unusual

The complex of the wide face and the unusual solution that obsesses South Korea: elf ears

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Jung Da-yun was not satisfied with what the mirror returned to her. At 31 years old, this influencer South Korean woman felt she had an unusual defect: her ears were not big enough. According to a report from Wall Street JournalJung went to a clinic in Seoul, paid the equivalent of about $70 and underwent hyaluronic acid injections into his cartilage. The result was immediate: his ears leaned forward, rising above his face. Suddenly, his face looked slimmer, younger, and proportionate. “I was very happy with the results,” she confessed. This scene, which in the West could seem like the script of a satire, is a latent reality in East Asia. While in the United States or Europe, people with prominent ears go to the surgeon to hide them or glue them to their heads — a practice that in Korea is “creepy” in the eyes of some, as explained by the influencer Korean-American Krystal Lee—in Asia, the projection of the ears has become the Holy Grail of aesthetics. The magazine MEGA has baptized him such as “silent retouching”. “When I was in China, one of the dermatologists told me that this is one of the procedures he performs the most, and I couldn’t believe it,” dermatologist Jenny Liu tells the same medium. And the true art of this intervention lies in sculpting the face, hiding the trick in plain sight: behind the ear. Although they have coined it with the name “elf ears”, the goal is not to emulate the sharp and fantastic point of the elves of The Lord of the Rings. The clinical and informal term is closer to the concept of “fairy ear” (fairy ear), a procedure that seeks to alter the natural position of the pinna. According to Dr. Jung Gyu-sik in the studio Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery – Global Openthe technique consists of injecting between 1 and 2 milliliters of hyaluronic acid filler in the most lateral part of the helix and in the auriculocephalic sulcus. The goal is to increase the angle between the skull and the ear. It is fast, non-invasive, almost painless and its effects last between 6 and 12 months. Dr. Jung himself confesses in it Wall Street Journal having performed up to 20 of these injections in a single day. Where did this fever come from? The trend germinated in China about five years ago, where the hashtag “Aesthetic elf ear surgery” today exceeds 780 million views on the social network Weibo. However, the definitive outbreak occurred in South Korea when Mimi, a well-known singer of the K-pop group oh my girlconfessed to using special adhesive tape to simulate this effect. Overnight, searches for “ear filler” exploded 1,200% on BarbieTalka popular South Korean aesthetics platform. Those who don’t want needles turn to these adhesive tapes that cost just $3. The terror of “pancake face” To understand this fashion you have to look away from the ear and focus on the cheek. South Korean researcher and academic Leem So-yeon sums it up perfectly in Wall Street Journal: “It would be reductionist to frame it simply as an obsession with ears. Ultimately, it’s a procedure to make the face appear smaller. The ears are just the middle.” This is an optical illusion trick based on negative space. Dermatologist Danny Guo details in the magazine MEGA Asian patients often have naturally prominent cheekbones (zygomas). Since they do not want to increase the volume of their cheeks, injecting behind the ear creates a “lateral structure” that visually slims the contour of the face. All this is born from a deep cultural complex. In East Asia, wide faces and large heads are heavily penalized. While in China they make fun of what they call “tortia faces”, in South Korea a sharp “V” shaped jaw is idolized, details the WSJ. But it is not a mere narcissistic whim; It is a tool for work and social survival. As John P. DiMoia explainsa professor at Seoul National University, young people do not operate out of ego: “It’s about looking my best for my job interviews.” This pressure It is better understood under logic that, in South Korea, “presenting the best version of oneself is a sign of respect for others.” The “Bai Fu Mei” canon Science supports that although there are universal beauty traits such as facial symmetry, the perception of attractiveness varies dramatically by ethnicity. A study of the medical journal Clinics in Dermatology points out that traditional Asian beauty prefers wider faces but with lower vertical height, an inverted triangle shape and a reduced projection of eyebrows and chins. Hence the obsession with fine-tuning the structure at any cost. But the sociological background is even darker. As we detail in XatakaSouth Korea’s strict standards are a form of “cultural racism.” It is a system that excludes different bodies and skin tones under the protection of neo-Confucian traditions, where whiteness and delicacy symbolized social status (the Chinese concept bai fu mei: white, rich, beautiful). By going global through K-pop and K-dramas, the Korean aesthetic or K-Beauty industry has attempted to impose an exclusive standard on the rest of the world. In fact, Korean brands They had to apologize publicly or drastically expand their makeup palettes (such as the TIRTIR brand, which increased sales by 55,000% by offering 40 shades after complaints from black content creators) because, simply, the most innovative industry in the world did not make products for dark-skinned people. “Elf ears” are not born in a vacuum. They are the symptom of a hypertrophied body modification industry. Seoul hosts the “Belt of Beauty”a neighborhood smaller than Central Park but with more clinics than Los Angeles, Miami and Rio de Janeiro combined. As much of the Korean population has already widened their eyes, raised the bridge of their noses and sharpened their jaws, the industry desperately needs to invent new areas of growth. And foreigners are answering the call. According to data from the Ministry of Health cited by the specialized platform Seoulzin … Read more

