In The News

Is Big Data Turning Government Into Big Brother?

Michael Liedtke June 7, 2013
Privacy advocates have long been concerned about the US National Security Agency collecting data on US citizens and foreigners. Recent reports that Verizon and likely other US telecommunications firms are handing over phone logs stir new concerns about surveillance activities started under the George W. Bush administration. Individuals who use digital devices leave digital trails, reports Michael...

Bitcoin Will Continue to Function Beyond the Reach of Government and Law

James Ball June 5, 2013
Bitcoin is a novel currency that lacks government backing and is instead defined by mathematical rules, thus putting it largely out of the reach of law enforcement. According to James Ball of the Guardian, Bitcoin’s potential was recently exposed by an investigation into Liberty Reserve out of Costa Rica. Liberty Reserve is accused of a $6 billion money laundering scheme as “a popular hub for...

Discovery of Rogue GMO Wheat Raises Concerns Over Controls

Carey Gillam, Julie Ingwersen June 3, 2013
Genetically modified wheat, supposed to be destroyed long ago, was found in an Oregon field and could disrupt the $8 billion US wheat export market. US consumers may shrug abut GM crops, but other countries fear accidental contamination of their crops. Japan and South Korea promptly suspended orders for US wheat. “The wheat was developed years ago by Monsanto Co to tolerate its Roundup herbicide...

Brazil Closer to Boeing on Jets Deal

Brian Winter May 31, 2013
During a trip to Brazil, US Vice President Joe Biden suggested that the two largest economies in the Americas could become closer trading partners – and he urged Brazil to seal the deal with a purchase of at least 36 Boeing military jets. Aviation firms in France and Sweden are also contenders for the Brazil contract. Biden assured President Dilma Rousseff that, because of recent budget cuts that...

Be Nice to China: Hollywood Risks "Artistic Surrender" in Effort to Please

Rory Carroll May 31, 2013
China sets a quota on foreign films that can be shown in the country, 34 each year, and filmmakers jockey to win a place in the world’s second largest market for films. China is expected to surpass the United States as world’s biggest film market within a decade. “The only way to circumvent the quota is to turn a film into a Chinese co-production, meaning Chinese elements in the story, production...

Sustainability or Greenwashing?

João Paulo Cândia Veiga May 28, 2013
The candeia tree of Brazil is an excellent source of an ingredient valued for its anti-inflammatory effect and used in cosmetics for sensitive skin. “Brazil is the sole world producer of natural Bisabolol, and until 2010, when Symrise bought more than 70 percent of local production, controlled the market and defined the global price of the asset,” explains João Paulo Cândia Veiga, a professor of...

Arctic Council Adds 6 Nations as Observer States, Including China

Steven Lee Myers May 21, 2013
The resource-rich Arctic is attracting international interest, and the Arctic Council has added six nations. Besides traditional nations with territory in the Arctic, new members with observer status include China, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, reports the New York Times. A similar application for the European Union as member with observer status was postponed. “With the Arctic ice...