We Cannot Fight Climate Change With Capitalism, Says Report

As access to cheap, plentiful energy dries up and the effects of climate change take hold, we are entering a new era of profound challenge ― and free market capitalism cannot dig us out. This is the conclusion of a report produced for the United Nations by Bios, an independent research institute based in Finland.
Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-capitalism-economy_us_5b87bf0ce4b0cf7b00326edc?source=Snapzu

Google is under siege from conservatives, as a senior Republican demands an inquiry into its market dominance

Senior Republican Senator Orrin Hatch has written to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), urging the competition body to open a new antitrust investigation into Google. Hatch, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, argued that Google had become "more dominant" since the FTC last investigated Google's conduct in 2013 without major repercussions for the firm. Hatch is a member of the Senate's antitrust committee.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/orrin-hatch-wants-federal-trade-commision-investigate-google-2018-8?source=Snapzu

Emails on commute 'should count as work'

Wider access to wi-fi on trains and the use of mobile phones has extended the working day, a study says.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/education-45333270?source=Snapzu

Many young adults lack financial literacy, economic stability, study finds

Nearly a third of young adults in a recent study were found to be “financially precarious” because they had poor financial literacy and lacked money management skills and income stability. Only 22 percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds in the study sample were deemed to be financially stable, according to lead author Gaurav Sinha, a graduate student in social work at the University of Illinois.
Read more: https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/686400?source=Snapzu

US Court of Appeals rules that the FCC can consider areas with only a single ISP 'competitive'

The FCC hasn't exactly been popular among consumers lately. The regulatory agency's controversial decision to roll back Title II net neutrality protections back in December was met with no small amount of criticism.
Read more: https://www.techspot.com/news/76207-us-court-appeals-rules-fcc-can-consider-areas.html?source=Snapzu

DuckDuckGo Raised $10M As Google Faces Privacy Concerns

DuckDuckGo raises money under the radar in the midst of Google's year of privacy and bias concerns. 
Read more: https://news.crunchbase.com/news/while-google-is-attacked-over-privacy-concerns-and-perceived-bias-duckduckgo-raised-10m/?source=Snapzu

Spotify adds Showtime to its $5-a-month Hulu bundle for college students

Last September, Spotify announced a bundle with Hulu for students that costs $5 a month, which is an amazing deal for any college student. Now, nearly a year later, Spotify is dramatically improving on that deal, adding a Showtime subscription to the offering for no additional charge. College students in the US will have access to Spotify’s updated Premium for Students plan which includes Spotify Premium (regularly $10 a month), Hulu’s limited commercial plan ($8 a month)...
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/29/17792710/spotify-showtime-hulu-bundle-college-students?source=Snapzu

For $450, This Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job For You

Workers in Japan who want to leave their jobs — but don't want to face the stress of quitting in person — are turning to a company called Exit.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642597968/for-450-this-japanese-company-will-quit-your-job-for-you?source=Snapzu

Becoming Serfs

The global rich have demolished institutions that once protected the working class and dismantled our democracy to orchestrate the largest transfer of wealth upward in over a century. By Chris Hedges.
Read more: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/becoming-serfs/?source=Snapzu

Toyota invests $500m in Uber as companies pair up to create driverless cars

Toyota has invested $500m (£388m) in Uber and announced plans for the firms to collaborate on developing driverless cars for ride sharing. The carmaker said technology from each company will be used to produce purpose-built Toyota vehicles to be deployed on Uber’s ride sharing network. The first fleet of cars will be based on Toyota’s Sienna minivan, and a pilot scheme is set to begin on Uber’s network in 2021.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/toyota-uber-investment-driverless-cars-ride-sharing-dara-khosrowshahi-a8510591.html?source=Snapzu