Netflix premieres today one of the best dystopian series of all time and breaks a sadly unusual record

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When ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘ premiered on Hulu in April 2017, winning the Emmy for Best Drama when it was still a cult series. Now, a year after airing its sixth and final season, the series lands on Netflixbreaking a record that is as pleasant as it is sadly unusual: it is a series with a very specific production company (owned by Disney), but in Spain it can be accessed on practically all platforms. It’s on Netflix, yes, but also on Disney+ (where you can also see – this time, exclusively – its prequel ‘The Testaments’), Prime Video, HBO Max and Movistar Plus+. The weight of the series It is well understood by reviewing its impressive collection of awards: six seasons, 76 nominations and 15 Emmy wins, including the historic award for Best Drama in its first season, the first ever awarded to a streaming platform. streaming. That first season also won for writing, directing, leading actress (Elisabeth Moss), supporting actress (Ann Dowd) and guest actress (Alexis Bledel). For its last season it only received one nomination, but by then it had already made history. In its terrifying dystopian vision, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale tells us how in the near future, the United States government has been overthrown by a theocratic movement that founds the Republic of Gilead. In the face of a global birth crisis, the new regime enslaves the few remaining fertile women (the Handmaids) and assigns them to elite families to father children through ritualized rape. The series follows the awakening, escape and rebellion of one of these maids. Margaret Atwood, author of the original 1985 novel, stated that nothing in the novel was pure invention: everything had already happened. The repressive Taliban system, which since its return to power in 2021 has denied women access to work, education and almost any form of presence, has been repeatedly pointed out as the most direct parallel with the Republic of Gilead. But in the United States, debates about reproductive rights in different states have continued to fuel the political reading of the series. Nobody is spared. For this reason, the Handmaids’ clothing has become a symbol of feminist protest, thanks to a series that remains as shocking and terrifying today as when it premiered. In Xataka | The ambitious adaptation of a literary classic with 70 million copies sold comes to Prime Video

an unusual toll to revolutionize global maritime trade

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In the 16th century, several sultans of the Ottoman Empire came to seriously study the possibility of open an artificial road next to the Bosphorus to better control maritime traffic between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean… the project was canceled again and again for centuries due to wars, lack of money and strategic doubts, but the idea never completely disappeared from Türkiye. The old Turkish obsession. While the Strait of Hormuz has become one of the largest sources of tension of the planet due to the war between Iran, the United States and Israel, an idea that has been around Turkey’s politics and strategy for years has once again gained prominence: building a gigantic artificial canal parallel to the Bosphorus to create a new sea route under Ankara’s direct control. It is not just about decongesting Istanbul’s naval traffic. Behind the project appears a much greater ambition: converting a free natural passage into an alternative corridor capable of generating incomegeopolitical influence and pressure capacity on part of international trade. Precisely now, when Hormuz demonstrates the extent to which a maritime bottleneck can disrupt the world economythat old Turkish idea it rings again with more strength. The Bosphorus and its importance. He Bosphorus It is much more than a strait that divides Istanbul between Europe and Asia. In reality it is the only sea exit towards the Mediterranean for countries such as Ukraine, Georgia, Bulgaria or part of southern Russia, and one of the busiest corridors in the world. Every year, thousands of oil tankers and freighters cross a narrow road, full of curves and surrounded by a gigantic city of millions of inhabitants. Türkiye has been defending for years that this trafficking represents an enormous risk both for maritime security and for Istanbul itself, especially after several accidents of ships occurring next to historic and residential areas. The problem for Ankara is that the Bosphorus is regulated by the Montreux Convention of 1936, which guarantees free transit and greatly limits the possibility of charging direct tolls to ships. The idea that could change the rules. There appears the real core of the project Istanbul Canal. As it is an artificial route and not a natural strait, Türkiye could try apply rates and services transit routes similar to those of Suez or Panama without formally breaking international maritime law. For years, this possibility seemed more like a geopolitical fantasy than a near reality, but the Hormuz crisis aims to restore prominence to an uncomfortable question: what happens when large maritime corridors stop being simple routes and become tools of economic and political pressure. Iran has already hinted at the possibility of demanding payments in Hormuz, something that has alarmed organisms international organizations and the great maritime powers. In this context, the old Turkish project begins to fit within a broader trend: transforming certain strategic steps into infrastructures capable of generate multi-million dollar income and increase the political weight of the countries that control them. Istanbul, Türkiye, divided by the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus Strait. Erdogan’s dream. Yes, because Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned the Istanbul Canal into one of its great symbols politicians. In fact, he has compared it to Suez and Panama, he has described it as a project aimed at transforming the Türkiye’s international role and has presented it as a work capable of turning Istanbul into one of the great logistics centers in the world. On paper, the channel would have 45 kilometers longwould allow the passage of large oil tankers and freighters and would be accompanied by ports, logistics zones, new urbanizations and enormous real estate developments. It would also physically split the European part of Istanbul, creating a kind of gigantic artificial island between the Bosphorus and the new canal. The big question: if anyone would pay to use it. The enormous problem of the project has always been the same. Although Türkiye could charge tolls on the new canal, the Bosphorus would still exist as a free alternative. That doubt has been haunting the plan for years: why a shipping company would agree to pay millions to cross an artificial route when it has another relatively nearby toll-free route. Ankara is confident that congestion, navigation risks and possible delays will push many companies to choose the new corridor, especially for dangerous goods and large tankers. But many economists and maritime experts believe that the real profitability of the project remains uncertain and it would depend on very specific international scenarios, precisely like those that the Hormuz crisis is causing today. Criticism within Türkiye. Furthermore, the Istanbul Canal It has never been solely a discussion about maritime trade. For years it has been accumulating criticism for its ecological impacturban and economic. Scientists and urban planners warn that the canal would cross forests, aquifers, agricultural areas and very sensitive ecosystems in the north of Istanbul. Not only that. There are also fears about how alter the currents between the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Marmara, affect marine biodiversity or increase problems related to earthquakes and landslides in an already very seismically vulnerable region. Plus: the projected cost (which different estimates place between 15,000 and more than 60,000 million dollars) continues to generate doubts even among sectors that support strengthening Turkey’s strategic position. Hormuz has reactivated the dream. For years, the Istanbul Canal seemed to move between bombastic announcements, delays, political disputes and financial doubts. but the war around Hormuz has returned to put on the table a much broader issue: the enormous power that certain maritime points have to alter supply chains, energy markets and entire geopolitical balances. Türkiye now watches as the entire world discusses blockades, maritime insurance, tolls and control of strategic routes while your old project appears again, at least in some sectors of the country, as a possible tool to increase your global influence in a century where maritime corridors once again become central pieces of international power. Image | Wikimedia, NASA In Xataka | Neom has stopped being science … Read more

