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Geopolitics

Slave Descendant Sues French State for Crime Against Humanity

FRANCE INFO, SLATE AFRIQUE (France)

Worldcrunch

PARIS - A French woman of Guadeloupian origins, Rosita Destival, has filed suit against the French state for not having emancipated one of her ancestors after the legal abolition of slavery.

The woman's lawyer cites the 2001 bill stating that slavery was now considered to be a crime against humanity. The CRAN (Representative Council of France’s Black associations) joined the cause, and claimed that they shall “make lawsuits fall like rain,” according to France info. The 1848 Abolition decree indeed stipulated that there can be a compensation made…to the slave drivers, to make up for economic loss.

The American bank JP Morgan got caught in a similar case in 2005 as it was accused of “building its initial capital partly thanks to slaves,” reports France info through Le Monde.

In this more recent case, the CRAN demands “a simple financial retribution and a little more recognition.” On the other hand, Slate Afrique points out that the French state has said it is not responsible under the law, which could lead to a fierce juridical battle.

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Green

Forest Networks? Revisiting The Science Of Trees And Funghi "Reaching Out"

A compelling story about how forest fungal networks communicate has garnered much public interest. Is any of it true?

Thomas Brail films the roots of a cut tree with his smartphone.

Arborist and conservationist Thomas Brail at a clearcutting near his hometown of Mazamet in the Tarn, France.

Melanie Jones, Jason Hoeksema, & Justine Karst

Over the past few years, a fascinating narrative about forests and fungi has captured the public imagination. It holds that the roots of neighboring trees can be connected by fungal filaments, forming massive underground networks that can span entire forests — a so-called wood-wide web. Through this web, the story goes, trees share carbon, water, and other nutrients, and even send chemical warnings of dangers such as insect attacks. The narrative — recounted in books, podcasts, TV series, documentaries, and news articles — has prompted some experts to rethink not only forest management but the relationships between self-interest and altruism in human society.

But is any of it true?

The three of us have studied forest fungi for our whole careers, and even we were surprised by some of the more extraordinary claims surfacing in the media about the wood-wide web. Thinking we had missed something, we thoroughly reviewed 26 field studies, including several of our own, that looked at the role fungal networks play in resource transfer in forests. What we found shows how easily confirmation bias, unchecked claims, and credulous news reporting can, over time, distort research findings beyond recognition. It should serve as a cautionary tale for scientists and journalists alike.

First, let’s be clear: Fungi do grow inside and on tree roots, forming a symbiosis called a mycorrhiza, or fungus-root. Mycorrhizae are essential for the normal growth of trees. Among other things, the fungi can take up from the soil, and transfer to the tree, nutrients that roots could not otherwise access. In return, fungi receive from the roots sugars they need to grow.

As fungal filaments spread out through forest soil, they will often, at least temporarily, physically connect the roots of two neighboring trees. The resulting system of interconnected tree roots is called a common mycorrhizal network, or CMN.

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