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Pending concrete data comparing theoretical knowledge of sea currents with marine weather data from the last few months, the Italian Ministry of the Environment has requested information about any animals washed up on the beaches of France and Spain in order to obtain a more accurate picture of the situation.
Is the Commission aware of the unusual dolphin deaths in the Tyrrhenian Sea over the last few months? If so, has it launched an investigation to establish the cause? Molte delle aziende in cui sono occupati producono abbigliamento per marchi internazionali o applicano illegalmente etichette di marchi internazionali. Altre piccole fabbriche della zona lavorano in subappalto.
Molte sfruttano il lavoro in nero dei birmani e producono prodotti con marchi falsi. I lavoratori birmani clandestini vivono spesso nelle fabbriche dove lavorano, dormono e mangiano e vengono nascosti ogni qualvolta vengano compiute ispezioni da parte della polizia tailandese. Solo gli immigrati regolari sono assunti con contratto. Gli orari di lavoro sono estremamente lunghi e non di rado i lavoratori effettuano gli straordinari sino alle 11 di sera.
Secondo quanto riportato da fonti locali, in alcune aziende sarebbero impiegati anche i bambini delle lavoratrici migranti adibiti alla pulizia nelle fabbriche tessili. Many of the companies in which they work produce clothes for international brands or illegally use international brand labels. Some of the work is subcontracted to other small factories in the region. Only legal immigrants are given an employment contract. The dormitories are too small and overcrowded, there is a total lack of hygiene and, to make an already complicated situation even worse, there are no procedures in place to resolve any disputes that arise with their employers.
According to local sources, even the children of some migrant workers are employed to clean the textile factories. The EU pursues this matter in several ways, both in bilateral dialogues with the Thai authorities, and within the relevant international bodies. The EU supports the ratification and effective implementation of the Conventions of the International Labour Organisation ILO , in particular with regard to the core labour standards, and cooperates with the ILO in this respect.
Such instruments also address health, safety and labour conditions along companies' supply chain. When finally concluded, the EU-Thailand Partnership and Cooperation Agreement will provide for an additional framework for discussion and engagement with Thailand on these topics. A circa tre anni e mezzo di distanza la situazione abitativa nel paese resta sconcertante, con circa Qualche mese prima, nell'agosto , grazie al sostegno dei donatori internazionali, il governo haitiano aveva lanciato un programma per trasferire i residenti di 50 tendopoli in 16 nuove strutture residenziali, attraverso un incentivo per famiglia di dollari per 12 mesi e 25 dollari per i trasporti.
Il progetto ha aiutato alcune famiglie, ma gli incentivi troppo bassi hanno impedito a molte altre di trasferirsi e accedere a una soluzione abitativa a lungo termine. La catastrofe del ha peggiorato seriamente la situazione a Port-au-Prince costringendo 1,5 milioni di persone a rifugiarsi nei campi per gli sfollati interni. Living conditions in the tent cities are worsening by the day and there is little access to water, sanitation and waste disposal. This has contributed to the spread of cholera and other infectious diseases.
Furthermore, women and girls, as already highlighted in a previous written question, are at constant risk of rape or sexual assault. Although the project has helped some families, the incentives are too low, preventing many others from moving and gaining access to long-term housing. The withdrawal of the main humanitarian operators from Haiti and the resulting funding cuts are making the situation even worse. In view of the above, what measures will the High Representative take to try to resolve the difficult issue of housing in Haiti?
Is she aware that resolving this problem would secure more rights for the Haitian population? Housing is a chronic problem in Haiti that predates the earthquake. The disaster severely aggravated the housing shortage in Port-au-Prince and forced 1. The EU responded immediately to this humanitarian challenge.
To complement the humanitarian response, the national authorities and international donors have launched several initiatives aimed at the provision of sustainable housing. The EU has also made urban reconstruction one of its priority areas of intervention. A sustainable, long-term solution to the issue of housing in Haiti requires addressing deep-rooted structural causes, including widespread poverty and the absence of a national housing policy. Welche Leistungen werden erbracht? Wenn ja, welche und warum? Wie stellt die Kommission sicher, dass derartige Interessenkonflikte bekannt werden?
What benefits are obtained? Were contracts awarded without a public invitation to tender? If so, which ones and why? Can the Commission state whether any former IMG employees are now working in its services as local members of staff? Can it state whether any family members of IMG employees are working in its services as local members of staff? Can the High Representative state whether any former IMG employees are now working in her services as local members of staff? Can she state whether any family members of IMG employees are working in her services as local members of staff?
The countries concerned benefit from the transfer of public expertise in post-conflict zones. IMG has undergone an assessment which concluded that IMG applies accounting, audit, internal control and procurement procedures equivalent to internationally accepted standards. The Commission may entrust implementation to such an organisation through joint management.
The selection has to be justified in an objective and transparent manner. Eight of the 11 ongoing contracts were awarded in this manner, while three through negotiated procedure in accordance with the provisions for flexible contract award procedures in crisis situations defined in the Financial Regulation. The Commission is not in a position to know about activities of family members of its partners.
All staff members are obliged to declare any conflict of interest they could incur during the accomplishment of tasks. Non-disclosure of any potential conflict of interest would expose staff members to disciplinary sanctions. Members of an evaluation committee have to sign a confidentiality and impartiality declaration. Rules concerning ethical and organisational values are regularly brought to the attention of Delegation staff including local agents.
Litigios comerciales entre la UE y China. What measures is the Commission taking to protect wine growers and distributors from this trade dispute? Does the Commission have an action plan to protect European interests, given that the number of trade disputes continues to multiply in direct relation to commercial ties?
In this context, it has been providing the Member States and wine industry stakeholders with relevant assistance and has been also in contact with the Chinese authorities to ensure a good level of bilateral cooperation and compliance of the pending proceedings with the WTO rules. As a result of these pre-consultations, China narrowed down the number of alleged subsidy schemes it is investigating. The Commission is of the opinion that China has the right to initiate AS and AD investigations and to impose trade defence measures provided that the relevant WTO rules are respected.
The Commission always carefully analyses the merits and development of such investigations and in this context actively cooperates with relevant stakeholders. Should that not be the case, the Commission would not hesitate to duly intervene. There are still barriers to the digital sale and distribution of audiovisual content. Making digital audiovisual content available to potential users, regardless of their geographical location and no matter where the content has been licensed, will benefit consumers and rights holders as a result of competition and broader exposure.
Does the Commission have in place any concrete measures to ensure the completion of the digital single market? A modern EU — Intellectual property framework must foster innovative market practices and facilitate the cross-border offer of audiovisual content while ensuring the necessary incentives for the creation and production of creative content. In spite of this agreement, however, Israel continues to violate the rights of Palestinians throughout occupied territories.
