Archivo categoría «Reflexiones»
By David Bellos, the director of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication at Princeton (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 21/03/10):
Everybody has his own tale of terrible translation to tell — an incomprehensible restaurant menu in Croatia, a comically illiterate warning sign on a French beach. “Human-engineered” translation is just as inadequate in more important domains. In our courts and hospitals, in the military and security services, underpaid and overworked translators make muddles out of millions of vital interactions. Machine translation can certainly help in these cases. Its legendary bloopers are often no worse than the errors made by hard-pressed… Seguir leyendo
By Anthony J. Sadar, a certified consulting meteorologist and co-author of Environmental Risk Communication: Principles and Practices for Industry (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 17/03/10):
Diversity is a big deal on college campuses these days. Yet social diversity is what’s promoted primarily, if not exclusively, not diversity of opinion. In a complex field such as climatology, intellectual diversity should be encouraged to help unravel the what, why and how of the globe’s climate.
A careful, dispassionate look at the enormous complexity of the Earth-atmosphere system and what we think we know about it reveals that we know very little. Mountains of data… Seguir leyendo
By Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of Edmunds.com, which recently announced a competition with a cash prize for anyone who can demonstrate in a verifiable manner the reason for unintended acceleration (THE WASHINGTON POST, 16/03/10):
Lately it seems that each day brings another report of a driver’s terrifying experience with an out-of-control Toyota. There have been at least four congressional hearings in as many weeks.
Even the most confident consumer has to wonder what is causing all this and, more fundamentally, whether Toyotas are safe to drive.
The second question is easier to answer. Despite the flurry of reports, incidents with… Seguir leyendo
By Sir John Houghton, former chief executive at the Met Office (THE TIMES, 15/03/10):
In the UK only about 26 per cent of the population believe the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and is man-made. Many feel they are being steamrollered into believing something false or flakey that will make them poorer or stop them flying.
Given this dangerous mood of scepticism, it is no surprise that the IPCC — the body that represents the integrity of climate-change scientists across the world — is being attacked.
Let’s be honest, sometimes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change does get… Seguir leyendo
By Blaine Brownell, the author of Transmaterial: A Catalog of Materials that Redefine our Physical Environment an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 13/03/10):
Come April, the first tenants may finally be able to move into Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, now the tallest building in the world. Despite a series of setbacks since its ostensible opening two months ago, including the closing of the observation deck, the tower has already prompted an exuberant proliferation of record-breaking statistics: it soars more than half a mile high, stands twice the height of the Empire State… Seguir leyendo
By Robin Chase, the founder and former chief executive of Zipcar. He is on the Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee for the United States Department of Transportation (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 12/03/10):
In the wake of the Congressional hearings on the Toyota recalls, we have heard various proposals for countering unintended acceleration in automobiles.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently said the federal government may recommend that carmakers install “smart pedals” that give brakes priority when both brake and accelerator pedals are pressed simultaneously. Meanwhile, Toyota has said that, in contested acceleration accidents, it will give regulators access codes to… Seguir leyendo
By Vin Weber, a former Rep. managing partner of Clark and Weinstock. He served as chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy from 2000 to 2008 (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/03/10):
One of my greatest satisfactions since leaving the U.S. Congress in 1993 has been the opportunity to spend nine years on the board of directors of the National Endowment for Democracy, eight as NED’s chairman. You can imagine my disappointment when I read the call for eliminating funding for NED on these pages (“Busting the well-endowed,” Feb. 25). Shikha Dalmia argues that NED is “dogged by controversy” and that its… Seguir leyendo
By Richard A. Schmidt, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 11/03/10):
The Obama administration has said that it may require automakers to install “smart pedals” on all new cars. This kind of system — already used in BMWs, Chryslers, Volkswagens and some of the newest Toyotas — deactivates the car’s accelerator when the brake pedal is pressed so that the car can stop safely even if its throttle sticks open.
