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Transatlantic trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy

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© Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesDavid Cameron with Barack Obama at a state dinner in Cameron's honour in 2012 at the White House.
Brussels has kept quiet about a treaty that would let rapacious companies subvert our laws, rights and national sovereignty

Remember that referendum about whether we should create a single market with the United States? You know, the one that asked whether corporations should have the power to strike down our laws? No, I don't either. Mind you, I spent 10 minutes looking for my watch the other day before I realised I was wearing it. Forgetting about the referendum is another sign of ageing. Because there must have been one, mustn't there? After all that agonising over whether or not we should stay in the European Union, the government wouldn't cede our sovereignty to some shadowy, undemocratic body without consulting us. Would it?

The purpose of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is to remove the regulatory differences between the US and European nations. I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago. But I left out the most important issue: the remarkable ability it would grant big business to sue the living daylights out of governments which try to defend their citizens. It would allow a secretive panel of corporate lawyers to overrule the will of parliament and destroy our legal protections. Yet the defenders of our sovereignty say nothing.

The mechanism through which this is achieved is known as investor-state dispute settlement. It's already being used in many parts of the world to kill regulations protecting people and the living planet.

Dollar Gold

Public banking in Costa Rica: A remarkable little-known model

public banking
In Costa Rica, publicly-owned banks have been available for so long and work so well that people take for granted that any country that knows how to run an economy has a public banking option. Costa Ricans are amazed to hear there is only one public depository bank in the United States (the Bank of North Dakota), and few people have private access to it.

So says political activist Scott Bidstrup, who writes:
For the last decade, I have resided in Costa Rica, where we have had a "Public Option" for the last 64 years.

There are 29 licensed banks, mutual associations and credit unions in Costa Rica, of which four were established as national, publicly-owned banks in 1949. They have remained open and in public hands ever since - in spite of enormous pressure by the I.M.F. [International Monetary Fund] and the U.S. to privatize them along with other public assets. The Costa Ricans have resisted that pressure - because the value of a public banking option has become abundantly clear to everyone in this country.

During the last three decades, countless private banks, mutual associations (a kind of Savings and Loan) and credit unions have come and gone, and depositors in them have inevitably lost most of the value of their accounts.

But the four state banks, which compete fiercely with each other, just go on and on. Because they are stable and none have failed in 31 years, most Costa Ricans have moved the bulk of their money into them. Those four banks now account for fully 80% of all retail deposits in Costa Rica, and the 25 private institutions share among themselves the rest.
According to a 2003 report by the World Bank, the public sector banks dominating Costa Rica's onshore banking system include three state-owned commercial banks (Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa Rica, and Banco Crédito Agrícola de Cartago) and a special-charter bank called Banco Popular, which in principle is owned by all Costa Rican workers. These banks accounted for 75 percent of total banking deposits in 2003.

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Maryland pastor accused of sexually abusing minor put in charge of children's ministry

Church
© Reuters/Phelan M. Ebenhack

A youth pastor charged with sexually abusing a minor in Maryland had been serving as a children's program leader at a church in New York state while he was still under investigation.

Back in July, 32-year-old Shaun M. Ross was arrested in Frederick, Maryland and charged with two counts of sexually abusing a minor. He was the director of student ministry at the Cavalry Assembly church. According to court records, the pending charges originate from activity dating as far back as 2008 in a community near Baltimore.

In April 2013, however, Ross and his wife were appointed to lead the Victory Christian Center's children's programs in North Syracuse despite the fact that he was not allowed to be in contact with children during the investigation. Ross' father, Rev. Terry Ross, is a senior pastor at the center.

"We are excited to announce that Shaun and Brandi Ross will be assuming leadership in our Children's ministry," read one of the center's Facebook posts dated April 1, according to Syracuse.com. "Bring your children this Sunday for Kidz Revolution! They will love it!"

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Kellogg's apologizes for promise to feed hungry kids in exchange for retweets

Twitter Logo
© Agence France-PresseThe logo of social networking website 'Twitter' is displayed on a computer screen in London.
Kellogg's has apologized for a social media post that implied it would feed hungry children only if others helped promote their marketing campaign.

The trouble started Saturday, when the cereal company's British marketing arm urged its Twitter followers to share, or retweet, a post promoting its Give a Child a Breakfast campaign.
"1 RT = 1 breakfast for a vulnerable child," the tweet read.
Twitter users immediately criticized the company, accusing it of exploiting vulnerable children to promote its brand.

Piggy Bank

One in three UK households couldn't last a week if they suddenly lost their income

Research from HSBC reveals that 8.8million households have less than £250 in savings set aside as a financial safety net

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A third of people, some 8.8 million households, would not be able to last a week if they suddenly lost their income.

The number of households with £250 or less set aside as a financial safety net has shot up by 800,000 since last October when it was eight million, according to research from HSBC.

Based on average monthly outgoings of £1,500 they would only last five days before running out of funds but, for a quarter of people, it would be almost immediate as they have no savings at all to fall back on.

It is difficult to find any spare cash to save in the current climate when incomes are dropping and bills keep rising but it is important to try and build up a fund as a financial cushion.

The general rule is to have a minimum of three months' salary to see you through any unexpected financial glitches in life.

