ECO CLIPS
DAILY GREEN State and federal agents have killed 1,465 buffalo in one of America's last herd of bison this year, the largest toll in Yellowstone National Park since the 19th Century, according to GAO figures quoted by the NRDC. Here's how NRDC described the issue: "In the coming weeks, Yellowstone buffalo will make their annual migration westward to calving grounds where they can find food and safely birth new calves. Many will head to the Horse Butte peninsula, located outside of Yellowstone’s western border in Montana. Typically, state and federal officials have attempted to aggressively force the animals back into the park for fear of potential disease transmission to cattle. This 'hazing' of the animals has created some ugly and unfortunate situations with calves being trampled by the startled stampede. ... Horse Butte is a wildlife rich peninsula, mainly on the Gallatin National Forest, extending over 10,000 acres from the border of Yellowstone National Park to Hebgen Lake, just outside West Yellowstone, Montana." NRDC called this technique "brutal and unnecessary," and called on the governor of Montana and the federal government to enact a moratorium.
DAILY GREEN Air pollution decreases the potency of the chemical messages flowers emit as fragrance, according to a new University of Virginia computer model and research published in Atmospheric Environment. In short: stopping to smell the flowers used to be a lot easier, because the scent of flowers used to emanate over a wider area. Before air pollution got in the way, scent molecules from flowers could travel as far as 3,900 feet, according to co-author Jose D. Fuentes. Downwind of major cities, that number is reduced to as little as 650 feet. . . . It's a potentially vicious cycle: If the bees can't find the flowers, they won't eat well, and the fewer flowers they find, the fewer are pollinated and reproduce. . . Other studies, as well as the actual experience of farmers, have shown that populations of bees, particularly bumblebees, and butterflies have declined greatly in recent years. Fuentes and his team of U.Va. researchers, including Quinn McFrederick and James Kathilankal, believe that air pollution, especially during the peak period of summer, may be a factor.
MID EAST
BBC - Israel has said it will not allow a UN official appointed to investigate Israeli human rights abuses to enter the country or Palestinian territories. It said it made the decision after Richard Falk told the BBC he stood by comments he made comparing Israel's actions in Gaza to those of the Nazis. Mr Falk is due to take up his post with the UN Human Rights Council in May. The foreign ministry said it would deny Mr Falk a visa at least until a council meeting in September.
CYBER NOTES
TECH CRUNCH - Gartner analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald told a conference audience y that Microsoft’s Windows product is collapsing and must make radical changes to its operating system or risk becoming a has-been. They specifically pointed out the slow adoption rate by businesses - just 6% to date - and the fact that the Vista code base is so large. That means changes take years, and only high end computers can really take advantage of it anyway. For most early adopters (and all Mac users), the browser is increasingly the only operating system that matters anyway. Windows isn’t really that relevant any more just because of the increasing utility of online applications like Google Docs, which competes with Microsoft Office. Vista could be perfect and it still wouldn’t matter. The fact that it is flawed only makes the situation worse. Microsoft makes a ton of revenue on sales of software that sit on the computer. $15 billion a year for Windows alone, and another $16 billion for Office and Exchange Server in 2007. That’s 60% of Microsoft’s total revenue Microsoft isn’t a viable company without their consumer and business desktop software profits.
CORPORADOS
AP The latest round of American Airlines flight cancellations has left tens of thousands of passengers searching for alternative ways to get to their destinations, but airlines are not required to compensate passengers for canceled flights. The only time airlines legally have to provide compensation is when a passenger is bumped from an overbooked flight, according to the Department of Transportation's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. However, passengers whose schedules are significantly affected by cancellations -- such as when the only available alternate flight involves flying on a different day or includes an unplanned stopover -- are eligible for a refund in lieu of a later flight. . . Passengers who did not buy their tickets directly from the airline might have better luck finding an alternate seat by contacting their online or brick-and-mortar travel agency. American was offering travel vouchers to some inconvenienced passengers and putting some travelers in hotels.
HEALTH & SCIENCE
FINANCIAL TIMES, UK The Food Standards Agency will ask food companies to withdraw six artificial food colourings voluntarily from all products by the end of next year, after concerns were raised that the additives encourage hyperactivity in children. The FSA will also press the European Union to push for a mandatory ban on the six colourings, which include allura red and sunset yellow
OUTLYING PRECINCTS
HUFFINGTON POST "When Senator John McCain was asked here this afternoon how he plans to balance the budget, he said that he hoped to do so by stimulating economic growth - and approvingly cited the example of President Ronald Reagan," the New York Times reports. "There was one thing he did not mention during his response: the deficit nearly tripled during the Reagan presidency, partly due to tax cuts and increases in military spending."
FURTHERMORE. .