Among these rights abuses are policies aimed directly at ridding the city of Jerusalem of its Palestinian population. Nonetheless, Israel continues with its strategy to purge the city of Palestinians which, since , has included the revocation of over 14 IDs from Palestinians in Jerusalem, thereby stripping them of their right to live in the city in which they were born. The concrete effects that the use of each of these instruments has had on Israeli policies over the past twenty years? What will be the main measures? What steps will be taken to facilitate disability vetting procedures?
Under the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme LLP , mobile learners with special needs may benefit from specific measures, including subsistence and travel costs of an accompanying person. LLP National Agencies make all information and offices accessible to disabled people. All activities described above take into account the guidance and expertise provided by the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education. Esos pasajeros tienen derecho a asistencia gratuita en los aeropuertos, puertos, estaciones de ferrocarril y de autocar y a bordo de los distintos medios de transporte.
The purchase of goods and services and relevant and accessible information on them should include appropriate commercial solutions, as well as goods and services designed to be accessible in the long term. The European Design for All e-Accessibility Network EDeAN is a network that provides support and resources in the field of universal design, and this centre of excellence and the associated organisations in each of the Member States are responsible for drafting reports, conducting studies and promoting the exchange of knowledge, information and good practice.
Are these data taken into account in the European institutions? Does the Commission think it should take legislative and practical measures to support these associations, requiring manufacturers to market their products with disabled people in mind? Are disabled consumers informed of their rights with regard to products and services that do not take account of their needs? EU passenger rights legislation ensures that disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility have the same rights to travel as other passengers and cannot be discriminated upon booking or boarding on the ground of their disability.
These passengers have the right to free of charge assistance at airports, ports, railway stations and bus terminals and on-board. En la respuesta conjunta de la Sra. The Commission will follow closely this matter. The Commission also understands that the Spanish Constitutional Court will examine the amended provisions on court fees. De hecho, en el caso de los taxis, hay muy pocas unidades adaptadas a pesar de que, por insuficiencias de otros medios de transporte, se han convertido en la forma de desplazamiento preferida de este colectivo pese al elevado coste de sus tarifas.
En el caso del metro, hay ciudades en que hay muchas estaciones sin adaptar, especialmente conforme se alejan del centro urbano. El cumplimiento de estos reglamentos se ha delegado en autoridades nacionales de cada Estado miembro. Las normas aplicables al transporte en taxi o en metro de pasajeros con discapacidad se desarrollan principalmente a nivel nacional o regional, lo que permite tener adecuadamente en cuenta las circunstancias y preferencias locales.
It is important to bear in mind the number of citizens in the European Union who have disabilities or reduced mobility, as well as the fact that members of this group are often unable to drive a private vehicle and, as a result, depend on other people or on urban transport to move about and to be able to lead their lives normally. Does the Commission not take the view that these services should be regulated as well? In fact, in the case of taxis, there are very few adapted vehicles, even though, given the inadequacies of other means of transport, taxis have become the preferred way to travel of persons with disabilities or reduced mobility, in spite of the high cost of taxi fares.
In the case of the metro, in some cities, there are many stations that are not adapted, especially as one moves away from the urban centre. Enforcement of these regulations has been delegated to national authorities in each Member State. Are users with disabilities informed about the authorities to whom they should direct any complaints regarding transport? With regard to vehicles, brand new, reconditioned or serviced vehicles are required by law to be adapted, but has a deadline been set for the full adaptation of all vehicles? The rules for transport by taxi or metro of passengers with disabilities are mainly made at national or regional level, and this allows to take local circumstances and preferences well into account.
As regards enforcement, the Commission has published addresses of national enforcement bodies on its website where, according to the regulations referred to by the Honourable Members, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility can register complaints. The main specialisms being abolished are in the health and welfare and applied arts sectors. There is a great demand for these specialisms, for which a large number of students have already enrolled. The Commission is aware of the recent decision of the Greek Government to restructure the provision of vocational training at secondary level.
In that respect, the Commission notes that the Greek Government has stated that the abolition of a number of programmes in healthcare and other sectors offered by vocational high schools EPAL can be matched by the provision of programmes at post-secondary institutes of vocational training IEK , thus ensuring that Greek trainees will have the opportunity to train in those sectors, which are indeed included in the provision in other Member States.
The Commission is aware that a number of IEK are private institutions, and it also takes note of the Greek Government's plan to widen the capacity of public IEKs and support the accessibility of their courses. La repressione sistematica degli oppositori politici, la perpetrazione di torture nei loro confronti, il rifiuto di tenere elezioni libere, segrete e competitive e l'inesistenza di quella separazione tra poteri tipica di uno Stato di diritto, sono infatti — a detta di numerosi osservatori internazionali — indicativi della natura autoritaria del governo kazako.
The systematic repression of political opponents, the use of torture against them, the refusal to hold free, secret and competitive elections and the lack of separation of powers, characteristic of a State governed by the rule of law, are — according to many international observers — indicative of the authoritarian nature of the Kazakh Government. Does she intend to take into consideration the adoption of punitive measures such as a request to suspend the application of the partnership and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Kazakhstan should the Kazakh authorities fail to provide the guarantees requested?
They work to ensure that her legal rights are fully observed in the course of the ongoing investigation. Alma Shalabayeva was placed under house arrest immediately after her deportation from Rome to Almaty. She is now facing a possible prison sentence for allegedly corrupting two officials. It is also worth noting that the detainee was denied access to both lawyers and an interpreter, which deprived her of the right to appeal against the deportation and have the case re-examined. The actual deportation was carried out in an unprecedentedly short space of time.
The Commission also requested information regarding access to the asylum procedure and the respect of the principle of non-refoulement. The Commission will examine carefully the reply from the Italian authorities and closely monitor any further developments. Dia Internacional das Cooperativas — Medidas de apoio e fortalecimento das cooperativas. Cooperatives undoubtedly play a fundamental role in society in their various fields of action which should be recognised, encouraged and supported.
What measures are planned at EU level to support and strengthen cooperatives? Given the numerous difficulties the cooperative sector has had in accessing credit lines from the EIB, does it not believe that it should propose a specific framework to enable cooperatives to access EIB funding, thereby changing the current situation? The Commission shares the Honourable Member's view that actions are needed at European level to keep improving the competitiveness of cooperatives, particularly in the current economic context. The Commission's aim in this area is a level playing field so that cooperatives can compete on equal terms with enterprises using other legal forms.
Cooperatives are enterprises; as such, they can benefit from all financial programmes and policies of the next Multiannual Financial Framework. The Commission has recommended to the Member States to specifically support social business via the EU's structural funding programmes.
