Developer Offers Plan to Buy Belle Isle for $1 Billion, Secede from Michigan -

Developer Offers Plan to Buy Belle Isle for $1 Billion, Secede from Michigan - 




If you can’t get your burbclave built in Honduras, maybe Detroit will work? Or Idaho or Texas…

My guess is that the Seasteading guys will fire something up before it happens on land. And when they’re through effing around with half ass solutions (cruise ships???), there’s always Rapture… Or Elysium.

In all seriousness, a Rapture-on-the-Surface in international waters would be the easiest way to go in terms of getting out from under the laws of the various states. Physically dealing with the power of the ocean, which would be working to break the “city” into toothpicks 24/7 is… not going to be easy. But if guys are willing to part with billions of dollars to get something done, who knows?

Via: Motor City Muckraker:

Prominent Republicans in Michigan will gather soon to hear a plan for investors to buy Belle Isle from the city of Detroit for $1 billion and turn the island park into a semi-independent city-state of 35,000 people with its own laws, government and currency.

Never mind that the proposed libertarian experiment, supported by prominent free-enterprise supporters like the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, retired Chrysler President Al Sperlich and Clark Durant, co-founder of Detroit’s Cornerstone Schools, likely will go nowhere.

The sale of Belle Isle requires the approval of Mayor Dave Bing and Detroit City Council and neither would give the proposal a serious look. It’s also very unlikely the island could secede from Michigan

Read more - 
http://www.cryptogon.com/?p=33212

Armed School Security Guard Clark Arnold Leaves Gun Unattended In Student Bathroom -

Armed School Security Guard Clark Arnold Leaves Gun Unattended In Student Bathroom - 

The National Rifle Association sparked controversy in the weeks following Wayne LaPierre's call to place armed guards in every school. LaPierre called such a move "the one thing that would keep people safe," but one that may have backfired for a charter school that took his advice to heart.

While President Barack Obama and gun control supporters have expressed skepticism about staffing schools with armed guards, Chatfield School in Lapeer, Mich. -- like LaPierre -- felt that its students and staff would be safer with such security measures.

So school officials announced last week that they had hired retired county sheriff Clark Arnold to serve as Chatfield's armed security officer.

"It's a tremendous asset to the safety of the students," Chatfield School Director Matt Young told WNEM. "Providing a safe environment and an atmosphere where parents are comfortable, students are comfortable, and feel safe so that they can focus on learning."

But just days later, school officials revealed to The Flint Journal that Arnold had "made a breach in security protocol" by leaving his unloaded gun in a school restroom "for a few moments."

Young declined to comment to The Flint Journal on repercussions for Arnold, citing "personnel" reasons, but said in a statement that additional security measures have been implemented and no students were involved or affected by the incident.

Lapeer County Prosecutor Byron Konschuh tells the paper that Arnold likely will not face criminal charges because no one was harmed in the incident.

Read more - 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/18/armed-school-security-gua_n_2505747.html?utm_hp_ref=canada&ir=Canada

Five people were wounded when firearms accidentally went off at gun shows across the United States on Saturday -

Five people were wounded when firearms accidentally went off at gun shows across the United States on Saturday - 



Five people were wounded when firearms accidentally went off at gun shows across the United States on Saturday.

The incidents coincided with a day of nation-wide rallies by gun rights advocates who say the right to own firearms is under attack from President Barack Obama’s proposals to reduce gun violence.

In North Carolina, three people including a retired sheriff’s deputy were wounded at a gun show in Raleigh when a 12-gauge shotgun accidentally went off as its owner was taking it out of its case, state officials said.

Gary Lynn Wilson, 36, who was bringing his shotgun to the Dixie Gun and Knife Show hoping to sell it privately, approached the entrance to have it inspected. It went off as he removed it from its case, according to a statement by the state Department of Agriculture, a host of the gun show.

Three patrons were hit with birdshot: a man, a woman and a retired Wake County Sheriff’s deputy who was working at the show. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

In Indianapolis, a 54-year-old man was injured when he accidentally shot himself while leaving the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife show at the state fairgrounds.

Police say Emory Cozee was reloading his .45-calibre semi-automatic when he shot himself in the hand. Loaded personal weapons are not allowed inside the show.

And in nearby Medina, Ohio, a stray bullet at a local gun show left a bystander shot in his arm and leg.

