Issue 2 2010: February
ULTRA-MARATHONER OF THE AIR
Charles Lindbergh had nothing on the Arctic Tern. Each year, this small bird makes a marathon migration from pole to pole, flying between the shores of Antarctica and its summer breeding grounds in Greenland - about 44,000 miles, the longest annual migration in the world. As data trackers on birds' legs revealed, the journey is far from straightforward. The birds linger for a month in the middle of the North Atlantic ocean, fueling up on fish and zooplankton before heading south into less food-friendly waters: on the trip north they zigzag across the ocean between Africa and South America to take advantage of prevailing winds. "It's just more energy-efficient for them to do that," study author Carsten Egevang tells BBCnews.com. Over its 30-year life span, the tern can rack up 1.5 million frequent-flier miles, enough to travel to the moon and back three times. ..... The Week
PIRATES AND FISHING
Apparently there's an upside to living near pirate-infested waters: good fishing. In recent years, the illegal commercial trawlers that would loot the oceans off the Somalian coastline have stayed away due to the threat of hijacking. That's leaving local fishermen in Somalia and northern Kenya with outsize catches - red snapper, barracuda and oranda have all reportedly returned in large numbers - and, as a result, higher incomes and a better quality of life. ..... Time
WHAT IS THE TEA PARTY?
For starters, it's not really a party. Political parties have leaders, rules, and organizational structure; the Tea Party has none of these. Rather, it's a political movement defined more by what it's against than by what it's for. Named after the original revolt in 1773, the Tea Party movement brings together a loose coalition of conservatives and libertarians united by their anger over "big government," taxes, and the soaring federal deficit. The hundreds of thousands of people who have turned out at Tea Party rallies around the country include "birthers," who don't believe Barack Obama is a legitimate president, and militia members packing weapons and waving signs likening Obama to Hitler. But, rallies have also attracted housewives, small business owners, and others who sincerely believe the nation is headed for fiscal ruin and that their personal liberties are under threat. "There are a lot of people just waking up," says Jack Walsh, who belongs to a Tea Party group in Texas. "They know something is wrong with their government, but they don't know what it is." .....The Week
HOW DID THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT GET STARTED?
Most insiders credit a blogger in Seattle named Keli Carender, aka Liberty Belle. Appalled by the $787 billion stimulus package (which she labeled "porkulus"), Carender called for a local protest in Seattle in early February 2009; about 100 people showed up. The event became the talk of the conservative blogosphere, and similar protests were organized in Denver, Kansas City, and other cities. A couple of weeks later, CNBC analyst Rick Santelli unleashed an on-air rant against government bailouts of banks and debt-ridden mortgage holders with taxpayer funds, calling for a modern day Boston Tea Party. The rant became an instant YouTube sensation, and soon protesters began calling themselves Tea Partiers, and "tea" was turned into an acronym - for Taxed Enough Already. Fox News began heavily promoting the movement, and on April 15, Tax Day, raucous protests were held all over the country. Obama's health-care reform package was the primary target. .....The Week
BETTING ON THE SUPER BOWL
About $5 billion was wagered legally and illegally on this year's Super Bowl, gambling industry experts estimate. ..... The Philadelphia Inquirer
THE COST OF "STAYING WIRED"
The average American family will spend nearly $1,000 this year on cable television, internet connectivity, and video games, up from $770 in 2004. When annual cell phone charges of $1,000 or so are added in, the average family now spends as much each year to stay wired as it does on gasoline. ..... The New York Times
CREDIT CARDS
America's love affair with credit cards may be waning. Not only did credit card debt fall sharply last year, but the number of newly opened credit card accounts fell 46 percent in 2009 from the year before. ..... USA Today
MORTGAGE BANKERS - OUCH
The Mortgage Bankers Association has struck a deal to sell its Washington, D.C. headquarters for $41 million - well below the $79 million it borrowed to buy the building in 2007. ..... The Wall Street Journal
JIM'S STETHASOOP OF THE MONTH
"More people are flattered into virtue than bullied out of vice."
..... Author R.S. Surtees, quoted in the London Times
MILT'S MORSEL OF THE MONTH
"Credit is a system whereby a person who can not pay gets another person who can not pay to guarantee that he can pay."
..... Charles Dickens, quoted in BookReporter.com
