Chicago Tribune (May 6)
The Migratory Bird Treaty was enacted to prevent other birds from following the fate of passenger pigeons. Now, however, “the Interior Department has announced a sharp change in how it interprets the law,” which will essentially create a huge loophole that will “excuse any bird deaths that result from accidents, no matter how large or preventable, and limit penalties to cases of deliberate killing. So if a company sprayed pesticides with the purpose of killing a lot of birds, it would be guilty. But if it sprayed the same pesticides to get rid of insects and killed a lot of birds in the process, it would be in the clear.” This is clearly “a new threat to migratory birds.”
Tags: Accidents, Birds, Deliberate, Interior Department, Killing, Loophole, Migratory, Passenger pigeons, Penalties, Pesticides, Preventable, Treaty, U.S.
New York Times (September 19)
“Taiwan obviously needs a stronger food-safety policy with meaningful penalties.” The latest in a series of food scandals involves the sale of nearly 650 tons of adulterated “gutter oil,” which was produced from unsuitable sources, such as restaurant waste, and sold as cooking oil. “The Taiwanese authorities need to be doing more than reacting to food-safety problems on an ad hoc basis to ensure that what people eat is safe.”
Tags: Adulterated, Authorities, Cooking oil, Food safety, Gutter oil, Penalties, Restaurant waste, Scandals, Taiwan
Washington Post (July 18)
“Energy politics underlie the explosive Ukraine crisis, as Europeans weigh U.S. calls for tougher sanctions against the ability of Russia to disrupt gas supplies this winter.” Despite the roll out of stronger penalties by Washington, the Europeans were dragging their feet, “a sign that many of its governments fear Moscow’s energy leverage more than U.S. displeasure.” With the downing of the Malaysian Airlines flight, Europe may finally be forced to react and Europeans “may be facing a cold winter.”
Tags: Crisis, Downing, Energy, Europe, Gas supplies, Leverage, Malaysian Airlines, Penalties, Politics, Russia, Sanctions, U.S., Ukraine, Washington, Winter
USA Today (January 15, 2014)
Alex Rodriguez, the current home-run king and highest paid baseball player of all time, “has now made history of another sort as the recipient of the longest suspension ever for a doping violation.” If the arbitrator’s decision proves binding, he’ll be out a full season (162 games). “It’s clear that baseball’s steroid era isn’t over. But with a tough investigation and tough penalties, the sport appears finally to be turning the corner.”
Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Arbitrator, Baseball, Doping, History, Home runs, Investigation, Penalties, Season, Sport, Steroids, Suspension, Violation
