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Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Prefect of Vatican Communications: This is our time to shape the world
File photo of Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication
VATICAN
Prefect of Vatican Communications: This is our time to shape the world
Inaugurating the first national Catholic media conference in India organized by Salesians, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication reflects on our responsibility to share and communicate truth and shape our time in the best of ways.
By Linda Bordoni
As a revolution takes place in the world of communications, the Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication asked, “Are Catholic communicators ready to respond to the challenge of creating a community, a platform, of mutual sharing and collaboration” as a means to share truth and build a better world?
Speaking at the launch of the first national Catholic media conference taking place in Bangalore, India, on 23-24 November, Paolo Ruffini noted “We live in a time of passage: A revolution is taking place in the world of communication.”
This is our time
Highlighting the urgency of action, he said: “This is our time. (…) We are shaping it through what we do and through what we fail to do.”
The event, “ILLUMINAIRE: Nurturing Digital Stewardship in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” aims to explore the impact of social media and artificial intelligence on the lives of consecrated people while promoting their responsible and ethical use.
Ruffini noted that “it is not only a matter of navigating the digital sea,” which, he said would not exist without people who have the responsibility to shape the world by telling and sharing the truth.
“Sharing is the keyword.”
He encouraged his audience to create a network in which to share stories and build relationships and to make use of artificial intelligence – which he said can be enormously useful but potentially harmful – without losing humanity, but “becoming more mature as human beings.”
He explained that the development of artificial intelligence in communication can help strengthen relationships between individuals or increase loneliness, “depriving each of us of the warmth that only true communication can provide.”
Responsibility in using AI
Ruffini expressed his confidence that AI may be used to foster equality – not “new classes based on informational dominance” grounded in new forms of exploitation thanks to “the possession of algorithms and the extraction of data from the inexhaustible mine of our lives.”
“The basic question is about humans, not machines; the relationship between humans, not algorithms,” he said.
Posing the question “Are we ready for this challenge?” Ruffini said, “We all know the power of the means of communication to draw out the best in every person.”
“Communication may be the instrument to build a better world, or it may continue to foment misunderstandings, resentments, enmity,” he said, noting that “No investment is too great for spreading the truth and triggering dynamics of good in our stories.”
Unity in diversity
Recalling Pope Francis’ encouragement never to be discouraged and to always foster synergy and collaboration between all members of the human family, Ruffini called for commitment “in building a communication based on relationship and on humanity to combat the virus of division.”
“In a time when so many are tempted to build a new tower of Babel, we are called to serve this miracle of unity in diversity,” he said, "We need to help one another to make it work."
“In a time when so many are tempted to build a new tower of Babel, we are called to serve this miracle of unity in diversity.”
Digital communication, he concluded, allows us to be connected in a way which was unheard of before, and he expressed confidence that from the gathering, “viable pathways to creating a community, a platform, of mutual sharing and collaboration,” will stem.
P.S.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Earth tilted 31.5 inches, study finds. So whose fault is that? Humans, of course.
The pumping of groundwater could affect the climate and make sea levels rise, according to a study.
Julia Gomez
USA TODAY
Earth tilted, but it had nothing to do with weird space phenomena and everything to do with how people are pumping groundwater and shipping it across the planet, a study found.
The findings of a study from June 2023 are making headlines on Monday, over a year after it was published.
The study found that the Earth tilted over two dozen inches in 17 years, but the cause isn't a mysterious asteroid impact, the sun's gravity or solar flares.
The planet continuing to tilt is because humans are pumping and moving an obscene amount of groundwater across the planet and redistributing it, according to the study's press release.
"Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole," said Ki-Weon Seo, the geophysicist with Seoul National University who led the study, in a statement.
The movement of this water is also resulting in sea levels rising.
Fact check:Misleading data used to claim sea levels down in Sydney and across globe
How much did the Earth tilt?
From 1993 to 2010, the earth is believed to have tilted 31.5 inches east, according to the study, which was published by Geophysical Research Letters.
This is because of how much groundwater was pumped out of the planet.
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Doesn't the Earth already have a tilt?
It does! While the tilt did already exist before, the study analyzed why the tilt increased further in the 17-year time span.
It's believed that when the Earth was young, "something big," about the size of the planet Mars, known as "Theia," hit it, according to NASA. The impact was so massive that it threw our planet off its center.
That is why the North and South Poles will never be perfectly straight and will always be on an axis.
It's also thought that this impact is what led to the creation of our moon.
