MEPs discussed Ukraine, called for an ambitious EU budget for 2023 and defined their priorities on the right to repair during the April plenary session.
On Tuesday, Parliament approved new rules for selecting which energy projects can receive EU funding and aligning rules with the EU’s Green Deal. Funds should support hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
Equal pay
On Tuesday, Parliament set out its position on pay-transparency measures aimed at reducing the gender pay gap. MEPs called for all EU companies with more than 50 employees to make it easier for staff to compare pay and so uncover discrepancies. On average, women are paid 13% less than men in the EU.
Gas storage
On Thursday, Parliament voted in favour of plans to require EU gas storage facilities to be 80% full by November 2022, rising to 90% in future years.
Women in Afghanistan
In the wake of the deterioration of women’s rights in Afghanistan, including the continued ban on girls over the age of 12 attending school and the Taliban regime’s ban on women flying without a male companion, MEPs called for a reversal of these restrictions and commended brave Afghan women defying the authorities.
Rule of law in Poland and Hungary
On Wednesday, MEPs evaluated the EU response to the degradation of democracy in Hungary and Poland. Due to the risk of violating rule of law and EU values, both countries are under Article 7 proceedings.
Right to repair
On Thursday, MEPs defined their priorities on the right to repair ahead of a European Commission proposal in the third quarter of 2022. MEPs want to make repairs more attractive to consumers, ensure devices are more durable and easier to repair and include removable and replaceable parts.
On Tuesday, MEPs questioned EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on the EU’s security and defence strategy for the next 10 years.
EU’s 2023 budget
On Tuesday, the Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a “future-oriented budget that matches the Union’s political priorities”. According to MEPs, the EU’s budget for 2023 should focus on the economic recovery, health, young people, climate action and the impact of the invasion of Ukraine.
“As a European IT startup with both Ukrainian and Russian employees, our life changed instantly after Russia attacked Ukraine on the 24th of February.
When the news broke out, I was shocked and instantly went to check out the team chat where both Ukrainian and Russian colleagues were already messaging back and forth. Ukrainian teammates from all over the country were saying that there are bombings and explosions nearby. Russian teammates supported Ukrainians from the very beginning, telling them they were sorry and ashamed for the actions of their country, and offering help. It was obvious that none of the employees supported the Russian invasion.
I asked the Ukrainian staff not to think about work, but instead focus on their own safety and move to the west. Technically we gave them a paid leave until they reached a safe place. We also paid out their salaries earlier, so they could stock up on food. Several of them have left their homes and headed west on that same day. One of the team members who left their homes was a developer from Kharkiv. Later, when Kharkiv was massively bombed and left in ruins, he admitted that it was the best decision in his life to not stay there.
Those, who didn’t leave their homes, suffered from power cuts and internet connection losses. Obviously, none of them could work on those first days. All their thoughts were about the war, relatives, friends, and homes.
There were several problems they faced when moving to the west. The gas stations were overcrowded because everyone was trying to escape. There were also troubles with renting an apartment in the west because of how many refugees arrived there. Also, some Ukrainian colleagues wanted to move to Europe, and we were ready to help them relocate, but the government banned men aged 18-60 from leaving the country. To this day, they are in Ukraine with their families and children. Due to the situation, they can’t work productively, nor leave the country. There is no discussion about firing them because it would be a disaster. Some of them had already lost their homes, so we can’t take away their jobs. There is pretty much no other solution but to wait until the war is over.
In terms of the work process, in one day we lost six employees indefinitely but we couldn’t afford to stop the business completely. We needed to fill the gaps in the business processes quickly, so we came up with 2 effective solutions:
We contacted the rest of the team outside Ukraine, explained the situation, and asked to work extra hours in order to help the company.
We contacted our ex-employees, who left the company in the last 12 months, and asked them to help us for some time.
Surprisingly all of them were supportive and agreed to help in this situation, and the business was soon working again.
The second week of March was a little bit easier. Most of the employees have already arrived at safe or safer destinations and could now dedicate a few hours a day to work.”
Scientists have determined the ideal duration of the hug
British scientists from the Goldsmiths University in London have clarified how long the hug should last to cause a pleasant feeling, according to the website of the school.
The study involved 48 volunteers and another person, whom they had to hug.
The hugs lasted from 1.5 to 10 seconds.
Participants also had to use a different way of embracing – crosswise (when their arms are symmetrical) or neck-waist type.
The test subjects were also blindfolded to exclude visual perception.
After the hugs, they filled out a questionnaire and described their feelings during the experiment.
• It turned out that the most pleasant and warm feeling is caused by hugs lasting five to ten seconds.
• A hug lasting one second is described as less pleasant.
The way he hugged did not affect the feeling.
Scientists plan to continue studying touch perceptions and find out which hugs are considered too long and which are the most pleasant.
