town

There was a day that Volkswagen wanted to have “the Bentley of the town.” It went wrong

by

If something has shown us the history of the car is that it is completely irrational, extremely competitive and very conservative. The electric car is demonstrating it clearly. The number of brands has triggered and China wants to make a foothold on European soil. The reality is that Only Tesla seems to have found the way Correct and China is moving in Europe … but with Combustion engines. That conservatism is not new. Raising a brand from scratch is only possible with a huge economic effortsustained and almost blind for years and years (like Tesla)with the help of state media (as Xiaomi and its association with one of the national Chinese car companies). But it is also almost impossible to change the perception that the client has of you. Winning to the client and ascending on the ranks of the market can take decades. A good example is Hyundai and Kia that have some of the best -selling cars In our country but they had to start earning market share selling cars much cheaper than those of the competition. But rapid movements, those who want to position a brand in a higher segment almost from nowhere or those that seek to compete with premium brands with a model that equals features but also in price is generally a call to failure. There is a good handful of examples and the Volkswagen Phaeton is undoubtedly one of the most representative. History of a failure Luckily for those who like cars and unfortunately from manufacturers, the purchase of a car is irrational. It has an inevitable part of aesthetic taste but also for quality perception, affinity with the brand and construction of an image and a history based on the past. That makes, for example, Renault fails with Vel satisf either Avantime Although they were very good vehicles that tried position yourself above the generalists. Nor has Stellantis (and before PSA) achieved return to DS to your luxury past Despite the multiple attempts. And something similar happened to Volkswagen Phaeton. By order of Ferdinand Piëch, then president of the Volkswagen Group, the Germans wanted to assault the premium market with a Berlina that was called “The Bentley of the People”. The intention was to stick with the Mercedes S, BMW 7 series and, curiously for being part of the group, with the Audi A8. The bet was so strong that the possibility to match (or improve) in equipment and materials to its rivals with a more adjusted price was not even tan. It was directly to resemble all fronts (also in price) and in the executives of Volkswagen they took a tortazo. In fact, the Volkswagen Phaeton Not even was a version of Audi A8. Yes, he shared some aluminum panels with the Berlina of the four hoops, as explained in Km77 In the early 2000s, but for development it departed from a blank sheet and even The Volkswagen Dresde factory was builtknown for their Glass structure and for being the one that, discontinued the Phaeton, covers the complete electrical models of the company. In that assault on the heavens, the Phaeton was sold above 66,000 euros for what the German triad looked from you. A Audi A8 It was sold at that time slightly below 69,000 euros. A BMW 7 series It started from 67,500 euros. He Mercedes S Yes it was significantly more expensive, starting from more than 71,000 euros. In those early years of the new century, all German luxury Berlins shared two things: they all had versions above 120,000 euros. And they all had gigantic engines. And the Volkswagen Phaeton was not going to be less. Its most “small” engine was already a V6 in diesel and gasoline versions. From there, it could only be dreaming. Volkswagen’s bet was also sold with a V8 4.2 gasoline, the famous V10 5.0 TDI and an endless W12 6.0 of gasoline that was sold with 420 and 450 hp versions. The average consumption of the latter was around (with the homologations of that time) 14.5 liters/100 km on average. And of equipment, the Phaeton was not badly served: heating seats, electric with memory and massage, bi-xenon headlights, four-zone heshlyzizer, indoor in the skin topped with wood and the possibility of replacing the rear seats with two sidewalks to improve comfort. Developing the car, therefore, was not going to be easy. At least this is attesting to 1,100 million euros that, according to Autoweekthe Germans invested in their development. From Automotive NewsHowever, they raise the figure to 2,000 million euros. But despite the expensive development and the good of the product, selling the Phaeton was not simple either. To the point that, according to this last medium, the Germans lost 28,101 euros for each unit sold. Keep in mind that the company had made a effort huge in machinery, employees and a new factory (The Dresden crystal plant) To launch a car that would meet the quality of a vehicle of its price range. It is said that Ferdinand Piëch delivered a series of unnegotiable requirements to put the car on the street among which was the ability to maintain the interior temperature at 22ºC circulating in a sustained way at 300 km/h with an exterior temperature of 50ºC. And all despite the car was limited to 250 km/h. Only for overestimating the capabilities of the car and that there was no open door to the client’s disappointment. But the market did not respond despite the fact that Volkswagen reached up to 100 patents during its development. Estimates that aimed at 20,000 units sold a year were impossible to meet. Even as the years passed. Because during the decade and a half that the car was on sale only 84,253 units were sold. Volkswagen’s most optimistic forecasts, collect in DiariomotorThey could exceed 35,000 units sold. And, as exceed, the 50,000 cars sold. Seeing one of those people’s bentley was not as complicated as seeing a true Bentley but of course it … Read more