Police Chief Pat Berarducci said a gun dealer was checking out a handgun that he had just bought when he accidentally pulled the trigger. Investigators believe the bullet ricocheted off the floor and struck a man standing nearby.

The wounded man was taken by helicopter to a Cleveland hospital. His condition wasn’t known.

The two incidents coincided with rallies across the country by gun rights advocates who say the right to own firearms is under attack from President Barack Obama’s proposals to reduce gun violence.

Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1317463--gun-show-participants-wounded-as-weapons-go-off-accidentally

Meet Mike, The Most Radioactive Fish Ever From Fukushima -

Meet Mike, The Most Radioactive Fish Ever From Fukushima - 


Almost two years after the awful nuclear disaster occurred, a fish caught near Fukushima on Friday January 18th had a record-breaking level of radioactive contamination over 2500x the legal limit. TEPCO measured 'Mike the Murasoi' at 254,000 becquerels per kilogram (with the limit for edible seafood at 100 becquerels). As Le Monde reports, the previous record (caught on August 21st 2012) was a mere 25,800 becquerels/kg. As further precautions, TEPCO is installing new nets 20km around the Fukushima Daichi site to avoid highly contaminated fish gettig too far and being consumed by other species. While Mike's family are no doubt distraught (at him being caught and being so radioactive), it appears (somewhat disappointingly) that there is no apparent third eye, lazer fins, legs, or other 'expected' 'blinky' malformations.



Mike - the slightly crispy looking Marusoi...


Read more - 
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-19/meet-mike-most-radioactive-fish-ever-fukushima

American Milk Banned in Europe Because it Does No Body Good -

American Milk Banned in Europe Because it Does No Body Good - 



As a mother of three young children, the debate centered around the nutritional value of cow’s milk has been at the forefront of my mind for quite some time. Conditioned by the well-known campaigns of milk marketers “Milk. It does a body good.” and “Got Milk?”, I’ve been led to believe that milk is needed – especially by young children – for good bone growth, brain development and, of course, to meet the body’s calcium needs.

If milk does a body so much good, why is US-produced milk banned in Europe? It turns out that in 1994, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). rBGH in milk is believed to increase the risk of cancer. In an attempt to protect its citizens from genetically-modified milk, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the U.N. Food Safety Agency representing 101 nations worldwide, has banned rBGH milk in the 101 nations that it represents. Canada is another country where rBGH milk is banned.

The European Commission organized independent research to review the effect of rBGH on public health. Here is what they found:

“The public health committee confirmed earlier reports of excess levels of the naturally occurring Insulin-like-Growth Factor One (IGF-1), including its highly potent variants, in rBGH milk and concluded that these posed major risks of cancer, particularly of the breast and prostate, besides promoting the growth and invasiveness of cancer cells by inhibiting their programmed self-destruction (apoptosis).” Source: Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.

rBGH is another one of Monsanto’s genetically-engineered products that mimics the cow’s naturally-produced BGH hormone. American dairy farmers inject their cows with rBGH to increase how much milk each cow produced – usually by 20%. The use of rBGH results in cows also producing more IGF-1 hormone, to such excess that milk from rBGH-treated cows has up to 80% more IGF-1.

Researchers throughout the world argue that consumption of excess IGF-1 hormone, which is also found in humans, may result in a higher risk of breast, colon and prostate cancer. Yet, in the US, Monsanto and the milk industry do not clearly label which milk comes from rBGH-treated cows.

And the effect on humans is just one of the problems. The use of rBGH also has a serious effect on the animals. Here’s a short 3-minute video about Monsanto’s deception regarding rBGH.

If the idea of consuming hormone-filled, cancer-causing, Franken-milk doesn’t turn you off of cow’s milk, at least the non-organic non-labeled brands, then perhaps some of the following facts will give you more food for thought:

Milk is believed to deplete the body of natural calcium, which is used up in the process of digesting milk. It offers an inorganic calcium that cannot be easily digested and used by the human body. “Just like our bodies cannot use the iron in a magnet, they cannot use the calcium in milk.”
Milk is acidic, making it difficult for the body to digest. As a result, the pH of human intestines may become unbalanced, making them more susceptible to injury and disease.
Cow’s milk contains at least 59 active hormones, allergens, fat, cholesterol, herbicides, pesticies, antibiotics, blood, pus, bacteria and viruses.
“It’s not natural for humans to drink cow’s milk. Humans milk is for humans. Cow’s milk is for calves. You have no more need of cow’s milk than you do rats milk, horses milk or elephant’s milk. Cow’s milk is a high fat fluid exquisitely designed to turn a 65 lb baby calf into a 400 lb cow. That’s what cow’s milk is for!” – Dr Michael Klaper MD