However, the EIB does not plan to set-up a specific programme for the cooperative sector. Short sea shipping is currently associated with the movement of cargo in smaller vessels Ro-Ros or feeders. According to sector associations, the increased flexibility in terms of pilotage exemption certificates brought about by this amendment carries considerable and inadmissible risks.
Moreover, the financial impact of current discounts on short sea shipping pilotage fees must be taken into account. What assessment and consideration has been made of the risks highlighted by sector organisations? The definition of Short Sea Shipping contained in the proposal for a regulation on market access and financial transparency of ports. The proposal does not adress the issue of Pilotage Exemption Certificates which is still being considered by the Commission in the context of a separate exercice agreed jointly between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The proposal seeks intead to clarify the rules on the access to the market of port services, including pilotage services.
It will allow, among others, to impose minimum requirements related to safety and to impose public service obligations such as the availability and continuity of the service for all users. It will also allow, under well justified and transparent conditions, to restrict the number of operators and to rely on in-house operators with exclusive rights. Where the market access is restricted, provisions are also proposed so that port service charges are set in a transparent and non-discriminatory way after consultation of users.
The proposal results from a long consultation of stakeholders including the pilotage organisations and on safety. As regards the separate issue of Pilotage Exemption Certificates, the Commission also remains in close contact with the pilotage organisations. No decision has however been taken yet. Por outro lado, a Apibarra recorda que o comportamento dos portos portugueses tem sido exemplar.
Como se justifica que a especificidade dos portos portugueses seja, em face do supramencionado, ignorada? These bodies have persistently maintained that pilotage should not be considered a commercial service. Over the last few years except , Portuguese ports have grown faster than national GDP and, more recently, have clearly bucked the national economic trend. If so, why has this been overlooked in the proposal and why has the opposite idea been conveyed?
Has it taken account of the different situations in EU ports? In view of the aforementioned information, how does it justify overlooking the specific situation of Portuguese ports? EMPA's views have been taken into account and are not overlooked in the proposal which the Hounorable Member refers to. In fact, the Commission's proposal is neutral in respect of the choice of Member States and does neither impose nor advocate intra-port competition in pilotage. The draft regulation foresees that Member States define the public service status of pilotage services and apply to those services the general TFEU principles of transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality.
A Portuguese association intends to develop a project that aims to protect water reserves in Rio de Vide Miranda do Corvo , a village in central Portugal, with a view to tackling seasonal shortages of water used primarily, but not exclusively, for farming. Its objective is to make more efficient use of the water wasted in winter and use it for farming and drinking water in summer. The project would involve, among other things, constructing a dam to store water for farming and restoring infrastructure springs and fountains from which people still fetch drinking water, which is becoming increasingly scarce.
Which programmes and measures could support a project of this nature and what are the related financing conditions? The Rural Development Programme of Mainland Portugal Proder for the period currently offers this possibility, through specific measures related to development and modernisation of irrigation systems.
Aid can be granted under Proder to farmers who fulfil the eligibility criteria and whose applications are selected by the managing authority following the selection procedures in force. In the framework of the management of Rural Development programmes, Member States are responsible for the selection and contracting of projects. Further information should be requested to the Proder Managing Authority at the following address:. Moreover, in and , the proportion of current health expenditure financed by households increased, accounting for At the same time, there was a decrease in funding from the National Health Service which represented This means that Portuguese families alone spent more on health, at a time when between and the wage share in the national economy experienced its biggest drop since and unemployment saw a dramatic rise.
To which years do these statistics refer? Why is it not in a position to judge? Health system reforms in Portugal in the framework of the Economic Assistance Program aim at improved efficiency and effectiveness. Savings mainly concern the area of pharmaceuticals and hospital operating costs. The objective is to maintain access to care and its quality and to increase value for money. Further measures, such as those in support of better prescribing practices are expected to bring both savings and improved health outcomes, for instance through avoiding hospitalisations.
Which Member States have lower diesel and petrol prices after tax for the fisheries sector than other consumers? Does the Commission have any comparative information on the price of fuel diesel and petrol , after tax, for the fisheries sector in the different Member States? The Commission does not record complete enough data on diesel and petrol prices for the fisheries sector to allow for a comprehensive comparison across all EU fleet segments, Member States and other sectors.
This information is retained at Member State level and can vary across regions within different Member States. These estimates do not include all Member States and do not differentiate between petrol and diesel consumption. The report, along with the relevant data, is publicly available on the webpage of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries.
Deelt de Commissie de mening dat het onwenselijk is dat steun aan landen met gebrek aan verantwoording niet gekoppeld is aan voorwaarden ten aanzien van bestedingsdoeleinden, wettigheid, regelmatigheid, doeltreffendheid en doelmatigheid, zoals in het geval van Egypte? Overeenkomstig haar herziene richtsnoeren inzake begrotingssteun stelt de Commissie in Egypte en in andere landen die begrotingssteun ontvangen, de uitbetalingen volledig afhankelijk van de vooruitgang van de hervormingen en de ondubbelzinnige verwezenlijking van de desbetreffende voorwaarden.
Bovendien kan in het kader van het Spring-programma, waarvoor Egypte in principe in aanmerking kan komen, aanvullende steun wordt gekoppeld aan democratische hervormingen. Sinds augustus heeft de Commissie voor Egypte dan ook geen nieuwe begrotingssteun meer vastgesteld. Vijf aspecten worden systematisch beoordeeld: Does the Commission agree that it is definitely desirable to link aid to countries displaying a lack of accountability to conditions based on allocation purposes, legality, regularity, effectiveness and efficiency, as in the case of Egypt?
If so, how and by when will the Commission turn this irresponsible approach into one featuring robust conditions and accountability, starting with Egypt? In line with its overhauled Budget Support guidelines, in Egypt and in other countries that receive budget support, the Commission conditions its financial disbursements entirely on progress in reforms and the unequivocal fulfilment of relevant conditions. To measure the performance of its aid programmes the Commission has tools that allow it to draw lessons from past experience.
In addition to system and financial audits on each project it funds, the Commission, in line with the Project Cycle Management methodology, conducts regular independent results-oriented monitoring exercises as well as mid-term, final and ex-post evaluations. Five dimensions are systematically assessed: Relevance, Efficiency, Effectiveness, Impact and Sustainability.
The mass extinction of bees is becoming an increasingly alarming problem. One of the reasons why these insects are dying is the use of pesticides from the neonicotinoid group, which are found in seed treatment insecticides. It appears that the research originally carried out by the manufacturers of these plant protection products was wrong. What is the likely end date for the research being carried out into this group of pesticides, which includes clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam?