The only town founded and built by Chinese and for Chinese

by

In the month of March We count A curious and unexpected movement, one that, in addition, had already happened in New York and that was now extended throughout Japan: neighborhoods with Chinese than Japanese. The truth is that if we have to talk about surprising migratory movements with Beijing as the protagonist, none as the one occurred a century ago in An enclave of the United States. Origins and context. The story remembered this week The BBC. On the banks of the Sacramento River, in the heart of the fertile but once inhospitable Californian Delta, Locke was born in 1915 as the only town in the United States By Chinese for Chinese. Its history goes back in the mid -nineteenth century, when gold fever attracted thousands of search engines from the province of Guangdong, in China, with the promise of A “GAM SAAN” or “Mountain of Gold”. Soon, hostility, discriminatory taxes like him Foreign Mine’s Tax from 1850 and violence pushed them towards other trades: the laying of the transcontinental railroad And, above all, the agricultural transformation of Delta thanks to his experience in draining marshes and building dikes. Between 1860 and 1880, they recovered more than 35,000 hectares, laying the foundations of an agricultural emporium, although without property rights by laws such as the Alien Land Law 1913 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Lockle Foundation. In October 1915, A fire He razed Walnut Grove Chinatown, displacing hundreds of families. Among the victims was Lee Bing, prosperous merchant of Zhongshan origin, who led with others an agreement with the landowner George Locke Jr. to lease nine acres and lift A new settlement. So Locke emergedinitially known as Lockeport, under a system of “Ground Rent” which charged 5 dollars per month for residential lots and 10 for commercials. Between 1915 and 1917, 45 wooden buildings were built, mostly unpainted and with sheet metal roofs, which still retain the rustic aspect of the old west. The community grew rapidly with workers used in farms and conserves, and was endowed Chinese schoolshops, hotels, restaurants and game rooms that would operate for decades. Cultural and economic splendor. During its peak, between the 20s and 40s, the enclave housed some 600 inhabitants, almost all Chinese, and it was described as The “Monte Carlo de California” for its intense activity in the clandestine casinos. It had nine grocery stores, six restaurants, a cinema, a hotel, mills and guest houses, in addition to male associations such as the Jan Ying Association. The Chinese school not only taught calligraphy and language, but preserved Cultural identity in an environment marked by discrimination. That community fabric allowed Locke inhabitants to prosper despite not being able to possess the land they occupied. Demographic decline. The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act In 1943 he opened opportunities outside the Delta, and the new generations They emigrated to cities close. In the 60s the population decreased dramatically, but social cohesion kept the people alive. In 1990, Locke was declared National Historical Monument for being the most complete example of Chinese-American Rural Agricultural Community. At the beginning of the 21st century, problems such as the collapse of the septic system and the lack of ownership of the land threatened their future, until in 2004 the Housing and Revitalization Authority sacrament bought, repaired and resorted The plots to residents and descendants, ensuring their permanence. Preservation, tourism and new life. Today, Locke keeps standing much of its original buildings, converted into museums such as The Dai Loy (former game hall), the Joe Show School House wave Jan Ying Associate Building. The restaurant To The Wopsinaugurated in 1934 as the first non -Chinese business, it remains a meeting point. Artists and new settlers live with the descendants of the founders in a bohemian and quiet environment, visited on weekends by tourists who arrive by the panoramic view of River Road. Thus, more than an architectural vestige, Locke is a resistance symbol And adaptation, testimony of how a discriminated community managed to build its own refuge, preserve its culture and leave an indelible mark on the history of the Delta de California. Image | Wayne Hsieh In Xataka | A phenomenon that has already happened in New York is spreading throughout Japan: neighborhoods with younger than Japanese In Xataka | The labor crisis in China takes many young people to the same challenge: living with less than $ 70 per month for food

A small town in Holland has the solution to mass tourism: to fool Google Maps

by

Mass tourism has unable consequences for residents. Recently we talked about the Avalanche of tourists who go to the lavender fields in Brihuega. In the Parkbuurt neighborhood, located in a small coastal town in Holland, they also have problems with tourism. Specifically because, in the most influx days, it is impossible for them to park. The neighbors have got to work to solve it with a very ingenious method. Fed up neighbors. Parking in Parkbuurt was not a problem until tourists arrived. Especially on weekends, its streets are filled with cars and neighbors, fed up with not being able to park normally, as they say in NH News. What they did was start reporting street blockages on Google Maps so that the app sending visitors to other areas. Google Maps to Rescue. It is the navigation app most used in the world And its function to report incidents on the road makes it perfect for this type of actions. A single report would not take effect, but with neighbors organizing to send reports at the same time the thing changes. The streets of the neighborhood appear as cut in the app and that makes visitors go to other areas. Answer. The trick has worked for them, but it has had some unwanted effects. Gert-Jan Bluijs, councilor of the municipality, is not funny and ensures that this measure has generated more chaos in other adjacent neighborhoods. The neighbors defend themselves from criticism ensuring that it is a peaceful measure that only apply on weekends, during the week they were not applying it. They see it as a way of exerting pressure to do something from the City Council. At the moment, what the City Council has done is to place a sign at the entrance of the town asking visitors to deactivate Google Maps. More cases. It is not the first time that similar tactics are used to combat tourist saturation. A few months ago something similar also happened in Holland, near the area of the Keukenhof Tulipanes gardens. This same year, we knew that Barcelona had eliminated a Google Maps bus route so that tourists would not collapse it. The result was good in that bus line, but others collapsed. The other face. We have seen that navigation apps can be a tool to divert traffic, but they can also be the cause of the problem. Years ago we told you how Waze’s suggestions ruined the tranquility of some neighborhoods. The app, now GOOGLE PROPERTYsuggests faster routes and diverts traffic through streets that used to be little busy. In Xataka | Iceland is so tired of tourism that it has decided to stop it drastically: fringing its visitors Image | Rudi Arlt in Pixabay