Ständige Freundschaft mit Stalin.
"Freundschaft mit Stalin ist die Gewähr des Sieges, des Friedens und der Zukunft" heißt es in dem Aufruf der Regierung der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik zum 70. Geburtstag von Generalissimus Stalin am 21.12.39.
UBz: I.W. Stalin am Schreibtisch
Aufn.: Illus-SNB 5.12.49
4636-49
Historians in Germany uncovered the falsification of the German translation of Joseph Stalin’s order No. 0428 of November 17, 1941 on the use of “scorched earth” tactics and found out that right-wing extremists who wanted to justify the actions of Nazi criminals were behind the rewriting of historical events, writes Die Welt.
The order spoke of the need to destroy any objects that the Wehrmacht soldiers could use as a refuge. According to the author of the article, Sven Kellerhoff, each regiment was ordered to form special “teams of hunters” of 20 to 30 people. After the war, the historical document was published in the book by Dmitry Volkogonov, translated into German, “Triumph and Tragedy. Political Portrait of I. V. Stalin,” where it was called “The Order of the Torchbearers.”
In 1995, a right-wing extremist publicist named Fritz Becker claimed that an abridged version of the document had been published in Germany and provided passages that were allegedly omitted in translation. According to his version, it read: “Most of those involved in this important state assignment should be disguised in the captured uniform of the German Wehrmacht and SS troops. This will incite hatred of the Nazi invaders, facilitate the recruitment of partisans behind enemy lines. You should pay attention to the fact that after a punitive expedition “there were still witnesses who would then be able to tell about the” atrocities of the fascists. ” Further, it followed that “among the population it is necessary to disseminate information that it was the Germans who were burning villages and villages in order to punish the partisans.”
German researchers Christian Hartmann and Jurgen Tsarusk became interested in the original source of Stalin’s order and found that the links of Becker, as well as his supporters of neo-Nazis Franz Seidler and Joachim Hoffmann, lead nowhere. The scientists who investigated the forgery managed to get acquainted with the original document, in which there was not a word about dressing up Soviet soldiers in enemy uniforms.
According to the newspaper, German right-wing extremists needed a “counterargument” in their discussion of the Wehrmacht’s indisputable crimes. The purpose of the falsification is “to question the authorship of the Germans in the atrocities and crimes of wartime.”
Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered new ways to control the flow of heat through thin materials. This can improve thermoelectric devices.
The researchers took one atom thick layers of molybdenum disulfide and molybdenum diselenide and put them together. The layers could be joined in different ways. Scientists were able to create stacks of layers bound together by van der Waals forces. They can also be strongly coupled using more traditional techniques, notably chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
Scientists have seen that layers tightly bonded by CVD transmit significantly more heat than their loosely bonded counterparts. Layered heterostructures, like climbing, had significantly lower heat transfer rates.
This discovery will help create new thermoelectric materials in which heat can be efficiently channeled to be converted into electricity.
It turned out that this is not a headdress at all.
The feather object, which has long been mistaken by scholars for the headdress of Cuautemoc (the last Aztec ruler of the Acamapichtli dynasty), is currently on display at the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico at an exhibition dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the fall of the Aztec city-state of Tenochtitlan.
Recently, French and Mexican experts studied it and came to the conclusion that it is impossible to wear this object on the head. And this is not the only surprise. It turned out that it was created between 1626 and 1810, while the Tlatoani Cuautemoc was hanged by order of Hernan Cortez in 1525.
The pseudo-artifact got into the museum collection thanks to the 19th – early 20th century French antiques dealer Eugene Boban, who specialized in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican antiquities. Boban was an antique dealer at the court of Maximilian I, the first and last emperor of Mexico from the Habsburg dynasty, and acted as an intermediary in the sale of the “Cuautemoc headdress”.
By the way, this is not the first fake on the account of the antiquarian. The crystal skull, originally sold by Boban and now in the British Museum, also turned out to be a 19th century forgery rather than a pre-Columbian artifact.
The information space can only increase the negative impact on modern people. Constant psychological risks and nervousness can lead to unmotivated aggression and nervous breakdowns, apathy and depression, as well as constant anxiety.
Recently, one of the most common reasons for seeking a psychologist is anxiety. The world is changing too fast. For example, quarantine is suddenly announced or news of new strains of the coronavirus arrives. The information space only intensifies the negative impact on people. As a result, the situations of uncertainty are really many, and how to deal with these consequences is not always clear, says psychologist Evgenia Shepeleva to “Arguments and Facts”. “The psyche of a person who is accustomed to living within certain limits, school-institute-work or work-home-vacation, is experiencing significant overload. The plasticity of the neural connections in the brain is not so high, it is difficult for a person to cope with the emerging pressure. As a result, there is a feeling of anxiety, “explains the psychologist. What can the state of anxiety lead to? What is anxiety? The symptoms can be completely different, they appear suddenly and can remain for a long time.
