NEWS

THE BLUE WHALE SUICIDE CHALLENGE

This news is about a new challenge that makes the person who is playing commit suicide after 50 days. This challenge is known as the Blue Whale, and it is quite famous in Russia. It is believed to be an online social media group, in which there is an administrator that gives daily challenges to the members. In total, there are 50 (one each day) and they consist of watching extreme horror movies, getting up at unusual hours, self-harming… They gradually get more and more extreme, until the last challenge is to commit suicide.

One of the reasons teenagers follow this type of challenges is peer pressure. Sometimes friends incite to make dangerous things, but kids have to know how and when to say “no”. Parents have an important role in teaching their kids than they can still be accepted even if they don’t do exactly what the other friends do.

The photo Yulia Konstantinova posted on her Instagram account
before commitig suicide along with her friend Veronika Volkova

As it was said before, the Blue Whale is quite famous in Russia and there have been about 130 suicides of children between November 2015 and April 2016, which can be related to this challenge. It is not proved, but there exist multiple bonds between almost all these teenagers, for example, most of them were members of the same internet groups and lived in good and happy families. Among these suicides, it stands out the case of two teenagers, Yulia Konstantinova and Veronika Volkova, 15 and 16 respectively, who jumped from a roof of a 14-floor building. Yulia, before committing suicide, posted a picture of a blue whale in her Instagram.

PERSONAL OPINION:

When I read this news, the first thing it came to my mind was: “Who can be so sick and macabre to create this challenge?”. Because, behind all these challenges there has to be a person (or more than one) creating them. Encouraging people to commit suicide, especially when they are going through a bad period in their lives is really mean. We should try to help depressed people to overcome it and be happy. Of course, at the end we are free, and a person can choose to kill him or herself, but I don’t think we should encourage them doing it. Instead, we have to help them overcome their problems.

NEW WORDS:

Sway: influenciar, influir
Chilling: esgarrifós, esfereïdor
Peer: col·lega, amic
Goad: incitar, provocar


Link: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/3003805/blue-whale-suicide-game-online-victims/

NEWS

ASYLUM DENIED

This news is about two boys who asked for asylum in the US, but they were refused. One of them had been threatened by some gang members; they said they were going to kill him. In front of this situation, the boy decided to leave his home and go to the United States. When he and another boy were at the US border, they explained their situations to the officials, but they didn’t seem to care that much and told them to wait outside. They waited all day long, until one lawyer who was crossing the border with another client saw them and help them.

The worst of all is that this is not an isolated case, but the number of cases is increasing, especially since Trump became the president of the United States. In theory, the law says that if someone arrives at the border asking for asylum, CBP agents have to send the person to a specialist to examine his or her situation, but this is not always like that. More and more, US agents are illegally denying entrance to people asking for asylum.

Even though these prohibitions are increasing, they are not only a result of Trump’s policy, but they were there before he came to power. The writer of that news says that this is a serious problem and that the government has to do something about it. They have to investigate and punish the agents who have behaved illegally.

PERSONAL OPINION:

This news shows the violation of one human right: the right to have asylum. As it says, everybody has the right to have asylum in cases of danger, no matter where they come from. Of course, I am against what these US agents are doing to people who ask for asylum. Imagine you're in their situation; That in your country you have been threatened with death and then when you ask for asylum they deny it. But what upsets me the most is why the US agents do not let Mexican people pass it because of racist reasons. Unfortunately, there are a lot of racist people in the USA (and in the world too), as it shows the fact that Trump is the president. I hope one day we get over racism, which is one of the main reason why most of the human rights are not coming into effect right now.

NEW WORDS:

Flee: escapar
Entrenched: refractari, retrògrad 
Seeker: persona que busca alguna cosa

Link: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/05/03/us-turning-away-asylum-seekers-mexican-border

NEWS

30 YEARS LIVING AS A SLAVE

This is not really news; it’s actually a story of a woman, called Guadalupe Pérez Castillo, who was enslaved for about 30 years of her life. Her story is the following one: she was born in Las Agujas, a small town of Mexico. Her family was poor, and she used to help her family’s economy selling fruit in the town’s market. One day, a woman came to visit Guadalupe’s house, and offered her to work with her as a babysitter. In exchange, the woman will pay her, send her to a good school and send money to her family. For Guadalupe, that was a really good offer, so she accepted it (at that time, she was 10 years old).

But things didn’t turn out to be so perfect. Guadalupe quickly understood that the woman would not pay her, and she also had to do all the housework and care for the children. But that wasn’t the worse: she had to sleep on the floor, she could only eat scraps, and they even hit her for no apparent reason. Obviously, she tried several times to scape, but she didn’t succeed in any of attempts. The woman and her husband also threatened her that they would kill her if she continues trying to escape, so she stopped doing it. She finally escape when she was 40, taking advantage of a moment where the family was gone because they were all at the hospital (because their son had had an accident).

