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8 Things You Didn’t Know About Nikola Tesla

"Tesla had what's known as a photographic memory. He was known to memorize books and images and stockpile visions for inventions in his head. He also had a powerful imagination and the ability to visualize in three dimensions, which he used to control the terrifying vivid nightmares he suffered from as a child. It's in part what makes him such a mystical and eccentric character in popular culture, Carlson said. He was also known for having excessive hygiene habits, born out of a near-fatal bout of cholera as a teenager." Continue reading →

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British MPs urged to reject contentious tax pact with the US

"FATCA critics argue that it is expensive and burdensome for foreign financial institutions to implement, that it is a form of US imperialism, that it could damage delicate international relations and trade agreements, that it is in direct conflict with many foreign laws, and, crucially, that it would compromise America’s economy as it would dramatically reduce foreign investment in the US, threatening American jobs. In addition, FATCA, its opponents insist, would do little if anything to catch tax evaders, which is purportedly its primary objective." Continue reading →

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US, EU kick off Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks despite Snowden revelations

"The main goal is to agree on removing bureaucratic, regulatory and protectionist barriers to more open trade and investment to create what would be the world’s largest free-trade area, involving 820 million people. Key focuses of the talks ahead include agricultural trade, cross-border investment, intellectual property rights and regulatory harmonization. To avoid stalling the talks, separate US-EU discussions on the NSA activities were held quietly this week at the Department of Justice. Washington will push Europe to open up to US biotechnology products like genetically modified foods, which many European consumers consider dangerous." Continue reading →

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Germany stops Icelandic whale meat shipment to Japan in environmentalist victory

"Six containers of whale meat are on their way back to Iceland after German authorities removed the controversial cargo from a ship bound for Japan, Icelandic media reported on Friday. The batch was first stopped by German customs in Hamburg, where the containers were unloaded and then sent back via Rotterdam in the Netherlands. 'Transportation of products between Iceland and Japan is in accordance with international law,' Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson told RUV. Iceland 'will now consider how to react to the transport of whale products being stopped and will stand firmly on Icelandic interests in this matter,' he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany stops Icelandic whale meat shipment to Japan in environmentalist victory

Renewed fear of global recession as companies rein in spending plans

"Growth in spending on machinery and investment by the world’s 2,000 biggest companies has begun to contract for the first time since the Lehman crisis, led by sharp falls in China and a near collapse in Latin America. Company spending plans are watched as an early warning gauge for the economy. The drastic falls in large parts of the world doom hopes for strong recovery later this year, and even point to a recession risk.The International Monetary Fund has cut its global forecast for this year to 3.1pc, sharply downgrading Russia, Brazil, South Africa, India and Mexico, as well as Italy and Germany." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRenewed fear of global recession as companies rein in spending plans

Constitutional crisis pushes Portugal closer to the brink

"Yields on 10-year Portuguese bonds jumped to 7.85pc in a day of turmoil, kicked off by a government request to delay the next review of the country’s EU-IMF Troika bail-out until August. President Anibal Cavaco Silva set off a constitutional crisis when he vetoed a reshuffle by the two conservative coalition parties, insisting on a red-blue national unity government with greater legitimacy to see through austerity cuts until mid-2014. Socialist leader Antonio José Seguro has so far refused to take part, demanding fresh elections to clear the air. Some Socialist leaders have threatened debt repudiation as a way of fighting back at Germany and the creditor powers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingConstitutional crisis pushes Portugal closer to the brink

Will bourbon help Kentucky swallow Obamacare?

"I took a longer look Wednesday at the extreme measures states are taking to get young people signed up for Obamacare programs. They tend to be taking on a regional flare: Oregon might do branded coffee cups, for example, whereas Seattle is looking at doing outreach at music festivals. It only makes sense, then, that Kentucky would be doing outreach at multiple bourbon festivals across the state. When I asked Kentucky spokeswoman for health reform Jill Midkiff where they might find young people, here’s what she e-mailed me back. That’s no fewer than three bourbon festivals on the Kentucky marketplace’s agenda. Drink up!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill bourbon help Kentucky swallow Obamacare?

U.S. eyes high-tech security boost at Canadian border

"A U.S. senator said a low-cost, high-tech sensor system could be installed along the U.S.-Canada border to increase security without harming business. Blue Rose, based on fiber-optic technology, is an in-ground perimeter defense and security system developed by the Naval Undersea Warfare, CBC News said. The system detects sound and vibration of intruders moving near the sensor. Surveillance technology could monitor who's approaching the border, helping to prevent drug smuggling and terrorism, Tester said, and could be particularly effective in areas such as Montana." Continue reading →

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Missouri gov. signs gun-safety course for first-graders

"Missouri schools will be encouraged to teach first-graders a gun safety course sponsored by the National Rifle Association as a result of legislation signed Friday by Gov. Jay Nixon. The legislation also requires school personnel to participate in an 'active shooter and intruder' drill led by law enforcement officers. The legislation also transfers the responsibility for issuing identification cards for concealed gun permits from driver’s license clerks to local sheriffs. That change was prompted by concerns that the state licensing agency’s procedures had infringed on people’s privacy rights." Continue reading →

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California’s biggest community college loses accreditation

"California’s largest community college might be forced to close next year after regulators voted on Wednesday to strip City College of San Francisco of its accreditation. The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges cited a lack of financial accountability and a raft of other longstanding problems, including leadership and governance deficiencies, when it voted to stop accrediting the two-year school serving 85,000 students as of July 31, 2014. Lost accreditation would trigger funding cuts that would shutter the 78-year-old school." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia’s biggest community college loses accreditation