A town in Toledo has tired of the squatters. So you are offering a new service to your neighbors to put them

by

Escalona is A town of Castilla-La Mancha that does not usually monopolize holders beyond the regional press. For a while, however, it is usual to find news that relate it to the illegal occupation of houses. And not because there is a serious problem (which It has been). No. The reason is that City Council has undertaken A real crusade Against the Okupas, which has led him to activate a Municipal Planopen a special office, upload homes and, now, offer a Free service to the neighbors to expedite the evictions during The first 48 hours. At the moment it seems that it is not doing badly: the City Council presumes that illegal occupations have fallen more than 60%. Escalona at war. In Escalonaa municipality in the province of Toledo de 3,800 neighborsthey have declared him The war to the illegal occupation of housing. And with forcefulness. Both in fact that in 2023 (just one year after activating its ‘antiokupa plan’) the Consistory calculated that the problem had already been reduced 75% In the municipality and the number of crimes, 70%had also collapsed. Since then the Consistory has not stopped and recently insisted in the legal facilities which offers to evict homes. “There are no excuses”. The Escalona Crusade is not new. In fact, at least March 2021 can be traced, when the mayor Álvaro Gutiérrez(PSOE) sent A letter to the neighbors presenting the municipal plan against the illegal housing occupation. Your goal? Facing what, in the councilor’s opinion, is the “most difficult” challenge that faces the municipality: the squatters. “We cannot and do not want to look the other way. There are no excuses for illegal occupation,” starts. “Everyone has the right to housing, yes; but they must access it through legal instruments and social policies without harming the rights of others.” And what do you think? The plan It soon in entering into force and basically rests on three legs. The main one is the creation of a “illegal anti-exploits” municipal office, an department dedicated to offering free legal advice to the housing owners of the town, regardless of whether or not they are registered there. Its objective: to expedite the procedures and that the owners of affected houses act rapidly during the First 48 hours of occupation, which can speed considerably The eviction. With that purpose, the City Council of Escalona has created a “at risk” housing census and promotes the signing of agreements with both individuals and banks that have empty houses in the municipality. Thanks to them, the owners delegate their legal representation in the Consistory so that it can immediately denounce an illegal occupation in court. The objective is the same: shorten times and take advantage of the first 48 hours of the occupation to, In the words of the Consistorylook for the “express eviction.” Disused house, house upholstered. The second leg of the ‘Antiokupas Plan’ consists of an ordinance that forces to upholler or install special doors and windows in those homes that remain permanently empty. The measure, Gutiérrez clarified In his letter, he addresses mainly to the financial entities that have empty houses and without tenants in portfolio. “If they do not proceed in the stipulated time, the appropriate judicial file will begin so that the City Council can be carried out with the relevant judicial authorization,” The mayor warnsthat also warns of fines and sanctions for those who do not comply. And is it done? That seems. The City Council estimates that only in March 2022, with the newly activated antiokupa plan, the doors and windows of 40 homes distributed by neighborhoods and urbanizations of the town. And his intention was to continue doing it, blocking another 10 short -term buildings. In his Balance of 2023 He already spoke of more than fifty houses with the windows and doors closed to lime and song to keep the squatters away, a work that at least in some cases is done with local resources. Tightening via taxes. To prevent empty homes in the hands of banks, the ‘Antiokupa Plan’ also contemplates the creation of a tax designed for financial entities with buildings at risk. Its logic is very simple: if the owner (bank, vulture fund, etc.) refuses to install enclosures or upholster the house and neither does it allocate to social rental faces a special rate. “The first leg is to discourage the policy of fallen arms by financial entities to this serious problem with economic incentives,” The letter points out. In informing the building of buildings, the City Council in fact recalls that this is its last option. “We must remember that 100% of these homes come from financial entities, investment funds or vulture funds and that have been urged to rent to vulnerable families. The upholstered is the last resort to avoid its use for illicit purposes,” They claim from the Toledo municipality. City Hall … And something else. The third leg of the Plan relies on organizations and entities that go beyond the Consistory itself, such as the Civil Guard, the use of private security to “reinforce special operations against crime” in high season or expand the local police body with new places. And they are not the only resources of the City Council. Your plan He talks about agreements with “supply entities” to “expedite the supply cuts of illegal hooks of occupied homes.” Notarial powers. In May the local government made it easier for the owners of houses occupied to resort to justice by informing of a new municipal service, a free mediation so that any affected owner can benefit from the last legal news and empty your home in 48 hours. “The City Council offers all the owners of occupied homes assume the judicial and notarial costs if the notarial power is granted to submit the demand in the courts and thus expedite the eviction,” Inform The Consistory. “This new measure joins the plan against illegal occupations thanks to which, according to the information of the Civil Guard, … Read more