Guadalupe Pérez had to stand 30 years of forced labor, beatings, sexual abuse, lack of food…All these made her dump and now she has some mental problems. She is extremely shy, always looks down when she’s talking to somebody, among other things. She doesn’t know how to live in freedom, because she has lived 30 years as a slave. Now she’s visiting a therapist, who’s trying to teach her how to be free, how to make her own decisions, manage her money…


PERSONAL OPINION:

As now we are working on a project of human rights, I found interesting to choose this article. It’s shameful that in 2017 we still have to deal with slavery. So now we are able to travel to the moon, for example, but we don’t know how to stop slavery? I think the problem are the governments, that they are not interested in eliminate slavery. Maybe governments will not resolve the entire problem, because for example, in the case of Guadalupe Pérez would have been difficult to know that that girl was being enslaved. Therefore, maybe the solution is to make efforts to improve the life of the poor people, so that anyone won’t be as desperate to become a slave. I know it’s easy to say but difficult to do, but I have hope in a better world!

NEW WORDS:

Attorney: advocat
Self-assured: segur d'un mateix
Stretched: escàs, insuficient
Elated: eufòrica, entusiasmada 


Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/27/world/freedom-project-30-years-a-slave/index.html

NEWS

BYE-BYE PLASTIC BOTTLES, OOHO! IS THE FUTURE

Nowadays we are wasting so much plastic, and we know plastic is not biodegradable. That’s why Ooho! has been created. Ooho! is an edible water bottle created using gelification (a technique initially used in cooking created by Ferran Adriá) which objective is to replace plastic bottles. It looks like a balloon or even like a breast implant, and will go on the market within a year. Ooho! was first invented by three engineers in 2014, but now they are fundraising to achieve their objective to substitute the plastic bottles for this more ecologic option.

Maybe you are wondering: how are they made? Well, the sphere has a double gelatinous membrane made of sodium alginate (which is taken from brown algae) and calcium chloride. As it was said before, the spheres are created using gelification to make liquids turn into gel. Therefore, it is so natural that you can actually eat it, and it’s entirely biodegradable. Not only it’s biodegradable, but also the packaging is cheaper than plastic, and can contain water, soft drinks, spirits…Each sphere contains 250 ml of water or another drink and costs 2 cents to make one unit (less than a plastic bottle). Will Ooho! be the future?


PERSONAL OPINION:

When I first saw this news, I found it very interesting. Not only plastic bottles, but also plastic in general contaminate a lot (more than we think), and people are acting like they don’t care. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a plastic mountain. Projects like this contribute to fight against global warming, and to the defense of the environment, so that’s why I like it so much. Even though at first maybe it will be a little bit strange, I want to try Ooho! as soon as possible, and I hope within some years it will substitute plastic bottles.

NEW WORDS:

Seaweed: algues
Fundraise: recaptar fons
Wobble: tambalejar-se
Edible: comestible


Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4401730/Water-bottle-wobbles-like-bubble-sale.html 


VIDEO:

NEWS

FIRST HUMAN HEAD TRANSPLANT

This year, in 2017, will be done the first human head transplant by the neuroscientist Dr. Sergio Canavero and the surgeon Dr. Xiaoping Ren. In August 2016 they found a volunteer to subject himself to this dangerous operation: Valery Spiridonov. Spiridonov is a Russian man who suffers an illness called Werdnig-Hoffman Disease, which is a genetic disorder that affects to the muscles. Due to this illness, Spiridonov has to use a wheelchair and he almost can’t move.

How will this transplant be done? The first step is to find a suitable donor for Spiridonov. The donor has to be a dead young man, to use his body, and the family has to agree with it. Once the donor has been found, the operation starts: a surgical team will cool Spiridonov’s body to 50 degrees Fahrenheit to delay tissue death in the brain for an hour. Then, simultaneously, two groups of surgeons will decapitate both heads and will exchange them. Once the swap is done, Spiridonov will be in coma for three or four weeks to ensure everything works perfectly.

Even though this transplant may sound futuristic and likely to fail, Canavero has claimed that has a 90% of possibilities to success. For its part, the patient is happy and enthusiastic about the surgery; but there have been scientists that are against it. These scientists argue that Canavero and Ren are promoting junk science and also creating false expectations. Another scientist, Arthur Caplan, said that is not ethical. To answer to these attacks, Canavero said that with the head transplant it will automatically transplant the whole self with the mind, personality and consciousness of the patient. Despite these words, Anto Cartolovni and Antonio Spagnolo, two Italian bioethicists, said that “our cognition is an embodied cognition” and that “the body is a real part in the formation of human self”. Also, there is another ethical issue: if Spiridonov wanted to reproduce with his new body, his children will have the donor’s genetic information. Therefore, the donor’s family would have rights on the kid?

