Whenever any citizen of the United States discovers a deposit of guano on any island, rock, or key, not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other government, and not occupied by the citizens of any other government, and takes peaceable possession thereof, and occupies the same, such island, rock, or key may, at the discretion of the President, be considered as appertaining to the United States.

The Incas are known to have exploited offshore guano resources for fertilizer, but the mid-nineteenth century saw the true heyday of Peruvian guano, as farmers around the world discovered that the excretions of the Peruvian Booby and the Guanay Cormorant were a superb, relatively odorless, source of phosphorus and nitrogen. So began "the guano rush." In 1858, Great Britain alone imported 300,000 tons of Peruvian guano, mostly for the purpose of turnip farming.

A case of collect-a-con?

From a distance Shadrack Monkhe bears an uncanny resemblance to the Collect-a-Can man seen in the recycling organisation's advertisements. At the edge of a road in Vanderbijlpark, he pushes a wheelbarrow heaped to capacity with littered beverage containers. Even the setting is appropriate. Behind him sprawls the steel mill of ArcelorMittal, the main shareholder of Collect-a-Can, which makes the rolls of steel that become cans. Next door is the can factory of Nampak, Collect-a-Can's other owner. And around the corner is a purchasing depot of Collect-a-Can itself. But Monkhe walks past a flattened Coke can to pull two plastic bottles out of the long grass. He has not picked up a single steel can today, though he has seen many. A scrap dealer will pay him R1,80 per kilogram for his plastic bottles.

The Times-Journal

It didnt take Peppers long to begin thinking about 2008-09. By the time Crossville returned to its locker room following the championship game, Peppers was already pondering what was ahead.Weve got a good nucleus coming back and a good group of [junior varsity] and junior high players, he said. Winning this thing is a good way to motivate the players in the offseason. Im looking forward to getting started right now.BIG SHOT: Peppers marveled at the 3-pointer Final Four MVP Thacker made to tie the championship game at 51-all with 1:33 remaining. Thacker, who made the game-winning layup with two seconds left in a state semifinal victory over Aliceville, sank the 3 from the left corner.I dont know how she did it with the girl in her face, but she got the ball off from the corner and tied the ballgame, he said.

Preview 2008: Minnesota Twins

Terry Ryan, the club's well-respected and long-serving general manager, resigned in September. The move signaled the end of an era, even though Ryan remained with the team in an advisory role and his replacement, Bill Smith, came from within.

Torii Hunter's seemingly inevitable departure came roughly two months after Ryan stepped down. Hunter, the popular centerfielder, signed a five-year contract with the Angels for a price ($90 million) that Minnesota was never going to match. .moreTeamsDiv { position:relative; float:right; padding-right:10px; } .moreTeamsHdr { background-image:url(/fe/img/Story/moreTeamsOn_header.gif); background-repeat:repeat-x; background-position:top; height:35px; color:#000000; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12px; padding-top:4px; padding-left:4px; font-weight:bold; } .moreTeamsLinks a:link, .moreTeamsLinks a:visited { color:#1266a4; text-decoration:none; padding-top:4px; padding-left:4px; padding-right:4px; padding-bottom:4px; } .moreTeamsLinks a:hover { text-decoration:underline; } .moreTeamLinks { font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration:none; } .storyPoll { padding-bottom: 5px; float:right; } .