Ukraine is bringing its drones dangerously close to Moscow. And he is doing it with an unusual weapon: Grand Theft Auto V

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In 2002, during a US military exercise known like Millennium Challengea retired general managed to surprise to a technologically superior fleet using unconventional tactics and unexpected means, and did so to the point of virtually “sinking” several ships in a matter of minutes. That simulation left an uncomfortable conclusion For many strategists: in certain scenarios, it is not always whoever has the most means who wins, but whoever best understands how to adapt to new forms of combat. From video games to the real battlefield. The story They told Insider. Apparently, Ukraine has found a totally unexpected way to accelerate the training of drone pilots and perfect its field of action: video gamesand in particular in the environment achieved by Rockstar in Grand Theft Auto Vwhere operators perfect reflexes, coordination and decision-making in simulated scenarios. This practice does not replace military training, rather it complements it, and reveals the extent to which modern warfare is absorbing skills born outside the traditional sphereincorporating a generation accustomed to controls, screens and virtual environments. What begins as a simulation ends up moving to real operations where there is no margin for error, consolidating a combat model in which the line between game and war turns increasingly diffuse. Drones are approaching Moscow. In parallel to this training with GTAV, the range of the Ukrainian drones has been growing steadily until reaching areas ever closer to the political heart of Russia. They remembered in Forbes that deep attacks inside Russian territory, some a few kilometers away of the Kremlin, are breaking the perception of invulnerability that protected Moscow for years. The campaign does not seek only to destroy objectives, but to demonstrate penetration capacity and generate constant pressure that forces us to redistribute defenses and assume that the conflict is no longer far away, but increasingly closer. Victory Day under a new shadow. Yes, because the proximity of May 9, one of the most symbolic events For the Kremlin, it adds a particularly delicate dimension to this development. The parade is not only a military display, but a key piece in Russia’s narrative of power and control, and any alteration, even indirect, would have a disproportionate impact. The fact that it is being contemplated reduce its scale or modify Its format reflects the extent to which the drone threat has changed the strategic calculus, turning a celebration designed to project force into a potential point of vulnerability. A defense saturated and tested. The truth is that although Moscow remains one of the most protected spaces of the world, the accumulation of attacks is straining your systems defensive. Multiple layers of air defense, designed to intercept threats, now face a constant stream of drones seeking to overwhelm them, identify gaps, and wear them down over time. This approach does not depend on a single decisive blow, but on prolonged pressure that forces Russia to defend more and more points at the same time, progressively eroding its response capacity. Putin, more isolated and more protected. In fact, this week they explained in the Financial Times that, in this context, security around Vladimir Putin has visibly tightened, reflecting growing concern about possible attacks, including those carried out with drones. How much? Apparently, the president has reduced their movements, spend more time in bunkers and operate under stricter security protocols, while their environment is subjected to increasingly rigorous controls. This evolution not only responds to physical risks, but also to the need to preserve an image of control at a time when the conflict begins to feel closer to the center of power. The psychological war that accompanies technological warfare. Beyond the material impact, the Ukrainian drone campaign is having a increasing psychological effectboth in the political elite and in Russian society. Each raid that breaks through defenses reinforces the idea that no place is completely safe, weakening a narrative built on distance and control. If you want too, while drones continue to advance and pilots train even in virtual worlds like GTAVthe war enters a phase where the perception of risk it’s so important as the real damage, and where the pressure on Moscow increases just when it most needs to project stability. Image | Wiki In Xataka | Ukraine has just opened the last Russian missile and is still amazed: the real enemy has a “friendly” face In Xataka | Russia has named Ukraine’s most fearsome drone: they call it Zhduns and it doesn’t need to show itself, just wait