In spite of the criticism, this operation will take place in China or another country outside Europe or the United States if finally it is approved.

PERSONAL OPINION:

This is a controversial issue to talk about. On one hand, I see this transplant in a positive way, because it will help Valery Spiridonov to have a better life. He ensured he is excited about the operation and he hopes to survive and get to live better and happier. So, looking in it that way, this transplant sounds positive. But, on the other hand, there’s this ethical issue that makes me reconsider things; especially the issue about the children. If he decides to have kids, genetically talking they will not be his children. But, well, if the patient is happy and the family of the donor too, I don’t see it so bad.

NEW WORDS:

Recruit: contractar
Cognition: coneixement
Offspring: fill/filla


Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-man-volunteers-for-first-human-head-transplant/

NEWS

A TRANSPHOBIC BUS DROVE AROUND MADRID

Earlier this month (March 2017), a bus of the group Hazte Oír was immobilized for sending an anti-transgender message. Hazte Oír (which in English means “Make Yourself Heard”) is a right-wing Catholic group that was created in 2001 by Ignacio Arsuaga, a Spanish lawyer, but it wasn’t approved by the government until 2013 (as a non-for-profit organization). They are against the abortion rights and have launched messages against the LGBT community in general. They claim they have 7000 members and receive €2.6 million from supporters. 

Boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Don’t let them fool you.
If you’re born a man, you’re a man. If you’re born a woman,
 you will continue to be so

The transphobic group drove all over Madrid with a bus including this message: “Boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Don’t let them fool you. If you’re born a man, you’re a man. If you’re born a woman, you will continue to be so”. This message is a response to another campaign launched by Chrysallis, a transgender support group, which said: “There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas”. At first, Hazte Oír made an online petition to remove the campaign, but it couldn’t obtain enough support.

Hazte Oír wanted to drove around the Spanish capital for a week, and then go to another important cities in Spain, to spread their message. But, since there has been a lot of protests from political parties, organizations and people in general (using social media), the mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, ordered to immobilize the bus.

The campaign in defense of transgender kids
 launched by Chrysallis.

Rita Maestre, Madrid Hall spokeswoman, said that due to Madrid is an inclusive and welcoming city, they cannot let a discriminatory bus to drive around it. There have been more protests, even from the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Ricardo Blázquez, who asked for respect for children. The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, has also criticized the campaign and forbid the bus to go in Barcelona, and if it does it, Hazte Oír will have to pay €3000 as a fine.

In defense, Hazte Oír said that the message wasn’t against anybody, neither wanted to offend or discriminate, it just wanted to “recognize a biological fact that we all have studied at school”.


PERSONAL OPINION:

From my point of view, I think it’s correct what the mayor of Madrid has done: not letting the bus drive around the city. Hazte Oír is sending a message of hate and intolerance. Imagine you are a transgender kid and see this: you would feel insecure and strange with yourself. It makes me angry the fact that Hazte Oír tries to defend themselves saying that they just want to “recognize a biological fact that we all have studied at school”, but it’s not the same the biological sex and your gender: you can have a man’s body but feel like a woman, or vice versa. I think we all have to respect each other; we don’t have to generate hate or intolerance.

NEW WORDS:

Diocese: diòcesi (districte de l'església catòlica presidida per un bisbe, arquebisbe...).
Fine (verb): multar
Revenue: ingressos


Link: http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/03/01/inenglish/1488358583_324566.html

NEWS

NEW CONTINENT FOUND

This year, in February 2017, there has been found another continent. It has been found by a research team of the University of the Witwatersrand, in South Africa. This new continent is located under the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.

The shame is that there are only remaining small parts of it. A recent report from Nature Communication says that these parts that left belonged to Gondwanaland, a giant continent that existed 200 million years ago. The separation of this ancient continent caused gave rise to Africa, South America, Australia, India and Antarctica. Now, there are some pieces of this “new” continent spread over the Indian Ocean, but there are under the sea.

But, how did they claim that this is a new continent? First, the team analyzed a mineral (zircon) found in rocks in the island of Mauritius. They reached to the conclusion that the remnants of this mineral were too old to belong to Mauritius: in the island there isn’t any rock older than 9 million years old, but the zircon found on these rocks was 3 billion years old. This fact demonstrates the existence of an ancient continent.