IP Address is Not Enough to Identify Pirate, US Court of Appeals Rules

The owner of an adult foster care home who operated an open WiFi network has booked a big win against a copyright troll. Thomas Gonzales was accused of downloading the Adam Sandler movie The Cobbler but won $17k last year after being wrongfully targeted. The case went to appeal and in a ruling handed down yesterday by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Gonzales emerged victorious again.
Read more: https://torrentfreak.com/ip-address-is-not-enough-to-identify-pirate-us-court-of-appeals-rules-180828/?source=Snapzu

The Internet of Garbage by Sarah Jeong

First published in 2015, Sarah Jeong’s book provides an accessible look at how online harassment works, how it might be categorized and understood, and why the structure of the internet and the policies surrounding it are incapable of stamping it out.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/28/17777330/internet-of-garbage-book-sarah-jeong-online-harassment?source=Snapzu

The Student Debt Problem Is Worse Than We Imagined

New data reveals how colleges are benefiting from billions in financial aid while students are left with debt they cannot repay.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/25/opinion/sunday/student-debt-loan-default-college.html?source=Snapzu

The Story of the American Inventor Denied a Patent Because He Was a Slave

The world of invention is famous for its patent disputes. But what happens when your dispute wasn’t with another inventor but whether the Patent Office saw you as a person at all? In 1864, a black man named Benjamin T. Montgomery tried to patent his new propeller for steamboats. The Patent Office said that he wasn’t allowed to patent his invention. All because he was enslaved.
Read more: https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/the-story-of-the-american-inventor-denied-a-patent-beca-1828329907?source=Snapzu

Flight times extended by major airlines to avoid payouts, report claims

Plane journeys are taking longer than a decade ago, according to a report that claims the change is down to airlines “padding” their schedules to create the impression passengers were reaching their destinations on time. Carriers are adding extra time to flight schedules, in some cases up to 30 minutes, to ensure they maintain punctuality and are therefore less likely to be liable for compensation payouts, the investigation by Which? Travel claimed.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/27/flight-times-extended-by-major-airlines-to-avoid-payouts-report-claims?source=Snapzu

Everything Is Booming Except for Wages

After accounting for inflation, pay increases are negligible.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-23/u-s-economic-growth-isn-t-translating-into-bigger-paychecks?source=Snapzu

As porn site pounds hard on piracy laws, Cox pulls out prematurely

The US Supreme Court has been asked to take a good hard look at a critical piece of internet law that shields ISPs and websites from legal action when their users pirate copyrighted stuff. Porn studio Ventura Content has asked the court to review the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for the first time since it was introduced 20 years ago, arguing that the legislation is outdated and needs reform.
Read more: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/08/24/dmca_court_battles/?source=Snapzu

Amazon hired an army of employees to say nice things about it on Twitter, and it shows how big its reputation problem has gotten

Amazon is trying harder than ever to combat its growing negative image. The company now has a small army of "FC Ambassadors" saying nice things about the company online and engaging in dialogue with average Twitter users. The ambassadors are full-time employees, according to an Amazon spokesperson, and it is their job to share their experiences working at a fulfillment center.
Read more: https://sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/amazon-fb-ambassadors-program-pay-nice-things-13182172.php?source=Snapzu

Uber 'to focus on bikes over cars'

Uber says it plans to focus more on its electric scooter and bike business, and less on cars, despite the fact it could hurt profits. Boss Dara Khosrowshahi said that individual modes of transport were better suited to inner city travel. He also forecast users would make more frequent shorter journeys in future. "During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-tonne hulk of metal to take one person 10 blocks," he told the Financial Times.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45317025?source=Snapzu

Why Facebook is powerless to stop its own descent

It's more similar to oxygen or drinking water than it is to most technology products. With over 2 billion users visiting its social network every month, Facebook has a group of people logging in that is so large, so diverse, and so geographically distributed that no single company would have dreamed of an audience this big even just a decade ago. The only company that even comes close today is Google, which has eight products with over a billion users--Google search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Chrome, Android, Google Play, and Google Drive. But naturally, most of those are the same users using multiple Google services.
Read more: https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-facebook-is-powerless-to-stop-its-own-descent/?source=Snapzu