USA TODAY
Earth tilted, but it had nothing to do with weird space phenomena and everything to do with how people are pumping groundwater and shipping it across the planet, a study found.
The findings of a study from June 2023 are making headlines on Monday, over a year after it was published.
The study found that the Earth tilted over two dozen inches in 17 years, but the cause isn't a mysterious asteroid impact, the sun's gravity or solar flares.
The planet continuing to tilt is because humans are pumping and moving an obscene amount of groundwater across the planet and redistributing it, according to the study's press release.
"Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole," said Ki-Weon Seo, the geophysicist with Seoul National University who led the study, in a statement.
The movement of this water is also resulting in sea levels rising.
Fact check:Misleading data used to claim sea levels down in Sydney and across globe
How much did the Earth tilt?
From 1993 to 2010, the earth is believed to have tilted 31.5 inches east, according to the study, which was published by Geophysical Research Letters.
This is because of how much groundwater was pumped out of the planet.
Get the Israel-Hamas War newsletter in your inbox.
Doesn't the Earth already have a tilt?
It does! While the tilt did already exist before, the study analyzed why the tilt increased further in the 17-year time span.
It's believed that when the Earth was young, "something big," about the size of the planet Mars, known as "Theia," hit it, according to NASA. The impact was so massive that it threw our planet off its center.
That is why the North and South Poles will never be perfectly straight and will always be on an axis.
It's also thought that this impact is what led to the creation of our moon.
Why is the Earth's tilt important?
The Earth's tilt is the reason for the seasons, stated NASA. So spring, summer, winter and fall would not exist without it.
"Throughout the year, different parts of Earth receive the Sun's most direct rays," NASA's website stated. "So, when the North Pole tilts toward the Sun, it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere. And when the South Pole tilts toward the Sun, it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere."
The tilt is also why the southern and northern hemisphere will never experience the same season at the same time. Meaning that when it's summer in Australia, it's winter in the U.S., according to Arizona State University.
While the shifting tilt won't affect the seasons, it could impact climate, Surendra Adhikari, a research scientist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. Adhikari was not involved in the 2023 study.
How much water was redistributed?
Using climate models, scientists previously estimated that 2,150 gigatons of groundwater, about .24 inches of sea level rise, was pumped and redistributed during the time period the study looked at.
One gigaton alone equals a billion metric tons or 2.2 trillion pounds, according to NASA.
To give an estimate on how grand the measurement of the water is, imagine if every person in the world stepped on a scale at the same time. The entire human population would weigh around 632 billion pounds, according to Huff Post.
One gigaton of the water that was distributed weighs more than three times the weight of every person on Earth combined.
Using climate models, scientists previously estimated that 2,150 gigatons of groundwater, about .24 inches of sea level rise, was pumped and redistributed during the time period the study looked at.
One gigaton alone equals a billion metric tons or 2.2 trillion pounds, according to NASA.
To give an estimate on how grand the measurement of the water is, imagine if every person in the world stepped on a scale at the same time. The entire human population would weigh around 632 billion pounds, according to Huff Post.
One gigaton of the water that was distributed weighs more than three times the weight of every person on Earth combined.
'Unexplained cause:' How did researchers discover the effects of moving groundwater?
In the study, "researchers modeled the observed changes in the drift of Earth’s rotational pole and the movement of water," the press release stated. "First, with only ice sheets and glaciers considered, and then adding in different scenarios of groundwater redistribution."
The model only reflected what was happening to Earth's tilt when researchers took groundwater redistribution into account, according to the press release. Without those calculations, the model's tilt was off by 31 inches.
In the 17 years that were analyzed, researchers found that the tilt drifted 1.7 inches each year.
It wasn't until 2016 that researchers discovered water's ability to change the planet's rotation, according to the press release. Adhikari is the researcher who published the study on how water distribution affected Earth.
However, the exact way groundwater affected the planet was not explored until this study began.
“I’m very glad to find the unexplained cause of the rotation pole drift,” Seo said in a statement. “On the other hand, as a resident of Earth and a father, I’m concerned and surprised to see that pumping groundwater is another source of sea-level rise.”
Monday, November 25, 2024
Report: US and European Officials Discussed Giving Ukraine Nuclear Weapons
November 22, 2024
Kyle Anzalone
According to the New York Times, US and European officials have discussed a range of options they believe will deter Russia from taking more Ukrainian territory, including providing Kiev with nuclear weapons. The outlet reports that Western officials believe the Kremlin will not significantly escalate the war before Donald Trump is sworn in as President in January.