Germany has found a source of perovskite for solar panels in an unusual place: bullets from the 17th century

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Solar energy is, with the permission of wind energy, the renewable energy that has stood out the most and best in the energy transition on a global scale. There are already solar parks everywhere: from fields that They fill the emptied Spain to deserts passing through the tibetan plateau and also in high seas either in lakes. And although the most common technology is crystalline silicon, perovskite is the great promise. There is a compelling reason to bet on perovskite: a record efficiency certified in a laboratory. up to 26%. However, a large-scale deployment of perovskite solar cells requires a large-scale, sustainable supply of high-purity lead iodide. We have come across lead: a toxic element whose mining is not exactly sustainable. On the not-so-good side, recycling it to the required purity levels is a technical challenge that a German research team at the Helmholtz Institute in Erlangen-Nuremberg has just solved. And in what way: have achieved converting 17th century musket balls into high-performance solar cells. The idea. It consists of a process of upcycling (upcycling) in two stages: first a non-aqueous electrochemical route and then purification through the crystallization of single crystals, quite different from traditional methods based on strong acids and large volumes of water. To demonstrate the robustness of their method, the team used lead bullets from the 16th and 17th centuries as raw material, a truly complicated material in that it contains carbon residues, metallic inclusions and oxidation patina. If the process can clean up this type of historical residue, it can handle virtually anything you throw at it (obviously any lead residue). Recycling bullets into solar cells transforms lead waste into a clean energy source. Why is it important. Perovskite solar cells require extraordinarily pure lead iodide, and achieving that level of purity from contaminated waste was until now a challenge without a practical solution that this research has solved: the team manufactured solar cells with their recycled material and obtained 21% efficiency, practically identical to the 22% of devices manufactured from industrial synthesis. Beyond the technical result, the process solves two problems at the same time: it offers a way to supply the enormous demand for lead iodide that will be generated by the take-off of perovskite solar cells without resorting to new mining and at the same time eliminates a toxic pollutant whose current management is expensive and environmentally problematic. Context. As we mentioned above, lead is an abundant waste: it comes from used car batteries, electronic scrap, construction materials or ammunition, among others. Lead recycling is dominated by car batteries, which have very high recovery rates in developed countries. The problem is in the rest: In 2018, only 48% of the world’s residual lead at the end of its useful life was recovered and in more dispersed flows such as electronics or construction, the recovery is even lower. Conventional recycling returns metallurgical-grade lead, useful for batteries and alloys, but far from what the solar industry requires. In addition, they are slow processes that generate toxic gases such as nitrogen oxides and large quantities of contaminated wastewater, up to 70 liters per kilogram of lead iodide produced. Traditional high-temperature purification methods are expensive and complex. More robust, adaptable and cleaner extraction and purification methods are needed for perovskite technology to truly scale. How they do it. The bullets are cleaned with dilute nitric acid, melted and molded into rods that act as electrodes in an electrochemical cell with acetonitrile and dissolved iodine. When current is applied, lead reacts directly with iodine and precipitates as lead iodide with 94% efficiency. Doing it this way, in a non-aqueous medium, is a deliberate decision to avoid introducing impurities that would accelerate the degradation of the perovskite. The resulting lead iodide still contains metallic impurities, so it is not suitable for solar cells. That is why it is subjected to a second purification stage through crystallization at a controlled temperature for about 70 hours. The process is exceptionally selective: as the crystal grows, it expels contaminating metals such as silver or copper, raising the purity of the material to levels comparable to or even higher than the highest quality commercial standard. Yes, but. The process works and the results are solid, but scale matters: at the laboratory level, productivity is just 0.05 grams per hour and each purification cycle lasts about 70 hours. The leap to an industrial scale requires solving the recovery of organic solvents, controlling the passivation of the electrodes and substantially improving the productivity of the process. The research team does not hide it: the chemistry is proven, but the distance from the laboratory to a real production plant is long and will determine whether we end up seeing perovskite panels made with recycled lead or if this remains like a shiny piece of paper in a drawer. In Xataka | Germany has had a crazy idea to solve one of the problems of renewables: covering a lake with solar panels In Xataka | 800 meters deep in a 175 million year old rock: Germany’s solution to nuclear waste Cover | By Branch and Soren H

