[posted on FoodWatch, February 7, 2018] The European Union is currently negotiating a series of new free trade agreements that would have a negative impact on consumer rights, environmental standards and democratic principles. These are the findings of a report from the organisations PowerShift and foodwatch. According to the report, the EU trade deals that are being planned with Mexico, Indonesia, Japan and other countries include...

[posted on Digiconomist, January 16, 2018] Bitcoin’s usefulness as a payment system has been deteriorating fast over the past year. Bitcoin transaction fees and price volatility skyrocketed, prompting big companies such as Steam and Microsoft to stop accepting Bitcoin payments. This development has resulted in the community now being increasingly focused on defining Bitcoin as an alternative to physical gold; making it a long-term way...

[posted by Riccardo Arena, Anna Martinelli on La Stampa, February 6, 2018] A tight-knit criminal organization, with only one goal in mind: money, as much as possible, a lot of money and more. Among the many million-worth cases they had their tentacles on, the Eni bribes in Nigeria was by far the hottest one, so hot it had the “judicial gang” arrested. The gang of 15 in fact, is not made of common criminals but actually men of law,...

[posted on ScienceDaily, January 31, 2018] University of Wyoming researchers led a climate study that determined recent temperatures across Europe and North America appear to have few, if any, precedent in the past 11,000 years. The study revealed important natural fluctuations in climate have occurred over past millennia, which would have naturally led to climatic cooling today in the absence of human activity. Bryan Shuman, a UW...

[posted by David Shephardson on Reuters, February 2, 2018] The U.S. Justice Department is seeking “substantial” civil fines from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV after the government filed suit accusing the company of illegally using software that led to excess emissions in 104,000 U.S. diesel vehicles sold since 2014, a person briefed on the matter said on Friday. Bloomberg News reported Friday that the Justice Department sent Fiat...

[posted by Melissa Twig on The Independent, January 30, 2018] When we turn on a tap, we in the developed world expect an endless stream of clean water to gush out. Like popping a pill when we have a headache or biting into a strawberry mid-winter, it’s a modern privilege most of us are barely even aware of. But South Africans are coming to the daunting realisation that the right to water and sanitation – one of the defining aspects of...