国际锐评: What Russia is doing to counter the new round of American sanctions

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is already making big moves to honor his re-election commitment to defend the country from the impact of American sanctions.
Read more: http://chinaplus.cri.cn/opinion/opedblog/23/20180823/174236.html?source=Snapzu

The federal government markets prison labor to businesses as the “best-kept secret”

The Department of Justice says prison labor is good for a company’s bottom line. By Alexia Fernández Campbell.
Read more: https://www.vox.com/2018/8/24/17768438/national-prison-strike-factory-labor?source=Snapzu

'It's not right': Shoppers angry over Walmart charging more for plus-size clothing

Walmart Canada is facing criticism for charging more for plus-size clothing, a policy some shoppers consider an unjust "fat tax." "It's unacceptable," said Walmart shopper Shannon Mozak, of Edmonton, who sometimes buys plus sizes. "It's a form of shaming people." Walmart and some other retailers mark up their plus-size clothing with the justification that bigger sizes cost more to produce.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/walmart-plus-size-clothing-price-1.4796192?source=Snapzu

What is this weird Twitter army of Amazon drones cheerfully defending warehouse work?

Here is a strange little online community to puzzle at. By Devin Coldewey.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/23/what-is-this-weird-twitter-army-of-amazon-drones-cheerfully-defending-warehouse-work/?source=Snapzu

I Worked With Richard Russell at Horizon Air, and I Understand Why He Did What He Did

I was surprised to wake up last Saturday morning to the headlines. Not completely shocked, but surprised nonetheless. By Todd Bunker.
Read more: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/08/17/30824665/i-worked-with-richard-russell-at-horizon-air-and-i-understand-why-he-did-what-he-did?source=Snapzu

Verizon, instead of apologizing, we have a better idea --stop throttling

When a California fire department spoke out this week about getting "throttled" by a wireless carrier, right or wrong the issue of throttling joined the public discussion. The Santa Clara Fire Department complained of being throttled by Verizon Wireless for going over its monthly allotment of 22 gigabytes, using the phone to coordinate and keep track of different personnel and fire trucks as they were fighting a wildfire. Verizon has since said it made a customer service error, should have lifted the throttling for the emergency situation and has now removed all data restrictions for first responders on the West Coast.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/08/25/verizon-and-t-worst-offenders-throttling-but-we-have-some-solutions/1089132002/?source=Snapzu

Plan Bee: The Rise of Alternative Pollinators

Jim Freese grows apples, pears and cherries on 45 acres in the north-central part of this state, on sagebrush-studded land his grandfather bought in 1910. Walking among trees laden with shiny red cherries, Mr. Freese recalled that four years ago his trees were not producing well and his farm was financially struggling. Like many growers, he had been relying on rented honeybees to pollinate his cherry trees every spring, along with wild bees and other insects.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/21/science/bees-pollination-farming.html?source=Snapzu

Target: US Retail Giant Launches Its Own Vegan and Ethical Labels

The Target Corporation is one of the largest retailers in the United States, alongside Walmart. To meet the needs of its growing customer base, which attaches great importance to vegan and ethical products, the retailer has introduced vegan labels. The labels guarantee the sustainable production and quality of a particular product. Sustainability labelling requires that the product is organic and/or vegan and has been produced under ethical conditions.
Read more: http://vegconomist.com/products-and-launches/target-us-retail-giant-launches-its-own-vegan-and-ethical-labels/?source=Snapzu

Elon Musk ends brief flirtation with taking Tesla private, cites belief that company is 'better off'

Tesla will remain a publicly traded company, CEO Elon Musk said late Friday, just weeks after he floated the idea of going private in order to ward off short-sellers and volatility in the company's stock. In early August, Musk touched off a firestorm by saying on Twitter that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share, adding that funding was "secured." In the wake of that announcement, the billionaire and his company have been buffeted by skepticism, in addition to the threat of a regulatory probe.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/24/tesla-to-stay-publicly-traded-elon-musk-says-company-is-better-off.html?source=Snapzu

