Author: Ezra

When McDonald’s opened its doors in Moscow’s Pushkin Square in 1990, more than 30,000 Russians queued for hours in long lines, eager to spend a sizable chunk of their daily wages on get a taste of america. Through burgers and fries, a food diplomacy was forged, flourishing over the last three decades as corporations like McDonald’s, PepsiCo and private investment firms poured billions of euros into factories and restaurants to bring American culture and capitalism to the table. to Russia. Now that stage has come to an end. After the invasion in Ukraine, companies such as McDonald’s, Starbucks or Coca-Cola…

With up to 30 million species, insects are not just pests. They are crucial for the planet and our food supply. But each year, the number of insects that fly over, crawl or burrow in some parts of the planet is reduced. “And why are flies so important?” Some may ask. Basically because without them there would be no chocolate and probably no ice cream either, because they pollinate both cocoa and the plants that feed dairy cows. A world without insects is a world we don’t want to live in, yet we don’t seem to pay much attention to…

The shipping industry that served as a lifeline for economies during the pandemic has joined the global backlash against Putin’s military offensive by severing trade ties. Government sanctions mean that Russian ships are often barred from docking at ports. However, some loopholes mean that Russian goods and energy can still be transported to countries using foreign ships; there is currently no blockade of oil and gas from Russia. However, port workers are taking action on their own, refusing to load Russian cargo. pressure mechanism. Dock workers around the world are pushing to extend bans on Russian ships from their ports,…

The Kremlin describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation” and a “peacekeeping mission”, so claiming otherwise could be dangerous. And more if it is said on TikTok or on any social network in Russia. The ByteDance-owned app is known for its dance videos, but has recently become a source of information for many young people who watch the Russian invasion of Ukraine through their mobiles. Ukrainian accounts have shared their experience, galvanizing support and help for their country. But the conflict has also exacerbated weaknesses in TikTok’s moderation controls that have allowed a proliferation of false information…

Doritos, donuts, maxibons, pizzas, papadelta, bones, pink panthers, Monster, Burn… the Twitch channels of many well-known streamers have been filled with all kinds of chocolate bars, sweets, desserts, ice creams, chips and energy drinks. For years, influencers have pocketed thousands of euros in advertising for promoting food brands. Until now. The Ministry of Consumption wants to prohibit by decree the advertising of unhealthy food and drinks aimed at young people. The new law. The Ministry of Consumption has launched the processing of the decree to regulate the advertising of unhealthy food and drinks aimed at children and adolescents, despite opposition…

An earlier version of this article was published in 2018. Florence, the cradle of industry and commerce already at the dawn of the Modern Age, a city that gave life to the arts and patronage, is also the symbol of the failure of social mobility. A study by the Bank of Italy, the work of the economists Guglielmo Barone and Sauro Mocetti, has crossed the data from the 1427 census with the 2011 income statement. In his report, it was discovered that the most millionaire surnames in today’s Florence are the same as they were in the Medici Renaissance. If…

An earlier version of this post was published in 2020. Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis and one of the most influential intellectuals of the 20th century, lived much of his days as a divan meat. As he turned years, the Austrian was throwing manias behind him that would have left even the most hardened of shrinks stunned. It is said that he was afraid of ferns, that he was inflexible in his habits and every day he followed a scrupulous routine: after lunch at one o’clock in the afternoon he would get up from the table and take a walk…

Although Ukraine is a relatively small economy in global terms of trade, it is a mainstay in several commodities. The Russian invasion, in fact, will have a direct global impact on products such as sunflower seeds, corn, barley and wheat, where Ukraine has a significant comparative advantage. International trade equaled 65% of GDP of Ukraine in 2020, with a total of 102.9 billion euros in goods exchanged with countries around the world. In 2014, Russia’s annexation of Crimea contributed to a 30% year-on-year drop in Ukraine’s trade value in 2015 (€75.6bn). Now Ukraine’s trade has been irreversibly disrupted since Russia’s…

Two years have passed since the last mass demonstration of 8M, in a March 2020 in which the threat of Covid-19 was already flying over the event and was noted in the attendance at the call: 120,000 attendees, according to the Government Delegation of Madrid , compared to more than 300,000 in 2018 and 2019. Less than a week before the most symbolic and massive event in feminism, the movement is preparing to take to the streets again. However, despite the fact that the protests are already being called in all Spanish cities and want to gain muscle after two…