NASA captures the unusual trail of the “twin” tornadoes in Mississippi from space

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If we look at the Mississippi from 700 kilometers above sea level, the landscape we usually see is a green carpet of forests and agricultural fields. However, last March this carpet was ‘torn’, as NASA could see through the Landsat 8 satellite. The images obtained revealed something extremely strange: “scars”, which are nothing more than traces of total destruction that reveal the trajectory of one of the most violent tornado outbreaks in the last decade. The surprising thing. It is not the magnitude of the damage that the passage of these could have generated. tornadoes down the Mississippi, but the geometry it has. And in Walthall County, satellites have immortalized an extremely rare phenomenon: two perfectly parallel scars. Something that represents a “mute” testimony of two tornadoes that advanced hand in hand, wreaking chaos. Paths of destruction. The tornado outbreak in question occurred between March 14 and 16, 2025, and the truth is that it will be remembered for how aggressive it was. Specifically, data from NASA’s Earth Observatory and the National Weather Service (NWS) suggest that they were developed a total of 113 tornadoes in just three days, which affected 14 states. But it was precisely in Mississippi where the atmosphere decided to leave a unique visual signature. Landsat images show these two almost parallel tracks, like train tracks, near Tylertown. Your description. The first of these traces indicates that it arose due to the tornado EF4which had a journey of 90 km with estimated winds of 274 km/h. The second trace, which is shorter, but just as destructive, has a distance of 15 km, and was generated by a different tornado that followed an almost identical path. This phenomenon of “twin tornadoes” leaving parallel trails is a statistical rarity that allows meteorologists to study how supercells interact with each other under conditions of extreme instability. An ‘X’ of disaster. Not only were these parallel trails recorded in Mississippi, but in Covington County researchers they found also another quite unusual pattern: two scars that intersect almost at right angles forming a large ‘X’ over a wooded area. As if a great pirate treasure could be found underneath. And it was not a sensor error, since according to the data, two different tornadoes crossed their paths in an interval of just 40 minutes. For families in the area, it was a statistical nightmare: being hit by a natural disaster and, before an hour had passed, watching another large funnel pass through the rubble of what the first one had just destroyed. A violent 2025. This year’s March has certainly shattered weather records with a total of 299 tornadoes in a single month, and experts point to ‘The Girl‘ as responsible for all this. This climate phenomenon has altered the Pacific jet stream over North America, creating a perfect breeding ground for supercells! By moving the humidity of the Gulf of Mexico to the north and encountering very persistent cold air, everything necessary was in place to have a true meteorological war. And it is no wonder, since at least 1,000 homes were damaged by this phenomenon. Its usefulness. Beyond the photography of scars, science seeks to anticipate the disaster. Researchers at NASA Langley Research Center They are using these satellite images and data on cloud patterns to refine prediction models that allow the population to be warned with a little margin (but not much). The objective right now is to gain 10 minutes’ notice of tornado warnings so that the population can be protected. And it is no wonder, since a scenario where an EF4 can erase a neighborhood in seconds, having 600 extra seconds is the difference between life and death for those who find themselves in the path of this scar. Images | POT In Xataka | What is a tornado and how it forms: the perfect recipe for the most destructive phenomenon on the planet

There are 10,000 soldiers and unusual artillery pointing at the same place in the Caribbean