I Delivered Packages for Amazon and It Was a Nightmare

Amazon Flex pays contractors to deliver packages from their own vehicles. But is it a good deal for workers?
Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/amazon-flex-workers/563444/?source=Snapzu

Norway's $1tn wealth fund urged to keep oil and gas investments

Government advisers have urged Norway not to ditch oil and gas investments from its $1tn sovereign wealth fund, in a setback for those backing the world’s biggest fossil fuel divestment. Norway’s central bank last year recommended the fund sell the billions it holds in oil stocks to avoid the risk of a permanent drop in crude prices.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/24/norway-1tn-wealth-fund-urged-to-keep-oil-and-gas-investments?source=Snapzu

Verizon tries to douse criticism, touts “priority access” for first responders

Verizon officials were contrite and apologetic during a California State Assembly committee hearing that was convened Friday to examine mobile Internet throttling experienced by firefighters during recent blazes. "We all make mistakes from time to time, the true measure of leadership is how soon we admit it, own it," Rudy Reyes told the Select Committee on Natural Disaster, Response, Recovery, and Rebuilding after reading from a statement that the company released hours earlier.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/verizon-tries-to-douse-criticism-touts-priority-access-for-first-responders/?source=Snapzu

How American gambler won US$1 billion on Hong Kong horses

In the 1980s and 90s, computer nerd Bill Benter did the impossible: he wrote an algorithm that beat the unpredictability of the racetrack, winning big in the process. By Kit Chellel. (June 17, 2018)
Read more: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2150721/how-american-gambler-unlocked-secret-hong-kong?source=Snapzu

Has Bezos Become More Powerful in D.C. Than Trump?

The deal for an obscure $10 billion Pentagon contract suggests the extent to which Bezos is gobbling up the Swamp—without the guy in the White House even batting an eye. By May Jeong. (Aug. 13, 2018)
Read more: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/08/has-bezos-become-more-powerful-in-dc-than-trump?source=Snapzu

To Force Billionaires Off Welfare, Sanders Tax Would Make Corporations Fund 100% of Public Assistance Their Low-Paid Workers Receive

Please support our common dreams today. By Jake Johnson.
Read more: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/08/24/force-billionaires-welfare-sanders-tax-would-make-corporations-fund-100-public?source=Snapzu

Latest TPP a parade of corporate favours masquerading as free trade

Bad for workers, bad for taxpayers, bad for the environment, bad for Australia. The latest iteration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a boon for multinational corporations, writes Patricia Ranald.
Read more: https://www.michaelwest.com.au/latest-tpp-a-parade-of-corporate-favours-masquerading-as-free-trade/?source=Snapzu

Mt. Vernon starts growing hemp as tribute to Washington's original farming plans

Hemp was harvested on George Washington's historic estate, Mount Vernon, on Wednesday for the first time in centuries. By Aris Folley.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/403311-mt-vernon-starts-growing-hemp-to-stay-true-to-washingtons?source=Snapzu

Movement-First: How to Scale Content Without Sacrificing Quality

When Apple first launched the iPhone in 2007, it was a tightly controlled experience. Demand far exceeded supply. You could only buy the devices at Apple and AT&T stores. There was no App Store and therefore no third-party apps. Things have changed a little in the last eleven years. Today, you can buy an iPhone at Costco or Walmart. That was inconceivable a decade ago.
Read more: https://www.animalz.co/blog/movement-first/?source=Snapzu

How to Cure Corporate America’s Selfishness

Senator Elizabeth Warren has a simple idea for keeping big business accountable to the American public, not just shareholders. By David Dayen.
Read more: https://newrepublic.com/article/150695/cure-corporate-americas-selfishness?source=Snapzu