A bank convinced the people of a poor town in the US to spend their savings. Now it’s full of millionaires

by

Stories of Lucky blows and Millionaires There are manybut they almost always have a common denominator: We speak in singular. Therefore, what happened in a small town in Florida whose families were going through serious difficulties to get ahead is so special. Even today, the enclave continues to look like a bland and inhospitable town. But do not deceive you, there is still a large number of millionaires among people. And all Thanks to Coca-Cola. Quincy and the banker. This is the name of the people of one of the most fascinating stories of the United States economy. There, in the midst of the great depression of the 20s and 30s and with part of the census in serious difficulties, a figure appears that was going to change everyone’s life. His name: Pat munroea cunning banker, a businessman who noticed a key detail to convince all citizens. It didn’t matter how impoverished they were in Quincy or how serious the financial situation of families was, the man observed that almost religiously, people spent until the last penny in a good glass of icy coca-cool. What if that devotion made it a blow of luck? Coca-Cola in the stock market. The sugary giant began to quote in stock market in 1919 to $ 40 the actionbut a conflict with the sugar industry and its bottlers caused a 50% drop soon, when it reached 19 dollars per share. In other words, there was a time in the story in which Coca-Cola quoted for less than the cash in the bank and its actions were extremely cheap. And among others, Munroe was at the right time. The bargain of the century. What did he do? Invest. The man He began acquiring Coca-Cola actions As if there were no tomorrow. However, he did not do it alone. He encouraged all his acquaintances and friends of acquaintances in the town to buy a participation in the company. Focusing on the final profits and the power of the brand, Pat Munroe continued and continued buying. And while doing it, he kept telling everyone who were willing to listen to him in Quincy who also bought. He took advantage of the confidence and respect that the community had towards him and undertook a crusade to get anyone who could go up to the Coca-Cola train. Loans for shares. The man was so sure of his success that every time a person went to his bank to ask for a loan, I encouraged him to accept another in exchange for actions. Farmers, shopkeepers, teachers: absolutely anyone who could spend money was tempted by Munroe. For the banker, that Coca-Cola’s action was at $ 19 each was an opportunity that no one in the city should escape. That is why he did not get tired of buying and, almost equally important, to stand firm in the decision regardless of the market fluctuations that occurred in the short term. The ball. Finally, the banker’s observations were a historical success. Quincy, an eminently agricultural city, not only remained afloat in difficult times thanks to Coca-Cola dividends, brought a wealth that is still studied in universities. In fact, the enclave became the richest city per capita in the United States for a while, and dozens of its inhabitants were nicknamed “the millionaire secrets of Coca-Cola”. People who trusted the good eye of Munroe and invested all their money (and the one they did not have), and who kneaded huge fortunes with those first actions, which then transmitted from generation to generation, making them the millionaire eponyms of Coca-Cola, some who, effectively, established whole dynasties of financial prosperity that transcended generations. How much we are talking. It is difficult to speak in total terms, but for us to get an idea of ​​money, in 2013 it was made An assessment study of what happened in Quincy. The results found that a single action with reinvested dividends were worth 10,000,000 dollars. $ 270,000 in cash dividends would be sent before taxes to the owner by sending a check worth $ 67,500 in March, June, September and November of each year. In this way, if the great -grandmother and great -grandfather on duty had acquired a round lot of 100 shares for between $ 1,900 and $ 4,000, depending on the purchase price, they would now have more than one billion dollars, excluding the effects of taxes on assets. Money for crisis. That investment has meant a lifeguard every time a hard time is approaching. When the local economy was supported by coca and the crisis arrived, tail dividends. In fact, these assets have supported the city in all recessions since then. When the crops failed, it was the money of the Coca-Cola that kept the people used. When the national economy collapsed, it was Coca-Cola’s cash that allowed people to remain in their homes. When the times were good and Coca-Cola was cheap, they bought more actions. Quincy today. It is a unique story, by unusual. All families that kneaded a fortune then passed it to their children and grandchildren, in some cases through direct donations and in others through the use of fiduciary funds. Even the bank where everything started has a Coca-Cola on exhibition And, until a few years ago, an amazing 65% of the fiduciary assets under administration were still invested in Coca-Cola shares. Quincy’s appearance today does not differ much from the era of great depression. It is still a quiet and eminently agricultural city with a population of less than 10,000 inhabitants. But do not fool your sight, some of the grandchildren whose families raised an empire, that of the secret millionaires of Coca-Cola. Image | Pxhere, Ebyabe, Pxhere In Xataka | The 100,000 million club: the exclusive group of 14 millionaires that has doubled its members in 2024 In Xataka | There are rich and ultra -ups: countries with more millionaires, centimillionaires and milmonarios of the world counted in a graphic *An earlier version of this article … Read more