Yes, our bodies need calcium. But perhaps milk is not the best source, as we’ve been led to believe. Try eating more lettuce, kale, broccoli, almonds, oranges, flax seed, sesame seeds, dill, thyme and other dried herbs. For cereal, try almond or hemp milk instead of cow’s milk. Calcium from plant sources is more easily digested by our bodies than calcium from cow’s milk, because plants have a high magnesium content, and magnesium aids in the assimilation of calcium by the body. Decreasing your intake of cow’s milk will do your body good!

Read more - 
http://www.blacklistednews.com/American_Milk_Banned_in_Europe_Because_it_Does_No_Body_Good/23699/0/38/38/Y/M.html

US Department of Defense Tactical Electromagnetic Cyber Warfare: Plant Malware Through the Air -

US Department of Defense Tactical Electromagnetic Cyber Warfare: Plant Malware Through the Air - 

It was right around that time that scientists began to turn their attention to another project: trying to access these protected networks remotely, through the air, by reading activity via electromagnetic field distortions and inserting code via radio frequencies. Accessing these networks — networks that don’t have wireless routers and aren’t connected to the Internet — became something of a holy grail, dubbed “jumping the gap.”

The science has progressed significantly, and now the Army is looking at demonstrating technology that can be deployed on aircraft and ground vehicles that can wage this kind of cyber warfare.


Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz may have had one of the most secure computer systems in the world. The building housing the nuclear program’s equipment is underground, protected by a combination of concrete walls, earth and military guards.

And it was a “closed” network, sealed off from the Internet and unsusceptible to vulnerabilities in the system’s Windows-based software.

All those precautions, however, didn’t stop the Stuxnet worm from infecting the system, disrupting the delicate balance of uranium-enriching centrifuges and rendering them useless. Stuxnet, part of a broader U.S./Israeli cyberwarfare campaign against Iran’s nuclear program called “Olympic Games,” was carried in on a small flash drive. Someone, either a spy or an unwitting accomplice, plugged it into a USB port on a computer inside the complex and let loose into the “secure” Iranian system the most devastating cyber weapon ever known.

Without smuggling that cyber weapon physically into the plant, the operation never would have worked, which underscores the problem: No matter how high-tech the cyber tool, the glaring weak link has been the ability to reach out and touch a system. A breach of physical security was required, either secretly getting hold of an employee’s thumb drive and infecting it, or working with someone on the inside to covertly plug the device into the network.

With thumb drives now a known vulnerability, most countries have banned their use on sensitive systems. Iran forbade them at Natanz shortly after the Stuxnet worm began to work its magic; the Pentagon banned their use in 2008.

It was right around that time that scientists began to turn their attention to another project: trying to access these protected networks remotely, through the air, by reading activity via electromagnetic field distortions and inserting code via radio frequencies. Accessing these networks — networks that don’t have wireless routers and aren’t connected to the Internet — became something of a holy grail, dubbed “jumping the gap.”

The science has progressed significantly, and now the Army is looking at demonstrating technology that can be deployed on aircraft and ground vehicles that can wage this kind of cyber warfare.

The Army’s Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate, known as I2WD, hosted a classified planning day Nov. 28. Representatives from 60 companies and labs attended to discuss what can be done in the realm of electronic warfare and cyber, according to a source familiar with the program.

The roughly half-dozen objectives of the Tactical Electromagnetic Cyber Warfare Demonstrator program are classified. (The TECWD program is pronounced “techwood” by participants.) The source said the program is designed to demonstrate ready-made systems, dubbed “boxes,” that can perform a variety of tasks. Some are somewhat typical fare, like systems aimed at the improvised explosive device threat.

But among the objectives are these: inserting and extracting data from sealed, wired networks. The possibilities are remarkable. Imagine being able to roll a vehicle near a facility, sit for a short period while inserting a worm, and leave without having to buy off any employee or sneak anything past an attentive guard. Better yet, a stealthy unmanned aerial vehicle could be quietly flown far above a facility to insert code even in contested airspace. With that kind of tactical deployment, cyber could become a critical part of a wide variety of operations, as localized effects could be integrated with kinetic activities.