What progress has been made with research into their harmfulness to bees? Does the Commission intend to look into the issue of monitoring beekeeping, including reliable research into bee populations and bee health? Does the Commission intend to increase its future budget for promoting the expansion of bee populations? The drastic drop in bee numbers has resulted in lower pollination levels, which in turn means reduced crop yields and higher prices. Research on neonicotinoids is ongoing… Research evidence was published recently in the EFSA conclusions and in the Peer Review Report on the three substances.
The Commission is already providing support technical assistance, co-financing of 3. The Commission has regularly consulted beekeepers' organisations for several years. Can the Commission confirm its intention to open infringement proceedings? If so, which countries do they involve? At the moment, the Commission is in the process of assessing the implementation of FABs by Member States, which may result in forthcoming infringement proceedings.
Whether or not infringement proceedings against Portugal or any other Member States are warranted remains to be assessed. Sukututkimus ja yleinen tietosuoja-asetus. The requirement to obtain consent from the subject for the use of personal data would make genealogical research more difficult. Genealogical researchers fear that the new requirement will put an end to the publication of genealogies. If the Commission considers genealogical research to fall within the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation, why has it not examined the impact that the proposal for a regulation would have on genealogical research as part of the impact assessment?
Will the Commission consider proposing in the so-called trialogue negotiations between the Council and Parliament the addition of genealogical research to the text of the regulation, either in the form of a data processing condition deviating from the general principle or by defining historical research so that it also covers genealogical research?
Alternatively, will the Commission consider a proposal for disproportionate efforts to remain a legitimate exception to the obligation to notify, at least in the case of historical research? Aspects pertaining to processing of personal data for research purposes have been touched upon in the impact assessment. The area of genealogical research was not specifically examined in this context.
La crisi umanitaria miete vittime e crea grandi sofferenze ai popoli africani che cercano di sopravvivere in quella zona, sofferenza che potrebbe essere alleviata se si potesse far giungere acqua in quelle regioni. Nel i paesi del bacino del lago Ciad si riunirono a Ndjiamena per accordarsi su una versione ridotta di trasferimento idrico. L'UE si adopera con impegno per affrontare la questioni attinenti alla desertificazione del Sahel e alla resilienza delle popolazioni e dei paesi, compresa la salvaguardia del lago Ciad. In occasione del Forum mondiale sull'acqua tenutosi a Marsiglia nel , il presidente ciadiano ha presentato 32 proposte di progetti volti a preservare il lago Ciad.
Gli sviluppi sul fronte della sicurezza ostacolano gli interventi umanitari in varie zone del Sahel. According to the UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator, Robert Piper, the fighting in Mali has displaced thousands of people and is having a devastating effect. Because funds have been diverted away by the Syrian crisis, even the UN contribution, in terms of emergency aid, has been falling short of what is needed.
The humanitarian crisis is claiming its toll of victims and causing great suffering to the African peoples endeavouring to survive in the Sahel. Their suffering could, however, be alleviated if a way were found to bring water to the region. In addition to refilling the lake, Transacqua would halt desertification, create an agricultural development area the size of Lombardy, and generate substantial hydropower production capacity.
Has the scaled-down version of the project got under way, and — assuming that the case applies — how far has the work progressed? Does the Commission have information about any humanitarian operations carried out by the EU? Does the Commission foresee that implementation of the targets may result in job losses in the aviation sector and if so, how does the Commission intend to address this? Currently, the Commission is in the process of preparing for the second reference period of the Performance Scheme RP2 from to EU-wide targets for that period will be decided under comitology rules by the end of this year.
In this work, the Commission is assisted by the independent Performance Review Body. Furthermore, for the process of RP2 target setting, considerable dialogue and engagement with staff bodies and associations will take place at EU and national level. More generally, in order to achieve the Single European Sky, changes are necessary on how air traffic management is organised in Europe, which may bring changes to the staff working in this sector.
In parallel to the process of setting EU-wide targets, preparations for RP2 have already started at national level. The resolution called on the Israeli Government and authorities to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law IHL , including securing an immediate end to house demolitions, evictions and forced displacement of Palestinians.
What steps are being taken, or are being considered, to support the return of persons forcibly displaced within the oPT? Palestinians have legitimate claims based on both international humanitarian law and human rights law. The EU continues to support projects aimed at maintaining the livelihoods of Palestinians across the West bank, including humanitarian support to displaced people in the Gaza Strip.
The EU is concerned that continued Israeli restrictions on the import of construction materials, limiting the impact of donor-funded housing self-help programmes. It will continue to raise these matters in discussions with the Israeli government. The resolution called on the Israeli Government and authorities to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law IHL , including facilitating Palestinian planning and building activities and the implementation of Palestinian development projects.
The EU itself has always called on all its partners, including Israel, to meet their obligations under international law. Further, while for instance master plans are being submitted to the village councils of the Israeli Civil Administration, it is considered that any further permits within those submitted master plans would be within the remit of Palestinian institutions.
The resolution called on the Israeli Government and authorities to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law IHL , including facilitating access and movement. The resolution called on the Israeli Government and authorities to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law, including facilitating the access of Palestinians to farming and grazing locations.
Rocket attacks on Israel must cease. Israel has also allowed improved access to farmland close to the Gaza-Israel fence following the ceasefire, although the lack of publicly available information setting out Israeli policy continues to create uncertainty and instability for civilians. The Netherlands has supported the FAO in transforming barren land in formerly restricted areas into arable areas.
The EU is determined to build on the ceasefire and work towards a fundamental change in the situation of the Gaza Strip for the benefit of the local population, and will continue to raise these matters with Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. The resolution called on the Israeli Government and authorities to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law, including ensuring a fair distribution of water to meet the needs of the Palestinian population.
The EU is fully cognisant of the challenges concerning the access to and management of water resources shared between Israel and Palestine and has consistently encouraged both parties to address all final status issues including water during negotiations. The EU aims to support the Palestinian Water Authority to provide collective sanitation, improve treatment of wastewater and re-use part of it for agriculture purposes.
The EU also insists that there should be no obstruction to water-related infrastructure development in Palestine. The recommendations, in line with the reports for all ENP countries, were limited in number and largely linked to attaining objectives in bilateral relations under the ENP Action Plan across a range of sectors.
The resolution encouraged the Palestinian Government and authorities to pay increasing attention to Area C and East Jerusalem in Palestinian national development plans and projects, with the aim of improving the situation and living conditions of the Palestinian population in these areas.
What have been, or are expected to be, the outcomes? The resolution called on the Council and the Commission to continue to support and deliver assistance to Palestinian institutions and development projects in Area C and in East Jerusalem, with the aim of protecting and strengthening the Palestinian population.
