years

The EU has asked all Europeans to collection for 72 hours. Finland has been doing it for years and this has gone

by

“New realities demand a new level of preparation in Europe.” The phraseIt is from the president of CE, Úrsula von der Leyen, and defines well The turn who has just given Brussels with the presentation of his ‘Union strategy’a plan with which Brussels aspires that EU homes are prepared for “emerging threats and crises.” Among its 30 guidelines there is a especially curious And that has generated expectation: Brussels wants European homes to supply enough supplies to survive without external help at least 72 hours during emergencies. You will not have to look far to know how to do it: in Finland he has a teacher who has been doing pedagogy for some time about the importance of prepare for crisis and that households are self -sufficient for 72 hours. Prepare for emergencies? That’s how it is. The CE has just launched a plan with which the 27 member countries (and their homes) are more prepared to “emerging threats.” Which is it? In The statement in which the EU initiative presents some, such as Climate changethe natural disastersthe Cybersecurity… And “the growing tensions and geopolitical conflicts”, the latter especially interesting with the EU in full Rearme process and distancing Between Brussels and Washington. To make it clear that the plan approach is wide von der Leyen He stressed The importance of households living in flood areas know how to act whether their houses are flooded or expedite the response times against forest fires. Of course they are not the only emergencies in mind. Yesterday The country The draft advanced From the document and among the threats for which Brussels wants us to be prepared “the possibility of armed aggression”. Click on the image to go to Tweet. And how do we prepare? The strategy drawn by Brussels touches many sticks. In fact it includes 30 “key actions” and an action plan in which we talk about issues such as preparing hospitals and schools, improving the storage of critical materials, reinforcing civil-military cooperation, improving disaster prevention and threats and working with partners such as NATO. Among all these proposals there is one however one that has generated expectation: the European Commission wants households to have “essential supplies during a minimum of 72 h in emergency situations. “ In The practice That happens that families have water reserves, medications, batteries and sufficient foods to subsist three days without help. “In case of external disturbances, the initial period is the most critical,” warns the CE In his draft. For the message to be even clearer, today, coinciding with the presentation of the Community Strategy, the Crisis Management Commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, has hung A video in which it reveals what should be included in an emergency kit. Is it a surprise? No. And not only by the international climate, marked by three years of war in Ukraine and the awareness that Europe will not be able to count forever (and unconditionally) with “The security umbrella” of the US. Months ago the former president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, elaborated A broad report on behalf of Von der Leyen in which the “urgency” of strengthening Europe was already advancing to changes in “the geopolitical and security panorama.” “The key task today is to ensure that we are able to provide security to Europeans and are prepared for all risks,” Niinisto insisted at the time. One from The observations collected in their report pointed out that all homes must be equipped to be self -sufficient for at least 72 hours. And those orientations They have played a key role in the plan now drawn up by Brussels. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Is there any reference? Yes. Finland herself, an EU member who shares More than 1,300 km of border with Russia and Lidia with other handicaps, such as its climate or war history. Are those or not the causes the truth is that the Nordic nation It takes time preparing their population to deal with crises and their citizens are more than accustomed to messages that recommend having sufficient provisions to subsist without external help for at least 72 hours. Moreover, Finland, like other countries around his surroundings, such as Sweden either Norwaydistributed months ago An exhaustive guide in which it explained to its population how to prepare against incidents and crisis. In the document, Available onlineis addressed how to respond to electricity and water cuts, prolonged interruptions of banking services and the Internet, extreme natural phenomena or “long -term crisis, such as a pandemic or military conflict.” “With what emergency fights?” That is one of the first questions that the Finns who resort to the guide must answer. The list It is wide and includes from cybersecurity problems to forest fires, storms, floods, terrorist attacks, current and water cuts, epidemics or “military conflicts.” “Preparation is a civic skill in the current world situation”, pointed a few months ago to Bloomberg Kimmo Kohvakka, General Director of Rescue Services. “Knowing what to do in case of incident is a solid base.” How are you doing with 72 h? What there is no doubt is that Finland has managed to expand the message that households must provide resources and prepare to endure independently for at least three days in case they deal with, for example, supply cuts. He recognizes it in The Guardian Suvi Aksela, of Nasta: “The 72 hours have become a brand here in Finland.” To achieve this, their authorities have had to make an interesting pedagogy effort that goes back several years. For some time Finland celebrates every beginning of February the National preparation dayduring which the authorities Remember Its inhabitants who must have what they need to fix them without public services for at least 72 hours in case of emergencies such as natural disasters or military attacks, including kits. That zeal connects with decades of works of preparation in the country and has made it A reference In the matter. Would you survive 72 hours? Perhaps one of the … Read more

