Thursday 10 December 2020

EU countries are not innovative enough. The truck is pulled mainly by Germans and Swedes

Spending on research and development (R & D) is a major accelerator of innovation, which is crucial to the enrichment of society and the building of the country's position in the international arena. According to Eurostat data, spending on R & amp; D varies widely across the EU.



In 2019, more than € 306 billion was spent in the EU on R & amp; D, representing 2.19%. EU GDP. This is also a slight increase compared to 2018, when spending on R & D amounted to 2.18%. However, this is not a momentary trend, as spending on innovation has increased regularly over the years. In 2009, the EU average was 1.97%.
Eurostat points out that the level of EU spending was much lower compared to the countries that spend the most on R & amp; D in the world. South Korea spent 4.52 percent on R & D in 2018. GDP, Japan 3.28 percent. (2018 data), and the United States 2.82 percent. (data 2018). On the other hand, China was at a similar level to the EU, with spending equal to 2.08 of GDP.

Sweden, Austria and Germany European primaries
The leader in the EU in terms of spending on innovation is Sweden, which allocates 3.39% for this purpose. GDP. Above 3%. issued by Austria (3.19%)) and Germany (3.17%).). It should also be noted that just behind them were three other countries that were close to reaching 3 percent. GDP for research and development. In this case, we are talking about Denmark (2.96%).), Belgium (2.89%).) and Finland (2.79%).). They were also the only countries to achieve a level above the EU average. This means that R & amp; D spending in the EU is very unevenly distributed, with only six community countries increasing the EU average.
However, the EU average was higher than in countries such as the UK (1.76%).), Turkey, or Russia (both countries spent 1.03 percent on R & D. GDP).
Romania at the grey end of the chart
At the other end of the scale is Romania, which spends only 0.48% on R & amp; D. GDP. This is by far the worst result. However, in addition to Romania, there are seven other countries that spend less than 1% on innovation. GDP. These are mainly the countries of the so-called new EU. These include Lithuania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Malta, Cyprus and Latvia. The raisin in this list is Ireland, which is generally associated with innovative technology companies like Google or Apple. However, the presence of digital giants, which is largely due to liberal tax laws, does not affect development spending.

Poland is practically in the middle of the table with R & amp; D spending at 1.32%. This is better than, for example, in Greece (1.27%).), or Spain (1.14 percent.), but for this much worse than in Slovenia (2.04 percent.) and the Czech Republic (1.94%).).

It is worth noting that the recommended level of R & amp; D expenditure is 2%. GDP. However, only 9 out of 27 EU countries are implementing these recommendations. This is too low if Europe as a whole wants to compete with global giants like China and the US. For now, it can be seen that the innovation cart in the EU is being pulled by Germany with the help of several smaller countries. However, it should be borne in mind that these economies are incomparably smaller than the German Moloch.

Private companies with the highest expenditure
The main sector where funds are spent on innovation is the business sector. That's where 66 percent is spent. in second place is the higher education sector with spending at the level of 22 percent. The government sector accounts for 11%. and the private non-profit sector 1 percent.

Sunday 6 December 2020

THE KISS SCENE. TV SERIES NETFLIX ACCUSED OF INSULTING RELIGIOUS FEELINGS

"The film" a suitable boy " was shown on one of the internet platforms. It depicts extremely reprehensible scenes that offend the feelings of a certain religion. I instructed the police officers to look into the matter, "wrote in social media the minister of foreign affairs of the state of Madhya Pradesh Narottam Mishra, whose entry is quoted by the newspaper"the Indian Express".
Indian internet users quickly deciphered the words of a state minister from the ruling Indian people's party (BJP). It turned out that in the" reprehensible scenes " in the series produced by the BBC, available on Netflix, the actors were shown kissing, and religious feelings were supposed to relate to the place where the kiss took place - a Hindu temple.



According to the Indian Express, BJP spokesman Gaurav Goel warned all streaming platforms that if they "intentionally offend" Hindu gods and goddesses, those who felt offended should go to the police or the local court and report the matter under Section 295A of the criminal code. "The law will take care of the villains," wrote Goel on Twitter.

Paragraph 295A of 1927 provides: m.in. fine and up to three years in prison for insulting religious feelings. "It is so general that it can be applied in almost any situation," says PAP Pankaj Mehta, a lawyer in Delhi. - Hinduism is capacious, there is no hierarchy and one interpretation of the sacred texts. Therefore, one follower may be offended by something, and the other no longer-evaluates.

"A kiss filmed in a temple does not offend me, at most it may surprise or disgust me," admits Jagdish Acharya, who comes from a conservative Brahmin family in the city of Puna, in an interview with pap. - Someone else may already offend, it is a very individual issue-he points out.

Boycott Netfliks
Meanwhile, the hashtag "BoycottNetflix" (boycott netfliks) began to gain popularity. Supporters of the boycott demanded the withdrawal of the series, and opponents defended freedom of speech and artistic freedom.

- If a kiss is a religious insult, then what can be the sculptures depicting sexual acts in Khajuraho (a city famous for Hindu temples with erotic decoration of the outer walls)?"- asks Arjun Desai, a musician from Delhi. - But for many more important than the place of the kiss was probably the religion of lovers-he notes.

"According to the scenario, a Muslim youth is in love with an Indian woman," wrote on social media Gaurav Tiwari from the youth organization of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, who formally reported the case to the police. "But why do they kiss in the temple grounds?"- he added.

The series directed by Mira Nair, whose " Salaam Bombay!"in 1988, he won the audience award at the Cannes Film Festival, based on the novel by Vikram Seth. "The pretender to the hand" tells the story of four families a few years after the rise of India. Seth's work, written in English, has received critical acclaim in the UK and the US.

"It's about love jihad"
- This is all about love jihad, which is the seduction of Hindu women by Muslims. This is how they convert to Islam, " explains Soham Majumdar, an economist from Calcutta. - Many people believe that this is a top-down organized action against Hindus-he adds.

On Thursday, November 26, the government of Uttar Pradesh passed a law against" Love Jihad", which allows to annul marriages between people of different religions if it is proved that the change of faith by deception. For such an act, he faces 10 years in prison. The introduction of similar regulations was announced by the authorities of the state of Madhya Pradesh.

At the same time, the Indian Ministry of internal affairs at a meeting of parliament in February admitted that organized" love jihad " has no place in the country, as confirmed by police investigations in several states of India.

- It seems that the controversial kissing scenes were not filmed in the temple. Probably these scenes were filmed somewhere else in the fort, - said the agency PTI Anuragha P, governor of Khargone district, which granted permission to the filmmakers in December last year.