The Rocambolesque Idea that is feeding a fish farm in a town in France

by

The first men who traveled to the moon during the Apollo missions subsist based on lyophilized food and sweet or salty jelly -coated cubes. The thing has not gone to better over the years. But if the French succeed, astronauts from lunar missions can eat fresh fish. Lubinas raised on the moon. That is the goal of Lunar Hatcha rocambolesco scientific project that is already underway in a fish farm by Palavas-Le-Flots, south of France. The fish that raise in this small center are not any lubins, but the founding generation of the futures “Aquanautas” lunares. Its offspring will travel to space in the form of fertilized eggs in order to establish the first extraterrestrial fish farm. High quality protein. If we are going to establish a permanent base on the moon, what less than to give us the taste of dinner a fresh lubina. The brain behind this project is Cyrille Przybyla, a researcher at the French National Institute for Oceanic Research. “Fish is an excellent source of protein, because it is the animal body that we best digest and contains omega 3 and vitamins B important that astronauts will need to maintain their muscle mass,” Przybyla said to The Guardian. The question, which he poses, is not whether we need it, but “how we can produce these foods at so much distance.” Lunar Hatch. The experiment, financed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Space Studies Center of France (CNES), will send the eggs to the space calculating the time it takes to hatch upon reaching its destination. Although an assigned space flight does not yet have, the idea is to perform the first tests at the International Space Station, assisted by European astronauts in orbit. After observing their development, the eggs would be frozen and returned to the earth for an exhaustive analysis. If the tests are successful, the next step would be to climb the system for a future implementation on the Moon. Not the first fish, yes the first fish. We have already seen fish in space. The first were small Mummichogs in an Apollo mission in 1973. More recently, Cebra fish have helped study muscle atrophy. But this is the first time that the objective is purely gastronomic: create a source of regular and renewable food for astronauts and crew of future lunar and Martian bases. The first space fish. This is not (alone) of nutrition. The true mill of Lunar Hatch is to create a completely closed and self -sufficient ecosystem, without waste, exempt from continuously replenishing food with load flights from Earth to end eating crickets. Everything is recycled within a fish farming system that should be autonomous for at least four or five months. Of course, many “Aquanautas” will be needed. Scientists have calculated that to provide two weekly fish to seven astronauts, about 200 lubins would be needed. Image | Lfremer In Xataka | We have been growing lettuce in space for years. Now we have discovered that they are more likely to get sick

The secret formula of Coca-Cola is in a safe of a town in Valencia. The same one that claims its authorship