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It all started under the pretext of “drug trafficking”but the amount of accumulated signals, troops and artillery that the United States has been adding around the southern Caribbean, indicate that the operation has slipped towards a coercion mechanism strategic to force accelerated eviction without a formal invasion. A combination of visible deterrence, explicit threats and preparation of windows of surgical action. In the background: Venezuela. Evolution of the objective. It we count last week. The US deployment began wrapped in the classic language of the fight against drug trafficking, attacking boats fast and reactivating bases with a technical pretext. It happens that the accumulation of gestures (B-52 with transponders assets bordering on the Venezuelan FIR, “ghost ships”, SOF helicopters training off the coast, and the trump admission that “he doesn’t want to play”) seem to have another purpose: the message It no longer seems to deny drug routes, but rather something more akin to overthrowing the Venezuelan regime. The public articulation (“Maduro is a fugitive”, “he must go”) and privately aligns military deployment with a logic of collapse rather than containment. Artillery as pressure. The volume of resources and troops from Washington that CNN reported in the last few hours and the New York Times through satellite data (thousands of soldiers next to the ARG Iwo Jimathree destroyers DDG guided missilesa cruisea SSN submarineairplanes AC-130J armed with hellfire, F-35 in Puerto Ricoairplanes P-8, MQ-9, ISR flights massive and reactivation of the Roosevelt Roads base) is disproportionate to simply hunt down drug boats, although insufficient to occupy Caracas. Is, according to analystsexactly the size that allows hitting nodes (command, radars, escorts, inner rings) without “going fully into” a war, and maintaining a credible “low-profile” escalation vector. American voices match in the Financial Times: “it is too much for drug trafficking, but not enough for an invasion”, and what is left in the middle is a luck calibrated pressure. One of the satellite images captured on October 17 showing F-35 fighter jets at the José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Puerto Rico The mystery of Venezuela. For its part, the Venezuelan Armed Force is eroded by maintenance and spare parts, but much less naked: there is S-300anti-aircraft artillery, MANPADS, F-16 and a million militiamen that cast serious doubt on the reputational costs if Washington crosses the kinetic threshold. At the same time, the national commanders they suspect leaks and purge loyalties, the Times said that they sleep rotating locations and change escorts. A pattern that reveals internal vulnerability and expectation of a selective coup, in any case, there does not seem to be confidence in defeating the United States. Colombia and something more. The dialectical escalation with Colombia (Trump has called Petro a “drug leader,” threats of cut funds and tariffsand rhetorical retaliation after a naval attack that killed a fisherman) reconfigures an alliance that until now was key for Washington: the same one that provided the 80% of intelligence in the area. In other words, the clash erodes the regional pillar precisely when the United States approaches the use of force threshold in Venezuela, expanding the diplomatic front and reducing its margins for sustained maneuver. The political window. While, Donald Trump’s administration acts against the clock: this posture sustained under a climate of war does not seem to be able to be maintained indefinitely and any accident can precipitate an unplanned escalation. Plus: Trump does not seem to focus the operation on normative criteria (elections or institutional guarantees) but rather to a result that he can declare as “victory,” which makes the margins of American rhetoric more flexible, but hardens the incentive for a spectacular blow. Military analysts warn that “over braking” could behead without transition and opening a vacuum, while the opposition replies that Venezuelan social cohesion reduces that risk. Thus, the gap between both hypotheses is precisely where the greatest American pressure operates today. Strategic test. In summary, the combination of visible military troopscredible threat of precision hits and a diplomacy that does not stop tightening the rope, define that kind of ultimatum phase but without a formal ultimatum. From that perspective, the outcome aims to depend less on the balance of fire than on the breaking point within the Chavista leadership and whether Washington decides to stop after a possible departure of Maduro, or explicitly pursues the “end of” as a regime. And while that ambiguity persists, the pressure aims to continue… while the Caribbean wonders for how long. Image | USN/MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS THEOPLIS STEWART II, ​​Planet Labs PBC In Xataka | A disturbing idea is gaining strength: that what the US wants is not drugs, and that is why it is targeting Venezuela In Xataka | That the US Air Force flies its three B-52 bombers is normal. That he does it against Venezuela not so much

Two years ago, an asteroid exploded over France with unusual violence. What saved the French was their size

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February 13, 2023. It was 4:59 in the morning when a violent explosion illuminated the skies of Normandynorth of France. It was not a ray, nor a missile. It was the end of a travel of millions of kilometers for a small asteroid called 2023 Cx1. Seven hours of notice. The 650 -kilogram rock had just a meter in diameter, so it had been detected only seven hours before impact. But the most disturbing thing was not his surprise arrival, but his behavior when entering the earth’s atmosphere. An exhaustive analysis published two and a half years later in Nature Astronomy He has revealed that, if the asteroid had been larger, the consequences of his extraordinary explosion could have been devastating. A high -risk meteor. Most meteorites are fragmenting as they descend through the atmosphere, but 2023 CX1 endured intact until it reached a distance to the ground of only 28 kilometers. At that point, the pressure made it explode like a pump. After traveling through space for about 30 million years, the asteroid released 98% of all its kinetic energy in a second fraction. And in a very concentrated region of the atmosphere, when it reached a dynamic pressure of 4 megapascal. It does not compare with Cheliábinsk. The 2023 CX1 behavior was radically different from that of the car whose explosion of 500 kilotons He broke windows and caused hundreds of injured in Russia in 2013. The one in France generated a spherical shock wave instead of cylindrical, concentrating much more energy and greatly increasing the area of ​​soil affected by overpressure. According to researchers, this type of abrupt fragmentation could cause much more damage than the progressive fragmentations of similar size bodies. The French were lucky that it was so small. More firewood for planetary defense. The analysis was based on an unprecedented number of observations after mobilizing the scientific and citizen community in those seven hours of margin. The prediction of the fall by ESA and NASA had a margin of error of less than 20 meters between the planned and observed trajectory, which in turn facilitated the recovery of more than one hundred fragments of the meteorite in the commune of Saint-Pierre-Le Viger. According to the CSICwhich participated in the investigation, this event confirms the existence of a new population of asteroids, type L chondrites, capable of these violent explosions. “These asteroids must be taken into account in the Planetary Defense Strategiessince they represent a higher risk for populated areas, “says Auriane Egal, first author of the study. With what we know today, perhaps the authorities activate evacuation plans the next time an asteroid of this type threatens us. Provided that detection systems do not fail, and detect the threat in time. Image | THAT In Xataka | Tunguska: the explosion of 12 megatones that reminds us that space is full of wonders, but also of horrors