What we are doing with the Turing test for poetry, rather, is collecting opinions about what constitutes humanness. So, what I've figured out, we've seen this when earlier today, we saw that William Blake is more of a human than Gertrude Stein. Of course, this doesn't mean that William Blake was actually more human or that Gertrude Stein was more of a computer. It simply means that the category of the human is unstable. This has led me to understand that the human is not a cold, hard fact.
Rather, it is something that's constructed with our opinions and something that changes over time. That is to say, the category of the human is unstable. So my final insight is that the computer, more or less, works like a mirror that reflects any idea of a human that we show it. We show it Emily Dickinson, it gives Emily Dickinson back to us.
We show it William Blake, that's what it reflects back to us. We show it Gertrude Stein, what we get back is Gertrude Stein. More than any other bit of technology, the computer is a mirror that reflects any idea of the human we teach it. So I'm sure a lot of you have been hearing a lot about artificial intelligence recently. And much of the conversation is kind of, Can we build it? Can we build an intelligent computer? Can we build a creative computer? What we seem to be asking over and over is can we build a human-like computer?
But what we've seen just now is that the human is not a scientific fact, that it's an ever-shifting, concatenating idea and one that changes over time. So that when we begin to grapple with the ideas of artificial intelligence in the future, we shouldn't only be asking ourselves, "Can we build it? Applause Translation - Italian Ho una domanda: Pensateci un attimo e subito vi verranno in mente molte altre domande: Ma queste sono domande alle quali le persone dedicano tutta la loro vita per rispondere, non un singolo TED Talk.
Quindi dobbiamo provare in un altro modo. Qui sopra abbiamo due poesie. Dovrete dirmi quale appartiene all'uno e all'altro. Facciamo un tentativo, cominciate a leggere Poesia 1: Alzate le mani se pensate che la poesia 1 sia stata scritta da un essere umano. Ok, la maggior parte di voi. Alzate le mani se pensate che la poesia 2 sia stata scritta da un umano. La maggior parte di voi ha indovinato, forse era troppo facile. Proviamo con un altro test. Se pensate che la prima poesia sia stata scritta da un essere umano, alzate la mano. Ok Se pensate che la seconda poesia sia stata scritta da un essere umano, alzate la mano.
Nel io e il mio amico Benjamin Laird abbiamo creato un Turing test on line per la poesia. Si chiama "bot o no", lo puoi vedere e fare per conto tuo. Ti viene mostrata una poesia, tu non sai se sia stata scritta da un essere umano o un computer e devi indovinare. Centinaia e centinaia di persone hanno fatto questo test on line, di cui abbiamo i risultati.
Quali sono i risultati? Quindi abbiamo una risposta alla nostra domanda. Facciamo il terzo e ultimo test. Di nuovo, dovrete leggere e dirmi quale ritenete essere umano. Bandiere rosse la ragione di belle bandiere. Alzi la mano chi pensa che la poesia 1 sia stata scritta da un essere umano. Alzi la mano chi pensa che la poesia 2 sia stata scritta da un essere umano. Prima che vada avanti, lasciate che vi descriva brevemente come funziona RKCP. Quindi, si sottopone a RKCP un testo, questo lo analizza per capire come viene usato il linguaggio, e poi ricrea un linguaggio che copia il precedente.
La poesia che abbiamo visto prima, la poesia 2, che tutti pensavate fosse umana, ha preso un gruppo di poesie della poetessa Emily Dickinson, ha osservato il modo in cui ha usato il linguaggio, ha imparato il modello, e poi ha ricreato un modello secondo la stessa struttura. E' solo materiale grezzo. Quindi cosa deduciamo da tutto questo? Risate Queste sono domande che mi sono fatto per quasi due anni ormai, e non ho ancora la risposta.
Quello che ho sono parecchie idee sulla nostra relazione con la tecnologia. Come facciamo a dire chi o cosa fa parte di questa categoria? Credo anche che Alan Turing lo abbia capito, e quando aveva ideato il suo test nel , stava lanciando una provocazione filosofica. Noi gli mostriamo Emily Dickinson, lui ci restituisce Emily Dickinson. Noi gli mostriamo William Blake, lui ce lo riflette. Sono sicuro che molti di voi hanno sentito parlare molto di intelligenza artificiale recentemente.
E la maggior parte della questione era, Possiamo costruirla? Possiamo costruire un computer intelligente? Possiamo costruire un computer creativo? My name is Maria Sundin, and I'm an astrophysicist. There are lots of connections between astrophysics and water, but today, I want to tell you about why the Earth has water at all, and that it's not so easy to find another planet if we should mess up this too badly. So I will talk about water on other planets in our Solar System, and the search for planets around other stars.
Are there other terrestrial worlds out there? Are there other worlds like our planet? Well, the history of water is It started with the Big Bang. Hydrogen has been around for a long time. Hydrogen is one of the components of water. The other component is oxygen. We breathe oxygen, and I don't know if you've thought so much about where the oxygen comes from, but oxygen is created in the interior of stars. And when the stars explode, this oxygen is spread into the Universe. On this picture you see an exploding star.
Several stars had to explode before our Sun was created. When a star is created, like our Sun - this happened about five billion years ago - there's some extra debris gathering around the star that will form the planets. Since a few stars had exploded, this debris around what was to become the Sun, had some oxygen in it, and lots of hydrogen, and these elements together are joined to form water.
There's quite a lot of water in the Universe, mostly in the form of ice; liquid water is much more uncommon. In the early days of the Earth, the Earth was bombarded by comets. I believe I've heard that about ten times the amount of water in our oceans today was bombarded on the Earth very early in the history. We have some bigger planets in our Solar System - Jupiter, Saturn - they are protecting us for the moment from lots of impacts. During the first half billion years of the Earth's existence, it was bombarded continuously with comets. So the water was brought to us by comets and by out-gassing of the material that the Earth was created from.
So the water comes from space, and it has come from space in many ways, both in the material that the Earth was created from, but also, it was bombarded by comets. So we have a very nice planet with liquid water, and that is because it's at the right distance from the Sun, so it's warm enough, and we have an atmosphere, we have air that keeps a nice pressure on the planet, so that we can have big oceans.
That's not so easy to find. We also believe that the possibility of having life is very highly connected to having liquid water. We don't know how life started on the Earth, but we know very much that life is very old. As soon as the planet "calmed down", life started to exist here. I can't tell you if there's other life out in the Universe.
If I ever happen to tell anybody that I'm an astronomer, the first question I get is is there life out there? But what I hope we can do rather soon is to tell you something about are there other Earth-like planets out there, where the conditions are the same. Looking at our neighbor Mars, it is today a cold, dry, desert planet.
