|
WWW Kensington Review |
Links |
Contact Us |
| Latest Commentary: | Volume VII, Number 56 |
|
FBI Withdraws Secret Internet Order after Lawsuit Unconstitutional -- While the eyes of the media were on the Obama-Clinton fight, the FBI caved in on a secret administrative demand when the Internet Archive, a digital library, filed suit against the order. The FBI wanted the name, address and online activity of a patron of the Internet Archive. It made its demand using a “National Security Letter,” which is not subject to judicial oversight and which cannot be disclosed publicly by the recipient. It is blatantly unconstitutional, and the FBI’s actions suggest it knows it.
Burmese Junta Delays Humanitarian Aid -- Six days ago, Cyclone Nargis hit Burma's Irrawaddy Delta killing as many as 100,000 people and destroying at least 95% of the buildings. Food and water are in short supply, and the unburied bodies of humans and livestock will soon add disease to the troubles of the survivors. It is the worst disaster to hit Asia since the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. Unlike during that disaster, the world has to plead with the government to let aid into the country to little avail. Toyota Warns of Weak Profits Ahead -- Toyota stunned the markets yesterday by warning that its profits for the year are going to drop by 29.5% compared with 2007. The company also announced that this quarter income declined 28% to ¥316 billion (US$1=¥105). This is the first slide in quarterly profits on a year-over-year basis in three years, and it took analysts by surprise. The causes are a weak US dollar, rising commodity prices including oil, and generally bad economic conditions in key markets. Scientists Map Platypus Genome -- Comedian Robin Williams once suggested that the platypus was proof that God smoked pot on occasion, “OK, first, take a beaver, let’s put on a duck’s bill . . . .OK, he’s a mammal but he lays eggs.” Scientists have just finished mapping the platypus genome, and they found that the beast is just as distinct genetically as it is physically. The results are reported in yesterday’s edition of Nature. © Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.
|
|