SLATE - The "legal tabloid" abovethelaw.com named Ron Tolkin "Court Reporter of the Day" last month after the 61-year-old Brooklyn stenographer was called upon to wrestle a rampaging criminal to the ground in open court. Tolkin jumped on defendant Victor Wright after the convicted drug felon started choking federal prosecutor Carolyn Pokorny, head of the Eastern District of New York narcotics division. The crazed Wright also tried, unsuccessfully, to slash Pokorny with a razor, but the weapon fell to the floor amid the tumult. As Tolkin subdued the assailant, with help from the defendant's lawyer and two U.S. marshals, his tape recorder picked up the scuffle. Several days later, the conscientious court reporter produced a certified transcript of the unusual proceedings.
"I told him, 'You want to try something, try it on me,' " Tolkin explained to the New York Times. "Only I wasn't that polite." Let the record show that Tolkin's precise words, as quoted in the transcript, were: "Try it on me, man, I'll kick you in the fuckin' balls" . Tolkin is also quoted in the transcript saying, "You cocksucker, get off of her. Get off of her. Get off of her. You cocksucker, get off of her" and, "Fuckin' shit. Son-of-a-bitch" Tolkin offered the court an unnecessary but gentlemanly apology for the harsh language in his transcript, much of it his own. The trial was subsequently postponed.
GAY CITY NEWS - In an email, Dr. Wan Yanhai reported that the month of March saw numerous police raids on gay gathering spots in Beijing and Shanghai, and he said that the evidence of a new pre-Olympic crackdown on gays is so widespread it is clear it is being orchestrated "at the national level." Wan is not just anybody. A former official of China's Ministry of Public Health, he was fired in 1994 for his participation in AIDS information and prevention campaigns and for his support of full equal rights for homosexuals. After being purged from the ministry, Wan founded the AIDS-fighting Aizhixing Action Project. . . The association also works for freedom of expression on the Internet and is active on behalf of LGBT rights.
BBC US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked for "embarrassing" travel restrictions on Nelson Mandela and South African leaders to be lifted. A bill has been introduced in the US Congress to remove from databases any reference to South Africa's governing party and its leaders as terrorists. The African National Congress was designated as a terrorist organization by South Africa's old apartheid regime. At present a waiver is needed for any ANC leaders to enter the country. "It is frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterparts - the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader, Nelson Mandela," Ms Rice told lawmakers in Washington. Last week, Howard Berman, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, who introduced the bill said it was "shameful" that the United States still treated the ANC this way.
RULES OF THUMB Napoleon's troops carried canned snails as emergency rations. Their rule was: 1,000 snails per soldier per week.
JON STEWART GIVES THE BUSH-PETREAUS SCAM ITS DUE
THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW
Washington's Most Unofficial Source
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #381
Washington DC 20003
202-423-7884
Editor: Sam Smith
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UNDERNEWS
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DAILY GREEN State and federal agents have killed 1,465 buffalo in one of America's last herd of bison this year, the largest toll in Yellowstone National Park since the 19th Century, according to GAO figures quoted by the NRDC. Here's how NRDC described the issue: "In the coming weeks, Yellowstone buffalo will make their annual migration westward to calving grounds where they can find food and safely birth new calves. Many will head to the Horse Butte peninsula, located outside of Yellowstone’s western border in Montana. Typically, state and federal officials have attempted to aggressively force the animals back into the park for fear of potential disease transmission to cattle. This 'hazing' of the animals has created some ugly and unfortunate situations with calves being trampled by the startled stampede. ... Horse Butte is a wildlife rich peninsula, mainly on the Gallatin National Forest, extending over 10,000 acres from the border of Yellowstone National Park to Hebgen Lake, just outside West Yellowstone, Montana." NRDC called this technique "brutal and unnecessary," and called on the governor of Montana and the federal government to enact a moratorium.
DAILY GREEN Air pollution decreases the potency of the chemical messages flowers emit as fragrance, according to a new University of Virginia computer model and research published in Atmospheric Environment. In short: stopping to smell the flowers used to be a lot easier, because the scent of flowers used to emanate over a wider area. Before air pollution got in the way, scent molecules from flowers could travel as far as 3,900 feet, according to co-author Jose D. Fuentes. Downwind of major cities, that number is reduced to as little as 650 feet. . . . It's a potentially vicious cycle: If the bees can't find the flowers, they won't eat well, and the fewer flowers they find, the fewer are pollinated and reproduce. . . Other studies, as well as the actual experience of farmers, have shown that populations of bees, particularly bumblebees, and butterflies have declined greatly in recent years. Fuentes and his team of U.Va. researchers, including Quinn McFrederick and James Kathilankal, believe that air pollution, especially during the peak period of summer, may be a factor.
MID EAST
BBC - Israel has said it will not allow a UN official appointed to investigate Israeli human rights abuses to enter the country or Palestinian territories. It said it made the decision after Richard Falk told the BBC he stood by comments he made comparing Israel's actions in Gaza to those of the Nazis. Mr Falk is due to take up his post with the UN Human Rights Council in May. The foreign ministry said it would deny Mr Falk a visa at least until a council meeting in September.
