The U.S. just labeled Switzerland an internet piracy haven

Switzerland is a haven for internet piracy, the Obama Administration's global trade rep says. The European nation famous for Swiss Alps, Swiss Cheese, Fondue, and being a long-term U.S. political ally since WWII is now on America's annual intellectual property shitlist.

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SpaceX plans to send unmanned Dragon spacecraft to Mars by 2018, with humans to follow

By way of tweets and Facebook posts, SpaceX this week announced plans to send its unmanned “Red Dragon” spacecraft to Mars as soon as 2018. Sending this privately-funded craft on a bold, brave, risky trip like this could bring SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk closer to his goal of getting humans to Mars.

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Cruz to pick Carly Fiorina as running mate

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, embarking on a new phase of his campaign after it became impossible to beat Donald Trump in the first round of voting at this summer's Republican convention, is to name Carly Fiorina as his running mate.

A crazy class in football crazy Barcelona

Here's one that was a one-off but a lot of fun (if a bit crazy!): an impromptu, unplanned, materials- and preparation-free class that came about when two students and I failed to find a bar (in the centre of Barcelona !!!) to watch the Manchester City vs Real Madrid Champions … Continue reading

Gardening, cycling and life: a fun activity making lists

Here's an idea that Andrew Wright suggested in his recently session at IATEFL: to, first, get your learners to list everything they know about gardening; and, then as a discussion activity, to talk about how that could be related to life. As I live and work in Barcelona, where virtually no … Continue reading

Lawsuit: Off-Duty Cop Working Wal-Mart Security Accuses Man of Stealing Tomato, Beats Him, Breaks His Leg

An innocent man was minding his own business one day in 2014, walking out of an Atlanta Wal-Mart with a tomato he'd just bought. An off-duty Atlanta police officer who moonlit doing security at Wal-Mart on the side accused the man of stealing the tomato on his way out of the store, and beats the man so severely that he breaks his leg and severs his artery. More than $75,000 in medical expenses later, the victim now walks with a titanium rod in his leg, with a limp.

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Six cases of measles confirmed in Tennessee outbreak. Measles was eradicated in the U.S. in 2000.

Public Health officials in Shelby County, Tennessee today confirmed six cases of measles in the county, up from two last Friday. Victims of the measles outbreak are "widely diverse" in terms of age, gender and where they live, authorities said.

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