PERSONAL OPINION:

Even though I don’t really have anything to say about this news, I found it very interesting and curious. Furthermore, this report makes you think: if we have just found another continent, maybe there are some more and we don’t know it.

NEW WORDS:

Dub: annomenar, posar un sobrenom.
Crust: escorça.
Remnant: restes.


Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/03/world/lost-continent-mauritius-trnd/

NEWS

TENSIONS IN SWEDEN DUE TO REFUGEE POLICY
This report talks about Sweden and its refugee policy, and the problems it has caused. It starts presenting Rinkeby, a Swedish town where mostly of its citizens are immigrants. Unlike other immigrant neighbourhoods in Europe (like the banlieues of Paris or Molenbeek in Brussels), Rinkeby seems like a place without problems or disturbances; but actually that’s not true because recently there has been riots.

Also, just a few days before riots happened, Donald Trump said that something was going wrong in Sweden, due to its decision of welcoming a huge amount of refugees. Swedes reacted to that with derision, but after riots happened in Rinkeby, some people have been expressing their dissatisfaction with the immigrant policy of Sweden. In the other hand, there are other people who think this policy is something to be proud of.

It’s true that Sweden has received a lot of refugees; actually, it’s the country in Europe that has received the most. For example, more than 160,000 people arrived in Sweden in the peak of the European migrant crisis in 2015. Therefore, that’s normal the fact that there has been problems with the integration of these people. As Josefin Larsson, a salesperson who is half-Swedish, half-Bolivian, says that nowadays it’s difficult to see people native from Sweden in the streets, because most of the people are immigrant. Also, she compares how it is now and how it was 20 years ago, and the difference is considerable: some years ago it was so much easier for immigrants to become part of the society. To face this problem, some organizations and community groups, like Kompis Sverige and Invitationsdepartementet, are helping the immigrants to fit in the Swedish culture and society.

The tension is growing, and some people say the government is not doing enough to solve this problem. Also, in January 2016 a woman was killed at the asylum centre where she worked, so the pressure increased more. There are also people who think that now it’s not safe to walk in the streets, due to all the immigration issue. But police denies the fact that refugees are responsible for crime in neighbourhoods like Rinkeby.

Apart from that, the crime against Muslims has increased nearly 90% between 2012 and 2015. The hate is rising in the country, and now a Muslim is more likely to be the victim of hate crime than actually be the author. Therefore, because of all these problems with refugees and immigrant, far-right and nationalist parties are rising.

PERSONAL OPINION:

The issue about refugees is complicated. In my opinion, I think we should help them, because after all they are humans just like us. Also, citizens do not have the fault about the war, and I think the moral thing is to help them. I know that they are a lot of people and letting them in our countries will suppose problems (besides the ones we already have), but I think we all have to help a little bit because, as I said before, after all we are all Human and we should help each other, no matter the color of our skin or where we come from.


NEW WORDS:

Derision: burla.
Riot: disturbi, vandalisme.
Peak: pic, màxim


Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/23/europe/sweden-trump-refugees-integration/index.html

NEWS

GAME2: WINTER, THE RUSSIAN HUNGER GAMES

In Russia there will be a reality show called Game2: Winter, which some people have said is similar to The Hunger Games. 30 men and women will be in Siberia and they will have to survive if they want to win a cash prize. What impacts the most about this show is that participants can be raped or killed. They can also fight against each other, drink alcohol, smoke or anything. So basically, there are no rules in this game.

Therefore, this show consists of surviving in a place where the temperature can reach the -40ºC, and the participants are able to do whatever they want or need to survive. It's important to stand out that the show will be streamed internationally all day long.

To participate you have to be more than 18 years old, be mentally sane and pay over 10 million rubles (£ 130,000). If you want to skip paying, you can be voted via online. Surprisingly, in December 2016 they already had 60 applicants.

Although the rules in the reality show say participants can rape or even kill other participants, if anyone does it, they will have to face the Russian law. The show allows doing it, but not Russia's law. So, basically, if any participant dies, the show will have nothing to do with it.

Another feature of the show is that there will be no filming crew; Instead, there will be cameras spread all around the area and also all participants will be carrying a camera, so everything will be recorded.

PERSONAL OPINION:

When I first read this, I thought it was a joke; “Hunger games in real life? That’s not possible”. But then I realized this is real and I couldn’t believe it. This is not just a survival TV show, because in these type of programs you get health assistance if you get injured, you can just give up and go home. But in this case if you are dying or being murdered no one will help you. Your death will be recorded and shown to everyone who wants to see it. In the other hand, one thing that I don’t understand is why participants have to pay such a high amount of money. That means that basically only rich people can participate; so they will not be participating to win money, but just for… I don’t know… try to survive? Kill people? I don’t understand how somebody can risk their lives for money if they already had money. Anyway, I don’t think it’s normal to do this show, especially because people can die participating and this will be shown on the TV or Internet.