Following the election of Trump earlier this month, the US and its NATO allies began taking steps to rush weapons to Ukraine and give Kiev the ability to strike targets inside Russian territory with long-range weapons.
American officials who were briefed on the intelligence community’s assessments told the Times that weapons will not alter the challenging situation that Kiev is currently facing. “US spy agencies have assessed that speeding up the provisions of weapons, ammunition and matériel for Ukraine will do little to change the course of the war in the short term,” the Times reports.
Desperate to bolster Ukraine’s standing in the war before the transition of power on January 20, the Biden administration is looking at a range of serious escalations. “US and European officials are discussing deterrence as a possible security guarantee for Ukraine, such as stockpiling a conventional arsenal sufficient to strike a punishing blow if Russia violates a cease-fire.” The article continues, “Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union.”
According to some officials who spoke with the Times, the administration believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t significantly escalate the war until Trump returns to the Oval Office.
According to the New York Times, US and European officials have discussed a range of options they believe will deter Russia from taking more Ukrainian territory, including providing Kiev with nuclear weapons. The outlet reports that Western officials believe the Kremlin will not significantly escalate the war before Donald Trump is sworn in as President in January.
Following the election of Trump earlier this month, the US and its NATO allies began taking steps to rush weapons to Ukraine and give Kiev the ability to strike targets inside Russian territory with long-range weapons.
American officials who were briefed on the intelligence community’s assessments told the Times that weapons will not alter the challenging situation that Kiev is currently facing. “US spy agencies have assessed that speeding up the provisions of weapons, ammunition and matériel for Ukraine will do little to change the course of the war in the short term,” the Times reports.
Desperate to bolster Ukraine’s standing in the war before the transition of power on January 20, the Biden administration is looking at a range of serious escalations. “US and European officials are discussing deterrence as a possible security guarantee for Ukraine, such as stockpiling a conventional arsenal sufficient to strike a punishing blow if Russia violates a cease-fire.” The article continues, “Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union.”
According to some officials who spoke with the Times, the administration believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t significantly escalate the war until Trump returns to the Oval Office.
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Recriminations after COP29 agrees deal on $300bn for poorer nations
Georgina Rannard and Esme Stallard
BBC climate reporters
Reporting fromIn Baku
Getty Images
Richer countries have pledged a record $300bn (£238bn) to help the developing world fight climate change, but the deal is facing recriminations that it comes nowhere near addressing poorer countries' challenges from global warming
The talks at the UN climate summit COP29 in Azerbaijan ran 33 hours late, and came within inches of collapse.
The head of the UN climate body, Simon Stiell, said it had “been a difficult journey, but we've delivered a deal.”
But the talks also failed to build on an agreement passed last year calling for nations to “transition away from fossil fuels”.
Developing nations, as well as countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, dramatically walked out of the talks on Saturday afternoon.
“I am not exaggerating when I say our islands are sinking! How can you expect us to go back to the women, men, and children of our countries with a poor deal?” said the chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, Cedric Schuster.
But at 03:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 GMT on Saturday), and after some changes to the agreement, nations finally passed the deal. It was met with cheers and applause, but a furious speech from India showed that intense frustration remained.
“We cannot accept it… the proposed goal will not solve anything for us. [It is] not conducive to climate action that is necessary to the survival of our country,” Leela Nandan told the conference, calling the sum too small.
Richer countries have pledged a record $300bn (£238bn) to help the developing world fight climate change, but the deal is facing recriminations that it comes nowhere near addressing poorer countries' challenges from global warming
The talks at the UN climate summit COP29 in Azerbaijan ran 33 hours late, and came within inches of collapse.
The head of the UN climate body, Simon Stiell, said it had “been a difficult journey, but we've delivered a deal.”
But the talks also failed to build on an agreement passed last year calling for nations to “transition away from fossil fuels”.
Developing nations, as well as countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, dramatically walked out of the talks on Saturday afternoon.
“I am not exaggerating when I say our islands are sinking! How can you expect us to go back to the women, men, and children of our countries with a poor deal?” said the chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, Cedric Schuster.
But at 03:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 GMT on Saturday), and after some changes to the agreement, nations finally passed the deal. It was met with cheers and applause, but a furious speech from India showed that intense frustration remained.
“We cannot accept it… the proposed goal will not solve anything for us. [It is] not conducive to climate action that is necessary to the survival of our country,” Leela Nandan told the conference, calling the sum too small.
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
But Thomas, one the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
John 20:19-31.
John 20:19-31.
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