Brooks, Alta., resident said that the fireball was about the size of a house and that it may slammed into the ground with a muffled boom.

Meanwhile, Calgary-based astronomer Alan Dyer said that it's too soon to speculate on what caused the light.

Dyer, who works at the Telus World of Science, added that it will take time for experts to work through videos and photos to find out what exactly occurred.

Possible Meteor Lights Up The Skies In Northern Alberta

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:41:00 +0000

This is pretty amazing stuff there was another one that was seen over Quebec about a month or so ago but nothing was found this one sounds like it's big enough that they will find pieces of it. I also hope to have some images that I will post as they become available.

Possible meteor lights up the skies in northern Alberta

EDMONTON — A possible meteor lit up both the sky and the telephone lines in Western Canada on Thursday evening.

Around 5:30 p.m., a huge flash of light briefly turned the dark skies into daylight. Reports of sightings of the light and possibly a fireball came from Edmonton to Regina to Swan River, Man. People got so excited that RCMP in Lloydminster, on the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, issued a news release asking people to stop calling them.

The excitement quickly spread to the scientific community, which was agog with the possibility the fireball might have dropped meteorites to the ground.

"Wow. That's impressive," said Chris Herd, associate professor of Earth and Atmospheric sciences at the University of Alberta, when told of the wide geographical swath of reports.

"To see something from that far away, that's pretty substantial. The potential is that it's big. That tells you that the meteoroid is probably a good size. There's a pretty high chance that it dropped meteorites."

He said that pinpointing the location of any meteorites depends on two factors - people calling in to say they've found such space rocks, and people calling to report how far afield the fireball was spotted.

"The more reports that you have into that fireball-reporting ... the more data you have and then people can reduce that data and try and pinpoint where it may have landed."

He said typically, meteorites fall within a radius of a few kilometres.

The source of the meteor can only be determined once the meteorites are examined, said Heard, who is also curator of a collection of meteorites at the Edmonton university.

"The vast majority of the meteorites that we have, we're fairly certain, come from the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter."

Marcel Gobeil was on his acreage west of Beaumont, Alta., waiting for his wife to come home at the time.

"I just happened to look outside facing east," he said. "All of a sudden I saw this big flash coming down and I thought somebody was playing tricks on me, like fireworks behind the house or something.

"Just before that I heard a boom. I didn't know if it was a tree against the house. It was green and blue and it was coming down pretty fast."

Gobeil said the light display eventually turned orange, yellow and red and lasted 10 seconds.

"I was waiting for it to explode," he said. "It looked similar to when we watch (news reports) in Afghanistan. When I didn't see that, I said, 'well, that's something from outer space.' I'm sure it landed way out in Winnipeg or something."

Gobeil said he only wished he'd gotten a picture of the other-worldly event.

"It's exciting - both scary and really nice."

File Under Silly

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:04:00 +0000

This should be filed under silly!

"In “Market Economy and Ethics” the future pope said a decline in ethics “can actually cause the laws of the market to collapse,” Bloomberg reported."

That statement is just common sense when any market starts breaking it's own rules and the ethical standards decline you will see a decline and the absence of trust in those markets, it's not a prophesy though no matter how much one might try and make it so.

Pope credited for predicting financial crisis
Posted: November 20, 2008, 9:09 AM by Jonathan Ratner
Economics, Credit Crisis, recession

There is no shortage of experts claiming that they foresaw the global financial crisis. While some have a legitimate argument, many others don’t.

The most interesting such suggestion to emerge recently gives credit to the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI was the first to predict the crisis, a “prophesy” in a 1985 paper presented when Joseph Ratzinger was a cardinal, according to Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti.

“The prediction that an undisciplined economy would collapse by its own rules can be found” in that paper, he said Wednesday at Milan’s Cattolica University.

In “Market Economy and Ethics” the future pope said a decline in ethics “can actually cause the laws of the market to collapse,” Bloomberg reported.

Jonathan Ratner

Photo: Pope Benedict XVI kisses a baby at the end of his general audience in Saint Peter Square at the Vatican October 8, 2008. REUTERS/Max Rossi (VATICAN)

A New Era Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Invictus Solis) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:50:00 +0000

As I write this I'm waiting for President Elect Barack Obama to make his speech. I wait with anticipation knowing I'm witnessing History. It is hard to believe that until recently the thought that an African American could be the President of one of the most powerful country's in the world was unthinkable, no one thought they would live to see it, let alone it could be possible.

At a time like this I think it is important to remember all the people who fought in the civil rights movement of the 1960's who in some cases gave their lives for the dream we see made into reality on this night.

The time is 11:57Pm and President Elect Barack Obama is standing at the podium, a crowd of One hundred sixty thousand plus has gathered at Grant Park to hear Obama speak. History speaks,a new voice of hope, of inclusion, this moment of time is hard to describe, it's full of awe and a hopefulness that I have not experienced before.

This is a moment in time I will remember, perhaps America will become a Beacon of Hope and freedom once more for those who are still oppressed in the world, I can not help but to think that a new era begins.