july 26, 2000

Windsor Castle Video

Several subscribers have inquired about the Windsor Castle video. Jack Sullivan has located a couple of sources. I called the Royal Oak Society and was told they no longer carry it. Please be aware that UK video is a different format and will not play on a US machine.
Jack Sullivan wrote:
Jack,
I did find the video you requested at :
http://www.viburnum-gardens.com.au/vidheritage.html

WINDSOR RESTORED

The restoration of Windsor Castle following the great fire of the 11th November 1992. The fire took three days to extinguish and destroyed 105 rooms. Our guides on this superb programme are the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew. Programme produced by Prince Edward. 52 minutes. Export $49-00. Australia $53-90 plus p & p. Beckmann Publishing.
It's also listed at another site :
http://www.royal-oak.org/store/Videostore2.htm
for $25, no info on shipping.....

From: IntlArtCop@aol.com
Subject:

wireless in Europe

Can anyone tell me if there is a European standard for radio frequencies for the type of transmitters that would be used on wireless art protection systems? Or does each country have its own frequency?
If there is no standard (I heard that there is some commonality but France is different from most others), does anyone know if there is one frequency that is used more often or in the majority of countries? For example, here in the US we use 900 megahertz spread spectrum a great deal and older systems are in the 300 megahertz range.
Someone asked me this today with regard to whether our systems can travel with traveling exhibits to Europe without breaking any laws.
Steve Keller
Museum Security Consultant

Mesa Verde Blaze Threatens Ancient Ruins

July 25 - An out-of-control wildfire burning near the nation's largest archaeological preserve slowed today thanks to a shift in wind and less vegetation that has helped fuel the blaze.

Nearly 700 firefighters are battling the Mesa Verde National Park blaze, which has burned 22,630 acres, including 18,630 acres on park land, since Thursday and is only 15 percent contained. According to Tim Oliverious, a U.S. Park fire management officer, the blaze stalled today at an area damaged by previous fires in 1972 and 1996. In those areas, the shrubs were shorter and spaced farther apart, providing less fuel for the fire. Oliverious said crews tried to eliminate a potential fire source - and prevent further spreading of the blaze - when they set afire a strip of vegetation between the two old fire sites. But incident commander Joe Hartman said the fire was still burning briskly on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservation. "There are still some angry flames out there that can jump around,"he said. Gov. Bill Owens declared a state of disaster emergency for the fire area and dispatched about two dozen Colorado National Guard soldiers plus equipment to the scene. The declaration frees up state funding and resources to help local governments.

Preserving Ruins

Archaeologists are working with firefighters, helping them to identify sites that may need special care. Ironically, the very same fire that is threatening the nation's largest archaeological preserve - and advancing on Mesa's famed Indian cliff dwelling ruins - is helping to uncover previously unknown sites. The blaze is burning the vegetation off hidden sites - but threatening those already known. Archaeologists are marking the ruins with color-coded flags that denote new sites. After the fire is out, they will survey and research the area. "We're putting together the pieces of the puzzle of how people who have been gone for hundreds of years live," said National Park Service archaeologist Jane Anderson. "You make your best guess on what you can find and we're finding a lot." Late Monday, the fire was just 4.5 miles from the Cliff Palace ruins, built by Pueblo Indians between 600 and 1300 A.D. A fire in the 52,000-acre park in 1996 damaged a petroglyph carved into a rock wall by cliff dwellers more than 1,000 years ago. So far, no injuries have been reported. The roof of one campground structure has been reported damaged.

Massive Blaze

The fire has been fueled by extremely dry brush, including the region's characteristic juniper, oak brush and pinon. The blaze has cut a swath through Colorado 8 miles long and 4 miles wide Air tankers and helicopters have also battled the blaze. But firefighters had complained that the fire was moving so rapidly the air assault has been almost ineffective. Firefighters on the scene say the Mesa Verde is one of the biggest fires they have ever had to face. "This is a big one," said park official Will Morris. "I've talked to firefighters who have been fighting fires all their careers, and they describe it as one of the top 10 fires of their careers." The firefighters said they had to use extreme caution with a blaze this size. "We're always very conscious when we got into a situation like this, and we want to make certain we don't try to become heroes," said firefighter David Mobley. The blaze sent flames 200 feet in the air and created plumes of smoke that were visible for miles. "That smoke plume that you see there is not just a plume going up into the sky. It is extreme energy. This is awesome power that we're looking at," said fire management team spokesman Justin Dombrowski. "If you put somebody in front of those 200-foot flames, they are going to die. If you dump slurry on it, you've just wasted your retardant because there's nothing you can do to slow the fire."

Fire Resources Strained

Across the West, dozens of other wildfires burned out of control. Fires in southern California, Washington, Montana and New Mexico wiped out tens of thousands of acres. Eight new large fires have been reported in the northern Rockies, Rocky Mountain, and southern areas, the National Interagency Coordination Center said in its morning report. A pair of lightning-strike wildfires in northeastern Washington blackened 13,000 acres, destroying 30 homes and forcing evacuation of dozens of people. Near Helena, Mont., a pair of wildfires straddling Canyon Ferry Lake and pushed by gusty, hot winds are burning out of control, charring at least 10,000 acres and threatening as many as 100 homes. Additional manpower has poured onto the lines of a 46,000-acre fire burning in the central Idaho backcountry near the Montana state line. So far, it is only 15 percent. Fires have burned nearly 3 million acres nationwide this season, the largest acreage total since 1996, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho.
ABCNEWS affiliate KOAT in Albuquerque and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/mesaverde000725.html

Trade in stolen art should be a crime, say MPs

By Will Bennett, Art Sales Correspondent
TRADING in stolen or smuggled works of art should become a criminal offence, an all-party committee of MPs recommended yesterday. It is estimated that the trade is worth up to GBP.2 billion a year worldwide. The Home Office should also set up a national database of stolen and smuggled art and antiquities, said the Commons culture, media and sport committee.
However, the committee, chaired by Gerald Kaufman, Labour MP for Manchester Gorton, decided against making a recommendation about the future of the Elgin Marbles, which are in the British Museum.
The marbles, which were removed by Lord Elgin from the Parthenon in Athens with the agreement of the local authorities in the early 19th century, are the source of a long-running dispute between Britain and Greece. Although the MPs visited Greece and saw witnesses from both sides, Mr Kaufman said the issue was "tangential to our inquiry".
At the moment it is not a criminal offence to trade in works of art which have been stolen abroad or smuggled out of a foreign country. It can be an offence to sell goods which are stolen in Britain.
(Daily Telegraph)