Years ago, the Pohjois-Karjalan company Lacalvelu Ky abbreviated its name to Lumon. ‘Separation’ has made it a problem

by

There are several and inevitable crosses from ‘Separation‘, the current success of the labor dystopia of Apple TV+with real life. As the real physical location of that nightmare ode to corporate brutalism that are the offices of the series of the series, Lumon. Or Lumon’s own name, which he shares with some authentic business that he has had to say that they are not planting chips in anyone’s head. Why we are obsessed with Lumon. If there is someone who has not hooked on the series of mystery and science fition of Apple TV+, its starting point is simple: a company of last purposes unknown (although they do not smell well) poses to some of its employees a total division of work and leisure: after a surgical intervention, its self that works will not remember anything about its life outside, and its self will not remember anything about work. Pure labor literalness for everyone who makes a job from 8 to 18, and that in the series is reinforced by aseptic and enigmatic visual presence of the synthetic and retro lumon offices. He is not surprising that fans have obsessed with her. The real lumon. There is already one Real lumon which is dedicated to “getting more space to live turning terraces and wasteful balconies in inspiring and versatile glazed spaces. Lumon has more than one million satisfied customers worldwide.” Come on, a common terraces glazing company. And they are not doing badly: in 2022 193 million euros entered and have more than 1,300 employees. Its origins are in 1978 in Finland, under the name of Pohjois-Karjalan Asticvelu Ky, where they were in charge of all kinds of renovations until in 1990 they focused on glazing. Lumon is going well. Currently, Lumon has two offices in North America, both in Canada, and work in more than twenty countries, including Spain. However, their international fame has not prevented them from having to publish on their website a kind of disclaimer in which they explain the differences between Lumon Group, the glazing, and Lumon Industries, their evil twins in Apple TV+. “We have the same name as the antagonistic corporation of one of the largest series of streaming of all time, “they say.” But there the similarities end. “ Lumon of ‘separation’ does exist. In fact, Lumon has a very specific physical presence, which was located by photography director Jessica Lee Gagné after reviewing dozens of Malls abandoned It was an abandoned office building called Bell Labs (by Bell Telephone Laboratories, the research arm of the AT&T telecommunications colossus), in Holmdel, a rural New Jersey area. Currently the center has been reformed and, of course, it has become a pilgrimage center for fans and influencers. Lumon Superstar. We have spent weeks talking about very very finance of Apple TV+: Your waste with blockbusters like ‘Argylle‘or’ Wolfs’ has led him to paralyze his intentions to become a Major Hollywood. However, in the niche of streaming Something better: ‘Separation’ has already confirmed third seasonand ‘Ted Lasso’ Go back with a fourthwhich can convert the Apple platform into the cultured series factory par excellence. Header | Apple – Lumon In Xataka | The streaming economy is completely broken and things will only get worse within the coming years

In 50 years of democracy, in Spain only a book has been prohibited, a controversial comic that would be illegal to publish today