NEW WORDS:

Unfathomable: immesurable
Carnage: matança 
Wrath: ira, ràbia
Applicant: candidat, aspirant


Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/12/16/russian-survivalist-reality-show-will-permit-contestants-rape/

NEWS

TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION BAN

The president of the United States Donald Trump has signed the 29th of January an executive order that will ban Syrian refugees to enter the US and limit the entrance of other refugees. To be more specific, the order bans people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia to enter in the US for 90 days. Also, Trump has suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days.

The main objective of this order is to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States, as Trump says. Therefore, the number of refugees admitted in the US will be reduced to 50,000 (until now it was 110,000). Apart from that, Trump also signed a second executive order that will increase the military expense, to rebuild the Army.

It is important to stand out that the executive order to restrict the entrance of refugees in the US prioritizes Christians over Muslims. Trump specifically said that they want to help Christians because "they've been horribly treated". If you are a Christian living in Syria you will have a lot of obstacles to enter in the US, so that's why Trump is making easier for Christians to enter in the country.

Reacting to this fact, Democrats have criticized the order, describing it as discriminatory against Muslims.

PERSONAL OPINION:

In my opinion, this order is extremely discriminatory, not only for Muslims but also for all the refugees. Some people have to stop relating refugees or Muslims to terrorists; it’s obvious that not all Muslims are terrorists. Refugees are people who are running away from a horrible war, and I think our responsibility is to help them. At the end, we are all humans, no matter the colour of our skin, our religion, or the place we were born. Also, it’s kind of ironic that a country like the United States bans immigrants to enter, because almost all the people from there are immigrants.

NEW WORDS:

Pletge: promesa

Forgo: abstenir-se de (alguna cosa)

Readiness: preparació, disposició

Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/27/politics/trump-plans-to-sign-executive-action-on-refugees-extreme-vetting/

NEWS

RITA BARBERÁ, EX-MAYOR OF VALENCIA, HAS DIED TODAY AT THE AGE OF 68

Today, 23th November 2016, Rita Barberá, ex-mayor of Valencia, has died of a heart attack at the age of 68, according to doctors. Doctors said they had tried to resuscitate her for half an hour, but it didn’t work out.

Rita Barberá had been the mayor of Valencia for 16 years in a row (since 1995 to 2011). While she was the mayor, both the City of Arts and Sciences and the Congress Centre were built. When she was voted out of the mayoral service, she took up a seat in the Spanish Senate.

Then, some months ago, she was accused of money-laundering during her term being the mayor of Valencia, as well as some other people of her team and the PP (Popular Party), but she denied it all. Most rival parties have criticized Barberá a lot, but PP members have always defended her. Even Mariano Rajoy, the president of Spain, has said Rita Barberá “gave everything for Valencia and the Popular Party”. Also, PP members accused those political rivals who criticized Barberá of causing her depression. 

The Podemos members leaving the parliament
during the minute of silence.

But, returning to the main point, Rita Barberá’s death has caused divided reactions. Even though all political leaders have shown their condolences to her family and friends, some of them refused to held one minute of silence in her honor in the parliament. One of these political parties is Podemos, and they have left their sits during this one minute of silence. They argue that they cannot participate in a political tribute to someone whose career is marked by corruption.

It says: "A minute of silence in Congress for the death of Rita Barbera is a tribute to her career. We refused and we left". Said by Alberto Garzón, leader of Izquierda Unida party.

PERSONAL OPINION:

Someone’s death is never a good thing so, even though I’m not a fan of the PP, Rita Barberá’s death has not been a good new. But, in regard to the minute of silence in the parliament, did she really deserve it? Does a corrupt person, which has made illegal business to make money, deserve a minute of silence? Well, that’s a question that you have to make to yourself. As far as I am concerned, I don’t want to get into in this type of political issues, so I’ll limit to give condolences to Rita Barberá’s family and friends.

NEW WORDS:

Amid: entre
Money-laundering: blanqueig de capitals
Vow: prometre


Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38075458

NEWS

SEA WILL EAT US

This new talks about climate change, and how now it is too late for some towns and cities (specifically, it talks about cities in the USA), that will disappear under the sea no matter what we try to do now for avoiding this situation.

In particular, there are 414 towns and cities in the US that will be submerged by sea levels within some years. Among this cities, stand out Miami and New Orleans. This information was provided by the website of Climate Central, the company who did this study.