Getting into the habit of putting even small amounts into a regular saver account makes good financial sense and will mean you gradually build up a safety net - and don't risk having to resort to building up debt.

Question

UK man mysteriously dies after opening container labeled 'Pandora's Box'

Pandora Box
© Flickr
The death of Jason Airey remains a mystery as officials are unable to determine what caused the 37-year-old's heart to stop shortly after opening a container labelled "Pandora's box."

Airey was discovered unconscious by his parents in the bedroom of their Carlisle, UK, home. He was reportedly taken to a hospital, where he passed away two days later.

According to coroner Robert Chapman, a post-mortem test showed that Airey's heart simply stopped beating, causing his organs to fail.

Chapman claims a toxicology report found no trace of drugs in Airey's system, although the opened "Pandora's box" did contain a small packet of unused synthetic cannabis.

His father, Dennis Airey, said Jason had been in a good mood that day when he returned home, "He was just his normal self."

Sun

Spain's solar police to kick in your door

Solar Power
© Cristina Quicler/AFPSolar energy RIP? Spain plans to slap huge fines on people who don't pay a new charge for homeowners who produce their own solar power.
The latest nail in the coffin for Spain's solar energy producers is an Energy Law amendment which allows inspectors to enter private properties without a court order. It's a move lawyers believe could set a worrying precedent.

As if Spaniards had not already been dissuaded by the potential €60 million fines they face for illegally generating their own solar power, they now have to look forward to a knock on the door from the 'solar police'.

A change to the ruling Popular Party's (PP) Energy Law allows inspectors to "raid" properties they are suspicious of, armed only with administrative authorization.

If the suspect denies entry, Spain's Industry Department will then ask for a court order that guarantees inspectors access to the property alongside Spanish national police.

Officers will be able to seize all documents related to to energy consumption and seal off entry to the property.

Lawyers consulted by Spain's VozPopuli online newspaper raised serious doubts about whether the move was constitutional.

They also said it set a worrying precedent by obliging citizens to let inspectors enter a private residence.

All this means generating your own solar energy without paying for the privilege is a risky business now in Spain.

Cow

Graveyard sheep eating mourners' mementos

Sheep
© AlamyHoly Trinity Church was last used in 2006, although burials still take place in the churchyard.
As a way to save money at a village churchyard, it had seemed like a splendid idea.

But a scheme to let loose a flock of sheep in a graveyard to keep the grass down has backfired, after they grazed on floral tributes and mementoes left for loved ones.

The ten ewes were introduced to Holy Trinity Church in the aptly-named village of Grazeley, Berkshire, because the parochial council said it could no longer afford anyone to mow the lawn.

But Nicola Millard, whose grandparents are buried there, said: "The condition is awful - basically they've ruined all the flowers and bent forward one of the headstones, and there is a lot of debris over the graves."

She added. "There is a little turnstile I go in rather than the main gates and I arrived to see four of them stood on my nan's grave. I was so heartbroken."

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Out-of-control man headbutts moving cars on Perth freeway


A man's dashcam has caught the moment a driver lost control on a Perth freeway and decided to take it out on the moving traffic - using his head.

He can be seen headbutting several moving cars, smashing windows and throwing himself head first through the windscreens of others.

The shocking incident happened after the man crashed his Mazda ute into an unattended Volkswagen which was parked in the emergency lane of Kwinana Freeway in Perth.

Witnesses report the agitated man got out of his vehicle and ran into the oncoming traffic, jumping on the bonnets of some cars before smashing everything in sight.

The dramatic outburst forced traffic to stop and caused a major jam on the city highway. Eye witnesses took to social media to report the incident, with one posting the dashcam footage of the man on YouTube. A police spokeswoman said inquiries are continuing into whether alcohol or drugs were involved.

The man is being assessed at Fremantle hospital.

Ambulance

Obamacare enrollee? The Obama administration attempts a definition

obamacare
© Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The fight over how to define the new health law's success is coming down to one question: Who counts as an Obamacare enrollee?

Health insurance plans only count subscribers as enrolled in a health plan once they've submited a payment. That is when the carrier sends out a member card and begins paying doctor bills.

When the Obama administration releases health law enrollment figures later this week, though, it will use a more expansive definition. It will count people who have purchased a plan as well as those who have a plan sitting in their online shopping cart but have not yet paid.

"In the data that will be released this week, 'enrollment' will measure people who have filled out an application and selected a qualified health plan in the marketplace," said an administration official, who requested anonymity to frankly describe the methodology.

The disparity in the numbers is likely to further inflame the political fight over the Affordable Care Act. Each side could choose a number to make the case that the health law is making progress or failing miserably.

On Monday, the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, said insurance companies have received about 50,000 private health plan enrollments through HealthCare.gov. Even combined with state tallies, the figure falls far short of the 500,000 sign-ups the administration initially predicted for both private sign-ups and those opting for the expansion of Medicaid.

In recent weeks, administration officials have warned that the enrollment figures for October would be low, given the tumultuous launch of the health Web site.

The administration plans to use this count of enrollees because that's where their interaction with the healthcare.gov site ends, the administration official said. Insurance plans, rather than the federal government, are responsible for collecting the first month's premium.