The Army program is designed specifically to test capabilities for air and ground platforms, according to an invitation to an information day on the program released by I2WD.

“The TECWD demonstration effort will serve as a technology demonstrator for offensive electronic attack, defensive electronic attack, electronic protection, and electronic support, and EW enabled cyber on ground and air platforms,” the invitation read. “TECWD will help the Army assess technologies and capabilities for potential applicability in the Army’s next generation EW and beyond.”

The program, which will consist of a series of demonstrations roughly every three months for the next two years, will test a variety of electronic warfare, or EW, capabilities, said Moses Mingle, branch chief of the EW systems ground branch at I2WD.

“It’s not a system; it’s a demonstration platform,” Mingle said. “Basically, we’re vetting systems concepts: tactical EW cyber scenarios that could be deployed in the future.”

Asked if one of the objectives is to demonstrate a system that could jump the gap and access systems remotely, Mingle declined to go into detail, citing classification issues, but said, “That’s a part of it, but not all of it.”

U.S. intelligence agencies began to worry about distortions to the electromagnetic fields around computer systems, and the potential that they would provide unique signatures that could tip off network activity, in the 1980s. The principle behind it is based on simple physics. Electronics in even a closed network emit an electromagnetic signal, however faint and accidental.

So at the time, a series of research efforts was undertaken to study these distortions, known as compromise emanations, under the code name “Tempest.” Could these the emanations be exploited in any reliable way? Researchers found that keystrokes could be detected from signals sent from keyboards to computer units, as well as information on a monitor. The ability to detect these disturbances has become increasingly sophisticated, with systems able to pick out signals from greater distances with greater clarity.

More recently, scientists have been paying special attention to the inverse of reading these emanations: insertion of data using radio frequencies. Again, in theory, since a wire can act as an antenna, an electromagnetic signal can be engineered and potentially transmitted to that wire.

The precision required is tremendous. Popular culture has introduced much of the world to the concept of the electromagnetic pulse, as featured in the George Clooney movie “Ocean’s Eleven.” (Don Cheadle’s character, quite implausibly, fries the electrical grid of Las Vegas.) The pulses are typically created by extraordinarily large systems supported by tremendous supplies of energy or as a side effect of nuclear detonations. They work as blunt-force instruments, frying a system and rendering the electronics useless.

The TECWD challenge would be a technique that would transmit not a destructive pulse but a signal finessed to a specific network. It’s more scalpel than sledgehammer.

The technology does exist, but the ability to add data still has limitations, mainly proximity and bandwidth, experts said. The “transmission” system has to get quite close to the targeted network. And at current levels, complex data can take extended periods to insert. Experts declined to provide full specifics on data transfer rates and range for data insertion using radio frequencies, citing the classified status of the capabilities and national security issues.

The actual power usage is far less than you’d expect: One expert said systems as small as man-packable radios could serve as the forward entry point for these types of cyber penetrations.

The recognition that electronic warfare methods can be critical for future cyber applications is clearly making its way up the leadership chain.

At a recent event at the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Crane Division in Crane, Ind., Adm. Jon Greenert, chief of naval operations, made the case.

“We have to understand better the electromagnetic spectrum,” he said. “Cyber, our radar and communication, everything. If you control the electromagnetic spectrum, you control the fight.”

The cryptic remarks reflect the classified nature of nearly everything in the cyber realm, and particularly in regards to offensive cyber EW capabilities.

But the possibilities are being explored as the U.S. military increasingly recognizes the potential of cyber weapons in operations.

The actual technology that allows for the insertion of data — transmitting cyber into a closed system — isn’t novel, said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Dale Meyerrose, former associate director of national intelligence.

“This is old technology,” he said. “The technology itself isn’t new, but the application of the technology is new, and the software running the technology on some of these devices is new.”

Meyerrose, who runs the Meyerrose Group, said connecting to closed networks using radio frequencies is about five years old, but some of the complications of cyber, including legal authority, have slowed progress. “This could be used to drop a Trojan into a system,” he said. “Like everything else in cyber, there are not a lot of legal parameters. Like everything else in cyber, our legal system is about 20 years behind.”

