  Recent studies have raised doubts about the occurrence of r modes in
Newtonian stars with a large degree of differential rotation. To assess the
validity of this conjecture we have solved the eigenvalue problem for
Rossby-Haurwitz waves (the analogues of r waves on a thin-shell) in the
presence of differential rotation. The results obtained indicate that the
eigenvalue problem is never singular and that, at least for the case of a
thin-shell, the analogues of r modes can be found for arbitrarily large degrees
of differential rotation. This work clarifies the puzzling results obtained in
calculations of differentially rotating axi-symmetric Newtonian stars.