Then, focusing on Florida, this study guaranteed that at least 40% of the people is living in this affected (or that soon will be affected) area. It says that an important part of the state (including Miami) is built on bedrock formed of “porous limestone”, so some scientifics compared it to a Swiss cheese. That means that water can go through it easily and levees will not be effective.

One of the objectives of this research is to make people aware that this is a serious issue, and to be a warning for cities that can still be saved if we reduce our carbon emissions. One of these cities is New York, but we have to take a drastic action soon or, otherwise, more or less one and a half million people will lose their homes because of the rise of the sea level.

Finally, this new ends with an important question to think about it: “Are we going to let the ocean take a state-sized bite out of America? If we make extreme efforts to cut carbon, we can avoid that”.


PERSONAL OPINION:

Climate change is a very serious problem we have currently. I’m surprised how a lot of people don’t even give it any attention. Maybe that’s because it doesn’t affect us that much in our daily life. There are loads of studies saying that the ice of the Artic is melting dangerously but, after all, you woke up and you don’t feel like anything has changed. We have to change our mind. That we don’t feel its consequences right now and in our daily life doesn’t mean it’s not there. I think we only will realize its importance when it will be too late, when sea level will “eat” our house and everything we have. We are destroying the planet, and we are not conscious it’s the only planet we have to live in.


NEW WORDS:

Bedrock: base, fonament
Levee: dic (construcció)
Heritage: herència


Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/11932421/More-than-400-towns-and-cities-in-America-will-be-lost-to-the-sea-study-finds.html

NEWS

XENOPHOBIA OVER RATIONALITY

This opinion article talks a little bit about the “Brexit” and its consequences. On June 23, Great Britain decided to leave the European Union, becoming the first country to do it. For the writer of this article, this means one thing: national interests and xenophobia are winning over rationality, solidarity and common projects for helping everybody.

Among all the things that represent the Brexit, the writer stands out some of them, like the restrictions on foreign students or “making legal” the xenophobia. But, what’s more terrifying among all those things, is that Brexit isn’t it an isolated case, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of what’s happening in Europe. For example, there’s the case of Germany, who has an extreme right-wing party called Alternative for Germany (AfD) which doesn’t stop growing. This party goes mainly against immigrants and the European Union. Another example is the case of Ticino, a region of Switzerland, which approved through a referendum a priority of local workers over foreign people. These examples prove that more people every time think that immigrants are the cause of low salaries and unemployment.

Then, the author criticizes the fact that people prefer blaming the immigrants and close borders than fighting for higher minimum salaries, redistribute the wealth… This demonstrates that Europe is losing its rationality and national interests are winning against all.


PERSONAL OPINION:
I’m very concerned about this; it seems like we never learn… Well, as someone said, “Man is the only animal that trips twice over the same stone”. Because of this extreme nationalism, some years ago a man called Hitler reached to the power in Germany, and everybody knows what he did. And now, with the victory of Donald Trump in the USA is quite the same. Extreme nationalism is never good. From my point of view, I think a globalized world is a good thing; we worked very hard to achieve it, for everybody to have the same opportunities. Well, we still haven’t done it yet, but we’re working on it, and these extreme nationalisms are a step back to what we have been working for during all the history of humanity.


NEW WORDS:

Withdraw: retirar-se
Scant: escàs
Wage: salari


Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/07/opinions/xenophobia-over-rationality-mammone/index.html

NEWS

FIRST "THREE PERSON BABY" BORN USING A NEW METHOD CALLED MITOCHONDRIAL DONATION

A few months ago was born the first baby using a new “three person” fertility technique. Experts say that this advance starts a new era in medicine, and could help other families with rare genetic conditions.

The baby has the usual DNA from his mum and dad, plus a tiny bit of genetic code from a donor. The couple decided to do it because the mother carried in her genes an illness that would have passed to the baby.

This is not the first time scientists have created babies that have DNA from three different people; it started in the late 1990s, but this time doctors have used an entirely new method, called mitochondrial donation. Mitochondria are small structures inside nearly every cell of the body that convert food into energy. Some women carry genetic defects in mitochondria and it’s probably they will pass it to their children. In the case of this family, the woman carried a disease in her mitochondria called Leigh Syndrome, a severe neurological disorder that causes the progressive lost of movement and deterioration of mental functions. Children with this illness usually die in two or three years.

Therefore, this new method takes all the vital DNA from the mother’s egg plus healthy mitochondria from a donor egg to create a healthy new egg that can be fertilized with the father’s sperm. Therefore, the baby has 0,1% of his DNA from the donor and all the genetic code from the mother and father.

The reactions to this method that allows creating babies from three different persons are varied. Some of them say that maybe the child will feel strange about having DNA from three people. Some fertility experts say it’s important to push ahead, but cautiously. Even some critics say the work is irresponsible.