50 years ago, a man won the ‘US Dakar’ with an unusual co -pilot: his dog

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Dogs have been evolving thousands of years to become our best friends and They have a special memory When it comes to remembering our pampering. Other memories have a very short life in their head, but the safest thing is that Kookie, a mestizo dog, will remember throughout his life the adventures he had with John McCown, his owner. Because they did not give normal walks through the park: they toured the motorcycle desert competing in official tests. And Kookie was not the package: it was the co -pilot. The strange couple. Imagine The scenetoday impossible due to so straight regulations, the era of telemetrías, the absolute control of each extra gram in a competition vehicle and the most absolute technification: a dog uploaded on the deposit of a motorcycle, which competed in official tests and was moving based on the land they were going through. In the 60s, the carnicero by profession John McCown liked to walk with his bike. He did it accompanied by Kookie, his dog, who placed a back basket. At one point, John was going to go one step further: he bought an off -road motorcycle and began to get into his head that could compete in Cross competitions. He did so, and did not leave Kookie behind. My dog ​​knows how to wear the motorcycle. Instead of a basket, John improvised a “seat” with a blanket on the gas tank of his Husky 400 and OSSA 175 SDRand that is where Kookie felt like fish in the water. I imagine that the dog would be waiting for good doses of bones at the end of the day and that was the motivation, but the truth is that I was not there to make bulk: John and Kookie trusted each other to wear the motorcycle. During about 300 tests, the couple ate hundreds of potholes, swallowed dust and crossed puddles while both adapted their position on the vehicle to tame it in the best possible way. In This article From the American Motorcyclist magazine, McCown’s wife, McCown Describe That Kookie bowed to the curves, leaned on the deposit in the rugged field and stood up when potholes came. A bomb. Both executed a choreography on the motorcycle, and although at first they did not do it as an advertising maneuver, it is evident that it caught the attention of many. They appeared in the documentary movie ‘On Any Sunday‘, Kookie starred in children’s books such as’ Kookie the Motorcycle Racing Dog’ and ‘Kookie Rides Again’ and even brands like Ossa, Can-Am and Kawasaki the They sponsored. Kookie Junior. When Kookie got on the motorcycle, she was 10 years old. Hundreds of races later, and with 13, after a check, McCown preferred that his compi would limit to some shorter and less demanding races. Until 14, when John decided that Kookie should hang the helmet and live on the couch. He died at age 16, but as John remembers in the 1981 article, before leaving he left a litter. One of them was baptized as Kookie Junior, and for 10 years, he ran with John as Kookie had done before. They got some off-road championship (such as the 175cc class championship) and, although some wondered if it was not crazy, it was a friendship that benefited both of them for fun and for the company in the long and hard careers for the western American deserts. To the hall of fame. Such was the legend of McCown and Kookie (s) that were included In the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame, an organization and museum dedicated to preserving the history of motorcycle races in ‘Flat Track’ and ‘Speedway’, recognizing both the pilots and the mechanics, personalities and influential journalists in that world. “Kookie learned to read the terrain, leaning back in the rugged and standing at the most smooth. John could always know what came ahead because of the way Kookie moved.” – Description of the “plaque” of the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, that recognition is something that John did not live. McCown He died In 2011 due to complications after cardiac operation. On the other side, surely Kookie and KJ were waiting for him, with the engine on and ready for one more adventure. Images | McCown, Race DezertAmerican Motorcyclist In Xataka | “With head, we would all go on motorcycles of 20 hp”: there is a bud debate about how much power is too much power for a motorcycle

It is so unusual that the government has created a commission for possible crises