A Superconductor Scandal? Scientists Question a Nobel Prize–Worthy Claim

Scientists claim to have achieved superconductivity at room temperature, but other physicists say the data looks doctored. By Shannon Hall.
Read more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-superconductor-scandal-scientists-question-a-nobel-prize-worthy-claim/?source=Snapzu

EU is set to clear Apple's bid for Shazam, sources say — a win for Apple Music and Siri

Apple is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its planned acquisition of British music discovery app Shazam, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deal, announced in December last year, would help the iPhone maker better compete with Spotify, the industry leader in music streaming services. Shazam identifies songs when a smartphone is pointed at an audio source.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/22/eu-is-set-to-clear-apples-bid-for-shazam-sources-say.html?source=Snapzu

Fire Dept. Joins Net Neutrality Suit After Verizon Cuts Data During Wildfire

A California fire department that’s repeatedly had its mobile data speeds throttled by Verizon while responding to wildfires, rendering devices virtually unusable, has submitted its experience as evidence in support of a lawsuit to restore net neutrality at the federal level. Santa Clara County Fire Department Chief Anthony Bowden made the declaration in an addendum filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals Monday that Verizon has restricted mobile data speeds...
Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fire-department-verizon-data-throttled-net-neutrality_us_5b7d7346e4b0348585fc755c?source=Snapzu

Making plans for a new world order

Germany now sees the current trans-Atlantic antipathy as a historic opportunity to redefine the EU's role, writes Germany's foreign minister. By Heiko Maas.
Read more: https://global.handelsblatt.com/opinion/making-plans-new-world-order-germany-us-trump-trans-atlantic-relations-heiko-maas-europe-956306?source=Snapzu

The Best E-Commerce Fulfillment Services of 2018

We preview 10 e-commerce fulfillment services that can do much more than simply help e-retailers pack and ship their products, offering features like inventory control, merchandise insurance, and even customer support.
Read more: https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/360934/the-best-e-commerce-fulfillment-services?source=Snapzu

Texas is going green: 86% of future capacity solar or wind, zero coal

ERCOT's pipeline of projects has ballooned to almost 80 GW. 12 GW of this is gas and the rest is wind and solar power plants, as well as 522 MW of energy storage.
Read more: https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2018/08/23/texas-going-green-86-of-future-capacity-solar-or-wind-zero-coal/?source=Snapzu

The radical moral implications of luck in human life

Acknowledging the role of luck is the secular equivalent of religious awakening.
Read more: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/8/21/17687402/kylie-jenner-luck-human-life-moral-privilege?source=Snapzu

The inescapable weight of my $100,000 student debt

The long read: MH Miller left university with a journal full of musings on Virginia Woolf and a vast financial burden. He is one of 44 million US graduates struggling to repay a total of $1.4tn. Were they right to believe their education was ‘priceless’?
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/21/the-inescapable-weight-of-my-100000-student-debt?source=Snapzu

Tesla investor: There couldn't be a better time for Apple to invest in Tesla

Apple should buy a stake in Tesla now for the sake of both companies, Tesla investor Ross Gerber told CNBC on Monday. "This is [Apple CEO] Tim Cook's gift of all gifts," Gerber said on CNBC's "Squawk Alley." Gerber, co-founder & CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, said a potential investment from Apple in Tesla could be hugely beneficial to both companies.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/20/tesla-investor-now-is-the-time-for-apple-to-invest-in-tesla.html?source=Snapzu

A Low, Dishonest Decade

Ten years after the American economy nearly pitched itself into the abyss, financial elites are again banking on ignorance and incompetence. By Chris Lehmann.
Read more: https://thebaffler.com/blessed-and-brightest/a-low-dishonest-decade-lehmann?source=Snapzu

Germany urges EU payment system without U.S. to save Iran deal

Europe needs to set up payment systems independent of the United States if it wants to save the nuclear deal between Iran and major powers that was abandoned by President Donald Trump, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-germany/germany-urges-eu-payment-system-without-u-s-to-save-iran-deal-idUSKCN1L61KW?source=Snapzu