Be encouraged to focus on gratitude and mindfulness and embrace a more joyful and fulfilling life.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The introduction of digital public infrastructure (DPI) – that’s the buzzword preferred by the EU, the UN, WEF, and Gates Foundation, as they push for digital ID and payments – has been making good progress in Pakistan. And a blog post on the World Economic Forum (WEF) website praises this as a development “transforming lives” (namely, in a positive manner). The post is authored by some of the usual suspects – representatives of the World Bank and the UN-based “Better Than Cash Alliance” and is especially focused on the fact Pakistan has so far issued digital ID cards to over 240 million citizens. World Bank’s DPI technical adviser Tariq Malik and Better Than Cash Alliance’s Prerna Saxena write that Pakistan’s “digital transformation” has the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) at its core. Various elements of the controversial DPI scheme are at this time “tested” in less developed countries around the world (referred to in the article as “a select group of nations”), and invariably, the benefits of DPI are advertised as helping, in particular, (financially) underprivileged communities. The take on what is currently going on in Pakistan is no different: NANDRA’s Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) integrates digital ID with opening bank accounts, getting a driver’s license, social welfare, etc. What an opponent may see as dangerous (privacy, but also security-wise) centralization of people’s identities and activities, opening up enormous possibilities for mass surveillance – is “seamless identity authentication for every citizen” as far as the WEF blog post authors are concerned. Here’s an interesting piece of information: “Within four years of launching the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) – a social protection initiative to alleviate poverty – CNIC issuance to adults increased by 72%,” the article says. And during Covid, it proved useful in managing lockdowns by transferring $75 to 12 million households (this was supposed to sustain them for three months.) Drawing conclusions from Pakistan’s “success story,” the authors stress the need to ensure that regardless of who is in power, they remain committed to implementing DPI, and push for its adoption with “robust legal frameworks.” Last – and probably, really last, as far as fervent DPI proponents go – there’s a mention of “ethical principles.” Meanwhile, Pakistan’s DPI project is next expected to produce a nationwide digital health records system, among several other initiatives. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post World Bank Advisor Praises Pakistan’s Digital ID Push appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

