French-ified

America's Deadliest Sweetener Betrays Millions, Then Hoodwinks You With Name Change. Aspartame is the most controversial food additive in history, and its approval for use in food was the most contested in FDA history. In the end, the artificial sweetener was approved, not on scientific grounds, but rather because of strong political and financial pressure. After all, aspartame was previously listed by the Pentagon as a biochemical warfare agent! 

Might We Do as the Romans Do? Three years ago, the Italian energy giant Eni began what is now a summer tradition: from June 1 to Sept. 1, the company sets the thermostat in its corporate office buildings 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than it had in summers before 2007. It also allows employees to “take off their ties” – that is, wear lighter, more casual clothes to work. Don’t misunderstand: Eni uses air-conditioning, and the offices are more than comfortable. It simply allows the temperature to creep up a tiny bit; most workers wouldn’t even notice. 

“Steamy” French commercial. 

Here's bad news for those of us who love Paris. Paris Aims to Curb Apartment Rentals to Tourists. 

French civil servant lifts lid on five-hours-a-week culture. A French civil servant who lifted the lid on the wastefulness of the country's state sector in a book describing a "five-hours-a-week" culture where people competed to take the longest coffee breaks has been suspended. 

Humungous bubbles blown from small black hole. A relatively small black hole has been spotted blowing bubbles with diameters of more than 300-1500 light years. 

Republicans more likely to be involved in (gay) sex scandals.

 

À la prochaine, mes amis