• A feeling of fear that is instilled after certain information.
• Constant obsessive thoughts that do not help solve problems, but only torment. Closed logic effect.
• Intense feeling of hopelessness, apathy, loss of interest in life, communication, even food.
• Painful feeling of discomfort with people. Desire for solitude.
• Decreased concentration, inability to focus on a specific issue.
• Obsessive actions that do not lead to effective solutions.
• A feeling of insecurity and uncertainty, which paralyzes and makes you not seek solutions to important issues at all.
To work with anxiety it is necessary to turn to a specialist depending on their intensity: a psychologist, psychotherapist, psychiatrist. If the situation is serious and neglected, self-medication is unacceptable, only consultation with a specialist is required. It is always more effective to help yourself with the help of a professional who has trained and has experience than to mistakenly think that you will manage on your own, says Evgenia Shepeleva. Many people suffer from this mental state but do not recognize it. Anxiety is the disease of the 21st century. It can be caused by many factors coming together under one name – stress.
1. Finding the source of anxiety and working on it It often happens that a person feels anxiety, but does not understand why it arose. “It is important to analyze the situation and eliminate the causes or symptoms of anxiety. For example, if you are afraid of losing a source of income, you can start further education, which will allow you to earn in any case. If it’s a matter of repression, you need to stop using this information and be aware of all the “scary” scenarios, mentally “preparing” for them, “advises the psychologist.
2. Quality rest Why anxious and stressed people are smarter than others Anxious people definitely live under constant stress, build strange habits such as trembling, stuttering, nail biting. But again … Read more
This aspect is often overlooked. In some cases, anxiety occurs due to high workload and lack of effective rest.
3. Risk analysis Instead of struggling with the consequences of the realization of risks and worrying about it, it is better to conduct a preventive analysis and think about what exactly is worth doing in case of adverse outcome, advises Shepeleva.
4. Creating multiple sources of income In a changing world, the knowledge that you will always have an income creates additional psychological resilience.
5. Communicating with positive and confident people 90% of anxiety cases have nothing to do with real hopelessness. Most often a solution can be found and it is important to have people next to you who can support you. Do not let the mind entice you, do not spin ineffective thoughts in your head, the specialist recommends.
6. Solving complex issues that arise You need to abandon systems when problems are not solved but “stretched”. Or you close your eyes to them. This can really lead to the realization of negative scenarios. Therefore, it will be more effective to resolve the issue than to live in a state of insecurity.
7. Recognizing the existence of uncertainty 4 facts about social phobia that are often overlooked
There is often a feeling that some are thriving and happy, and for others everything is “bad and scary.” The world is changing and it is foolish not to admit it. It is important to learn how to benefit from different events.
8. Complex situations happen Yes, a negative scenario can be realized. This is life. A sense of humor and a philosophical attitude towards it will always help. “Anxiety occurs in one form or another in every person. The responsibility for it lies with the person himself and it is important to help yourself to deal with this situation, and not to wait for “it will pass by itself”, sums up Evgenia Shepeleva.
It is not just an example of a balanced healthy diet, but a synonym for pleasure and the ability to be happy.
What is the essence of the Cretan diet? Not another torture for counting calories, but a source of long life for the locals. Although it is very close to the culinary traditions of the Mediterranean countries, it has its own specific features, which attribute to it exceptional merits for the prevention of cardiovascular, cancer and others. diseases. Merits, thanks to which your life will be not only more pleasant, but also longer. And besides being healthy, you will be slim and with beautiful skin.
1. You need to learn as the inhabitants of this island to eat regularly – 3 times a day at the same time.
2. Try not to overeat and do not take in excess calories that would make it difficult for the body to absorb them.
3. Use a variety of products that are always fresh and natural. The people of Crete follow the rule to eat only what gives the land and the sea in its pure form and to avoid all processed products.
4. The locals mainly use two types of vegetable oil for culinary purposes – olive oil and rapeseed oil. Use the highest quality olive oil for salads, and refined types for cooking. Firstly, because it is cheaper, and secondly, because at high temperatures valuable biological substances are destroyed.
5. The inhabitants of Fr. Crete uses a variety of aromatic herbs in its diet, which, in addition to giving great taste, are also strong antioxidants, a rich source of vitamins and minerals. They are a necessary condition for the metabolism of fatty acids and promote their proper absorption by the body.
6. The locals do not use much meat. It is a source of too much saturated fat, which clogs blood vessels.
7. The people of Crete consume a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes and cereals, nuts and seeds, which are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, plant proteins and cellulose (fiber). All this interferes with the absorption of cholesterol, satiates for a long time, improves intestinal peristalsis.
Unlike many other diets for weight loss, the Cretan does not prohibit bread, and the amount of vegetables and fruits should not be less than 400-500 g per day, and it is best to have half raw.