It's smaller than the Earth. But during the time that life arose on Earth, originated here, Mars was very different. It had a huge ocean on the northern hemisphere. It had an atmosphere. So conditions were rather similar on Mars and on the Earth. Perhaps life started on Mars as well. We don't know that as yet, but the conditions were very similar. If we talk about life in the Universe, people usually want the big spaceship landing right outside there, so we can, you know, try to communicate and stuff. But I would be almost just as intrigued if I'd found a dead bacteria or something very small life-like on Mars, because that could give us the key to the question of whether life originates if you have a place where the conditions are favorable.
The reason why Mars has changed too much is that it's smaller than the Earth. The lesser gravity means that Mars has been unable to keep its atmosphere. So, it's a very low pressure on the surface. If you were to pour out a glass of water on the surface of Mars, it would just evaporate instantly. But there has been lots of water there, and this picture shows an old river delta on Mars. So just imagine this neighbor planet - it has had oceans, it has had rivers; it's been a very different world. So worlds can change. This means that Mars is not a very good candidate perhaps for life today, because there's no liquid water on the surface, and there's no protecting ozone layer there.
Perhaps there could be some very simple life forms below the surface. We might find out, or perhaps they are not there. But there's one place in our Solar System where liquid water might exist that's not the Earth. It's this small moon. The moon is called Europa. It's one of Jupiter's moons. If you look at Europa, it looks like a big ice ball. Why would you have liquid water out in the outer regions of the Solar System? Well, Jupiter has approximately 60 moons; we have one. If you combine the gravity working on Europa from the big Jupiter - Jupiter is so much bigger than the Earth - and the 60 other moons, you have different forces acting on Europa all the time, heating it.
There's one moon that's even closer to Jupiter that's called Io. It has constant volcanoes because there's so many forces acting on it. Europa is a little bit further from Jupiter, and it looks like a big ice ball with cracks in it. We have had a few probes out there, taking pictures of the surface of Europa. The people who are looking at the ice claim that the surface of Europa, it looks more like the Arctic than the Antarctic.
The difference, of course, is that on the Arctic, at the North Pole, you have ice floating on water. If you look at the Antarctic, you have ice lying on a continent. They say that Europa shows more features that look like ice floating on water. So perhaps, out on this small moon, could be a very… several kilometers thick crust of ice, but there may be a huge subsurface ocean there, and in that case, it's the only other place than the Earth in our Solar System where you have liquid water. The conditions are probably quite similar to the conditions very deep in our own oceans. You have some heat from the interior of the moon.
It's dark, of course, but you have liquid water, you have carbon, all the other elements that life is formed from here on the Earth, and you have energy. So, it's a very interesting place, and I hope that you will have the chance to learn more about it. Several expeditions to this moon are planned.
The first thing is to try to find out is there an ocean there. And we'll see if somebody is swimming in it. If we are to leave our own Solar System - I hope we don't have to, actually - in about a billion years, the Sun is constantly increasing its luminosity, its output, its power, so actually, in about a billion years, the Earth will be too hot to have liquid water. A billion years is a very long time.
Human history is quite short, actually. Sometimes when you talk about astronomy, people think that, "Oh, we are so small and insignificant, just living on this very small planet, and having to repress things and not to think about it. But I believe we are quite remarkable. We have a very short history of science, of thinking like that, but we constantly keep asking ourselves those questions: Why does everything look like it is and what can we do? What are those things shining up there?
I don't say that we have all the answers as yet, but at least we know something about the And also, a little bit into the future. I hope that mankind's future will be very long; I sincerely hope so. So we have at least a billion years to solve our problems, but I think it's important to start today, but then we have to travel outwards, perhaps to Mars, perhaps to Europa. But is there some place else to go to? In , we started to find the first planets around other stars. This is not a photo; this is a drawing by an artist.
We can't take any pictures of these other planets as yet. So finding planets around other stars is a fairly new kind of science. About one year ago, we had discovered , which means that we can start to make some statistics. The fun thing is that we found so many planets that nobody has ever said that there was going to be out there, and the question was really could there be another Earth or is this the only one?
There are so many really strange things out there: We are trying to keep up with the nomenclature right now. With new telescopes, during , the number of discovered planets is now exceeding 2,, and we are finally getting some reports on perhaps Earth-sized planets at least. There actually seems to be quite a good chance of finding ocean planets or water worlds out there, that is planets that have no continents; just very, very deep oceans.
You have some variations of these. If you move them a little bit further from their star, you get big icy planets, ice giants. If you move them a little bit towards the stars, you get steam, some kind of sauna planets. I really want to impress upon you that Universe is always stranger than we can imagine, but it is a support of our thinking from a very long time: I mean, you are students, most of you; you can try to find out this, what's out there.
Some of them might be Earth-like also. The problem is that they are very small compared to a star, so they are hard to find. We have some different methods of trying to find them. So far, the Earth-like planets are very few, but I believe that in five years, we will know very much more about this.
If we have to leave our home in a billion years, perhaps we will know where to go. Applause Translation - Italian Grazie. Mi chiamo Maria Sundin, e sono un'astrofisica. Ci sono altri mondi come il nostro pianeta? Bene, la storia dell'acqua risale a E' iniziata col Big Bang. E quando le stelle esplodono, questo ossigeno si sparge nell'Universo.
Nella foto vedete una stella esplosa. Parecchie stelle dovettero esplodere prima che fosse creato il nostro sole. Da quando un po' di stelle sono esplose, questi detriti intorno, che avrebbero formato il sole, avevano dell'ossigeno dentro, e molto idrogeno, e questi elementi insieme si sono uniti per formare l'acqua. Nei primi tempi della terra, essa era bombardata da comete. Giove, Saturno, loro ci stanno proteggendo da moltissimi impatti, per il momento. Durante il primo mezzo miliardo di anni dell'esistenza della terra, era bombardata continuamente dalle comete.
Ma durante il periodo in cui la vita nasceva sulla terra, Marte era molto diverso. Aveva un oceano enorme nell'emisfero nordico. Le condizioni su Marte erano simili a quelle sulla terra. Noi non lo sappiamo ancora, ma le condizioni erano molto simili. Se parliamo di vita nell'universo, le persone vorrebbero una grande astronave che atterri qui fuori per poter, sapete, comunicare e via dicendo. Se dovessi versare un bicchiere d'acqua sulla superficie di Marte, questo evaporerebbe immediatamente.
Quindi i pianeti possono cambiare. Forse potrebbero esserci alcune forme di vita sotto la superficie. E' questa piccola luna. La luna si chiama Europa. E' una delle lune di Giove. Se osservi Europa, sembra una grande palla di ghiaccio. Bene, Giove ha circa 60 lune; noi ne abbiamo una.