by

The history is written by the victors (Or that’s what we think). Perhaps the phrase would have to be changed to the story being written who has the best story and, in the commercial world, which knows how to sell its product better. And if there is a universal product that is the same image of globalization and proper name of one of the most powerful corporations in the worldthat’s the Coca-Cola. The story that John Stith Pemberton He is the father of the Coca-Cola and who, after some failed attempts, in 1886 found the formula of the drink Based on coca leaf, kola nut and carbonated water. It is not that it would bring him good luck, since shortly after he died in absolute poverty, taking a secret more powerful than that of his drink itself. The secret of whether he invented it or whether Coca-Cola is a plagiarism of a Spanish drink that was presented in the United States in 1985. Do not say Coca-Cola: Say Kola Coca In its origins, Coca-Cola was not a soda: it was a tonic. In fact, a “miraculous tonic” who cured headaches, relieved exhaustion and calmed his nerves, like Pemberton himself promoted. It was everything, also a “delicious, refreshing, cheerful, stimulating and vigorizing” drink. With cocaineIt wasn’t for less. It was not a success and its creator never saw the real potential of the drink. It was after selling his product to businessman Asa G. Gamdler when the brand exploded and The Coca-Cola Company became the giant that is today. But there are those who think that this position in history does not belong to Gandler or, above all, Pemberton: it belongs to the Valencian people of Malferit’s. In 1880, Bautista Apartici, Ricardo Sanz and Enrique Ortiz founded the Liquor Factory of Aielo. They began to create products and to present them at fairs in Europe. APARICI was the ‘commercial’ of the company and the person in charge of showing its products by the different countries, being the coca kola one of them. Kola nuts Your ingredients? Coca leaf, Kola nut and water. Very similar to those of the subsequent Coca-Cola. In 1885, Appear took the Kola Coca to a fair in Philadelphia, where he presented it and distributed some samples to local commercials. At present, that would be done with a product already patented so that no one can raise your idea, but it was not the practice more than a century ago. A year later, Pemberton presented in Atlanta its coca leaf formula, kola and water nut. Carbonated, where appropriate. Chance or plagiarism? Ayelo distillers itself leaves the question on its website. “In 1885, the Kola-Coca travels to the United States and, just a year later, the pharmacist John Steve Pemberton launched in the United States the famous Coca-Cola Answering the question is complicated, especially when we talk about an era in which the information was not transmitted with the same speed as now and it should be assumed that the connection between Pemberton and some of the commercials that received the cola coca sample. From Ayelo distilleries, they are clear. Juan Micó is the last owner of Ayelo distilleries and, as we read in ABC Newsconsiders that Coca-Cola was invented in Aielo. “At that time it was easy to copy a drink. The patents were only recorded if the product was successful,” he says, stating that when they patented the Kola Coca formula in Spain in 1903, the Coca-Cola already had a way won to become an icon. And Coca-Cola appeared Decades after patenting the drink, it was Coca-Cola who was interested in the one prepared in Aielo. The multinational wanted to enter Spain with a factory in the 40s, but could not do it directly due to the laws of registered trademarks because there was already a registered tail. That of Aielo. As we read in SpiegelCoca-Cola executives visited Malferit in 1953 and closed an agreement to acquire the rights of the name to Joaquín Juan Sanchis, who was the owner of the factory at that time. And, that same year, Coca-Cola began the conquest of the territory from its bottling company in Barcelona. There are no official records of the agreement, but there is talk of a sum between 30,000 and 50,000 pesetas to exploit the brand in Spain. A lot of money for the time, as Micó said, but a misery if compared to how things would have been, instead of money, they had accepted shares or a small percentage of sales. “We would be millionaires,” says Juan. And at that time of the firm it was when Distillerías Ayelo stopped preparing his ‘syrup’. At least the alcohol without alcohol, since that market belonged to Coca-Cola. The one they continued preparing was Kola coca nut With alcoholic content. 21st, specifically, and in Your description A “will” be or not be the origin of the Coca-Cola? “ Today, Micó’s family directs the business, and does so for a romantic issue, so as not to let that curious story die that will survive forever. The Valencian municipality is clear that Coca-Cola was invented there and, as we read in The countryIn 2018, Mayor José Luis Pinter commented that they had sent a letter to the multinational to use the link between Malferit and Coca-Cola’s year to take advantage of it. “Our goal is to see this project willingly, so that the people are known. We do not pursue anything else,” said the mayor of the town. Therefore, economic rights were not requested, but to take advantage of that link to underpin the story about the relationship between the municipality and the Coca-Cola. From the company they responded, but surely not the way in which the neighbors would have liked. They just said that the brand has transcended so much that “It is property of everyone” and that it is a pride that there are similar stories in different parts of the world. I do not know if … Read more

Valencia tested the four -day work week. A town of Cádiz of 1,355 inhabitants has been the first to implement it

by

Zahara de la Sierra, a municipality of just 1,355 inhabitants in the province of Cádiz, has decided to step forward in the Organization of your work day and rise as the first session to adopt the four -day work week and face the challenge of the reduction of the day that is currently located Parliamentary process. Inspired by the pilot experience carried out in Valencia, the City Council of this picturesque Cadiz people have implemented the four -day work week For its municipal staff. The news has generated great expectation, not only for the novelty of the measure, but for the enthusiasm he has aroused among the employees themselves. Zahara de la Sierra adopts four days. The City of Zahara de la Sierra has decided to reduce the working day of its 32 public employees of the current 37.5 hours per week in five working days, to a 35 -hour day distributed in four days per week. Thus, this small population located in the limits of the Natural Park of the Sierra de Grazalema becomes the first public body to adopt that day model. The mayor’s initiative. The implementation of the four -day working hours arises at the initiative of the mayor, such as conciliation measure For public employees of your City Council. The reduction will be implemented voluntarily and will allow workers to fight one day a week, either on Monday or Friday, rotatingly. To complete the remaining hours until adding 35, they will have to work or on Tuesdays or Thursdays in the afternoon. As Mayor Santiago Galván explains in statements to The country: “It’s totally optional. If you have children, enter at 9, no and you like to get up early, enter at 7:30”. This flexibility aims to adapt to the conciliation needs of each employee without affecting the attention to the public that is covered five days a week by rotating shifts. “In the end, the work has to be as a goal, that of being encapsulated in hours is a fatal mistake. That does not benefit anyone, I prefer flexibility,” said the mayor. An agreement with the union support. Beyond being a pioneer initiative in public administration in Spain, the mayor has had the consensus of workers and the CSIF union, a majority in public administrations. According to collect Diario de Cádizthe officials union positively value the measure, considering it “the starting point for all local municipalities and entities to take it as an example.” Francisco Silvestre, head of Local Administration of CSIF Cádiz, explained that “municipal staff deserves the improvement of their working conditions, facilitating, among other issues, family conciliation; but also, by optimizing resources, citizenship care schedules can be expanded and, consequently, also improve the service offered”, so the measure will not only benefit employees, but also result in the citizenship. Learning others’ head. Despite being a pioneer initiative in a public organization, There are already private companies That they have adopted this model of day, so the Consistory can take advantage of that previous experience to solve possible problems that may arise. In addition, the pilot program of the four -day working hours that took place In Valenciaalready advances the benefits that can be expected in that small Gaditano municipality. The different tests performed all over the world They agree to aim an almost immediate improvement in the well -being of the workers, Reduction of labor casualties and an increase in commitment. In addition, a Fall in productivity attributable to the change in the working day model. Valencia and Iceland tests reported that the adoption of four -day work week encouraged local consumption and economy due to the increase in the free time of workers. These data reinforce the idea that four -day work week can be a viable and beneficial formula for different sectors, among which is the public sector, although it is not viable in all companies. In Xataka | Not everything is 38.5 hours a week: the formulas for a waiter or temporary to benefit from the reduction of day Image | Wikimedia Commons (80 km/h)