Try to use fresh fruits and vegetables, not those that have stayed in the refrigerator for a long time – they lose their useful biological properties.
8. Since Fr. Crete is part of the family of Mediterranean residents, and its inhabitants are not deprived of a few glasses of good red wine. It is known that grape seeds contain substances that are strong antioxidants, prolong cell life, improve blood circulation. They are also known to melt cellulite. They also contain oil, which strengthens blood vessels and the heart. If you do not drink alcohol, then drink supplements with grape seed extract.
9. Instead of pastries and confectionery, use fresh fruit for dessert.
11. Eat seasonal products and, if possible, grown in the geographical area in which you live. At least that’s what the people of Crete do.
12. The food you eat should contain polyunsaturated fats – 25%, which will provide you with 35% of the energy you need. Saturated fats in your diet should not exceed 7-8% of your total calories for the day.
The ancient language of Africa, created by illiterate authors, has been studied
The unique writing that was invented in Africa almost 200 years ago has evolved very quickly over the years and scientists have taken a fresh look at the development of all written languages.
Scientists from the University of New England, Australia and the Max Planck Institute for Human History in a new study decided to study the history of the development of the Vai language from Liberia. According to them, this writing may be the key to unraveling the mystery of the evolution of writing on Earth, according to ScienceAlert.
The writing of the Vai language in the African country of Liberia around 1834 was created from scratch by 8 illiterate men. Vai is a simple syllabary, in which the signs convey individual syllables. The Vai language is one of the few African languages that has its own script that is not based on the Latin alphabet.
“Due to the fact that this script is very rare and isolated from other writing systems, we thought that wai could tell a lot of interesting things about how writing develops in a short period of time,” says Piers Kelly of the University of New England.
Until now, scientists do not know how early human writing became a common everyday occurrence today. It is believed that writing in the form that we have now was invented about 5 thousand years ago in the Middle East, although new writing systems also appeared after that. Over time, early writing, like the writing of the Wai language, became simpler through natural evolution.
“The first images in early writing systems turned into complex characters, which then turned into increasingly simple and understandable letters,” Kelly says.
The creators of the Vai script invented special characters for each syllable of their language. These were both ordinary concepts, such as a pregnant woman or water, and more abstract meanings. In total, the Vai script has 200 letters, which mean individual syllables.
For almost 200 years of its existence, the Vai writing system has undergone significant changes. The most complex characters that were hard to remember for subsequent generations have become easier.
“The complex writing system is harder to learn for illiterate students, so over time, difficult-to-remember letters have changed, or disappeared altogether,” Kelly says.
Scientists came to the conclusion that new technological advances influenced the simplification of the writing of different peoples. This is the invention of new writing instruments, the appearance of paper, and so on. The Vai language underwent a similar change and simplification over time.
The speed with which the Vai script has evolved in a short period of time is an amazing phenomenon. But scientists believe that this happened because the inventors of the new writing system already had an idea of writing in other countries. Therefore, the Vai script was easily optimized according to the challenges of the time and the needs of those who learn it.
Despite the simplification, Vai still retains complex characters, Kelly says.
The emotions on our faces are as varied and rich as the faces themselves. Different movements – such as raised eyebrows or an open mouth – can transmit two different types of information at the same time, according to a publication in Sciencealert. A frown can convey both general information (such as negative emotions) and a specific emotional category (such as sadness. This is called multiplexing.
The new study gathered 100 volunteers and, using a sophisticated graphical software platform, showed them various computer-generated faces. The volunteers then had to record the emotions that these people expressed. “This study aims to address the fundamental question of how facial expressions solve the complex signaling task of conveying emotional messages,” said Rachel Jack of the University of Glasgow in the UK. “Using computer-generated faces combined with subjective responses to human perception and new analytical tools, we show that facial expressions can convey complex combinations of emotional information through multiplexed facial signals.” Here are the six basic human emotions they had to place the images of the people they saw in one of six categories traditionally used to group emotions: happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, and sadness. They also had to indicate whether any assessment was made of those persons, whether positive or negative, or how the person was “activated”.
Facial movements that combined category and dimension were then labeled multiplexed. Of the 42 different facial movements – from closing the eyes to lowering the jaw – 26 received multiplex evaluation. This study raises several interesting questions at the same time – not least about how we perceive emotions when they are expressed on other people’s faces. Do qualities like negative coloring help us recognize a category of emotions such as sadness? Researchers hope to conduct a brain scan of participants in the future to study the issue more closely. After all, we rely on deciphering other people’s emotions since our species existed, and the credit for that goes to our brains. The results of the study may be useful in the distant future – for robots and virtual reality. “These results will help us develop social interactive artificial intelligence, including social robots and digital avatars, to improve their signaling capabilities,” said Jack.