The idea is to… Seguir leyendo
Par Leo Kaneman, co-directeur du Festival du film et forum international sur les droits humains (LE TEMPS, 11/03/10):
Un peu plus d’un an après la célébration en grande pompe du 60e anniversaire de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme (DUDH), les temps ne sont pas à la fête. La résolution «contre la diffamation des religions», adoptée le 27 mars 2008 par le Conseil des droits de l’homme, en est peut-être l’exemple le plus frappant. L’adoption de cette résolution est emblématique d’une dérive dangereuse du Conseil qui tend à vider de leur substance les principes qu’il est censé promouvoir.
Elle… Seguir leyendo
Par Thomas Hammarberg, commissaire aux droits de l’homme du Conseil de l’Europe (LE TEMPS, 10/03/10):
Deux des droits garantis par la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme sont en jeu dans le débat sur la burqa: le droit au respect de la vie privée (art. 8 ) et de l’identité personnelle, et le droit de manifester sa religion ou sa conviction «par le culte, l’enseignement, les pratiques et l’accomplissement des rites» (art. 9).
Les deux articles spécifient que les droits qu’ils garantissent ne peuvent faire l’objet d’autres restrictions que celles qui, prévues par la loi, constituent notamment des mesures nécessaires,… Seguir leyendo
Por E. Rodríguez Marchante, crítico de Cine (ABC, 09/03/10):
Tiene más garantías de éxito aquél que aspire a ganar un Oscar que aquél que aspire a entenderlos. Año tras año, cualquier cinéfilo del mundo tarda varios días en reponerse del hecho insólito de que la Academia de Hollywood no haya sabido ver y recompensar lo que era evidente, y lo que era evidente para un par de ojos no lo era, al parecer, para varios miles. Unos días después, sí, uno se repone del disgusto. Y varios años después, uno se repone de la vista y le da la razón… Seguir leyendo
Por Sergio Ruiz-Moreno, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), ACTIO, Arte y Ciencia (LA VANGUARDIA, 07/03/10):
El genial Miguel Ángel Buonarroti, en contra de la opinión de Leonardo, sostenía que la escultura era superior y más auténtica que la pintura porque permitía plasmar las tres dimensiones del espacio. Da Vinci replicaba diciendo que sólo con la pintura o el dibujo puede representarse una tormenta o un atardecer. Esto ocurría a finales del siglo XV. MiguelÁngel,23 años más joven que Leonardo, abandonó la pintura y trabajó como escultor para Lorenzo el Magnífico con apenas 20 años.
Se cuenta que algunas de las… Seguir leyendo
By Janice Shaw Crouse, director and senior fellow for the Beverly LaHaye Institute at Concerned Women for America (THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 06/03/10):
International Women’s Day (IWD) is an annual celebration around the world. It began in the early 1900s with a focus on ending discrimination against women: defending their right to enter the paid work force, vote, be educated, own property and run for public office. Now IWD has become a global day to mark the economic, social and political achievements of women. While almost everyone celebrates the numerous achievements in women’s well-being and progress, we must acknowledge the reality:… Seguir leyendo
Por Juan Goytisolo, escritor (EL PAÍS, 06/03/10):
Una feliz coincidencia me ha procurado una incentiva aproximación simultánea a la obra de dos grandes ensayistas de nuestro tiempo: Sobre el estilo tardío de Edward Said y La signature humaine de Tzvetan Todorov. Amigos entre sí -Todorov consagra uno de los ensayos de su libro el autor de Orientalismo-, el análisis de sus convergencias y, en algún caso, de sus divergencias sería un ejercicio sumamente incentivo y esclarecedor que pospongo ahora para centrarme en el tema indicado en el título del presente artículo.
Los textos del escritor palestino, a partir de su… Seguir leyendo
Por Luis de la Corte Ibáñez, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses y de la Seguridad de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ABC, 05/03/10):
Según escribiera Thomas Hobbes en su obra magna Leviatán (1651), durante largo tiempo los hombres vivieron en un estado de naturaleza semejante a una guerra «de todos contra todos». Sin embargo, añadiría el pensador inglés, a cada comunidad le llegaría el día en que sus miembros acordaran someterse a un hombre, o asamblea de hombres, para engendrar una fuerza que garantizase la seguridad común, la justicia y la defensa: el Estado.
Con razón, ilustrados y liberales reprocharán a… Seguir leyendo