PERSONAL OPINION:

In my opinion, I think this is a great progress because it allows women or men who carry a disease in their DNA to have completely healthy babies. Well, I think maybe this method has to improve and fix some aspects, but maybe one day all the people who need it will be able to use it. Personally, I don’t think the kid will have a lot of complex thinking about s/he is a kid from three different persons, because actually s/he only has 0,1% of the donor’s genetic code. As the new says, all the genetic code for things like hair and eye colour is from the mother and father.


NEW WORDS:

Herald: proclamar
Miscarriage: abort natural
Patch: zona (de la pell)


Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37485263

NEWS

iPHONE 7? YOU'RE FIRED!

Can you imagine getting fired from your job just because you have the iPhone 7? Or that your boss tells you your mobile would harm your promotion chances? This is the policy some employers in China are threatening to take against employees who have the iPhone 7. The reasons they take to defend their position are that they do it for patriotic reasons and to prevent workers from being too materialistic.

The first company to announce this rule was Nanyang Yongkang Medicine Company, in the province of Henan. The policy was timed to coincide with commemoration of the 85th anniversary of Japanese troops invading north east China in 1931, so this was an excuse to argue the boycott of foreign products. But, really, boycotting the iPhone 7 can be counterproductive to the national economic interest because Apple manufacturing is carried out at Foxconn factories based in China.

However, there are people who believe that boycotting the iPhone 7 can be beneficial to the economy and that this policy should be instituted across the country. They argue that if people are pressured with getting fired if they buy the new iPhone 7, they will be forced to buy a mobile made in China, so the sales of domestic phones will be increased.

Mr. Liu, an employer of Nanyang Yongkang Medicine Company that the main objective of this rule was to encourage staff to pay more attention to their family instead of luxury goods. The iPhone 7 could lead their workers to developing an unhealthy obsession with pricey technology. Also, it’s a fact that the new iPhone 7 is very expensive, and the Company didn’t want their workers to waste money. Besides, most of their employees really can’t afford buying an iPhone 7, so they normally borrow money from banks, family or friends, or they even do crazy things like selling their organs just to buy it.

Even though this policy isn’t applied yet in any company, more and more of them are discussing about rather apply it or not.

PERSONAL OPINION:

In my point of view, I don’t think it’s fair to forbid your employees to buy the iPhone 7. Each person has to have the right to buy the mobile phone they want. Even though the Company does that to prevent workers from wasting their money (but also under the name of patriotism, don’t forget that), I don’t think they should be able to decide whether their workers can buy this mobile phone or not. In the same way, I find excessive that a business gives the sack to their workers just for buying the iPhone 7. It totally doesn’t make sense for me. Personally, I think applying this policy the Company is violating its workers’ rights.

NEW WORDS:

Device: aparell

Conterproductive: contraproduent

Supplier: proveïdor

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-37523712

NEWS

A SUPERMARKET IN DENMARK WHICH FIGHTS AGAINST THE FOOD WASTE

In Copenhagen, Denmark, has opened a new supermarket called WeFood, which sells food, cosmetics and household items that other stores rejected because they are near their expiration dates, had been wrongly labeled or had damaged packaging, but are still legal to sell and safe to consume. This supermarket sells the products 30 to 50 per cent lower than in regular supermarkets.

The supermarket has already been a huge success: the first weeks after the opening, the people have lined up before the store’s opening every morning.

This project has been applauded for a lot of people in Denmark, because this country throws away about 700,000 tons of food every year, according to several estimates. Food waste is one of the principal problems in the world right now. About 795 million people are undernourished globally, according to the World Food Program, but about a third of all the food produced in the world (1.3 billion tons more or less) is lost or wasted each year. The cost of global food wastage is about 1 trillion dollars a year, according to the U.N. Also, wasting food contributes to climate change: producing, distributing, consuming and disposing of food uses significant amounts of energy and water, which causes over 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Nowadays, some European companies and countries are taking steps to battle food waste. In Denmark, if WeFood’s popularity continues, it will open new supermarkets across the country.

PERSONAL OPINION:

I find this a very interesting project, which will help for not wasting so much food. I think it’s ironic how in the developed countries you can find as many food as you want (more than we need) and there are countries all over the world who don’t have enough food to feed their inhabitants. Once I read that with all the food we have at the moment, we could easily end with the hunger in the world twice or three times. That’s impressive, because it makes you think that we have the solution to this problem, but we don’t try enough to solve it.