When you think of the longest-living animals, chances are your brain doesn’t automatically go for “relatively small breed of parrot”. But when Cocky Bennett, a cockatoo and local legend from Sydney, Australia, died in 1916, he had reached an age that even most humans can only dream of.At a reported 120 years old, Cocky was born at a time when a man named George Washington was calling himself President of some new upstart country in the West, and Napoleon was just some guy in the French army. He predated the discoveries of both the Rosetta Stone and the platypus; he may even have been older than the first vaccine.In contrast, the world he left was one deep into one of the deadliest conflicts in history, in which tanks and machine guns had replaced muskets and horses. By the time he died, planes could fly on autopilot; Londoners were taking the escalator down to catch the Tube to work every morning; and Hollywood had fallen in love with a little Cockney clown named Charlie Chaplin.How unusual was his lifespan? As a domesticated sulfur-crested cockatoo, Cocky could have expected to live a good 80 years or so – roughly the same lifespan as the humans who looked after him. Beating that threshold by a full 50 percent, then, is remarkable – and it’s not surprising that Cocky outlived at least two of his owners over the years.“Cocky spent his first 78 years travelling the world with Captain [George] Ellis, his owner, who plied his ship in the South Sea Islands' trade,” wrote historian Catie Gilchrist in 2014.But when Ellis died at the ripe old age of 87, Cocky was taken in by the captain’s nephew. After having circumnavigated the globe a reported seven times with his previous owner, Cocky took a nice quiet retirement with a couple named Joseph and Sarah Bowden – “then probably the licensees of Bowden's Clubhouse near the corner of Hunter and Castlereagh streets, Sydney,” Gilchrist wrote.But it wasn’t until 1889, when Joseph died, Sarah remarried, and the new couple moved to a place named (really) Tom Ugly’s Point, in the south of Sydney, that Cocky really came into his own as a celebrity. After Sarah and her new husband Charles Bennett bought the local Sea Breeze Hotel, the geriatric cockatoo “lived in the hotel and for many years he ruled as 'Cock of the Bar',” described Gilchrist. “He was extremely talkative and popular and known to many thousands of residents and visitors far and wide who became acquainted with his colorful character,” she wrote. “Cocky had a cage on the hotel's front verandah where he could watch the passing parade, greeting old friends in his raucous and inimitable style.”The bird was known for his comic catchphrases, such as “one at time gentlemen, please” when other birds harassed him, and, famously, “if I had another bloody feather I'd fly!” Of course, that latter joke needs some context: thanks to a bout with psittacine beak and feather – a common viral disease that even today kills up to 50 percent of cockatoos before they reach sexual maturity, per The Sydney Morning Herald – Cocky spent the last few decades of his life virtually bald.Cocky Bennett on his perch at the Sea Breeze Hotel, aged 118 years, 1914.Image credit: Sutherland Shire Library (Public Domain)The same disease was responsible for his unusual beak: long, gnarled, and twisted, it was only by eating pre-mashed food that Cocky could get any nutrients at all by the end of his life.He died on May 26, 1916 – he “maintained [his] ‘patter’ till the day before [his] death,” according to reports of the time – and you might think that would be the end of his story. A remarkably long life, but still, just a bird. You’d be wrong.In fact, Cocky left an impressive impact for one so small and featherless: “Sarah Bennett attached a collection box to Cocky's cage, and his chatter invited donations for St. George Hospital,” notes the Sutherland Shire Libraries local history resource.He didn't raise enough for a wing – a shame, since he evidently needed one – but “enough funds were raised to supply the hospital with three beds, each bearing a plaque inscribed with the words: 'Cocky Bennett Cot'.”

Path of Exile is about to undergo some massive changes. Update 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur is introducing the new town of Kingsmarch with its city-building tendencies, loads of quality-of-life upgrades, and after ten years without it, we're finally getting gold. Between Diablo 4, Last Epoch, and PoE the ARPG space has something for everyone, with Settlers of Kalguur's new Currency Exchange Market finally making trade that much easier. Continue reading Path of Exile’s new player trading feature is a total game changer MORE FROM PCGAMESN: PoE 3.23 details, Best free PC games, Best ARPG games

For those that love nothing more than mowing down some mutants, here’s a new survival FPS that could be up your alley: Pathogen X. Combining the tense horror vibes of Metro and Resident Evil with the corny action tropes of something like Call of Duty, this solo dev project has just hit Steam. Continue reading Pathogen X is a new survival horror FPS from a solo dev MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best horror games, Best zombie games

What is the best ZZZ Soukaku build? Section 6's Ice-Attribute Support Agent can be quite a heavy hitter with its Slash-fighting style to boot. Altogether, the best loadout for the Oni-looking Agent hones in on those strengths including her Support capabilities. Capable of inflicting large amounts of damage, she can also quickly build up Ice-type Anomaly to inflict Freeze and Frostbite effects. An A-rank character amongst those unlockable in Zenless Zone Zero, Soukaku is one of the easier Ice-type Agents to unlock in MiHoYo's urban sci-fi entry into the gacha games genre. Whether you're after creating an ultimate attacker or one of the winning ZZZ team comps, you'll have all you need with this best Soukaku build guide. Continue reading Best Zenless Zone Zero Soukaku build MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Zenless Zone Zero review, Zenless Zone Zero codes, Zenless Zone Zero banners

On a bizarre, frustrating phone call; absentees at the Republican convention; the brilliance of Bob Newhart; and more.

Mandates should always be predicated on the best available research.

A recent swanky confab of the state’s (alleged) finest proves they have no idea what to do about crime in the state.

It illustrates the lengths Vladimir Putin’s regime is willing to go to impose pain on the United States.