The level of inequality in today’s world is unconscionable. I’m convinced that a time will come when people, looking back at today’s world, will be shocked that we tolerated this kind of inequality, the same way that we are shocked that our ancestors tolerated slavery & serfdom.
Some tech advice for activists & journalists in India:
1. Do not use biometrics to unlock your phone/laptop. Use a strong passphrase.
2. Use full-disk encryption to encrypt the data on your device.
3. Know that you are under no obligation to share your passphrases w/ the police
If you're an accused, then you have a *constitutional right against self-incrimination* under Art. 20(3). You cannot legally be required to reveal any potentially incriminating info to the police. This isn't being "above the law", it *is the law*. (This is also a right u/ IHRL.)
After a day long interrogation by Delhi special cell, I am back home. Each and every question posed will be answered. Nothing to fear . And I will keep questioning people in power and particularly those who are afraid of simple questions . Not backing down at any cost .
Not to nitpick how people feel about @theliverdoc's responses, let me say this from personal experience.
When you see something that kills your patients, not for their ignorance or mistakes, but because of pseudoscience, it eats you from within. He is a doctor, someone who 1/n
175 dead.
1108 injured.
5172 cases of arson
5668 arms looted
4786 houses reduced to ashes
254 Churches and 132 Temples attacked
96 unclaimed bodies
32 people missing.
The destruction of Manipur in numbers. How has the chief minister not resigned yet?
Apoorva (@BilingualWindow) and I are excited to share https://t.co/rrEcnhAIUg -a database that locates the literary landscape of India and South Asia. This website is for those who are interested in using fiction to teach and learn about the urban - cities, towns, and beyond.
This statistic has not left my mind since I first read it.
Two thirds of Indians are scared of voicing their political, social and religious online for fear of legal prosecution.
This is not the statistic. Read on.
People in states with the highest fear of legal prosecution are also those with the greatest support for mass surveillance such as facial recognition and monitoring of social media posts.
The more educated support it more. The poor, Adivasis, Dalits, and Muslims oppose it the most.
What is the proper term to call this relationship between the State and the Citizen?
(Source : Status of Policing in India Report 2023 by Lokniti-CSDS and Common Cause. Link : https://t.co/Eh1YPm26tR)
A thread on the generic vs patented medicines debate for those not from a medical background. Hence I am simplifying some concepts. Experts please excuse.
Here we go!
Medicines are generally discovered/invented by Pharma companies. The company which first discovers/invents...+
We say that we like artists to be radical, unless they’re actually radical, in which case we shun them and wait till after they’re gone to praise them for being radical. #SineadOConnor
Tell me you don't understand Privilege despite phoren education without telling me you don't understand Privilege.
It's a common starting point for those with privilege. Thinking admitting privilege negates ones hard work or skills. To be there this late in life is willful.
I recently came across a beautiful Buddhist teaching: The Two Arrows.
The Buddha once asked his student, "If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?"
The student nodded, yes.
The Buddha then asked, "If a person is struck by a second arrow, is that even more painful?"
The student again nodded, yes.
The Buddha then explained, "In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional."
The first arrow is the negative event that hits our lives.
This is the uncontrollable chaos that we may find ourselves thrown into from time to time.
The first arrow is impossible to avoid. It hits and it hurts.
The second arrow is governed by our response to the first—and as the parable teaches us, being struck by the second arrow is entirely within our control.
Our reaction and response controls the direction and force of the second arrow:
• If we attach ourselves to the pain of the first arrow, continue to think all of the negative thoughts it brought about, repeat the patterns of our past, dwell in the pain, and bemoan our bad luck, we send the second arrow hurtling straight into our open wound.
• If we pause, breathe, give ourselves a moment to reset, and choose a balanced response, we send the second arrow falling feebly to the ground.
Viktor Frankl, the Austrian philosopher and Holocaust survivor renowned for his contributions to existential psychology, has a brilliant framing for this:
"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response."
Our power is in the space that we can create between stimulus and response.
Creating that space is the key to avoiding the second arrow.
As Frankl famously said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
So the next time you encounter an uncontrollable negative event in your life—when you're struck by that painful first arrow—consider the parable of the two arrows.
The first arrow may have hurt, but the second arrow is always optional.
इससे तो अच्छा होता कि आप मणिपुर पर न ही बोलते प्रधानमंत्री जी। अगर विपक्ष को चिढ़ाने के लिए प्रतिक्रिया देनी थी तो बेहतर ��ोता कि आज आप बृजभूषण शरण सिंह को महिला विकास मंत्री बना देते। कोर्ट ने उन्हें ज़मानत दे दी है। गोदी मीडिया की ढाल पहनकर आप कुछ भी बोलते रहिए। कुछ भी करते रहिए। कौन पूछने वाला है।
देश की औरतों को आज अपनी आरती उतारनी चाहिए। वैसे भी भारत अकेला देश है जहां नारी की पूजा होती है। प्रधानमंत्री के बयान से ख़ुश होकर आज भारत की महिलाओं को एक दिन का व्रत करना चाहिए । उत्सव मनाना चाहिए । जय हिंद ।
Neerja Bhanot was a 22 year old flight attendant on a hijacked plane, Pan Am Flight 73 on 5 September 1986 during a stopover
The terrorists demanded her to collect the passports of all the passengers, intending to identify the Americans among them. Recognizing the danger this posed, she and her fellow attendants under her charge hid the passports of the American passengers, some under seats and others down a garbage chute, making it difficult for the hijackers to distinguish between nationalities.
As the hijacking stretched on for 17 hours the terrorists eventually resorted to violence by opening fire and setting off explosives.
Neerja opened one of the airplane doors, and even though she could have been the first one to escape from the aircraft, she did not do so and instead started helping the other passengers and unaccompanied children. That is when she was caught and her courage was met with extreme cruelty. She was killed.
Neerja's actions saved many lives.
In addition to saving the lives of many hostages, Neerja Bhanot also helped prevent the plane from getting off the ground
A young child on board, who was just seven years old at the time, grew up to become a captain for a major airline. He credits Neerja as his inspiration, acknowledging that he owes every day of his life to her
Today is #NationalMeadowsDay! 🥳 The loss of our uplifting hay meadow habitats in the UK makes my heart hurt, so I want to share with you the secret for turning your lawn into a mini wildflower meadow for *free* 👊
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