Oil disaster

A sea bird was coated in oil at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast Thursday.
Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

It is not a spill; it is much more than a spill.

The White House is planning to send BP a bill for $69 million to cover the costs of cleaning up the spill, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday.
J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

The White House is so far behind the eight ball on this issue it is pathetic.

Colombia Is for the Birds

Fundacion ProAves, www.proaves.org - The yellow-eared parrot, at left, is an endangered parrot that nests on Colombia's national tree, the Quindio wax palm


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The finch is one of the more unusual birds in Colombia, which has 1,871 bird species, more than any other country.

Rome beset by starlings

Rome is beset by starlings, that invade the city center, and drive humans away.


European starlings -- birds individually small enough to fit in a hand -- are collectively a menace. They swoop and poop indiscriminately, clearing Rome's outdoor cafes, frightening children and, more recently, forcing an emergency landing of a Boeing 737.

In recent decades, Rome's starling population has begun to rival that of its residents, testing the patience of a people who take special pride in cohabiting with animals.

Canada geese around New York are numerous, never leave (consequence of people feeding them and not doing anything about getting rid of them, lest animal rights peoples accuse them of terrible crimes), and poop all over the place. Of course, our pigeons are legendary pooping pests.

Yet, get this:

Legend has it that the city's founders, Romulus and Remus, were nursed by a she-wolf. Today the city maintains strict codes on the treatment of animals, such as fining residents who keep goldfish in bowls rather than more-spacious aquariums

What can anyone possibly add to that?

Taken in Jamaica Wildlife reserve