But if the legal questions and technical limitations are worked out, a new era of integrated cyberwarfare may be dawning.

Read more - 
http://www.phantomreport.com/us-department-of-defense-tactical-electromagnetic-cyber-warfare-plant-malware-through-the-air

Insane picture of Boeing 787 plane rechargeable lithium-ion batteries - ummm, Houston, I think we have a problem... -

Insane picture of Boeing 787 plane rechargeable lithium-ion batteries - ummm, Houston, I think we have a problem... - 




Boeing is reportedly proposing a "complete health check" on the batteries in its 787 Dreamliner jets amid an investigation by Japanese and U.S. authorities into its troubled, technologically advanced aircraft.
The Seattle Times reports Boeing suggested the battery check and procedural changes for pilots as possible interim ways to get the planes flying again in intensive talks with FAA officials. The Dreamliner has been grounded by multiple countries' aviation authorities, including the FAA. 
However, sources tell the Times the options proposed by Boeing may not be enough to convince officials the Dreamliner should fly again after the plane's several reported woes, including an emergency landing of a Japanese airline's 787 Wednesday. 
A Japanese investigator said Friday the burned insides of a battery in that plane indicate it operated at a voltage above its design limit. 
The All Nippon Airways plane made an emergency landing in western Japan after its pilots smelled something burning and received a cockpit warning of battery problems. Nearly all 50 of the 787s in use around the world have since been grounded.
Photos provided by the Japan Transport Safety Board of the lithium ion battery that was located beneath the 787's cockpit show a blackened mass of wires and other components within a distorted blue casing.
Japan transport ministry investigator Hideyo Kosugi said the state of the battery indicated "voltage exceeding the design limit was applied" to it.
He said the similarity of the burned insides of the battery from the ANA flight to the battery in a Japan Airlines 787 that caught fire Jan. 7 while the jet was parked at Boston's Logan International Airport suggested a common cause.
"If we compare data from the latest case here and that in the U.S., we can pretty much figure out what happened," Kosugi said.
The 787 relies more than any other modern airliner on electrical signals to help power nearly everything the plane does. It's also the first Boeing plane to use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for its main electrical system. Such batteries are prone to overheating and have additional safeguards installed that are meant to control the problem and prevent fires.
GS Yuasa Corp., the maker of the lithium-ion batteries used in the 787s, said Thursday it was helping with the investigation but that the cause of the problem was unclear. It said the problem could be the battery, the power source or the electronics system.
U.S. safety officials and Boeing inspectors joined the Japan Transport Safety Board investigation Friday.
The American investigators -- one each from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board and two from Boeing Co. -- inspected the ANA jet on the tarmac at Takamatsu airport in western Japan.
An initial inspection by Japanese officials of the 787 found that a flammable battery fluid known as electrolyte had leaked from the plane's main lithium-ion battery beneath the cockpit. It also found burn marks around the battery.
Aviation authorities in Japan have directed ANA, which owns 17 of the planes, and Japan Airlines, with seven, not to fly the jets until questions over their safety have been resolved.
The 787, known as the Dreamliner, is Boeing's newest jet, and the company is counting heavily on its success. Since its launch after delays of more than three years, the plane has been plagued by a series of problems.
The FAA has required U.S. carriers to stop flying 787s until the batteries are demonstrated to be safe. United Airlines has six of the jets and is the only U.S. carrier flying the model.
Aviation authorities in other countries usually follow the lead of the country where the manufacturer is based.


Read more: - 
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/18/us-investigators-boeing-staff-arrive-in-western-japan-to-inspect-troubled-787/

Feces Transplant More Effective For Diarrhea Than Antibiotics... -

Feces Transplant More Effective For Diarrhea Than Antibiotics... - 



A procedure that inserts fecal matter from a healthy person into the intestines of someone with diarrhea has been found to be a better treatment than antibiotics.

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine tested the transplant of healthy fecal material into patients experiencing repeated bouts of diarrhea caused by a bacterium known as Clostridium difficile. A bacteria that can frequently take over the intestines after antibiotic treatment has killed the beneficial bacteria in the body.

“This is the first hard evidence that has been provided for the treatment,” senior author Dr. Josbert Keller of the University of Amsterdam told Reuters Health.