Abbiamo avuto delle prove di questo, con delle foto alla superficie di Europa. Se guardi l'Antartico, il ghiaccio si trova su un continente. Quindi forse, su questa piccola luna, potrebbe esserci Diverse spedizioni sono programmate verso questa luna. E vedremo se qualcuno ci sta nuotando dentro. Ma io credo che siamo davvero eccezionali. Abbiamo una storia molto breve di scienza, di pensieri come questo, ma ci facciamo continuamente queste domande: Non dico che abbiamo tutte le risposte finora, ma almeno sappiamo qualcosa sui E anche, un po' di futuro.
Nel abbiamo iniziato a trovare i primi pianeti intorno ad altre stelle. Non possiamo ancora scattare foto di questi pianeti. Circa un anno fa ne abbiamo scoperti , che significa che possiamo iniziare a fare qualche statistica. Stiamo cercando di tenerci aggiornati con la terminologia ora.
Con i nuovi telescopi, nel , il numero dei pianeti scoperti sta ora superando i , e stiamo finalmente avendo notizie sui pianeti della grandezza della terra. Possono esserci alcune variazioni. Se li sposti verso le stelle, hai del vapore, delle specie di "sauna" pianeti. Alcuni di loro potrebbero anche essere come la terra. Abbiamo diversi metodi per scoprirli.
Se dovessimo lasciare la terra tra un miliardo di anni, forse sapremo dove andare. Why do we share? Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc. Source text - English Good evening everyone; thank you so much, I'm very excited to be here. Tonight I want to talk a little bit about some reflections that I've had in my three years at YouTube, about why people share online. I want to start by showing you a short video clip of the type of video that I watch every single day. Crashing sounds We're all here in California; the Bay area to be specific. We all know, as much as we may try and deny it, the geographic reality that this particular place on the globe is prone to earthquakes.
So, quick poll, quick poll; I want to know how many people think that their first instinct would be to whip out their video camera if there were an earthquake right now? Laughter Knock on wood, that's not going to happen; OK, a couple. Well, in Japan, on March 11th, hundreds of people shot video footage just like that. At the moment of truth, as the floor was shaking beneath them, the books were falling off the shelves, and waters from the tsunamis were actually rising in their homes, and in their businesses, they thought to themselves, "Let me hit the record button; I want to document this thing that is happening, and share it with the world.
Before anything else, these people thought, "I want to share this; I want other people to see what it is that we just went through. And to really try and find those raw eye-witness videos that everyday citizens, just like you and me, decided to capture. They happened to be in the right place at the right time, when this thing happened. Or the wrong place, depending on how you look at it. But I have to be honest, and say that I don't think I'm one of those people; I don't think that I would put myself in danger, at that type of moment, to capture this experience.
So it makes my job a little bit strange, because my job relies on people doing things that I would never do. Like, for example, running into a burning building, with a helmet-cam strapped to my head. There's a lot of firemen on YouTube who do this; you would be amazed. Or putting myself into a war-zone, this video's from Libya, with a flip-cam, to document police brutality, and upload that to YouTube. Or, run across the street as bullets are flying, to film a young woman dying on the sidewalk.
This is the iconic "Neda" video from Iran. The question is, "Why do these people do this? I try to understand, "What are the motivations? What is the psychology of somebody who's willing to risk their life to share an experience like this? I always assumed this was a positive development for media; you have citizen reporters out there, covering events that maybe otherwise wouldn't be covered. But it wasn't until I had a personal experience of my own that I really started to wonder whether this behavior I was promoting was actually unveiling a sort-of darker side of humanity, potentially, rather than a brighter side.
I was walking home from work one day, and I saw a police car and police tape blocking off Valencia Street in the Mission, about half a block from where I live. Immediately, I have this sense of panic that there's something in my apartment building, or something. I asked somebody standing there, "What's going on? My eyes gazed up, along with the rest of the crowd, and I saw a young man, standing at the edge of a ledge of a four-story building about to jump. Immediately, I felt sick to my stomach. And yet I was filled with this adrenaline.
After a couple of seconds of processing what was going on, I thought to myself, "This is the moment; this is when these citizen reporters that I work with would capture this on film and share it! And then I uploaded it to Facebook. He was OK; he didn't jump. I went home, and I just felt really unsettled. I went on Facebook, and I started getting some comments on the wall post, and I took it down.
It really made me think, "What is it about me, and this culture, and this culture in which I exist, that inspired me to take that," and put it up and share it? And I'm going to be the center of their attention for the 30 seconds that they're focused on my post in their news-feed. Then they're going to move on to one of the hundreds of others that have come in in the last two minutes. I want to share a couple of quick stats to show you how ubiquitous this behavior really is. Every single minute on YouTube, 35 hours worth of new content is uploaded to the site.
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In that same minute, years worth of YouTube videos are watched on Facebook. And in that same minute, more than tweets include a YouTube link. Now, in that minute on Facebook, you have almost 83, status updates posted. You have almost , photos. In a day, in , Foursquare had a million check-ins a day. And now, Twitter's latest numbers are million tweets per day. These numbers are astounding, right? I quickly want to walk through three different types of sharing, but I really want to focus on the last one.
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The first one is the most obvious, right? This is personal sharing; this is the information you share with your family and friends. Oftentimes it's basic, it's facts about you; where you grew up, where you went to school, where you live, and where you work. This is sort of your stake in the ground. Then, I think, there's the more self-expressive. You know, "Here are the types of music that I like, movies that I enjoy, the shows that I watch every week.
These are the types of posts that are sort of more subtle, they give people a sense of where I fit in to a social network. It might be a cool restaurant that I "checked in" to, with a specific person that bumps me up in the social circle. The second type of sharing is really around content. This is interesting links, funny YouTube videos, amazing awe-inspiring photographs. This type of sharing, I think often is either about informing your friends and family of something you think they might find interesting or useful.
Or, it's about starting a conversation around a topic that you really care about. But it's the third type of sharing that I think is most interesting; I think it's completely different, and something we don't talk about as much. This is, oftentimes, it will start with some type of personal experience. It might be a piece of content, so it's sort of a blend of the first two. But this type of sharing transcends the person that initiated it; it is about something much bigger.
Oftentimes, this type of sharing requires someone taking a risk, like the videos we saw at the beginning. People are putting themselves outside of their comfort zone, and documenting some experience that then will have a broader implication to the rest of the world. I think the key thing about this type of sharing is that it makes people realize that they're a part of something bigger than just themselves. I'm not sure how many people have heard of the "It Gets Better Project"? Applause Amazing, amazing stuff; if you haven't seen it, check it out. Last fall, after a string of nationally publicized suicides of gay teens, who'd been bullied and ridiculed by their peers, a man named Dan Savage and his partner, Terry, made a video, in which they told their story.