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An exceptional cosmic carambola looms over Spain. Until Three solar eclipses will cross the Spanish territory In less than three years, starting with the most spectacular of all: the total solar eclipse of August 2026, which will obscure a third of the country. It is so unusual that the government has mobilized thirteen ministries to create a contingency commission. The eclipses trio. On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will draw a 200 km line From the northwest to southwest Spainentering through Asturias and dating Castellón to cross the Balearic Islands just at sunset. The totality phase will last about two minutes on the central line. It will be the first eclipse of this type in the Peninsula since 1905. On August 2, 2027, the shadow of a total solar eclipse will enter through the Bay of Cádiz, crossing the strait and leaving Almeria. Ceuta, Tarifa, Cádiz Capital and part of Malaga will enjoy almost five minutes of dark in mid -morning. It will also be one of the longest eclipses of the century. On January 26, 2028, Spain will also live an annular solar eclipse. The “Fire Ring” will travel the country from Southwest to Northeast shortly before sunset. From Huelva, Sevilla and Córdoba to Valencia, Aragon and part of the Balearic Islands. The annularity will be around seven minutes and will be seen with the sun. Outside the strip it will be observed as partial. The government mobilizes. “The eclipses trio will be an unprecedented astronomical phenomenon, which can virtually only be seen in Spain between 2026 and 2028”, Minister Diana Morant affirmed. “In the Government we are already working to face the logistics and security challenges that this historical event will mean.” The magnitude of the event has led the Council of Ministers to Approve the creation of a special commission To organize and coordinate all actions. It will be formed by representatives of thirteen ministries. From science and transport to interior, defense or ecological transition, through the National Astronomical Observatory and the great astrophysical institutes of the country. The Secretary of State for Science, Juan Cruz Cigudosa, will preside over the Commission, which hopes to convene the first meeting at the end of August. The challenges of eclipses trio The chaotic experiences lived in the United States during the eclipses of 2017 and 2024 already put on the table the main open fronts: Congestions and accidents. The government expects an influx of hundreds of thousands or millions of people. The strip of totality of the eclipse of 2026 will only touch land in Greenland, Iceland and a much more populated and sunny country: Spain. The foreseeable result is the collapse of highways and secondary roads, with kilometer traffic jams that could block the passage to emergency vehicles. Oregon is the mirror in which nobody wants to look: he had Your overflowing access roads for three days in 2017. Infrastructure overload in emptied Spain. Many of the best observation points They are found in rural or coastal areas With limited resources. The sudden arrival of hundreds of thousands of people could cause the exhaustion of basic services such as drinking water, food, fuel or bathrooms. Mobile coverage could also saturate, leaving those same incommunicado people. The government plans to enable “minimum services” at the observation points. Extreme fire risk. Total solar eclipses will coincide with summer: drought, high temperatures and thousands of cars parked in fields and gutters. It is the perfect recipe for a disaster. The risk of forest fire will shoot. The precedent is, again, A fire in Oregon in 2017 which forced to evacuate hundreds of households in the middle of the totality zone a few days before the eclipse. Pest of false eclipses glasses. Looking directly at a solar eclipse without adequate protection can cause retinopathy, Irreversible damage in the retina. To see an eclipse it is crucial to wear approved glasses with ISO 12312-2. The problem is that with each eclipse the falsifications between vendors that make their August proliferate. In 2017, Amazon had to withdraw thousands of units and reimburse money from buyers. The first big photovoltaic blackout. A challenge of the 21st century. Spain has 25% of installed solar power. A total eclipse will cause an abrupt fall of the photovoltaic generation of up to 20 GW in less than an hour, followed by an equally fast climb when the sun reappears. Managing this undercut and the peak that follows will be a major challenge for Red Electrica, which will have to coordinate energy reserves to guarantee the stability of the system, as European operators did during the eclipse of 2015. Tourist saturation and its effects. Astronomical tourism is a blessing, but it can also be a problem. Airbnb talks about An 830% increase In rural accommodation searches by August 2026. prices fired in hotels and rentals, temporary gentrification and the possible displacement of the usual tourist are expected. In addition, there may be an impact on labor productivity: workers taking the day to see the phenomenon. The United States estimated losses of almost 700 million dollars during working hours. The unpredictable meteorology. The whole plan can jump through the air if clouds appear. A forecast of covered skies would cause massive displacement at the last minute to places with a better prognosis, multiplying chaos on roads. Astrophysico Alejandro Sánchez summed it up in The country: “Due to the unpredictable of the weather conditions, it is as if we did not know where the World Cup final will be celebrated until a few hours before.” The public cost and the environmental footprint. Deploying a device from this magnitude has a cost: traffic reinforcements, health, mass cleaning … to which the environmental footprint must be added: abandoned garbage, erosion of natural places and carbon emissions of millions of displacements. Problems that the contingency commission will have to value. A historical opportunity Despite the challenges, the Iberian trio of eclipses It will be a golden opportunity for science, education and … Read more

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