Post No. 2,139 - Reading and other links

I'm going to begin this with a reminder that the work of this blog is: 

• clearing nonBPM nonphysical  units (in a sense, doing the shadow work of the world), including doing spirit rescues,

and

• BPM  strengthening  BPM units - some nonphysical, some incarnated people . . . and one of, if not the, best ways that is done is strengthening people's connection with their own Higher Self (which is often not what they interpret as their conscience).
  

Having made that point, here are some links that you, Dear Reader, may find of interest or value: 

• a thoughtful reflection on hope vs. optimism; 
• a call for more public philosophy; 
• a touching film on a funeral director in the USA who cares for those unclaimed as a result of bigotry/stigma; 
• as an inveterate "people watcher", I can relate to this : "the pleasure in not understanding a language can be awesome"; 
• another  advantage for forest bathing; 
• oneness, and biocentrism - a new term for the view that consciousness / life created the physical universe; 
• a video on NDEs.
  

Human rights related links (originally published on my political blog) that you, Dear Reader, may find of interest or value: 

• "in an act of climate barter, Jordan is gearing up to provide solar energy to Israel in exchange for desalinated water";
  
• there is only limited time available to salvage the Iran nuclear deal;
• an interesting video on having more than two parties, including commentary that Europe's multiplicity of choice results in more stability than the USA's binary choices - and criticism of the blocking of voting reforms in the USA by two nominally Democrat Senators; 
• a very US-focused video on SLAPPs and anti-SLAPP measures, and one on the limitations of HIPAA; 
• a call for international law to recognise climate refugees; 
• Ukraine, currently being menaced by Russia, has experienced a major cyberattack - which some groups in Russia are noted for committing; 
• "70 people have been killed after an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a detention centre in northern Yemen"; 
  
• the CCP's head, Xi Jinping, has established himself as leader, but by doing so (particularly in the way he has), has created a situation where a succession crisis is inevitable, and may play out badly for him - thus compelling him to stay in power; 
• other nations are allowing the CCP to forcibly return people to mainland China;  
• an opinion that the IoC was partly responsible for the debacle of the app for the sporting event in China - where the CCP has threatened legal action against any athletes who speak out on ANYTHING that doesn't kow tow to the CCP;
  
• Sudan's military continues to appear move towards reimposing its autocratic rule by violently  suppressing dissent - at the expense of foreign aid, although their words suggest support for civilian government; 
• more calls for the junta to allow elections in Mali; 
• protests against suppression of free speech in Angola;
  
• a jailed Vietnamese journalist has been given a human rights award; 
• the catholic sect's pope has "vowed justice" for abuse victims of the church he now heads - abuse which also was reportedly enabled by his still living predecessor;
  
• the digital trail of a recent mass murderer has exposed "the violent fantasies of the ‘manosphere’";
• the misogynistic violent extremists who have power in Afghanistan have responded violently to women calling for rights;
  
• "research by the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR) uncovered a “foul trove of racial hatred” on [social media platforms] and amongst the gaming community";
  
• the use of biometrics by Greece's police is undermining human rights; 
• a legal case has been launched against the use of facial recognition technology ("there is little evidence that the technology reduces crime, critics say. It also often fails to identify darker-skinned persons and women accurately, and its use is problematic in the absence of a data protection law in India, digital rights activists say") in India;
• a caution that aid to address Afghanistan's massive and growing humanitarian crisis "must be disentangled from concepts of political legitimacy"; 
• an opinion that "the torture of asylum seekers has twisted our perceptions of right and wrong"; 
• Australia has failed to meet an obligation under the international anti-torture convention; 
• calls to ban an abusive Bangladesh unit from peacekeeping; 
  
• "the United Nations (UN) has [reportedly] commended Nigeria for being the first country in Africa to successfully secure conviction for piracy";
  
• a criticism of changes in recent years at SBS (to this criticism I'll add SBS's aggressive harvesting of personal information, which is why I use neither their app nor their online viewing options); 
• "White Man’s Media: Legacy media in the US and UK frames and conditions our thinking and actions" - the first in a series to come; 
• "the appointment of a long-time friend to Rupert Murdoch as chair of the ACCC is dubious, given potential conflicts of interest";
• the national neolib government is putting workers at risk again; 
• more allegations of corruption (or, at the very least, unfairness and possibly arbitrariness) by the national neolibs;
  
• an opinion from the USA that "Hospital Greed Is Destroying Our Nurses";
  
• a thoughtful (and evidence-informed) reflection on why (some) mass protests fail; 
• a new theory on the causation of vigilante violence; 
• Russia is the latest government to ban cryptocurrencies.