Odds ‘n Sods:

The U.S. The government is asking for public comments on the USDA‘s NAIS animal identification/tracking scheme. Please give them a piece of your mind. (For some background on the NAIS plan, see The Memsahib’s article.)

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A Category 5 Hurricane Landfall in Miami Could Cost Insurers Up To $130 Billion

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There is currently an interesting thread of conversation about wind generators over at The Claire Files.

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North Korea is about to test an ICBM capable of reaching the US

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To compete with the Canadian Maple Leaf, the U.S. Mint will soon release a .9999 Fine “Buffalo” gold coin. These new one ounce coins will be available for ordering next week, and deliveries begin in early July. The mint decided that there was sufficient market demand to produce both the .9167 fine “hard” American Eagles, and “soft” .9999 fine Buffaloes. To prevent damage, the “Buffs” will be individually encapsulated. The only downside is that this will make them more bulky to store than Eagles. Why .9999? In some markets such as India, investors prefer pure gold bullion coins rather than circulating bullion coins with hardeners added. Such coins are more easily usable for conversion to jewelry or for industrial use.