Salon: Why is Donald Trump so sweet on Vladimir Putin? It might just be personal financial gain

So why does Trump pander to Putin? He won’t criticize him and incessantly flatters and coddles him. He has winked at the annexation of Crimea, threatened NATO, suggested that the G7 should readmit Russia, and done nothing to prevent Russian meddling in U.S. elections. [...]

Throughout the 2000s, Russians bought many apartments in Trump Tower and $100 million worth of Trump properties in Florida. But these sales dropped precipitously in 2014 after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs for the Crimean incursion. Lifting sanctions would likely restore these sales, and the profits would flow through a trust run by Trump's sons, with the president as sole beneficiary. Indeed, Trump admitted that he’d “be looking at” lifting them.

Trump has many business aspirations in Russia that Putin can make or break. In 1986, Trump met with the Soviet ambassador about building a luxury hotel in Moscow, and announced a potential Trump International complex there. At the 2008 Russian Real Estate Summit, Trump touted plans for condos and hotels in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sochi. In 2011, he licensed his name to an aborted Azerbaijan hotel for $1 million and promoted a Trump Tower in Kazakhstan. Even as he campaigned for the Republican nomination, Trump signed a letter of intent to build Trump Tower in Moscow. [...]

“America first” ideology has actually put Russia first. Leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Iran nuclear deal and Paris Climate Agreement lost America international forums where it communicated, led and influenced. Cutting the State Department’s budget and foreign aid weakened America’s global clout and allowed Putin to expand Russia's sphere of influence.

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Quartz: The EU countries that desperately need migrants to avoid shrinkage—and those that don’t

Though there were more deaths than births across the European Union (EU), the population increased by 1.1 million in one year, to 512.6 million people. The increase was due to net migration, according to Eurostat. Population trends in EU countries aren’t at all consistent. While Malta, Luxembourg, and Sweden saw a large increases in population growth, Lithuania, Croatia, and Latvia saw their population shrink significantly. [...]

For countries at the bottom of the table, a lack of migrants is contributing to a population decrease. In Lithuania, Latvia, and Romania, an increase in net migration could help reverse population decline. And while the populations grew slightly in Poland and Slovakia, restrictive immigration policies have dampened the growth. The same is true for Slovenia, but the country was one of many to respond to the refugee crisis by building fences. [...]

There are, however, some European countries whose growth is not dependent on migration. In Ireland, France, and the Netherlands, population growth was down in 2016 because of natural increases rather than migration. And the 2018 data from Eurostat shows that across the EU, the highest crude birth rates, which measures the rate of birth to the population, in 2017 were recorded in Ireland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and France. (The fertility rate measure the rate of birth to women in a reproductive age).

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Quartzy: Beyond the straw ban—three easy ways to eat with the planet in mind

This one is a little counter-intuitive, but many frozen fish actually have a smaller carbon footprint than fresh fish. “It’s much better, and much cheaper actually, to go to the frozen section where you have vacuum-packed things like sockeye salmon,” Paul Greenberg, author of The Omega Principle, Seafood and the Quest for a Long Life and a Healthier Planet, told Terry Gross on Fresh Air. Greenberg explained that fish that are processed and frozen on fishing boats, like much of the Alaskan salmon catch, can be held at temperature for long periods with very little additional energy input, especially in contrast to the expense of flying fresh seafood around the world. [...]

As Dana Gunders, author of Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook, told Quartzy earlier this year,  “No matter how organically or sustainably the food was grown, if you’re not eating it, it was all for naught.” Americans waste about a pound of food a day per person and people with the healthiest diets tend to waste the most—about half of all produce ends up in the trash, and food is the single biggest contributor to landfills. [...]

While we’re talking about banning straws—which while wasteful, are irreplaceable for some folks with limited mobility or sensory issues—let’s talk about disposable coffee cups. Americans use more than 100 million disposable hot coffee cups each day. That doesn’t even take iced lattes into account. Fancy reusable coffee cups, like the one from Yeti, may seem a bit much, but at around $30 each you’re much less likely to lose it than a cheaper model. Their BPA-free plastic lids actually get clean, are supposedly leak-proof, and don’t hold the grossly lingering flavor of stale coffee, so they can double as your seltzer cup once you’ve caffeinated. Yeti also makes a separate straw lid that is reusable and perfect for keeping your wine spritzer ice cold.  Stay up-to-date with Quartzy on Facebook  Follow us

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IFLScience: Archaeologists Have Found The Oldest Copy Of One Of The Most Important Stories Ever Told

The Greek Culture Ministry has announced the discovery of the oldest written extract of Homer’s Odyssey. Initial analysis of the slab strongly suggests it dates back to around the third century CE during the Roman era, although the team is yet to confirm this through scientific techniques.

The clay tablet, engraved with 13 verses of book 14 of the epic poem, was unearthed near a ruined Temple of Zeus during a three-year excavation in the ancient city of Olympia, Greece. This grand temple was also once home to the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, a since-destroyed colossal statue that is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. [...]

Homer – if he existed – wouldn’t have actually written the story in the same way we think of an author writing a book today. The story was most likely composed orally and was more likely intended to be heard than read. Since most stories were transmitted this way, it’s actually pretty lucky we have any stories dating from Ancient Greece at all. This new discovery is important because it's the closest we have come to the original story, or at least when it was first written down, as like most stories told after the event and passed down orally, it's very likely that the story changes bit-by-bit with each retelling.

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IFLScience: The "Mystery" Of The Bermuda Triangle Has Been Solved

During an on-air interview with news.com.au, one Karl Kruszelnicki – a well-known science communicator out of Australia – notes that the number of vessels and aircraft that disappear in the area “is the same as anywhere else in the world on a percentage basis.” [...]

According to Kruszelnicki, the myth behind the Bermuda Triangle began when several high-profile military convoys – and their subsequent rescue missions – went down in the region between the First and Second World Wars. In reality, terrible weather and less rigid boats and aircraft ensure plenty of disappearances. [...]

Bodies and wreckage were never found in most cases, but this isn’t surprising considering that it’s a massive body of water that’s incredibly deep. Even today, the wreckage of planes and boats are rarely located despite massive advances in reconnaissance and tracking technology.

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