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Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Revealed: ‘Grassroots’ campaigns opposed to assisted dying financed by conservative Christian pressure groups | Assisted dying | The Guardian

Campaigns against assisted dying that claim to be led by healthcare workers and disabled people are being secretly coordinated and paid for by conservative Christian pressure groups, an Observer investigation has found.

The “grassroots” campaigns have been central to the debate on legalising assisted dying in England and Wales before a landmark vote by MPs this month.

The groups have held protests, given evidence to parliamentary inquiries, appeared in media interviews and orchestrated leaflet campaigns targeting MPs.

But while they are styled to look like separate movements set up by members of the public, they in fact have concealed ties to religious lobbyists.

…analysis of financial records shows Our Duty of Care has close ties to religious lobby groups.

It shares an office address and spokesperson with the Christian Medical Fellowship, an evangelical organisation with an anti-abortion stance, and receives funding from the religious lobby group Care (Christian Action, Research and Education), which is known for its opposition to abortion, sex education, gay marriage and broader LGBTQ+ rights.

…Amy McKay, an associate professor of political science at Exeter University, said the “grassroots” campaigns appeared to be a clear example of astroturfing – the practice of disguising an orchestrated campaign as a spontaneous outpouring of public opinion. “They’re giving this false impression that they are someone they’re not,” she said. She said using doctors to front a campaign motivated by religious interests was a “common tactic” that gave it added legitimacy.

The effect was one of “manufacturing” the impression that more people were opposed to reform than is the case in reality, she said. “It makes it seem like the issue is much more closely divided than I think it really is.”

Source: Revealed: ‘Grassroots’ campaigns opposed to assisted dying financed by conservative Christian pressure groups | Assisted dying | The Guardian

Gaz pe foc – ore de drum

Baku, 2023

Peninsula Apșeron care intră în mare la nord de Baku e cunoscută din Antichitate pentru sedimentele negre, grase, vâscoase, care izvorăsc atât din pământul arid, formând băltoace la tot locul, cât și din mare, unde vezi plutind, ici-colo, o peliculă uleioasă.

Pe această mica suprafață unde, în trecut, accesul străinilor era interzis, marea și uscatul formează o simbioză specială, nemaiîntâlnită, prin intesectarea simultană, plenară, intensă, a energiilor celor patru elemente din care suntem alcătuiți și noi după modelul cosmosului, apa, pământul, aerul resimțit aici prin nepotolitul, mângâietorul vânt caspic, și focul.

Ne aflăm în punctul central al cultului lui Zarathustra, să le aducem omagiu zeităților păgâne care știau mai multe ca noi.

După înțeleptul persan, focul era începutul și sfârșitul oricărei creații. Focul zămislitor arde zi și noapte în nenumărate temple din peninsulă, torțe vizibile pe întuneric din toate direcțiile, de pe mare ca și din uscat,

alimentate de zăcămintele de gaz natural, și atrag curiozitatea tuturor călătorilor, după ce primii aventurieri le duseseră vestea…

Source: Gaz pe foc – ore de drum

Exploring Mexican identity and the human soul through Marlene Pasini’s poetry · Global Voices

RAIN

Nothing is silent…

Here in this city

summer arrives

and a musical rain

soaks its asphalt streets

In the moment and it’s fleeting time

in the uncertainty of the beyond

where life flutters

like a black butterfly

in the hollow of insomnia

where memories coil

in muted shadow

I descend slowly

into a lengthy dream.

LLUVIA

Nada es silencio…

Aquí en esta ciudad

llega el verano

y una música de lluvia

empapa sus calles de asfalto

En el instante y su tiempo fugitivo

en la incertidumbre del más allá

donde la vida aletea

como negra mariposa

en el hueco del insomnio

donde los recuerdos se ovillan

en sombra enmudecida

desciendo despacio

en un largo sueño.

Source: Exploring Mexican identity and the human soul through Marlene Pasini’s poetry · Global Voices