A homemade tank that shattered half a town

by

Lying with public administration can be tedious. Paper, dilated times and procedures that could be done in a couple of clicks online, but that we have to perform in person. At most, We can frustrate ourselvesangry and release some expletive like taking a bulldozer and you would get to knock down public buildings, knowing that you would never do something like that. The problem is that, precisely, that is what a man named Marvin Heemeyer did in 2004 in the town of Granby, in Colorado. Marvin Heemeyer. At the time of the events, Marvin was 52 years old. He was a veteran of the United States Air Forces and his profession was that of welder in the aforementioned Granbybut the story began much earlier. In 1992, Heemeyer bought Some land with the intention of renting them to a friend who wanted to set up a repair workshop. Those lands were owned by a family, the Docheff, and it seems that they were not very happy for Marvin’s victory in the auction. The price of land? $ 42,000 of the time and was very basic, since it did not have a solution for fecal waters and access depended on contiguous land. The City Council told him that he had to solve that, connecting to the sewer (another $ 42,000) or putting a septic tank. He refused and, meanwhile, the friend who was going to rent the land was disenchanted with the business, so Heemeyer himself opened there a silencer repair workshop. Culebrón. The Docheff did not forget the 1992 auction in which Marvin took the land and, in 1997, they attacked. As? Buying the lands around Marvin to create a cement plant. In principle, Marvin also wanted to buy, but he first requested $ 250,000, then another $ 125,000 and, when the Docheff got the land, Heemeyer raised the price to $ 450,000 again. There was no agreement, but the Docheff continued their plan. Heemeyer undertook an action to put the people against the cement plant claiming that it would be an ecological attack, but little by little he was losing support, especially when the city newspaper argued that he had a personal revenge against the Docheff. To attack. In 2000, the welder filed a lawsuit to block the project. He claimed that the construction would block access to their business, but local officials unanimously approved the construction and, although he appealed, nobody paid attention to him. He climbed the case to the Environmental Protection Agency, which also went from the matter. In 2001, almost in an act of pride, the Docheff made an offer to Heemeyer: if he withdrew the demand, they would provide a line of connection to the sewer of the new concrete plant without paying a dollar. Marvin did not take it well, precisely. The tank truck used to accumulate fecal waters was filled and its decision was to pump the waste to a plot attached to its own. Illegalities. It was also attempted illegally to sewage a neighbor, but they caught him and, because he was not connected to the service and other irregularities, it was fined with $ 2,500, about $ 4,400 today. The city had tired of Marvin and threw an ultimatum: either it was up to date or could not use the property for commercial purposes. The bulldozer in question ‘Killdozer’. Marvin felt that the city had laughed at him, that the administrations ignored him and that he had been marginalized. And nothing took it, but nothing right. In October 2002, he announced the closure of the business. Sold everything: materials, land and an excavator Komatsu D344a That had bought that same year. And yes, he placed part of his property for $ 400,000 (much more than for what he bought it ten years before), but there was something that failed to get rid of: the excavator. “Signal of God”. He saw him as “a sign of God” to carry out his revenge against the city. For months, Marvin worked by armoring the excavator. He did not hide and, in fact, he mentioned both the machine and his plans to use it destructively, but nobody paid attention to him. The excavator, known as’Killdozer‘And baptized as’ Marv’s Komatsu Tank’ by Heemeyer himself, he was unrecognizable. He had armored the entire cabin area with a steel layer of several millimeters thick, a concrete layer and another outer steel layer. It covered part of the Oruga system, but also the engine and the cabin in full. Or he ran out of gas, or it was unstoppable. In addition, he had placed cameras protected by almost eight centimeters of plastic abroad that sent two monitors in the dashboard, had fans to stay fresh and the most worrying thing: three nozzles with mounted weapons, ready to shoot abroad. And the ‘Killdozer’ 133 minutes of horror. With this makeshift tank, the desktop of June 4, 2004, Heemeyer began his revenge. And he did it against the Cody Docheff cement plant. The businessman thought that the vehicle was controlled remotely, so he began to shoot without causing any effect. The city police also fired several rounds against the excavator without being able to damage the cameras. It was unstoppable and the videos are spooky. Killdozer. The ‘Killdozer’ takes all that with what clashes with and, after attacking the concrete plant, Heemeyer headed towards the city. There it destroyed cars, the facade of the City Council, the Police Police Station and several Patrol cars, as well as a few businesses. The objectives were not casual: the aforementioned City Council, an office of a person who was part of the land requalification board, the police station, the local newspaper and other properties of people who would have been against Marvin in his peculiar dispute with the Docheff. “God built me ​​for this work”. During more than two hoursthe police followed the vehicle totally helpless. In some tapes sent to his brother Shortly before the attack, Marvin declared that he was surprised … Read more