The study found that a single transplant of fecal material from a healthy volunteer into someone afflicted with diarrhea cured the problem in 13 of the 16 volunteers. On the other hand, antibiotic treatment only worked in four of the 13 study participants.

Nearly 3 million people in the U.S. are infected with the “C difficile” diarrhea each year, and it commonly spreads in hospitals, doctors offices and nursing homes. In past studies, antibiotics typically worked in 15 to 26 percent of patients with C. diff., and following repeated rounds of treatment, the drugs’ effect is greatly diminished.

“Those of us who do it know how effective it is,” Dr. Colleen Kelly of Brown University’s Alpert Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, who was not connected with the study but uses fecal transplant in her practice, told Reuters. “I’ve done 90 of these now in the last four and a half years. In patient after patient who has failed multiple courses of antibiotic, if you give them a dose of stool, they get better.”

The researchers conceded that although the feces transplants sound distasteful, the long-term benefits should outweigh a patient’s disgust with the process.

“I think the ‘yuck’ thing is overplayed, and there’s a desperation when you’re this sick this long,” Kelly told Reuters. “The patients were desperate because they had had several episodes. There was nothing else they could do. There was no psychological hurdle for them.”

Of the volunteers in the antibiotic groups who had a relapse of C. diff, 18 were later given a fecal transplant. It cured 15 of them, but four of the 15 needed an additional treatment. And although 94 percent of the patients reported various side effects, all symptoms disappeared within three hours of the transplant.

Read more - 
http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2013/01/17/study-feces-transplant-more-effective-for-diarrhea-than-antibiotics/

Slippery when dry? New Wrangler jeans come moisturized -

Slippery when dry? New Wrangler jeans come moisturized - 

Legs getting a little dry this winter? Don’t rub old fashioned lotion on them, instead slip on your newfangled Wrangler Spa Denim jeans.

That’s what the denim giant is hoping women around the world will be thinking as they introduce their a line of blue jeans that infuses its fabric with an assortment of skin-care ingredients.

Customers will get to choose among three moisturizers:  Aloe Vera, Olive Extract and Smooth Legs.

The jean’s spokesmodel, Mick Jagger’s daughter Lizzie, waxed poetic on their properties in an online ad.

“They definitely feel cooler than regular jeans. After a day wearing them, my legs feel great. They come out feeling more silky than usual,” she said.

The jeans are expensive, retailing for $150 through the online store ASOS. But just think of how much you’ll save on Jergens!

http://www.asos.com/Wrangler/Wrangler-Denim-Spa-Molly-Skinny-Jeans-With-Olive-Extract/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=2694931&cid=3630&Rf-400=3062&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Jojoba&r=2

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/01/17/slippery-when-dry-new-wrangler-jeans-come-moisturized/?intcmp=features#ixzz2IGfD62fo

Man finds 12-lb gold nugget while prospecting with metal detector... -

Man finds 12-lb gold nugget while prospecting with metal detector... - 


A gold nugget with an estimated value of more than $300,000 has been unearthed near Ballarat in Victoria's west.

An amateur prospector found the nugget weighing 177 ounces, or 5.5 kilograms, with a metal detector just outside Ballarat in a popular area for prospecting.

The owner of The Mining Exchange Gold Shop in Ballarat, Cordell Kent, said the find was one of the most significant in his 20 years in the business.

"Over that period the sum total of my finds would be just over 100 ounces (2.8 kilograms)," he said.

"We have 800 prospectors on our books and only a couple of those have ever found a nugget over 100 ounces.

"So there's only been one or two big pieces and they were found a long time ago."

Mr Kent is seeking a buyer for the nugget on behalf of the lucky prospector, who wishes to remain anonymous.

Both expect the nugget to fetch more than $300,000.

Mr Kent said prospecting was becoming increasingly popular with gold valued at $1,600 per ounce.

"A lot of people think Victoria's goldfields are dead and that there's none left, but he (the prospector) has worked in an area where a lot of people have worked in the past but he persisted and he's been rewarded.

"We are 162 years into the gold rush and it's never totally waned, it's just changed."

The prospector is relatively new to the hobby and was totally overwhelmed when he brought it into the shop, Mr Kent said.

He found the nugget about 10.30am (AEDT) on Wednesday.

Mr Kent would not reveal exactly where the nugget was found.


Read more - 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-17/lucky-prospector-strikes-huge-gold-nugget/4470016