NEW WORDS:

Surplus: excedent
Shelter: refugi, alberg
Undernourished: malnodrit, desnodrit


Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/denmark-wefood-food-waste_us_56cf5d6fe4b03260bf75fe15

NEWS

A DEAF GIRL'S DREAMS COME TRUE WHEN TINKERBELL STARTS TALKING TO HER IN SIGN LANGUAGE

Shaylee Mansfield was 4 years old when she went to Disney World for the first time. She is deaf and she never expected that the Disney icons would be able to communicate with her, so she was shocked when Tinkerbell started talking to her in sign language. Shaylee’s expression tells everything: her mouth opens completely and her eyes widen.

Her mother, Sheena McFeely, is also deaf, and she enrolled her daughter into a school where everyone speaks sign language, so Shaylee grows up feeling included. For Shaylee, school it’s a very special place and now, Disney World has become a very special place too where she can communicate with people.

The family was invited back to Disney World three years later and Shaylee receives another surprise when Minnie Mouse also talks to her in sign language.

Currently, the theme park is making steps to become more inclusive for children with disabilities.

VIDEO:

PERSONAL OPINION:

When I saw the video for the first time I became emotional, because I imagined how Shaylee felt at that moment. I think it’s a great step for Disney to find ways to make feel all the kids special regardless if they have a disability.  

NEW WORDS:

Widen: eixamplar, ampliar

Enroll: inscriure

Footage: metratge

Link: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/7080459/A-deaf-girls-dreams-come-true-when-Tinkerbell-starts-talking-to-her-in-sign-language-at-Disney-World.html

NEWS

CLIMATE CHANGE MAKES DISAPPEAR FIVE ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN

Scientists in Australia have recently found that rising sea levels and coastal erosion have caused the disappearance of (at least) 5 islands in the Solomon Islands (Pacific Ocean). They believe that this could be the first evidence of climate change removing islands.

Also, the study found that in the island of Nuatambu half of the houses have been washed into the ocean, so some families have got to move into higher places in the island.

The increase and the disappearance of these 5 islands not only destroyed villages that have existed since 1935, but also have eliminated tropical vegetation that was at least 300 years old.

Across the Pacific, there are a lot of small islands which have been warning about the impact of climate change and alerted that maybe in some years their populations will have to evacuate the island because of the rise of the sea level.

PERSONAL OPINION:

If you search on the Internet, almost every day you can found news about the climate change, but only a few of them are in the headlines of a newspaper or on the TV news. Maybe it doesn’t seem so, but climate change is a VERY serious problem that we have right now and, even though the governments are starting applying laws against global warming, we’re not taking the problem enough seriously. Maybe we will realize its importance when it will be too late.


NEW WORDS:

Reef: escull (del mar)
Wipe: netejar, passar un drap
Flee: fugir


Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/09/disappearance-of-five-islands-in-the-pacific-blamed-on-climate-c/

NEWS

A WOMAN LOOSES HER JOB FOR NOT WEARING HIGH HEELS

Nicola Thorp was sent home in her first day of job in a corporate finance company called PwC for refusing to wear high heels with a 2-4in heel. She claimed that the demand was discriminatory but they said the uniform rules for staff request woman to wear high heels.

Thorp was expected to do a nine-hour shift escorting clients to meeting rooms, so she replied she won’t be able to do that in high heels. Also, she said that if they could give her a reason why wearing flats would impair her to do the job, then she will use high heels but, obviously, they couldn’t.

Then, after posting about the incident on Facebook, Thorp realised that there are other women who had experienced similar situations. Therefore, she launched a petition to achieve that the companies can’t force women to wear high heels to work. In less than 48 hours, 110,000 people have signed it.

Nicola Thorp also said that she holds nothing against the company necessarily, because they are acting following their rules and their formal dress code, but she said that dress codes should reflect society and nowadays women can be smart and wear flat shoes. She added that there’s also a sexism issue: companies shouldn’t be forcing women to wear high heels if they don’t want to.

The company (PwC) said that they have a dress code to ensure staff are dressed appropriately, but they will check their guideline with their clients and team members to see if it can be modified.


PERSONAL OPINION:

I think women shouldn’t be forced to wear high heels to work if they don’t want to. I can accept that there can be a dress code to ensure that an employee wears appropriate clothes and shoes and not flip-flops, for example. But a flat shoe can be as formal as high heels, and it’s someone’s decision to wear it or not, without worrying if this decision can make you lose your job. Nowadays there are a lot of women who don’t like or don’t want to wear high heels, and this fact doesn’t make them less feminine or less formal.


NEW WORDS: 

Guideline: normes, regles generals
Escorting: escortar, acompanyar a algú
Outsource: subcontractar


Link: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/11/receptionist-sent-home-pwc-not-wearing-high-heels-pwc-nicola-thorp