Fishing networks of a town in Denmark

by

Of the large number of images that reflected the chaos and disorganization that originated the Brexit, few like the one that occurred A 2020 morning. Most televisions opened with an aerial plane that was approaching, revealing what was actually a monstrous row of arrested trucks for days. The divorce between the EU and the United Kingdom was consummated and the fishing was going to be one of the great victims. Over time the industry has been transformed, and in a town in Denmark they have completely turned it over. The gardener and an unexpected network. Carl Futtrup, a 53 -year -old gardener from Denmark without links to the military world, has become A key piece In the Ukraine defense effort in responding to an unusual request from the front: industrial fishing networks capable of stopping Russian explosive drones. After knowing the need, he contacted fishermen of the town of Thyborønwho They donated 450 tons of networks drag manufactured with thick nylon, originally designed to support tons of open sea fish. These networks, discarded after Brexit for being useless due to the Loss of access to British waterthey became a vital resource for Ukrainian troops. As? In the front they are placed on fortified positions, armored vehicles and logistics routes to intercept drones and avoid direct attacks, even stopping drones with active propellers or reducing the impact of their explosions. Ordinary solution to a technological threat. As drones dominate the battlefieldthese low -cost networks have become An essential defense against increasingly sophisticated threats, such as guided by fiber optic that escape traditional electronic interference systems. Let us think that heavy networks not only offer physical protection, but are also reusable even after explosions, and their effectiveness has promoted a growing demand by the Ukrainian units. Some brigades have come to line trees, tunnels and vehicles with these meshes, and it is estimated that each unit may require between 50 and 80 tons of network per month. Russia, meanwhile, has also begun to use them with variable results. The need is so great that the current supply barely reaches to meet the demand, and many battalions are still waiting for deliveries. From the Danish port to the Ukrainian front. They counted in Insider that Futtrup has achieved another 600 tons of additional networks contacting more Danish ports, although the cost of transport is high: about 90,000 euros for the second shipment, with each truck carrying up to 20 tons at a cost of some some 3,000 euros per trip. Although the networks have been donated for free, maintaining logistics depends on voluntary financing and government support, so Futtrup has initiated efforts to obtain funds in Denmark and Sweden. The problem is that this source of networks is not sustainable in the long term. According to the Danish politician Carsten Bach, the strict environmental laws of the country They demand to discard or recycle This type of equipment, which means that there will be no continuous reservation. Most of them were stored by fishermen in the hope of re -slaining in British waters, but over time they were forced to detach them. Redefine in war. The Swedish organization CHANGE OPERATIONwhich collaborates with brigades in Ukraine, has confirmed that Danish networks are already in use by at least 13 units, although it warns that the supply is insufficient. With the access to the Black Sea and the Azov Sea largely blocked by Russian forces, importation is the only way to get more networks. In this regard, a commander in the Donetsk region pointed out that his battalion needs three truck charges (Around 60 tons) every month, and that the installation of a single load can take three to four days. Faced with this demand, Operation Change already seeks alternatives in organizations that clean the Swedish coasts. Impact from simplicity. Jennifer Kavanagh, expert of the Think Tank Defense Prioritiesthis phenomenon highlighted as an example of how war in Ukraine has democratized combat modern. Faced with the traditional approach to military powers to invest in advanced technologies, the case of fishing networks shows that simple, cheap and available solutions can have a decisive impact on the battlefield. It seems clear that networks are not a viable option for all armies, but they do represent A strategic lesson about the need to evaluate less complex and expensive options in future wars. Meanwhile, Futtrup continues its personal effort to maintain the supply. Its immediate objective is ensure 50,000 euros To hold the transport chain, and ensure that it will continue to send networks while available in Denmark. For him, the distance between Copenhagen and Ukraine is not an excuse. “Ukraine is part of Europe, and is only 1,250 kilometers from here”, holds. His initiative has not only contributed a concrete solution in the front, but has also symbolized how civil solidarity can become a vital shield in the midst of the most technological war in our era. Image | Carl Futtrup, Commander, us, Grid-Aendal In Xataka | The Ukrainian invention that has allowed to repel the waves of Russian attacks: a 41 km fiber optic cable In Xataka | The war in Ukraine has entered its deranged phase: there are drones throwing drones to attack other drones

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.