by

A court in Barcelona He has rejected suspend the publication of ‘Hate‘, The book on the murderer José Breton that Anagrama will publish and that has raised a great controversy for the contrast between the right to the dignity of the victims and the freedom of the press, which in democracy is almost sacred. “Almost”, because there is some exception. Specifically, the only case of a forbidden book in Spain in democracy is a comic, a satire of deep nihilism, and even disturbing today. Dozens of red lines. ‘Hitler = SS’, the work of the cartoonist Vuillemin and the Gourio screenwriter, is a milestone in editorial history in our country. It was originally edited by the wild French satirical magazine ‘Hara-Kiri‘(predecessor of’ Charlie Hebdo ‘) In 1987. It was a compilation of comics about Jewish extermination in the concentration camps: wild and impudent, the painfully feast trace of Vuillemin converted the comic into an extremely uncomfortable experience, and that did not prisoners. Nazis and Jews are portrayed with absolutely ruthless, Chabacano and looking for controversy. That is, completely punk and underground. Prohibited in France. The humorous and provocative content of the comic is clear with the warning with which it starts: “All similar to the six million people who never existed is merely casual.” From its same appearance in France, The distribution was kidnapped by order of the Minister of Interior. Several Jewish associations protested against the album, which suffered three judicial demands, of which he lost two. In 1989 the authors were sentenced to pay a Franco as a symbolic fine, but the reissue in France is prohibited. Prohibited in Spain. Here the comic was edited by the Makoki publishing house, name that to the fans of the Spanish underground comic It will be familiarand that he was in a new stage in the mid -1990s after his golden years. The plaintiffs were two Jewish associations, B’nai b’rith and Mauthausen Amicale: ‘Hitler = SS’ was accused of attacking the dignity of prisoners and attacking Judaism. In 1995, the Constitutional Court made the decision to prohibit it because it considers that its objective was to humiliate the Jews. The plates and the copies of the album were destroyed, the editor was sentenced to a month and a day of arrest and 100,000 pesetas of fine. The sentence. In Spain, the Constitutional affirmed In his sentence That “every vignette – word and drawing – is aggressive on its own, with a rough and rude message, in short, oblivious to good taste, even when it does not correspond to tertiary in this issue, which is brought here as an external sign of its offensive mood.” It was said that in the album “it beats a pejorative concept of an entire people, the Jew, for their ethnic features and beliefs. A racist attitude, contrary to the set of constitutionally protected values.” And above all, it was said that the comic was aimed at minors, which had to be protected from a publication that sought “deliberately and unscrupulously the vilipendium of the Jewish people, with contempt of their qualities to achieve dismembrance in the consideration of others, determining element of infamy or dishonor.” A outdated interpretation of a phenomenon, the comic for adults, which at that time has been operating in Spain. Kidnapped books. ‘Hitler = SS’ is a unique case being a forbidden comic, as we say a unique circumstance in democracy, since it would make a reissue of it criminally. But there have been cases of temporarily kidnapped books until the resolution of judicial processes, or definitive kidnappings but have not made the content of the book illegal, which could be reissued. These have been the cases: In 2018 a judge of Collado Villalba prohibited the impression and marketing of the book Fariña of Nacho Carretero. The cause: a demand from the former or Grove, José Alfredo Bea Gondar, for violation of honor. Was A precautionary measure Until the trial was held, which finally acquitted Carretero and what Volume sales were multiplied. Luque Historical Studies: In 1991, the City of Luque (Córdoba) published this book on the Civil War. An individual whose relative appeared in him as the author of a murder denounced the book. A court opened proceedings and confiscated the copies in circulation. Those years: In 1993, a judge from Murcia ordered the kidnapping of this book of former General Secretary of the Government Presidency, Julio Feo. The complaint came from María José Alemán, former part of the then mayor of Murcia, who was insulted by its content. What happened in Alcàsser?: The father of one of the dead girls in Alcàsser in 1992 never believed in the official resolution of the case. Published this book that included theories with films SNUFF and senior government positions. The book withdrew by demand from the mother of another girls, who considered that the right to privacy of her and her daughter had been violated. OT, the hidden face: In 2005 all the copies of this Wayne Jamison book about the talent show were kidnapped at the request of the Gestmusic producer. I also know how to play my mouth. Sabina in living flesh: The biography of 2006 of the musician, co-written by the Canretant and Javier Fernández Flores was suspended by a conflict for the ownership of the rights of this book, that the Random House-Mondadori publisher considered that they were his. Besides, there has been innumerable cases of magazines Withdrawal of kiosks by judicial processes or when censorship still was at the beginning of the transition. They are often removed by the publishing house itself to avoid precisely judicial procedures or image damage. This is what happened with ‘Thursday’ In 2007 with the famous cartoons of Guillermo and Fontdevila of the then heir to the crown and his wife: the authors were fined, but the publication was not redistributed after the preventive kidnapping by express desire of the editorial. In Xataka | The kidnapping of a book in the era … Read more

22 years later, ‘Master and Commander’ is still obsessed with men. And it has little to do with ships or sea

by

2003 was the year of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’that of the first movie of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘Terminator 3’ and The double of ‘Matrix’ on the billboards with the launch of ‘Reloaded’ in May and ‘Revolutions’ months later. In the middle of that Thaquillazos drizzle With millionaire collections, movie theaters welcomed another great success of success much more discreet (although success after all): ‘Master and Commander’the tape of Peter Weir in which a russel crowe freshly raised by ‘Gladiator’ Encarna Captain Jack Aubrey. His box office box touched the 212 million of dollars, enough to cover the budget (150) and leave a good mattress, but not to encourage producers to bet on a second part or (Still, at least) a prequel. With the time ‘Master and Commander’, however, something much more complicated has achieved: becoming a classic with a good community of followers (many of them men) fascinated by their plot and character. And it makes all the meaning. When time helps. There are films that the passage of time feels like a bathroom with bleach. It dazzles and corrode. And then there are others that win the varnish of the classics. ‘Master and Commander’ is one of the last. Not for a simple matter of subjective criteria. No. It comes quickly for Google, X or Reddit To verify that almost 22 years after its premiere (they will be fulfilled in November) it continues to generate conversation, with a large legion of fans who continue to review the film to get new readings. Click on the image to go to Tweet. It’s cinema … and it’s philosophy. It is not just that his level of approval in Rotten Tomatoes for example exceed 80% or occasionally News arise On the plans to roll a prequel. Throughout the last years Peter Weir’s film has starred in broad analysis in media such as GQ, The conversation, The Guardian, Den of Geek either Literally Hub (the latter with a February piece) that go beyond the technical aspects, the actions or the plot of the film to focus on its background, especially in its representation of masculinity, friendship and leadership. The key was given by Gabriella Paiella in A broad article Posted in 2023 in GQ With the title “Why are there so many boys obsessed with ‘Master and Commander’?” The answer was recently given in X (confirming his premise) David French, columnist of New York Times: “Because it is perfect and amazing and everyone should see it 100 times.” French is not alone in that opinion. Even today, 22 years after the premiere of the film in theaters, they are Recent references and comments praiseful In X. Why’s that? For several reasons. The main one is probably the readings and messages that advance in parallel to the plot. Recall: ‘Master and Commander’ is an epic movie that adapts the novels of Patric O’Brian And he tells us how, with the Napoleonic wars as a backdrop, the British frigate HMS Surprise looks for the French ship Acheron in the Pacific Ocean. Crowe embodies Jack Aubrey, captain of the frigate of the British Royal Navy. The other key character is his friend, the naturalist and doctor Sthepen Maturin, played by Pablo Bettany. But above all the real attraction of the film, beyond its action or landscape scenes, is the environment that recreates and the relationships between its protagonists. Moreover, there is who says That at times the tape becomes “a pure study of characters”, in which the persecution of the Acheron ship is in the background in favor of what is really important: friendship between Aubrey and Maturin. A ship movie … and friendship. In 2023 Matilda Hatcher, of the Australian National University (ANU) summarized it clearly in An essay About the movie. What attracts so many spectators more than 20 years later is the link of Aubrey and Maturin and the representation of masculinity. “They are not necessarily nautical adventures that attract men, but healthy and affectionate male relationships,” Comment. That message connects With people who saw the movie in his day, being a teenager, and now he faces a new vital stage, advanced thirty or fulfilled 40, in which the film brings him new valuesand readings. “The interpretation that Crowe and Bettany make of the friendship between two men is up to this art (…). Much of the lasting attractiveness of the film lies in that representation of the male closeness,” agrees Martin Pengely in The Guardian. “In my opinion, a middle -aged man whose most intimate friends live more than 5,000 km, ‘Master and Commander’ presents an inspiring vision of vital relations for health and happiness.” A concept: “positive masculinity”. That is probably the other great key to the popularity of ‘Master and Commande’, a film in which otherwise there are no more relevant female characters, with the perhaps exception of the bow mask and a female face seen fleetingly against the coasts of America. In a tape of this type, life in Altamar, sailor rough and with a classic male hero, the representation of masculinity stands out. “At 20 years, Weir’s work remains a captivating historical drama and an emblem of healthy masculinity,” Defend Hatcher. At the time of Handsfsera And between messages that advocate hard masculinity and the “shark mentality”, ‘Master and Commander’ transmits a different message: it clings to positive masculinity, the classic archetype marked by duty, sacrifice, the search for justice and especially companionship, without egolatries or arrivals. A comfortable, soft, universal reading that goes beyond generations and is defined by values ​​that are not conflicting. Or like summarize it Paiella: “A sign of positive masculinity.” In Xataka | It is not your thing, your friends are probably more popular than you: it is the paradox of friendship

Boeing came from difficult years. The US has just given air with the contract that can mark his return: that of the new F-47

by

Boeing is going through one of the most complex periods in its recent history. The reputation of the aerospace giant has been harmed by a series of operational and financial problems that have accumulated in recent years. Its commercial aviation division, responsible for the development and manufacture of airplanes such as 737 Max, has been especially hit: The 2018 and 2019 accidents marked a turning pointto which new foci of concern have been added, Like delays in production or strikes in their plants. Its defense and space division has not been left out either. Starlliner ship’s setbacks have not only revealed the technical difficulties of the program, They have become a public humiliation for the company. To this are added other deficit projects that have drained resources, further deepening the crisis. In the midst of this panorama, Boeing has just received a new opportunity to recover prestige and demonstrate that it is up to its own name: The contract to develop F-47. An airplane that can mark a before and after for the US (and for Boeing) The Air Force defines the F-47 as the first sixth generation hunting of the United States. Only that already places it in the center of all eyes. Integrated in the program Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD)is called to replace F-22 Raptor with improvements in stealth, communication and fire power. In addition, it is designed to operate next to the next fleet of pentagon drones, known as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), conceived to carry the missions not manned to the next level. Although so far there has been little of the project, the budgetary figures published last year reveal that the Air Force plans to allocate up to 20,000 million dollars in research and development of the NGAD until 2029. But everything seems to indicate that this figure will be only the beginning. If we take as reference to Lockheed Martin F-35, The most expensive combat plane in historyit is reasonable to think that the new sixth generation hunting will require an even greater investment throughout its useful life. But the F-47 is not a plane that Donald Trump’s administration has taken from the sleeve from one moment to another. It is an initiative that, as we suggest above, has been circling for some time, although in a very discreet way. The NGAD combat aircraft program evolved from the plans for what was originally called a penetrating counterattack platform (PCA), which publicly emerged publicly mid -decade of 2010. Unlike other programs, the Air Force has decided to maintain a very low profile. The great defense contractors of the United States, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, participated in the bidding process. Northrop retired in 2023, leaving the contest between Boeing and Lockheed. Now he is official: Boeing has been the great winner. The data is not less, since Lockheed was the one who developed the F-22 Raptor, the hunt that this new model seeks to replace. In addition, Boeing will put the firm on this plane: its most successful models, the F-15, the F/A-18 and the EA-18, were inheritance of McDonnell Douglas. As we said, there are few confirmed data on the technical specifications of the future F-47. However, A Congress report stressed The urgency of developing a sixth generation hunt to maintain aerial superiority Facing China’s military advancewhich already has the J-20 and J-35and work in an even more advanced model. The new American plane should not only be overcome in weapons systems, but also in scope, a key capacity to operate in the Pacific Ocean, where F-22 Raptor shows limitations. Conceptual images | United States Air Force In Xataka | Boeing’s last development is not a plane: it is called GLSDB and it is an improved bomb that is on its way to Ukraine

We carry from the Pleistocene domesticating the avocado. It took 8,000 years to adopt the way we wanted

by

When we talk about domestication, we automatically think about that of the animals around us. The dogthe cat –Something more complicated– Or the farm animals and work. But humanity carries thousands of years domesticating fruits and vegetables. An example is that of avocado, a fruit that has become Obsession for half the world and that it would not exist if we had not saved it 7,500 years ago. And the avocado then has little to do with the one now. Megafauna. The avocado appeared about 400,000 years ago in what we now know as Mexico. Like many other fruits and vegetables, It was very different As we know it today. The avocado was more rounded, with fine skin and a seed smaller than the current one. It was like a small apple and dispersed throughout the territory thanks to the megafauna of the Pleistocene. These animals devoured the complete fruit and chew the seed. Thanks to their feces, the seed were spreading and giving rise to at least three different species of avocado: the Mexican, the Guatemalan and the Antillean. However, the Great extinction of Pleistocene that ended that megafauna. The Avocado Meteorite. As we read in The New York Timeswithout animals large enough to reach the fruit, eat it whole and spread its seeds, the prehistoric avocado distribution area was greatly reduced. It is something that happened about 13,000 years ago, but fortunately humans intervened. In a study About avocado domestication published By researchers from the University of California, they detail that this avocado domestication arose due to the need. “Without megafauna, humans needed new food sources. They began to cultivate the fruit, saving avocados,” says Doug Kennet, one of the authors of the study. Excavations in ‘El Gigante’ ‘The giant’. That is, the fruit, which was practically on the verge of extinction, was recovered by necessity by humans. In the investigation, the authors focused on a place to the west of Honduras called ‘El Gigante’. It is a high cave that was inhabited 11,000 years ago and where lots of pumpkin seeds, corn grains, agave leaves and other plant waste that have been studied in these last 20 years have been found. Among those seeds, there were avocado remains. Playing with genetics. As if they were Mendel with the peas, the settlers began to keep seeds and plant their own trees. Harvest after harvesting, the branches were rotting to foster the growth of trees, but also selecting the largest and fleshy avocados. Thus, 7,500 years ago, humans had already made the seeds larger and the most resistant shells. Some 3,000 years later, the seeds reached the size of an apricot and the peel became even thicker, which suggests an intentional manipulation of the fruit. “It is an indicator that people began to save seeds to plant their own trees,” says Amber Vanderwarker, another of the authors. “I think people, probably, have been eating Guacamole for 10,000 years” – Amber Vanderwarker. Seed size change is considerable Transport. It may be that the weight of the seeds and the size of the fruit was what led to that way of ‘pear’, but beyond speculation, from the study they point out that humans favored thick pests for a mere practical issue: the thicker, more resistant and, therefore, the easier to transport the fruit from one side to another without danger for the indoor plating. The dispersion of it, in fact, is amazing, with evidence that thousands of years ago was consumed in Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Panama. In addition, they point to another possible reason why they favored that thick and resistant shell that does not differ much from how we consume avocado today. Vanderwarker points out that a possible reason to grow fruits with a thick shell is the facilitation of meat extraction with a spoon. In addition, molecular research suggests that the complete change to obtain a fruit similar to the current one was not so much: about 2,200 years ago. Essential. In the end, it would be given by what was given, the avocado was vital for Mesoamerican civilizations. Maya and Aztecs made it a star food, developing some of the avocado varieties to adapt them to the height and climate conditions of different areas, such as lowlands and highlands. In addition, they contributed to the expansion of avocado thanks to their cultural influence and commercial lines. World fever and wars. Currently, we live an authentic avocado fever. It has become a fashion fruit thanks to its nutritional properties, but also its importance in dishes such as the guacamole that the United States consumes big, especially during the American football super bowl. Such is the importance of fruit that is a thrown weapon between Mexico and the United States. But well, researchers at the University of California say that, although discoveries on avocado are interesting, as research progresses, more evidence on them will be discovered, but also more types of food plants manipulated by humans. Images | Thomas Harper and Ken Hirth (University of California Santa Barbara), EDURAFI2, Hariadhi In Xataka | There are billions of people worried about climate change, but there is a little group that is not: English wine growers

Despite being one of the areas most affected by desertification, it is greener than 30 years ago

by

On July 23, 1972, the first satellite of the Landsat program He left the Californian base of Vandenberg with the intention of thoroughly monitoring the surface of the Earth. During these 50 years, another more satellites have been completing the project by giving us the most precise radiography of the planet’s changes. A couple of years ago, a team from the University of Córdoba decided to see how Andalusia and its forests had changed. 28 years of images. That is what RESCATAR OF THE LANDSAT PROGRAM. Because what interested them were images capable of capturing information from certain electromagnetic spectra not visible to the human eye that allow studying the evolution of phenological changes (that is, changes in the relationship between climate and living beings). This is important because, traditional ‘field measurements’ They are not effective when monitoring extensive regions. That is, for years, we have been able to have a distorted image of reality. And what have they found? To start, that Andalusia is greener than 30 years ago. It is something that can collide, taking into account that Desertification processes seem to progress at a very fast pace in that same region of the country. But, on the other hand, it is something that We have seen all over the world. And why does this happen? According to Rafael Villarmain research on work He has just published in Ecological indicators, “The reasons are diverse and complex.” Things like “the abandonment of the fields after the rural exodus, the adaptation of plants itself to adverse climatic conditions (such as Pinus halepensis and Quercus ilex), The effects of atmospheric fertilization with CO₂, forest management and changes in conservation policies “could be some of them. However, as researchers point out, it is a statistical artifact. That is, Andalusia is average green; But if we look at concrete areas (such as Almería), this phenomenon does not occur or occurs very subtly. Aridity and desertification are also seen in NASA images. The example of the wild pine. The data of Cordoba researchers show how aridity shortens the season of Wild pine growth. It has also caused significant seasonal changes in the cork oak, the pine pine and the Piño Carrasco. And even growth seasons have been shortened in the olive tree and eucalyptus. But with wild pine the situation has been especially drastic. It seems a lie, but while Andalusia becomes greenera good part of it is suffering (and much). And what is all this for? Above all, to understand what is happening in our country and, incidentally, understand that reality is deeply paradoxical. Not only because two apparently contradictory results can be happening live and direct, but because we do not know what will happen in the future. Just looking closely at the world we live in and seeing how it changes we can prepare for the future. In that sense, “green” is always synonymous with hope. Image | Pilar Flores In Xataka | The forests move to the north: a study led by NASA has observed how trees take over the tundra

135,000 years ago, humans had developed a key component of universal culture: language

by

A way of thinking about thousands of languages ​​spoken by humanity is visualizing them as branches of a tree, thus drawing The evolution of these languages over time. If we move forward in time, we will see the diversification of some languages ​​and the death of others. If we invest the time needle we can see the branch or the common trunk that joins some languages ​​with others. For example, if we draw the history of Galician and Romanian, we will see in Latin the common origin of these languages ​​spoken in remote areas of Europe. We can do the same exercise looking for the common trunk between Latin and the Swedish. For this we would have to go to prehistoric times, to a common trunk we call protoindoeuropeo And what would have been spoken Around 5,000 years. However, this does not serve to unite all the languages ​​spoken by humanity in the same tree. We do not know of a link that one languages ​​native to the Americas, the languages ​​of Asia and Oceania or the African languages ​​with the protoindeuropean. We do not even need to leave Europe to find languages ​​without known relationship: we can draw the common origin of the Finn and Hungarian, but we cannot unite these languages ​​to the Indo -European trunk. That leaves us with two possibilities. The first is that perhaps humans began to speak time after beginning the migratory movements that would lead us to adapt to life in various territories, which would imply that several native languages ​​arose independently. That is, there are several independent trees. The second indicates that this common trunk exists, but changes in languages ​​and the absence of written testimony and time have erased all trace of this native language in the known, alive or dead languages. All languages ​​have a common trunk, but perhaps we never find out their characteristics. The question of the original language can be presented as the problem of the egg and the chicken: what happened first, the appearance of speech or geographical disintegration of the human species? The interconnection between language and expansion of humanity is not mere curiosity because answering a question can help us Date more accurately Two of the key events in human evolution. A recent study He analyzed the issue through a review of scientific literature published in the last 18 years. The work examined 15 genetic studies that through different methodologies They tried to answer the question of when the populations of H. sapiensThey began to break down and lose contact with each other. The 15 works included three based on the chromosome information and, the patrilinerally inherited chromosome; Three focused on mitochondrial DNA, inherited matrilinerally; and the rest studied the set of human chromosomes. The team made a meta -analysis, a quantitative study based on the results compiled in the compiled works, to obtain a new estimate of the last era in which in which All humanity shared spaces In the same region. The estimate indicated that this happened about 135,000 years ago. The team concludes from this data that human language had to have an origin prior to this original diaspora. They start from the idea that, if language had not existed in this origin, we should have found any human society without language or, at least, with a radically different communicative form from what we know as speaks. The details of the study were Published in an article In the magazineFrontiers in Psychology. An evolution in several phases But what exactly is speech? According to Explain the team itselfprevious studies had already pointed out that Other hominid speciesprevious to sapiens They had the ability to speak. The nuance is that this does not guarantee the existence of a language, however simple it is. The issue for the team is not when humans, H. sapiens Or other species, they began to emit sounds, but when they began to develop the language “as we know it”, that is, “combining vocabulary and grammar in a system”, a system capable of generating an indefinite amount of expressions based on their own rules. “Human language is quantitatively different because there are two things, words and syntax, which work at the same time to create this Very complex system”, explained in a press release Shigeru Miyagawa, study co -author. “No other animal has a corresponding structure in its communication system. And that gives us the ability to generate very sophisticated thoughts and communicate them with others.” Miyagawa and his team also refer to the archaeological record to support their conclusions. As they explain, the archaeological record that has left us evidence of the existence of the type of complex thought that supports the language, evidence that date back 100,000 years ago in time. The team refers to this to artifacts that denote a “symbolic activity”, such as objects in objects or the decorative use of the ocher, a pigment. We have known for a long time that H. sapiens It has not been the only human species capable of reaching these levels of abstraction. It is perhaps that is why The debate To what extent species like Neanderthals H. Neanderthalensis They could have developed speech or even language Be far from setting up. In your articleThe team indicates that, although the “complex behaviors” such as burials and body decoration They can also be associated with these species, ours would have been the only one to have systematized them throughout the population. In Xataka | We just found the lost link of human evolution: the first bone toolbox Image | Pxhere / Chivi1085

They are planets orbiting other stars to 130 light years

by

One of the original purposes of the James Webb space telescope was the direct observation of exoplanets: distant worlds that orbit stellar systems other than the sun. The latest images of the 10,000 million dollars observatory demonstrate the level of detail that is capable of capturing. Young and gaseous. The Webb Telescope, operated by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), has been observing a planetary system to 130 light years from the Earth. At the tender age of 30 million years, this neighborhood called HR 8799 It is much younger than our solar system, which is 4.6 billion years old. The four planets in the photo that revolve around the star HR 8799 are gaseous giants similar to Jupiter and Saturn. Being so young, in addition to giants, they retain the residual heat of their formation, which makes them emit a large amount of infrared light. This light is what has allowed Webb Space Telescope Capture clear and direct images of exoplanets. An important finding. One of the most surprising aspects of these observations is the remarkable presence of carbon dioxide in the atmospheres of the four giant planets. A study published by The Astronomical Journal Associates CO2 to a large number of heavy elements such as carbon, oxygen and iron in the gaseous body of these exoplanets. The study supports the theory of core’s accretion training, which is the same mechanism proposed by astronomers for the formation of Jupiter and Saturn in our solar system. According to this theory, the giant planets begin forming solid nuclei that then attract large amounts of gas from the protoplanetary disk that surrounds a young star. Cooked over low heat. The Chemical composition observed by the Webb In the HR 8799 system it is a clue that the planets were formed by slow accumulation of heavy materials, instead of faster alternative processes. Scientists have also been able to analyze important differences between the planets. For example, HR 8799 B, the farthest from its star, shows greater carbon dioxide wealth, while HR 8799 E, the closest to its star, seems to have formed in very different conditions, in a warmer region and with a different composition. Another Nircam job. Thanks to the Nircam Chamber and its coronograph, which blocks the bright light of the central star, the Webb has not only been able to observe the HR 8799 system, but also 51 eri ba relatively cold and young planet located in the 51 Eridani system, 96 light years from the earth. This orbit planet at a considerable distance from its star, similar to a location between Saturn and Neptune of our solar system. In this case, the webb has also detected a rich atmosphere in carbon dioxide, which further supports the hypothesis of the solid nucleus as a training mechanism. Images | NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI, JHU In Xataka | We have just discovered a tiny planet where it is three days every year. Is orbiting the star closest to the sun

The National Police had been using ia for six years to detect false complaints. His real reliability was very debatable

by

In October 2018, the National Police published a press release in which everything sounded great. There was talk of A new artificial intelligence tool called Veripol that promised an accuracy of 90% when detecting false complaints. Six years later we have discovered that this promise was very debatable. The Technical Cabinet of the General Police Directorate He confirmed Civio that this tool ceased to be operational in October 2024, six years later. This decision, as this media points out, was not accidental. Three months before BOE was published with the new artificial intelligence regulation. In section (59) it is indicated to the polygraphs of AI as high -risk AI tools and the following is precisely indicated: “(…) It is appropriate to classify several systems of AI destined to be used for the purpose of guaranteeing the law when their precision, reliability and transparency are especially important to avoid adverse consequences, conserve the confidence of the population and guarantee accountability and effective resource roads. the risk of a natural person being a victim of crimes, Like polygraphs and other similar tools. “ Not only that: a group of law and mathematics experts from the University of Valencia highlighted In a study How Veripol was a tool that information was barely available, which made an especially complicated audit. Even indicating that this made them conjecture their conclusions, they stressed the situation was “very poor in terms of compliance with the minimum standards of transparency” necessary for the use of tools of this type. Do certain specific words are enough to detect lies? Civio conducted a study of the reliability of the tool. After analyzing 1,122 allegations of theft in Spain of 2015, Veripol’s behavior was singular: if a complaint contains the words “day”, “lawyer”, “safe” or “back” it is more likely to be false, but that probability increases If words like “two hundred” are used several times or “barely.” Veripol began to be evaluated in a pilot program in June 2017, and He won an award Investigation of the Spanish Police Foundation. There was talk of its success even In Scientific American. Little by little, its use was extended until officially activated in the aforementioned October 2018 nationwide. Its use was notable until October 2020 (about 84,000 complaints), while apparently in 2022 it was used only in 3,752 complaints, of which 511 were detected as false. In the development of said project The Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), the Carlos III University of Madrid, the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and the Interior Ministry of the Government of Spain. A UCM advertisement Point out How the initiative began in 2014, and began to be tested with apparent success in 2017. Preliminary tests, yes, were executed with a sample that The experts described as scarce. In this statement, it was highlighted how “it is the first time worldwide that a tool of these characteristics is developed” and that Veripol performed an “automatic analysis of the statements of complainants using natural language processing techniques and automatic learning, with a success rate of 91%, fifteen points higher than that of expert agents.” In the description of its operation the following was pointed out: “For example, it is known that in cases of theft, true statements are presented more details, descriptions and personal information, in the face of the exclusive insistence on the extracted object and the omission of details about the attacker or how the incident of the false happened. From this linguistic analysis, Veripol is able to create an effective pattern.” “In just one week, 31 and 49 false theft cases were detected and closed, while between 2008 and 2016 they were 3.33 and 12.14 in Murcia and Malaga, respectively. The effectiveness of the pilot study was 83%.” A doubtful reliability He Complete study of the University of Valencia reflects a debatable functioning of the tool. They indicate how Veripol designers claimed that false complaints in relation to theft are “extremely common” and the crime is “generally carried out by citizens who have no criminal record.” They have no clear figures, but even unable to estimate the real figure of false complaints “they suggest that it could be around 57%”, a figure that It rests interestingly in non -solving cases. In Damn.es They carried out in 2020 an analysis of the evolution of the use of veripol and indicated how “the fact that the total registered crimes remains constant as the veripol use figures decrease, can be an indicative that the algorithm It is not used so much among the police officers. “For some agents, they pointed out,” the program is not very precise “, and that although in theory it could work well, its application in police stations was complex because training was needed to do so. Algorithmwatch, a non -governmental and non -profit agency based in Berlin and Zurich, often performs algorithms analysis and AI systems to try to evaluate their reliability and validity. In October 2020 They evaluated Veripol’s behavior And his conclusion was already overwhelming: “It is not clear if it works as it is intended”. They also explained that lies detectors – which is in essence what Veripol is – have a long trajectory of bad operations. In this concrete algorithm, he worried for example how some specific words had too much weight in the decision. One of the agents interviewed at that time indicated how it was enough that the word “knife” was in the report to be considered true. We are therefore before a technological tool, in this case theoretically supported by AI, which raised doubts from the beginning for transparency about its true functioning and development, and that it began to be used without preliminary evidence being completely conclusive by the size of the samples. In recent times We have seen for example how the Ábalos ‘case’ served to demonstrate that There are many risks here and that it is necessary to evaluate well the application of algorithms before applying them in public bodies of … Read more

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.