CYBER NOTES
TECH CRUNCH - Gartner analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald told a conference audience y that Microsoft’s Windows product is collapsing and must make radical changes to its operating system or risk becoming a has-been. They specifically pointed out the slow adoption rate by businesses - just 6% to date - and the fact that the Vista code base is so large. That means changes take years, and only high end computers can really take advantage of it anyway. For most early adopters (and all Mac users), the browser is increasingly the only operating system that matters anyway. Windows isn’t really that relevant any more just because of the increasing utility of online applications like Google Docs, which competes with Microsoft Office. Vista could be perfect and it still wouldn’t matter. The fact that it is flawed only makes the situation worse. Microsoft makes a ton of revenue on sales of software that sit on the computer. $15 billion a year for Windows alone, and another $16 billion for Office and Exchange Server in 2007. That’s 60% of Microsoft’s total revenue Microsoft isn’t a viable company without their consumer and business desktop software profits.
CORPORADOS
AP The latest round of American Airlines flight cancellations has left tens of thousands of passengers searching for alternative ways to get to their destinations, but airlines are not required to compensate passengers for canceled flights. The only time airlines legally have to provide compensation is when a passenger is bumped from an overbooked flight, according to the Department of Transportation's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. However, passengers whose schedules are significantly affected by cancellations -- such as when the only available alternate flight involves flying on a different day or includes an unplanned stopover -- are eligible for a refund in lieu of a later flight. . . Passengers who did not buy their tickets directly from the airline might have better luck finding an alternate seat by contacting their online or brick-and-mortar travel agency. American was offering travel vouchers to some inconvenienced passengers and putting some travelers in hotels.
HEALTH & SCIENCE
FINANCIAL TIMES, UK The Food Standards Agency will ask food companies to withdraw six artificial food colourings voluntarily from all products by the end of next year, after concerns were raised that the additives encourage hyperactivity in children. The FSA will also press the European Union to push for a mandatory ban on the six colourings, which include allura red and sunset yellow
OUTLYING PRECINCTS
HUFFINGTON POST "When Senator John McCain was asked here this afternoon how he plans to balance the budget, he said that he hoped to do so by stimulating economic growth - and approvingly cited the example of President Ronald Reagan," the New York Times reports. "There was one thing he did not mention during his response: the deficit nearly tripled during the Reagan presidency, partly due to tax cuts and increases in military spending."
FURTHERMORE. .
SLATE - The "legal tabloid" abovethelaw.com named Ron Tolkin "Court Reporter of the Day" last month after the 61-year-old Brooklyn stenographer was called upon to wrestle a rampaging criminal to the ground in open court. Tolkin jumped on defendant Victor Wright after the convicted drug felon started choking federal prosecutor Carolyn Pokorny, head of the Eastern District of New York narcotics division. The crazed Wright also tried, unsuccessfully, to slash Pokorny with a razor, but the weapon fell to the floor amid the tumult. As Tolkin subdued the assailant, with help from the defendant's lawyer and two U.S. marshals, his tape recorder picked up the scuffle. Several days later, the conscientious court reporter produced a certified transcript of the unusual proceedings.
"I told him, 'You want to try something, try it on me,' " Tolkin explained to the New York Times. "Only I wasn't that polite." Let the record show that Tolkin's precise words, as quoted in the transcript, were: "Try it on me, man, I'll kick you in the fuckin' balls" . Tolkin is also quoted in the transcript saying, "You cocksucker, get off of her. Get off of her. Get off of her. You cocksucker, get off of her" and, "Fuckin' shit. Son-of-a-bitch" Tolkin offered the court an unnecessary but gentlemanly apology for the harsh language in his transcript, much of it his own. The trial was subsequently postponed.
GAY CITY NEWS - In an email, Dr. Wan Yanhai reported that the month of March saw numerous police raids on gay gathering spots in Beijing and Shanghai, and he said that the evidence of a new pre-Olympic crackdown on gays is so widespread it is clear it is being orchestrated "at the national level." Wan is not just anybody. A former official of China's Ministry of Public Health, he was fired in 1994 for his participation in AIDS information and prevention campaigns and for his support of full equal rights for homosexuals. After being purged from the ministry, Wan founded the AIDS-fighting Aizhixing Action Project. . . The association also works for freedom of expression on the Internet and is active on behalf of LGBT rights.
BBC US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked for "embarrassing" travel restrictions on Nelson Mandela and South African leaders to be lifted. A bill has been introduced in the US Congress to remove from databases any reference to South Africa's governing party and its leaders as terrorists. The African National Congress was designated as a terrorist organization by South Africa's old apartheid regime. At present a waiver is needed for any ANC leaders to enter the country. "It is frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterparts - the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader, Nelson Mandela," Ms Rice told lawmakers in Washington. Last week, Howard Berman, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, who introduced the bill said it was "shameful" that the United States still treated the ANC this way.
RULES OF THUMB Napoleon's troops carried canned snails as emergency rations. Their rule was: 1,000 snails per soldier per week.
JON STEWART GIVES THE BUSH-PETREAUS SCAM ITS DUE
THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW
Washington's Most Unofficial Source
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #381
Washington DC 20003
202-423-7884
Editor: Sam Smith
REVIEW E-MAIL UPDATES
REVIEW INDEX
UNDERNEWS
XML FEED
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