They talked about what it was like to be gay, as a young person in high school. They talked about how horrible it was to have to deal with the people at their school who didn't like them. They talked about coming out, they talked about meeting each other, they talked about falling in love and starting a family, and the message underlying this entire video was: Before too long, other people started making their own videos, their own "It Gets Better" videos; talking about their experiences, and sharing their stories, many of which had never seen the light of day.
People were telling their greatest fears and their most painful moments to complete strangers on the Internet. They were talking about what it was like to go to sleep at night and not want to wake up in the morning. These are really powerful stories. And in isolation, none of these people probably would have shared these videos. But they knew that they were part of a movement, and they understood that their act of sharing this was an act of solidarity.
I want to just play one video that's one of my favorites from the "It Gets Better Project". My name is JD and I've been a sworn law enforcement officer for the past 15 years. We are here to tell you it does get better. When I was in high school and middle school, I was picked on continuously and constantly by cruel people. But in spite of that, I did persevere, and you will as well. We want to let you know that no matter what you think about yourself right now, and what other people might be thinking about you that might be negative; whether they said you're too feminine, whether they said that you're too masculine, you are perfect and wonderful, exactly as you are.
We want to let you know that indeed. It does get better. Applause I love that video, and I really encourage you to look at the "It Gets Better" site; it's just incredibly inspiring. Why'd these guys make this video, right? They knew that they were part of something bigger. People not only risk themselves emotionally, but they risk themselves physically.
I think we've seen this in the last few months, during the Arab Spring. This video was actually from Iran, in , where we really started to see this movement grow. These protesters understood that foreign media had been kicked out their country, there were no reporters to tell their stories, and that suddenly, the onus was on them, to document what was happening on the streets, and provide a visceral window into what was happening in Tehran, in Cairo, in Damascus. These people understood that it was more important for them to capture video than it was to throw stones.
The camera was their weapon, and information was the single most threatening thing to the dictatorship that they were trying to overthrow. People also understood that they needed help through social networks to get the word out. In Iran, we started seeing videos that were being uploaded with titles and descriptions that said things like, "We are the media, you are the media; please share this with as many people as you possibly can.
And they did; through Twitter and Facebook and YouTube, and other social platforms. The word was spread and mainstream media was covering the story through the eyes of these protesters. Obviously, the revolution in Iran hasn't come to fruition. But one of the most amazing things about what has happened is that the perception of a nation was entirely changed. I think before this, many Americans thought of Iran as the center of the "axis of evil".
All of a sudden, it was a country filled with empathy-worthy individuals that weren't so different from you and me. More recently in Egypt, these videos have shown a sense of solidarity. We heard anecdoteally that many people felt like they were really unhappy with the Mubarak government, but they didn't necessarily know all their neighbors felt the same way. When they started to see videos on YouTube of thousands of people gathering in Tahrir Square, and they started to see activity on Twitter, they realized that they could go out and join them, and they were not alone.
My point is, it's not all about what you had for breakfast. Although, that type of everyday sharing is still really important; it's a part of the human experience, and there's nothing wrong with that. I think that this type of transcendent sharing, where you are broadening your experience, and really making it universal to the rest of the world, is what is so exciting.
The last anecdote I want to share really quickly is from Facebook. There was a woman in Alabama last week, which was the state that was hardest hit by the tornadoes that swept through the south-east. She woke up and found her lawn littered with photos and letters, that had been traveled through the wind, miles.
She collected all these photos, and she was so moved by these individual memories that were on her front door, that she felt like she needed to do something. So she scanned all of them, and made a Facebook page. She put them up on Facebook and said to herself, "If all I can do is return one photo, then I'm happy. And 36, photos have been uploaded. I took this screen shot a few days ago; I went to the page this morning, and every five minutes, there's a new photo that's being posted. I think that it's stories like this, that really give me hope.
Jessica inizia a frequentare la casa, come al solito mette zizzania tra Malcolm e Reese, tanto da convincere lois a portare tutta la famiglia a vedere "Mamma mia": Quando i due lo scoprono, passano al contrattacco e tramite un trucchetto convincono la madre che Jessica abbia una storia con Malcolm. Hal e Dewey faranno la pace, soprattutto dopo aver visto la splendida ricostruzione del vicino: Al compleanno di Dewey sono invitati Abe e Stevie: Inoltre, Stevie deve vincere un premio per la gentilezza, e tutti si complimentano con lui. Quando i due amici si allontanano, Lois vede Kitty che spia dalla finestra: A sera tarda arriva Francis, che vuole iniziare Dewey alla "fratellanza", una scusa per sfruttarlo e prenderlo in giro.
Il giorno dopo la festa, Abe arriva adirato a casa della famiglia: Malcolm aiuta Stevie con il discorso di ringraziamento: Alla premiazione, Lois capisce di aver sbagliato con Kitty: Ai festeggiamenti partecipano anche Francis e Piama. I ragazzi regalano ai genitori oggetti bellissimi, mentre Hal ha preparato solo dei "buoni per un abbraccio". Si scopre che Malcolm ha una carta di credito segreta, con la quale ha acquistato i regali: Hanson e Zoey, due compagni della classe speciale di Dewey, ricevono la proposta di candidarsi come capo del Consiglio Studentesco da parte di Kyle, un bambino "normale": Dewey intuisce immediatamente che Kyle vuole deridere gli altri due, e propone il suo nome a un professore: Hal diventa sonnambulo per lo stress di cosa regalare alla moglie: Reese sfrutta la condizione del padre per ottenere aiuti e regali.
Jamie cresce, e diventa un bambino pestifero: I ragazzi trovano un trampolino, e Reese impazzisce per trovare qualcosa di divertente ma stupido da fare con lui. Si scopre che lui si sente crescere, e potrebbe essere l'ultima occasione per fare qualche stupidata. Si scopre anche che, un tempo, era Lois il genitore debole, mentre Hal era l'"orco cattivo". Malcolm e Dewey aiutano Reese trovando un gioco stupido da fare col trampolino Reese dovrebbe indossare dei razzi da segnalazione, saltare dal trampolino e teoricamente prendere il volo , ma appena quest'ultimo mette piene sul primo gradino, il trampolino gli crolla addosso.
Reese gli dava di nascosto della cola. Hal, per caso, scopre di essere bravissimo a tagliare i capelli e svolge questa professione in casa, ma gratuitamente. Per caso, la moglie del capo di Lois viene a farsi tagliare i capelli e si scopre che ha una relazione con Craig. Quando la madre li scopre, loro corrono ai ripari: Lois fa di tutto per farli scendere. Malcolm e Reese costruiscono uno slittino da strada, ma vengono sempre battuti da un corridore misterioso, che si scopre essere Stevie: