Kakapåkaka kaka
En ny klassiker kan man kalla det. Jag tog två kakor och slog ihop till en. I botten är det mördeg och ovanpå en havrekaka. Det blev en av mina favoritkakor. Lätta att göra är de också. Recept Ugnstemperatur 175 Läs mer…
Nyheter och länkar - en bra startsida helt enkelt |Oculus lyx vitae
En ny klassiker kan man kalla det. Jag tog två kakor och slog ihop till en. I botten är det mördeg och ovanpå en havrekaka. Det blev en av mina favoritkakor. Lätta att göra är de också. Recept Ugnstemperatur 175 Läs mer…
Bassirou Diomaye Faye was elected as Senegal’s fifth president on 25 March 2024. Incumbent president Macky Sall and his candidate, former prime minister Amadou Ba, were both quick to congratulate the opposition candidate on his victory when the results came out.
This has been a major – and fast – turn of events for Faye (commonly called “Diomaye”), who was in prison just 10 days before the election. Faye was backed by the popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was deprived of his electoral rights for five years due to a prior conviction. Sonko received a six-month suspended prison sentence for allegedly defaming tourism minister Mame Mbaye Niang.
Faye, who has never held elected office, was a little-known candidate who emerged from Sonko’s shadow.
Having researched young Senegalese politicians and Senegal’s contemporary political scene we wanted to provide some insights into who Faye is, and his unconventional rise to power.
A native of rural Senegal
Born on 25 March 1980 in Ndiaganiao, a rural area in west-central Senegal, Faye received his primary education in his village. He continued his middle and secondary education in Mbour, south-east of Dakar, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 2000. Faye pursued higher education at Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University, and obtained a master’s degree in 2004.
Following this, he took competitive entrance exams for the police officers’ academy, the magistrates’ academy and the École Nationale d’Administration (the elite leadership training school). While he did not pass the exam for the police officers’ academy, he succeeded in the other two exams.
Admitted to the magistrates’ examination, he decided to withdraw, opting instead for the leadership training school. He specialised in taxation and went on to join the Direction Générale des Impôts et Domaines (tax and land administration) in 2007.
His career
When Faye joined the tax administration, he was an active member of the newly formed Syndicat autonome des agents des impôts et domaines (Autonomous Union of Tax and Domain Agents). This was led by its founder and secretary general, Ousmane Sonko (from April 2005 to June 2012). Faye was initially the head of claims and later became the secretary general after Sonko’s departure, although Sonko remained at his side as honorary secretary general for two years (2012-2016).
Drawing on their trade union experience, Faye, Sonko and other young civil servants went on to create the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Pastef) party in 2014.
Faye successively held the positions of member of the steering committee, president of the Mouvement national des cadres patriotes et des diasporas (National Movement of Patriot Cadres and Diasporas) and secretary general, becoming the party’s second-in-command, from October 2022.
Ndingler’s rising star
While Faye is mostly known for being in Sonko’s shadow, he’s famous in his region for supporting a vulnerable community in a land dispute. This was between the Ndingler villagers (within the Ndiaganiao area from which Faye hails) and the Senegalese company Sedima, run by businessman and industrialist Babacar Ngom.
Faye had denounced land grabbing by Sedima, which occurred without any compensation for “peasant populations”.
The other side of the coin
The fame he gained from this widely publicised battle didn’t, however, secure him a victory in his stronghold during local elections in January 2022. He lost in Ndiaganiao to the regime’s candidate.
His political ambitions were further thwarted when his nomination to the national candidate list for the July 2022 parliamentary elections was invalidated due to issues with the candidate lists he belonged to.
These two successive setbacks seemed to seal his fate as an opponent of local and national stature.
Following the law suit brought against Sonko, Faye was imprisoned. He was accused of attacking the judiciary when he criticised the Dakar Court of Appeal’s decision to close Sonko’s case without giving him the chance to appeal.
Faye was also being vocal about a trial that would make Sonko ineligible for the 2024 presidential elections. On 14 April 2023, he was charged with “contempt of court, defamation and acts likely to compromise public peace”.
Political manoeuvring at play
The detention of Faye, the party’s secretary-general, and its president, Sonko, fuelled speculation that the government intended to remove the leadership of the Pastef party. Indeed, in July 2023, Senegal’s interior ministry dissolved Pastef.
However, unlike Sonko, Faye was not put on trial. This meant he could retain his civic rights. It was during his jail time that the Pastef party developed a plan to facilitate his participation in the upcoming presidential election.
Campaign images bearing the slogan “Diomaye moy Sonko” (“Diomaye is Sonko”) circulated on social media on Sunday, 19 November 2023, just ahead of the sponsorship period for the presidential election in Senegal.
Many were surprised when Sonko relinquished his position to support Faye. And several MPs – Guy Marius Sagna, Birame Souleye Diop, and Abass Fall – who were contenders in the presidential elections, withdrew their candidacies. This made Faye the sole candidate of the party.
Despite Pastef’s dissolution, they successfully initiated a popular sponsorship campaign for Faye.
The burning questions
Often described as altruistic, Faye revealed in his first press conference after his release from prison how he used his first scholarship from the leadership training school to provide clean water connections for his family and neighbours.
He vehemently opposes the use of strength by the powerful to oppress those who are, supposedly, weak.
The man, despite the tumultuous electoral context, received acclaim from voters, and he appeared quite timid on 25 March during his first presidential address.
It remains to be seen whether he can fill the presidential shoes. The coming weeks should enlighten us. Läs mer…
The Gambia’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) since 2015 is under threat. Proposed changes before parliament could permit medicalised female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults.
This potential reversal has thrust the country into the global spotlight as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality.
The Gambia’s criminalisation of FGM was not the first in west Africa but it came as a surprise. The president at the time, Yahya Jammeh, declared the rampant cultural tradition a non-religious practice that caused harm. There was some dissent within the country but human rights groups welcomed the ban.
Jammeh, who was president from 1994 to 2016, also oversaw the passage of other progressive gender-related laws. The Domestic Violence Act 2013 provided a framework for combating domestic violence in all its forms (physical, sexual, emotional, economic) and protection in particular for women and children. The Sexual Offences Act 2013 expanded the definition of rape, broadened the circumstances in which individuals could be charged, and reduced the burden of proof in prosecutions.
Jammeh also outlawed child marriages in 2016. This was significant in country where one in five young people aged 15-19 (19%) are married.
In one of the world’s most aid-dependent countries, these reforms were all central to international donor interests. And they helped to improve the country’s democratic reputation. But at the same time, they made it easy for the autocratic leader to get away with other excesses. He also mobilised religion to manipulate beliefs and sentiments, particularly affecting girls and women. For example, Jammeh mandated that female government workers wear veils or headscarves when he declared his Muslim majority country an Islamic state in 2016.
President Adama Barrow, Jammeh’s successor, has emphasised religious tolerance and has refrained from employing religious symbolism. Unlike the state-sponsored homophobia under the Jammeh regime, Barrow has downplayed homosexuality as a “non-issue”.
I am a legal scholar and human rights practitioner with published research on female genital mutilation, gender equality and women’s rights and governance in The Gambia. It’s my view that Jammeh’s ostensible compliance with gender equality norms was selective and intended for the international gallery rather than a genuine commitment to women’s rights and democracy.
His tactical stance highlighted a broader trend. Autocratic African leaders often accommodate global gender norms to maintain domestic power dynamics. The result, for example, is increased women’s political participation through quotas along with a conservative approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The Gambia experience also shows that western donors and multilateral institutions need to go beyond just pushing for reforms. Once they have got the reforms they advocated for, they should have a strategy for sustaining them. Forces that were opposed to the reform often regroup to campaign for its removal.
At its core, female genital mutilation constitutes a violation of the human rights of girls and women. These include the right to non-discrimination, to protection from physical and mental violence, and to health and life.
From a feminist perspective, the prevalence of FGM in numerous African nations revolves around upholding gender-specific norms and exerting control over women’s sexuality.
Female genital mutilation in The Gambia
Female genital cutting is a deeply ingrained practice. It is driven by cultural beliefs and often performed by traditional healers. According to the most recent national survey, a large majority of Gambian women aged 15-49 years (73%) have undergone female genital cutting. More alarming is an 8% increase in the prevalence of FGM among girls under the age of 14 – from 42.4% in 2010 to 50.6% in 2018.
Numerous health risks associated with all types of the practice have been documented by the World Health Organization and systematic reviews. These include severe pain, bleeding, infections and complications during childbirth and elevated rates of anxiety and other mental health disorders. This has led to calls for the practice to be banned in order to protect girls’ health and well-being.
The Gambia’s current struggle with the FGM ban reflects a complex interplay between cultural norms, religious beliefs, and the fight for gender equality. The potential repeal of the ban poses a threat to human rights of women and girls in The Gambia.
Reversal of hard-won gains
Though The Gambia is constitutionally secular, religion influences nearly every facet of society. Islamic fundamentalists in the country are known for attacks on religious minorities, including hate speech against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and the Christian community.
The main fundamentalist religious actors draw inspiration from and still support the exiled former dictator Jammeh. They are at the forefront of the recent pushback against the anti-FGM law. They argue that the ban violates their religious and cultural freedoms as guaranteed in the 1997 constitution.
On 4 March 2024 a strong supporter of Jammeh proposed a private member’s bill in the National Assembly that seeks to overturn the ban.
The push to reassert traditional gender roles isn’t isolated to The Gambia. There is a global trend of rolling back progress on gender equality. This trend is characterised by attempts to limit women’s bodily choices, an increase in violence against them, as well as attacks on LGBTQI+ communities. It reflects a broader political climate of backlash against women’s rights and gender equality as a weapon in the reversal of democratic achievements.
Attempts have been seen to reverse legal protections against women and girls in Kenya. In Sudan, state-sanctioned violence and societal pressure is aimed at restricting women’s public participation. Similarly, Tanzania previously enacted a policy barring teenage mothers from attending public schools, though this policy has been reversed.
This global context highlights how anti-rights movements, undemocratic norms and gendered politics are working together to erode women’s rights and exacerbate inequalities. Läs mer…
South Africa’s economy has been hard hit by 15 years of loadshedding (rolling blackouts). The country’s coal-fired power plants have a maintenance backlog and frequently experience unexpected technical failures. On the other hand, South Africa has committed, under the Paris Agreement, to transition to low-carbon energy generation technologies by 2050. This puts South Africa at an energy crossroads where it needs well thought out policy development and implementation to make the transition possible.
South Africa’s reliance on coal-fired power to supply about 72% of its energy needs is catching up with it as coal plants fail. But switching to renewable energy technologies is not that simple. Renewable energy also has strengths and weaknesses. While wind and solar are environmentally friendlier, they cannot supply electricity consistently unless they have large-scale storage systems.
The new draft Integrated Resource Plan is the country’s national electricity plan. It sets out how electricity will be provided for South Africa between now and 2050. The government is currently considering public comments, which it needs to incorporate into the plan.
I am a senior lecturer at the African Energy Leadership Centre and a professionally registered scientist with over 18 years’ experience in researching how climate change, water and energy resources can be managed to achieve sustainable development in South Africa.
I believe that the country should select an energy mix of nuclear, gas, renewable and coal. Electricity should, however, be clean, affordable, and reliable. This suggests that the Integrated Resource Plan should provide a platform for South Africa to reduce its reliance on coal and diversify its sources.
In my view, the current draft plan is promising. However, considering the urgent need for reliable electricity, it has to ensure that the pace of rolling out the new energy mix is fast.
What does the draft Integrated Resource Plan say?
The draft Integrated Resource Plan contains two “horizons” or time frames. Horizon One says how the government will stabilise the power system between now and 2030. Horizon Two looks at what kind of energy South Africa will need beyond 2030.
Recently, I discussed what the draft plan says on the Energy Conversations Podcast, a regular discussion hosted by a private energy company, Bayakha, and the African Energy Leadership Centre at the Wits Business School in Johannesburg.
The state-owned electricity provider, Eskom, has been unable to meet the electricity demand through the current fleet of coal-fired power stations. In 2024, the shortfall is predicted to be over 2,001 megawatts every week, meaning that loadshedding is likely to take place throughout the year.
Horizon One in the plan wants to address the shortfall in electricity by delaying the shutdown of coal-fired power plants and improving them instead. However, these plants are ageing, missed out on midlife refurbishment, and are very costly to upgrade. These plants are also emitting more than they are legally allowed to under South Africa’s Minimum Emissions Standards.
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South Africa’s efforts to tackle its energy crisis lack urgency and coherence
Horizon Two looks at how South Africa’s electricity will be provided over the longer term, between 2030 and 2050. It aims to make sure that South Africa has an affordable, secure energy supply but also moves away from coal-fired power stations, which are responsible for large scale carbon emissions.
The plan proposes various pathways to introduce new energy generation. Gas, renewables and nuclear together with clean coal are mentioned along with a proposed coal fleet shutdown delay.
Environmentally friendly, affordable, reliable and inclusive electricity
There are high levels of inequality in South Africa. Electricity is not affordable to everyone. Although not specific on the numbers, Horizon Two of the Integrated Resource Plan acknowledges that massive investment will be required to transit to technologies such as clean coal and nuclear.
My view is that South Africa should embrace the costs associated with every new power generation project. But everyone involved must learn lessons from the R300 billion (US$15.8 billion) overspending on the new-build Medupi and Kusile power plants about how to constrain costs.
Abatement technologies should be used to reduce the amount of polluting emissions from coal power plants. The government will need to pay the bill to retrofit these plants with technologies to reduce emissions. However, the current plan does not provide for this.
For renewable energy, battery storage can be used to store what is generated. This is part of the Integrated Resource Plan, and government has released a request for bids to procure the battery storage via the Battery Energy Storage IPP Procurement Programme.
Read more:
South Africa’s new plan to end power cuts is seriously flawed. Here’s why
The national electricity plan also has to make sure that nobody is left behind in the drive towards low-carbon energy. Increases in electricity prices have been exorbitant recently – an 18.65% increase in April 2023 and a further 12.74% increase from April 2024. High priced electricity that is also unreliable has contributed to unemployment, lost wages and business collapse. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa must look into the pricing model again. Government should consider subsidising all socio-economic classes.
The transition to renewable energy must be inclusive. South Africa must look into manufacturing its own renewable energy components rather than importing them. Recently, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said thousands of jobs could be created if manufacturing plants for solar panels, battery energy storage systems and wind farms were set up across the country. The economy would be industrialised. Skills must be developed faster and the right enabling environment and policy position must be created for this to happen.
What comes next
South Africa is at a crossroads and needing to make big decisions to ensure that it conforms to the National Development Plan. The final Integrated Resource Plan should pursue all the existing technologies at a faster pace. Gas to power and nuclear energy must be included at all costs to reduce reliance on coal. This will require massive investment from both the government and private sector. This way, a steady flow of electricity will always be available. Läs mer…
The world of work is changing all the time. Technology is driving innovation and productivity, leading to the creation of new industries and employment opportunities. This means people need new skills to meet the demands of an ever-changing economy.
While universities can and do equip young people with important skills, tertiary education isn’t available to everyone. This is especially true in a country like South Africa, where about 43% of students in 2023 who qualified to pursue a bachelor’s qualification at university could not because of limited spaces.
Valuable knowledge and skills can also be acquired through non-formal and alternative pathways, however. We are education scholars who ran a pilot project using artistic media to teach important life skills to young adults (18–24 years old). Our project, Myturn, ran in South Africa’s Western Cape province over ten months in 2020. It used simple technology like smartphones and editing software to make short films.
Myturn benefited participants in several ways, as we’ve documented in a study. For instance, it honed their communication and teamwork skills. It bolstered their digital skills. It also allowed the students to connect with their communities. This connection, in turn, provided a platform for the communities to witness the participants’ willingness to learn and become change agents, while also allowing them to share their own stories and experiences.
The project showed how short films could be used to change the way people learn. This method meets many needs of young people by combining the learning of soft skills, computer literacy and artistic expression. It gets them ready for the problems of the future – not just ready for work, but also as socially involved people.
Five main benefits
Our research paper focused on the perceptions of nine (out of the initial group of 17) Myturn participants. All had completed secondary school. They were involved in various dance, drama, music and visual arts projects when recruited for Myturn and came from semi-rural communities in the Langeberg district of South Africa’s Western Cape province.
In 2020 they found themselves in a transitional phase between jobs, were preparing to enter the workforce for the first time, or were between school and tertiary education. They were also dealing with the effects of the pandemic, which began after we’d launched Myturn. This global crisis created difficulties but was also an opportunity for learning and adaptation.
During the project, participants learned the technology and skills needed to create and produce their own short films.
Our study identified five ways in which participants benefited from the project.
1. Improved emotional intelligence and soft skills:
Making short films helps build skills like leadership, teamwork and communication. It pushes young creators to figure out how to work together on complex tasks. This helps team members from different backgrounds understand and care about each other. People learn how to resolve disagreements, make their points clear, and inspire others to work towards a shared goal. These skills are necessary in any professional setting.
2. Improved digital skills and connectivity:
Participants learned how to use software programmes, handle digital content and interact with online groups. They were empowered to offer their skills globally and work remotely and flexibly.
3. Encouraged new ideas and creative ways to solve problems:
Making short films encourages people to try new things and to look at problems from different angles. This way of handling problems creatively makes one more flexible.
As a way to reach their artistic goals, participants learned to make changes and accept loss. This approach is in high demand across various sectors.
4. Supported personalised learning and finding out more about oneself:
Making a short film is a very personal process. It lets people explore themes that are important to them based on their own experiences, interests and goals. Personalising the way people learn reveals their skills, flaws and interests.
One participant, reflecting critically on her role as short film producer in the project, showcased her ownership of learning and the potential for transpersonal growth:
Being able to watch my video back before sending it made me realise how fast I speak and that (I) can come across as unclear, so I worked on speaking slower and I was satisfied with the final product.
Participants became more self-aware and confident. Young adults need help to figure out who they are and what they want to do with their lives.
One told us:
When the opportunity came I told myself it’s time to stretch myself and explore my skills.
5. Made the community more involved and gave people more power:
Making short films is a way to hear opinions that aren’t always heard. A participant said she enjoyed the chance her short film presented “to be able to comment or talk about the issues that everybody is most likely aware of but refuses to publicly speak/comment on”.
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I introduced social entrepreneurship to my trainee teachers — why it’ll make them better at their jobs
Young film-makers can bring attention to problems that matter in their communities by sharing their stories. This can start a conversation and help bring people together. This involvement goes beyond the project. People can be inspired by hearing these stories, which can lead to a shared sense of power and a dedication to making things better.
What came next
In the time since the Myturn project, participants have flourished. One was selected for a six-month jewellery design research programme in Belgium. Three more have been accepted for tertiary education; others became involved in education as teaching assistants. One started a media house company with a colleague. Two participants created their own YouTube channels and another started making TikTok reels with her brother.
While the project itself couldn’t guarantee personal change within its informal setting, it did offer significant benefits for some participants: developing critical self-awareness, overcoming cultural and language barriers, and gaining a deeper understanding of themselves. This suggests that meaningful interactions, both in person and online, can equip young people with valuable skills. These skills, like critical thinking and empathy, will be crucial for navigating their future lives and careers. Läs mer…
In this episode of Don’t Call Me Resilient, we continue our conversation about forced famine and its use as a powerful tool to control people, land and resources. Starvation has, for centuries, been a part of the colonizer’s “playbook.”
We speak with two scholars to explore two historic examples: the decimation of Indigenous populations in the Plains, North America, which historian David Stannard has called the American Holocaust and in India, the 1943 famine in Bengal. According to a recent BBC story, the Bengal famine of 1943 killed more than three million people. It was one of the worst losses of civilian life on the Allied side in the Second World War. (The United Kingdom lost 450,000 lives during that same war.)
Plains Cree Chief Mistahimaskwa resisted signing a treaty with the ‘Crown,’ until starvation of his people propelled him to sign Treaty 6 in the hopes of gaining access to food.
Library and Archives Canada/C-001873., CC BY
Although disease, environmental disasters and famine were features of life before colonialism, decades of research has shown how these occurrences were manipulated by colonial powers to prolong starvation and trigger chronic famine. In other words, starvation has been effectively used by colonial powers to control populations, acquire land and the wealth that comes with that. This colonization was accompanied by an “entitlement approach” and the belief that Indigenous populations are inferior to the lives of the colonizer.
According to scholars, prior to the arrival of colonialists, both populations at the heart of today’s episode were thriving with healthy and wealthy communities. And although disease and famine existed before the arrival of Europeans, it cannot be denied colonial powers accelerated and even capitalized on chronic famine and the loss of life due to disease and malnutrition.
As the famous economist Amartya Sen has said, famine is a function of repression. It springs from the politics of food distribution rather than a lack of food. Imperial policies such as the Boat Denial Policy and Rice Denial Policy meant that, as curator Natasha Ginwala wrote: “freshly harvested grain was set on fire, or even dumped into the river.”
Joining on this episode were two experts on the North American and Bengal famines.
Cover of ‘Clearing the Plains’
(University of Regina Press)
James Daschuk is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies at the University of Regina. He is the author of Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation and the Loss of Aboriginal Life.
We also spoke with Janam Mukherjee, an Associate Professor of History at Toronto Metropolitan University, and the author of Hungry Bengal: War, Famine and the End of Empire. Mukherjee was recently a primary historical advisor on the BBC Radio 4 series “Three Million,” a five-part documentary on the Bengal famine of 1943.
Cover of ‘Hungry Bengal’
(Oxford University Press)
Listen and follow
You can listen to or follow Don’t Call Me Resilient on Apple Podcasts (transcripts available), Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.
We’d love to hear from you, including any ideas for future episodes.
Join the Conversation on Instagram, X, LinkedIn and use #DontCallMeResilient.
Resources
“When Canada used hunger to clear the West” (by James Daschuk, July 19, 2013)
Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation and the Loss of Indigenous Life (by James Daschuk, 2013)
“Administering Colonial Science: Nutrition Research and Human Biomedical Experimentation in Aboriginal Communities and Residential Schools, 1942–1952” (in Social History by Ian Mosby, 2013)
“Proposed class action seeks damages for intergenerational trauma from residential schools”
Ashes and Embers: Stories of the Delmas Indian Residential School by Floyd Favel
Churchill’s Secret War (by Madhusree Mukerjee, 2010)
Hungry Bengal: War, Famine and the End of Empire (by Janam Mukherjee, 2015)
“Three Million” (The documentary podcast by the BBC)
“Witnessing famine: the testimonial work of famine photographs and anti-colonial spectatorship” (Journal of Visual Culture by Tanushree Ghosh, 2019)
“We are about to witness in Gaza the most intense famine since the second world war” (The Guardian, March 21, 2024, by Alex de Waal)
From the archives – in The Conversation
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Making our food fairer: Don’t Call Me Resilient EP 12
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Colonialism was a disaster and the facts prove it
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A deadly attack in Moscow on March 22, 2024, exposed the vulnerability of the Russian capital to the threat of the Islamic State group and its affiliate ISIS-K. But it also displayed the reach of the network, leading some terror experts to ponder: Could a U.S. city be next?
There has not been a mass casualty assault in the U.S. carried out in the name of the Islamic State group since 2017, when a truck mowed down cyclists and pedestrians on a New York City bikeway, leaving eight dead.
Yet five years after the Islamic State group’s territorial defeat in Baghuz, Syria, had prompted hopes that the terrorist network was in terminal decline, a recent spate of attacks has thrust the group back into the spotlight. On the same day as the Moscow atrocity, an ISIS-K suicide bombing in Kandahar, Afghanistan, resulted in the deaths of at least 21 people.
As a terrorism expert and a scholar specializing in radical Islamist militant groups and the geographical scope of their attacks, I believe these incidents underscore the growing threat of ISIS-K both within the region it draws support from and on an international scale.
Amplifying influence
A successful terror attack on a Western capital is certainly something ISIS-K, or Islamic State Khorasan Province, aspires to. The intent behind the group’s activities is to bolster its position among jihadist factions by means of audacious and sophisticated attacks.
An image released by pro-Islamic State media outlet Al Battar Foundation reads ‘After Moscow, who is next?’
Al-Battar Foundation
It is a strategy that showcases ISIS-K’s capabilities for spectacular operations, distinguishing it from potential rival groups. But it also enhances ISIS-K’s appeal, attracting both supporters and resources in the shape of funding and fighters.
By establishing a unique identity in a crowded extremist landscape, ISIS-K aims to undercut its competitors’ influence and assert its dominance in the jihadist sphere of the Khorasan region it targets, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and other Central Asian countries.
ISIS-K’s ambition extends beyond territorial control, engaging in a broader contest for ideological supremacy and resource acquisition globally.
An expanding threat
This global reach and ambition are evident in ISIS-K’s recent planned operations.
These include a suicide bombing in Iran in January 2024 and thwarted attacks across Europe, notably the foiled plots in Germany and the Netherlands in July 2023.
And without a doubt, a successful attack in the United States is seen within ISIS-K’s hierarchy as a major goal.
Since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, officials in the Biden administration have repeatedly warned of ISIS-K’s escalating danger to American interests, both at home and abroad.
ISIS-K’s propaganda has persistently framed the U.S. as its principal enemy – a narrative that is fueled by America’s extensive military and economic efforts to dismantle Islamic State operations since 2014.
The United States’ involvement, especially in collaboration with the Taliban — ISIS-K’s primary regional adversary — has placed America firmly in the group’s crosshairs.
Employing tactics refined during the period that the Islamic State group was most active, ISIS-K seeks to inspire lone-wolf attacks and radicalize individuals in the U.S.
The 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, which left 14 dead, and the 2016 shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that resulted in at least 49 deaths, were both attacks inspired by the Islamic State group.
Targeting major powers
Taking its lead from the Islamic State group, ISIS-K in 2022 publicly condemned America, calling it an enemy of Islam.
Of course, ISIS-K had by then already demonstrated its intention to harm U.S. interests, notably in a 2021 Kabul airport attack in which 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans were killed.
ISIS-K views the U.S. in much the same way as it does Russia: both as a military and an ideological foe.
Russia became a prime target due in part to its partnering with the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria in operations against Islamic State group affiliates. Similarly, Washington has worked with the Taliban in Afghanistan in countering ISIS-K operations.
While it is easier for ISIS-K to penetrate Russian territory, given the country’s geographical proximity to major Islamist recruitment centers, such as Tajikistan, the potential for strikes in the United States remains significant.
In 2023, U.S. authorities investigated a group of Uzbek nationals suspected of entering the country from Mexico with the assistance of traffickers linked to the Islamic State group, underscoring the group’s threat.
Eight people died in a truck attack in New York City in 2017.
AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews
Targeting American interests serve multiple purposes for ISIS-K. By striking against the U.S., ISIS-K not only retaliates against Washington’s counterterrorism efforts but also aims to deter U.S. involvement in regions of interest to ISIS-K.
It also taps into historical grievances against the U.S. and Western interventions in Muslim countries – from the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq to the stationing of U.S. troops in significant Islamic centers in the Middle East, notably Saudi Arabia.
Countering a persistent threat
In response to the growing threat of Islamic State group affiliates, the United States has adopted a comprehensive strategy combining military, intelligence and law enforcement efforts.
Military operations have targeted ISIS-K leaders and infrastructure in Afghanistan, while security cooperation with regional and international partners such as Uzbekistan continues to monitor and counter the group’s activities.
On the home front, law enforcement and homeland security agencies remain vigilant, working to identify and thwart potential ISIS-K plots.
But as many experts had warned, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 has posed new challenges, inadvertently transforming that country once again into a safe haven and operational base for terrorist groups.
This retreat has also resulted in a significant loss of on-the-ground intelligence amid doubts over the efficacy of relying on the Taliban for counterterrorism operations.
Meanwhile, the Taliban are struggling to prevent or counteract ISIS-K attacks within their own borders.
The successful ISIS-K plots against Iran and Russia also reveal another vulnerability: When a country is distracted or preoccupied with other security concerns or conflicts, it can potentially compromise the effectiveness of its counterterrorism efforts.
Recent years have witnessed a decrease in high-profile attacks by groups like the Islamic State, leading many to conclude that the threat was waning. As a result, global attention — and with it, intelligence and security resources — has shifted toward escalating power rivalries and conflicts across the Pacific, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Yet, this shift risks underestimating the enduring threat terrorist groups pose, laying bare the dangers of complacency.
The Moscow attack emphasizes ISIS-K’s resolve to expand its influence, raising concerns about the potential threat to Western nations, including the United States. Considering ISIS-K’s track record and clear aspirations, it would be naive to dismiss the possibility of an attack on American soil. Läs mer…
Former MLB executive Pat Gillick won three World Series titles and served as general manager of four baseball teams from the 1970s to 2000s.
But when we interviewed him for our documentary “Fielding Dreams: A Celebration of Baseball Scouts,” he deflected praise.
“I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame if it wasn’t for the people in scouting,” he said. “Those are the people that deserve all the credit, not me.”
Even though they scour the world for talent, often working on year-to-year contracts and spending weeks away from their families, there are no scouts in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Their recent run of tough luck has also gone largely unnoticed. The profession has been under siege on a number of fronts, whether it’s facing competition and dismissal from analytics advocates, or experiencing mass layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A draft demands an army of evaluators
In the first half of the 20th century, scouting was a free-for-all.
Team owners willing to spend the money could send scouts to go out and sign whomever they wanted, with contracts often written out by hand and players signing on the spot. When Iowa teen phenom Bob Feller was signed by Cleveland Indians scout Cy Slapnicka in 1935, Slapnicka simply took out a pen, wrote out a contract and had Feller and his father sign it, because Feller was underage.
The terms of the contract? One dollar and an autographed ball.
Major League Baseball held its first draft in 1965, in part to help level the playing field between wealthier teams, like the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, and everybody else.
The advent of the draft made scouts all the more important: Each team now had a massive pool of players to interview, evaluate and rank.
The draft only includes U.S. amateur players. International players are not subject to the draft, so some teams have built training facilities in countries like the Dominican Republic and Mexico, where their international scouts find and sign promising young players.
Longtime Kansas City Royals scout Johnny Ramos signed nine-time All-Star Carlos Beltran in 1995.
H. James Gilmore and Tracy Halcomb
Strength in crunching the numbers?
But since the turn of the century, some journalists and executives have questioned the value of scouts.
In 2003, author Michael Lewis published “Moneyball,” in which he documented the success of the 2002 Oakland Athletics and the team’s embrace of sabermetrics, the statistical analysis of baseball data.
The Athletics were consistently winning with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, and other team owners took notice.
Could data analytics exploit inefficiencies and produce better results than scouts? Could teams save money by trimming the ranks of old-school professionals and all of the human bias that they brought to evaluating talent?
The embrace of sabermetrics changed who got drafted. With raw data becoming increasingly important, college players – with a longer track record of statistics – became more attractive than high school athletes.
Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane ushered in an era that emphasized the use of analytics to evaluate talent and construct rosters.
AP Photo/Eric Risberg
The shift to data-informed decision-making has had some unintended consequences.
In order for high school players to get recognized in today’s environment, they turn to travel teams, an expensive option that allows a player to participate in more games and accumulate more experience, more footage of their play and more exposure.
Players from lower-income families often can’t afford to participate – and that includes young Black athletes, who are disproportionately more likely to grow up in poverty. A recent study found that Black athletes represented just 6.2% of MLB players on 2023 opening day rosters, down from 18% in 1991.
As retired Black utility player Lou Collier told us: “A kid like me, today, never would have had an opportunity. … If I wasn’t able to afford any of these events, you never would have heard of Lou Collier. But back when I was coming up, the scouts found the Lou Colliers.”
‘Moneyball’ or makeup?
Scouts will also tell you that analytics is nothing new.
“We evaluated the player,” says former Atlanta Braves scouting director Roy Clark. “And when our scouts said, ‘We think this guy can play in the big leagues,’ the next thing we did is we gathered all the information we could – analytics. But then we emphasized makeup.”
It is a grasp of this concept – “makeup,” or a player’s character, drive and grit – that scouts say differentiates their work from data-driven evaluations.
“It comes down to the people who have a really good head on their shoulders,” says Matt O’Brien, a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays.
And the scouts will tell you that there is both on-field and off-field makeup.
“You’ve got to talk to his school counselor, you’ve got to talk to his coach, you’ve got to talk to his teammates, you’ve got to try and talk to other students,” explains Gillick. “Is he a good baseball player, and is he a good human being?”
This personalized approach, one that focuses on a player’s heart and mind, has kept scouting relevant. Even with the rise of analytics, the number of MLB scouts had stayed remarkably consistent into the 21st century. It seemed as if the fear generated by “Moneyball” was unfounded.
That all changed in 2020.
Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick during the 1983 MLB draft, when he served as vice president of baseball operations for the Toronto Blue Jays. Behind him is scout Bob Prentice.
Jeff Goode/Toronto Star via Getty Images
The costs of COVID-19
COVID-19 didn’t just shorten the 2020 baseball season, winnowing it down from 162 games to 60. It also shrank baseball’s scouting ranks.
USA Today reported that about 20% of scouts were laid off in 2020. Many of them weren’t hired back.
“It was just the most uneasy feeling,” recalled MLB Scouting Bureau’s Christie Wood, one of the few female scouts in the game.
According to the magazine Baseball America, by 2021 seven teams had reduced their scouting staff by double digits.
The Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers cut 10 scouts apiece. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants had 13 fewer on their payrolls. The Chicago Cubs were down 20, while the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners each reduced their scouting ranks by 23.
At the beginning of the 2019 season, teams employed 1,909 scouts across their amateur, professional and international departments. By 2021, that number was down to 1,756. And most of the scouts that were laid off were older, more experienced scouts making higher salaries.
In June 2023, 17 former scouts sued MLB for age discrimination. They claimed that the league and its teams acted intentionally to prevent the employment of older scouts after the pandemic.
Scouts sit amid cardboard cutouts of fans during a game between the Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies that took place during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
A big win for the scouts
The state of scouting today is a mixed bag.
Some teams seem to be prioritizing analytics. But other organizations – the Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers – have actually added scouts to their payrolls since 2019.
The Rangers organization opened their doors to our documentary crew over the past four years, allowing us into the inner sanctum. We were able to see, firsthand, the organization’s emphasis on scouting, and witness the relationships the team’s scouts built with prospects and their families.
When the Rangers won the World Series in 2023, baseball scouts around the league rejoiced: The team’s success confirmed that an emphasis on personal touch and people could still pay off.
“I’m just proud of all the scouts that are here and who have worked so hard,” Texas Rangers scout Demond Smith told us during one playoff game. “At the end of the day, it’s baseball. It’s Little League from the beginning, and then you are dreaming. And here we are.” Läs mer…
The cargo ship collision that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, 2024, is raising questions about just how much engineers can do to prevent such catastrophes from occurring in the future. Here, Michael J. Chajes, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Delaware, discusses how bridge design codes have changed over the years and the challenges of building new structures, and retrofitting existing ones, so they can survive extreme events
How hard is it to design a bridge to withstand the force that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
Once engineers understand the forces that a structure will be subjected to,,, they can design a structure to withstand them. That said, we know that each force has a range of magnitudes that can occur. For example, not all trucks on the roadways weigh the same amount, not all earthquakes are of the same magnitude, and not all ships have the same weight. We incorporate this variability in forces into the design.
Even if built to a given set of plans, the final strength of the structure can vary. The materials used have variations in strength. For example, concrete delivered on two successive days will have a sightly different final strength. This variability in the strength of the final structure is also taken into account in the design process to ensure the bridge or building is safe. There’s no way we could build two bridges from the same set of plans and they end up with the exact same strength.
Based on the weight and speed of the ship that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, today’s U.S. bridge design code would call for the bridge to be designed to resist a lateral force of 11,500 tons. This means the bridge has the ability to withstand a lateral hit of that magnitude. That is equivalent to the weight of about 50 loaded Boeing 777s or the weight of the Eiffel Tower. While this is a very large lateral force, structures can be designed to resist such forces. Tall buildings are routinely designed to resist lateral loads of this magnitude that result from wind or earthquakes. However, it is a matter of how much one wants to spend on the structure, and many design goals and constraints need to be balanced against each other.
What do engineers do to ensure safety in extreme events?
Our knowledge of how extreme events affect structures is constantly evolving. One area where this is very apparent is earthquake engineering. After each earthquake, structural engineers learn what has worked and what has not worked, and then the building and bridge design codes evolve. Infrastructure owners also try to retrofit existing structures that were designed to earlier codes.
Ship collisions and their impact on bridges are a similar area of evolving understanding and improved design codes. There have been over 35 major bridge collapses globally that were caused by ship collisions from 1960 to 2015. Engineers evaluate the failures, and they update the engineering codes so that they better account for the effects of ship collisions.
Cargo ship loses power, crashes into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
How has bridge design evolved since the Baltimore bridge was built?
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was designed in the early 1970s. Construction started in 1972, and it opened to traffic in 1977. This preceded the 1980 collapse of the Sunshine Skyway in Florida, which was caused by a ship collision, similar to what happened in Baltimore. That bridge collapse led to the initiation of research projects that culminated in the development of a U.S. guide specification in 1991 that was updated in 2009.
Based on that guide specification, bridge design codes were changed to include forces due to ship collisions. The design of the Francis Scott Key Bridge would not have been required to consider the effect of ship collisions. The current U.S. bridge design code says that:
“where vessel collision is anticipated, structures should be:
• Designed to resist vessel collision forces and/or
• Adequately protected by fenders, dolphins, berms, islands, or other sacrifice-able devices.”
Other changes since the 1970s are that cargo ships have increased in size and weight. The ship that brought down the Sunshine Skyway in 1980 weighed 35,000 tons, while the ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge weighed 95,000 tons.
With the increasing weight of cargo ships, the most cost-effective design strategy to prevent collapse of bridges due to vessel collision may well be to protect the bridge piers from the impact. This is done by building a bridge collision protective system, which is often a concrete or rock structure that surrounds the pier and stops the ship from getting to the pier, as is done to protect many of our national monuments.
A pier protection system was installed when the Sunshine Skyway bridge was rebuilt, and it has been used on numerous other bridges. The same approach is currently being applied by the Delaware River and Bay Authority at a cost of US$93 million to protect the piers of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
But what about existing bridges like the Francis Scott Key Bridge? Bridge owners have a tremendous challenge finding the financial resources needed to retrofit their bridges to satisfy the latest design codes and to account for the increased impact loads expected due to the heavier and heavier ships. Both things happened here. That is, design codes changed and improved, and loads got much larger. Engineers and infrastructure owners try their best to prioritize where their limited funds can be used to increase structural safety and minimize the chance of structural failure.
What can universities do?
The No. 1 job of structural engineers is to protect the public and minimize the risk of structural failures that pose a threat to human life. To do that, engineers must be able to calculate the forces that our structures may be subjected to. This includes cases where a large ship accidentally collides with a bridge, or a large earthquake or hurricane strikes.
In these extreme cases, the structure will almost assuredly sustain damage, but, if at all possible, it should be resilient enough to not collapse. The design codes are continually updated to account for new knowledge, new materials and new design techniques. The reliability of our structures is improving all the time.
Retrofitting structures built to prior codes is an ongoing process, and one that this disaster moves to the forefront. The U.S. has a lot of infrastructure that was designed to old codes, and we have larger trucks crossing our bridges, and larger ships passing beneath them.
Engineers can never reduce the probability of failure to zero, but they can reduce it to the point where failures happen very infrequently and only in cases where numerous unforeseen circumstances combine to make a structure vulnerable to collapse. Läs mer…
Small changes to U.S. trade policy could significantly reduce the number of migrants arriving at the southern border, according to our peer-reviewed study, which was recently published in The World Economy.
Our research delved into the effectiveness of existing trade agreements in creating jobs in migrant-sending countries, with a focus on Central America. We analyzed the impact that the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA-DR, has had on apparel exports and jobs since being ratified by the U.S. and six countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic – from 2005 to 2009.
CAFTA-DR was aimed at encouraging trade and investment ties. But restrictive provisions, particularly its rules of origin, have hindered the region’s ability to benefit fully from the agreement. Under a “triple transformation” clause, only garments assembled in one of the countries from fabrics and constituent fibers originating from the region qualify for free-trade benefits.
This significantly limits the scope for trade expansion because of the limited range of fabrics produced in the region compared with the global market. For example, it means that many modern fabrics, like the kinds used in some stretchy jeans, do not qualify.
Loosening the rules to allow for new fabrics would not only attract investment and create more jobs for Central Americans, it could also reduce immigration from the region by as much as 67%, according to our estimates.
At present, about 500,000 people work in the apparel industry in Central America. It is labor-intensive, and expanding exports would increase employment. Our research shows that loosening the rules of origin to include new fabrics from outside the region would create about 120,000 direct jobs.
If a stronger relationship between exports and employment is assumed, this figure could even rise to about 257,500 jobs, our figures show.
And these jobs would be boosted by additional indirect employment around the expanding factories in Central America needed to accommodate the increased trade.
If would-be migrants in Central America instead chose the new apparel jobs in their home countries, we estimate that migration from Central America to the U.S. could fall by 30% to 67%.
Why it matters
The migration crisis has taken center stage in U.S. political discourse, with Republicans in Congress holding up legislation, including aid to Ukraine, over their demands that tougher border security measures be included as part of any package.
In December 2023, the number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border hit a record high of almost 250,000, and it remained high during the first few months of 2024.
While human rights violations, security issues and corruption in migrant-sending countries are often cited as driving factors, in many cases, immigrants are seeking job opportunities that are unavailable in their home countries.
But despite the increased political attention on immigration, trade policy – which could be used to address the scarcity of secure, well-paying jobs in Central American countries with heavy migrant outflows – has largely been absent from either party’s strategy to address the “root causes” of migration.
We believe addressing the root causes of the current border crisis requires creating good jobs in migrant-sending countries.
What still isn’t known
We looked only at one industry – apparel – in Central America and the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean nation.
Academic reviews suggest that as many as half of all trade agreements have no significant effect on trade flows, and only about one-quarter of them increase trade. In fact, trade agreements may even create barriers to trade by adding additional clauses that are complicated or too restrictive.
The key question is how to make all trade agreements more effective at creating jobs in migrant-sending countries. Identifying and relaxing barriers within trade agreements is, we believe, an important first step toward reducing emigration.
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work. Läs mer…
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, headed to Jupiter’s ice-covered moon Europa in October 2024, will carry a laser-etched message that celebrates humanity’s connection to water. The message pays homage to past NASA missions that carried similar messages.
As the president of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence, or METI, International, I helped design the message on Clipper with two fellow members of our board of directors: linguists Sheri Wells-Jensen and Laura Buszard-Welcher. METI International is a scientific organization dedicated to transmitting powerful radio messages to extraterrestrial life.
We collected audio recordings in 103 languages, and we decided how to convert these into waveforms that show these sounds visually. Colleagues from NASA etched these waveforms into the metal plate that shields the spacecraft’s sensitive electronics from Jupiter’s harsh radiation.
I also designed another part of the message that visually depicts the wavelengths of water’s constituents, because water is so important to the search for intelligent life in the universe.
NASA’s design for the Clipper message heading to Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Etching messages into spacecraft isn’t a new practice, and Clipper’s message fits into a decades-old tradition started by astronomer Carl Sagan.
In 1972 and 1973, two Pioneer spacecraft headed to Jupiter and Saturn carrying metal plaques engraved with scientific and pictorial messages. In 1977, two Voyager spacecraft headed to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Nepture bearing gold-plated copper phonograph records. These records contained tutorials in mathematics and chemistry, as well as music, photos and sounds of Earth and greetings in 55 languages.
Water words
As water is essential for life on Earth, searching for its presence elsewhere has been key to many NASA missions. Astronomers suspect that Europa, where Clipper is headed, has an ocean underneath its icy surface, making it a prime candidate for the search for life in the outer solar system.
Part of the Clipper message features the word for water in 103 languages. We started with audio files collected online, but we then needed to analyze those and find an output that could be engraved on a metal plate. I ended up going back to some of the techniques I used in some of my early psycholinguistic research, where I explored how emotions are encoded in speech.
The 103 spoken words we recorded represent a global snapshot of the diversity of Earth’s languages. The outward-facing side of the Clipper plate shows the words as waveforms that track the varying intensity of sound as each word is spoken.
The waveform for the Catalan word for water – ‘aigua’ – is etched on the Clipper plate. It also appears on NASA’s website.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Each person whom we recorded saying the word “water” for the waveform had a connection to water. For example, the lawyer who contributed the word for water in Uzbek – “suv” – organizes an annual music festival in Uzbekistan to raise awareness of the desertification of the Aral Sea.
The native speaker of the Catalan water word – “aigua” – hunts for exoplanets, discovering potentially habitable planets that orbit other stars.
The Europa Clipper spacecraft, to be launched to Jupiter’s water world moon in October 2024, includes a tantalum metal plate laser-engraved with the word for water in 103 languages from around the world. Each word is shown as a waveform.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Drake Equation
Clipper’s message also pays homage to astronomer Frank Drake, the father of SETI – the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence – by bearing the Drake Equation, his namesake formula. By drawing on scientific data, as well as some best guess hunches, the Drake Equation estimates the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in the galaxy currently sending messages into the cosmos.
By one widely quoted estimate, there are a tenth as many of these extraterrestrial civilizations as one’s average lifetime in years. If civilizations survive for a million years, for example, there should be about 100,000 in the galaxy. If they last only a century on average, scientists would estimate that about 10 exist.
The Drake Equation is inscribed at the top of the inward-facing side of the plate bearing the Clipper message. It is written in Frank Drake’s handwriting.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Radio astronomers study the universe by examining the radiation that chemical elements in space give off. They spend much of their time mapping the distribution of the most abundant chemical in the universe – hydrogen.
Hydrogen emits radiation at a certain frequency called the hydrogen line, which radio telescopes can detect. During Project Ozma, the first modern-day SETI experiment, Drake looked for artificial signals at the same frequency, because he figured scientists on other worlds might recognize hydrogen as universally significant and broadcast signals at that frequency.
The water hole
As our team developed our water words message, I realized that the message would only make sense if it were discovered by someone already familiar with the contents inscribed on the plate. The Drake Equation would only make sense if someone already knew what each of the terms in the equation stood for.
The Europa Clipper will crash into Jupiter or one of its other moons, with Ganymede or Callisto the leading candidates. But if for some reason the mission changes and it survives that fate, then humans far in the future with a radically different cultural background and different language conventions may retrieve it millennia from now as an ancient artifact.
To ensure we had at least one part of the message that a distant future scientist might be able to understand, I also designed a pictorial representation of the same frequency that Drake used for Project Ozma: the hydrogen line. We engraved this on the Clipper plate, along with a frequency called the hydroxyl line.
When hydrogen (H+) and hydroxyl (OH-) combine, they form water. Scientists call the range of frequencies between these lines the “water hole.” The water hole represents the part of the radio spectrum where astronomers conducted the first SETI experiments.
The inward-facing side of the Europa Clipper message includes wavelengths of the hydrogen and hydroxyl emission lines. These represent the components of water. The band of frequencies between these lines is called the ‘water hole.’
NASA/JPL-Caltech
We displayed the hydrogen and hydroxyl lines using their wavelengths in the Clipper message. The metal plate also has diagrams showing what hydrogen and hydroxyl look like at the atomic level.
We’re hoping that future chemists would recognize these chemical components as the ingredients of water. If they do, we will have succeeded in communicating at least a few core scientific concepts across time, space and language.
Waveforms let our team tie the messages on the two sides of the Clipper plate together. On the water words side, over a hundred words are depicted by their waveforms. On the other side, the wavelengths of hydrogen and hydroxyl – the constituents of water – are etched into the plate.
METI International funded the collection and curation of the water words, as well as my design of the hydrogen and hydroxyl lines, providing these to NASA at no cost.
While designing the message for the Europa Clipper, we got to reflect on the importance of water on Earth, and think about why astronomers feel so compelled to search for it beneath the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The spacecraft is scheduled to enter Jupiter’s orbit in April 2030. Läs mer…