As your humble scribe, I welcome you all to another edition of Overnight News Digest.
I am most pleased to share this platform with jlms qkw, maggiejean, wader, rfall, and JLM9999. Additionally, I wish to recognize our alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, Interceptor7, and ScottyUrb along with side pocket and annetteboardman as our guest editors.
Neon Vincent is our editor-in-chief.
Special thanks go to Magnifico for starting this venerable series.
Lead Off Story
Drought becoming a real problem for Australian cattle producers
For months we have been hearing about how the drought in New Zealand is impacting dairy production especially on the North Island, the Queensland area on the northeast side of Australia is also suffering. Pastures have dried-up and farmers are being forced to liquidate their herds.
So many cattle are going to market that prices have fallen to as low as $20 per head. Some producers tell The Australian that doesn’t cover the cost of trucking and they may be left no alternative but to just shoot the cattle.
Estimates put 4.2 million more cattle than can be maintained in Queensland with another 2 million being moved to other areas. In an effort to prevent total economic disaster, farmers are asking the Aussie government to buy 100,000 cattle at a guaranteed price. National Party Senate leader Barnaby Joyce supports the idea saying, “We give much more than $150m in foreign aid and I believe charity should begin at home.”
brownfieldagnews.com
World News
Brazil tries to defuse conflicts with Indigenous people over land
Lawmakers from the Brazilian farm state of Mato Grosso do Sul asked President Dilma Rousseff's government to send troops to end land invasions by Indigenous people claiming their ancestral territory.
Justice Minister Jose Cardozo said a request for troops would have to come from the state governor and announced he will meet with the indigenous people on Thursday in a bid to reach a settlement. The government is seeking to defuse mounting conflicts with indigenous tribes over farm land and hydroelectric dams in the Amazon.
Brazil's indigenous land policy, established in the country's constitution, is considered one of the most progressive in the world, with about 13 percent of the huge South American nation's territory already set aside for Indians.
[...]
Farmers say Funai (government's Indian affairs office) is trying to create reservations on land that has belonged to European-descended settlers for 150 years.
buenosairesherald.com
'We went to see for ourselves what a hydroelectric dam is and we saw that it has nothing good in store for us,' a Munduruku leader told Carvalho, adding that promised development had not benefited the Indians of the Xingu.
'We saw Indians being humiliated and we do not want that for our region.'
Photo essay: dailymail.co.uk
U.S. News
Drought is taking toll on ranchers and farmers
As we approach the midpoint of summer, the results of the drought are really starting to show their effects to the farmers and ranchers of Southwest Colorado. Because of limited or no irrigation water this year for crops and hay fields, many fields will not produce any forage for hay or grazing. This lack of feed is leaving livestock owners looking at some hard decisions for the coming winter. While the monsoon moisture that we have received recently may keep the grass from dying, the limited quantity will have little effect on producing additional feed. The changes in our climate are truly having a major effect on the agriculture of the West. In our semiarid region, irrigation water is the lifeblood of our industry. Without heavy winter snows to provide for our summer irrigation water, many farmers and ranchers are not going to be able to survive in the business for many more years. To get an idea of how far the water supply in the Animas River has decreased during the last five years, turn to the back of The Durango Herald and study the graph of the Animas River flows in the weather report. The total flows have greatly decreased during the last five years, and flows have dropped much earlier in the year compared to the long-term average. With the warmer temperatures also occurring, the crops as well as the native vegetation are being severely stressed because of the lack of soil moisture in late summer and fall.
waterinfo.org
Science and Technology
Florida's Radioactive Fountain of Youth May Prolong Life
Five hundred years ago in June, the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon started his journey back to Puerto Rico from Florida after becoming the first European to land on mainland America.
[...]
Thanks to the myth of Ponce de Leon's trip, Florida—known for its large population of retirees—is now awash in "fountains of youth." Dozens of bodies of water claim the title of the one legendary fountain, from mineral springs to deep-water wells, not to mention water from a variety of sources that is piped into various built structures.
Only one, however, is known to be radioactive. And, oddly, it might be actually extending life.
nationalgeogaphic.com
h/t (&♥) to crose
Society and Culture
Jayce Ogren
Jayce Ogren is rapidly developing a reputation as one of the finest young conductors to emerge from the United States, and is equally at home in symphonic and operatic repertoire. In recent seasons he has conducted The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony, and the Grand Rapids Symphony. Mr. Ogren made his New York debut in two programs with the International Contemporary Ensemble at the Miller Theater. In addition, he stepped into a last-minute cancellation for James Levine, conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a program that included baritone Gerard Finley singing in the world premiere of Peter Lieberson's song-cycle Songs of Love and Sorrow. European guest engagements have included the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony, Asturias Symphony, SAMI Sinfonietta, Swedish National Orchestra Academy, Stockholm's Opera Vox, Finland's Vaasa City Orchestra, and the orchestras of Gävle, Helsingborg, and Norrköping.
On the opera stage Mr. Ogren made his Canadian Opera Company debut with Stravinsky's The Nightingale & Other Short Fables. His New York City Opera appearances included a critically acclaimed new production of Bernstein's A Quiet Place, and he is schedule to conduct Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna. His orchestra debuts in the 2011–12 season include the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Napa Valley Symphony, and Berkeley Symphony.
[...]
A native of Hoquiam, Washington, Jayce Ogren received a bachelor's degree in composition from St. Olaf College in 2001 and a master's degree in conducting from the New England Conservatory in 2003. He completed a postgraduate diploma in orchestral conducting at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.He is also a published composer whose music has been premiered at venues including the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, Brevard Music Center, Chicago's Midwest Clinic, American Choral Directors Association Conference, and World Saxophone Congress. He is the founder of Young Kreisler, a band performing his own work as well as music ranging from Mahler to Piazzolla to Kurt Cobain.
nyphil.org
Well, that's different...
Turkish Officials Clear Bird of Spying for Israel
A bird of prey found in a Turkish village has been cleared of local suspicion it was aiding Israeli spies.
The private Dogan news agency reported Friday that villagers in a rural town in central Turkey found the kestrel this week and delivered it to local authorities after discovering a leg band marked "24311 Tel Avivunia Israel." Such bands are often used to track bird migrations.
Authorities confirmed in a statement that they released the bird into the wild Thursday after x-rays performed at a veterinary hospital found that "there was no other device" attached to the bird aside from the leg band.
abcnews.go.com
Bill Moyers and Company:
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
II