A quotation from Terry Pratchett

They were engaged in religion. You could tell by the knives (it’s not murder if you do it for a god).

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 13, Small Gods (1992)

More about this quote: wist.info/pratchett-terry/8504…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #pratchett #terrypratchett #discworld #holywar #killing #knife #murder #religion #religiousintolerance #sacrifice #truebelievers

@guardian

#HPsCommentary
#WarInGaza #Palestine #GeoPol

(1/n)

As I was saying a year ago:

"👉This abominable deed will haunt them for generations to come👈 (probably less than the instigated murder of #Christ by the #Roman invasion force at the behest of the #Jerusalem elite, but still.)"

https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/114999539193193621

In other words:

"There is a popular #Hebrew phrase which states, "maaseh avot siman lebanim", meaning 👉"the deeds of the fathers are portents for the children." 👈

It is used...

Recent travels started with my wife's home city of Nagoya, going to a Buddhist temple ceremony with my mother-in-law. The first photo shows the pagoda of Nittaiji (日泰寺), which means Japan-Thailand Temple, with a giant lotus. The second photo is of Nagoya Port (名古屋港). Another trip was staying at two hotels in Kyōto, which wasn't necessary because we live nearby, but my wife and her Nagoya friend wanted to enjoy the amenities and talk. I see a possible new trend, since the last 3 hotels we've stayed at had times for various free snacks and drinks, so we didn't need to eat out after the breakfast buffet. It is surprising because the hotels were inexpensive and food and alcohol are relatively expensive. The third photo, from our hotel roof, shows the pagoda of Tōji (東寺) with Shinkansen trains running in front of it. At the Shintō shrine Imamiya Jinja (今宮神社), my wife's friends wanted to eat the sweet mochi shown in the fourth photo.

#Japan #Nagoya #Kyoto #religion #hotels #photography

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Nittaiji in Nagoya, in collaboration with Thailand

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Nagoya Harbor, near where my wife is from

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Pagoda of Tōji and a Shinkansen heading west out of Kyōto Station, viewed from our hotel roof

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Sweet Aburi mochi with a Kyōto dialect welcome "Okoshiyasu"

A quotation from Bertrand Russell

So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence; and in this respect ministers of religion follow gospel authority more closely than in some others. This must be reckoned as a serious defect in the ethics taught in Christian educational establishments.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Social Order [Education and the Modern World], ch. 8 “Religion in Education” (1932)

More about this quote: wist.info/russell-bertrand/849…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bertrandrussell #Christianity #education #intelligence #religion

Question for #Catholic / #Christian #Bible reading people: With Pentecost coming up, I was thinking about Acts 2, and how as the disciples, filled with the holy spirit, spoke, each person heard them in their own language. It struck me how Vatican II was such a big thing: bringing the Mass from Latin, into local languages. But, considering Acts 2, why was the mass ever restricted to just Latin in the first place? Jesus never specified anything about only using one language and clearly the Holy Spirit appears to encourage taking the word of God to people in a language they understand.

Just curious what others think.

#BibkeQuestions #religion #theology

Many religions view heaven as a paradise or eternal reward.

Concepts of heaven vary, from gardens of joy to a place of divine presence

#paradise #religion #afterlife

Hell is often depicted as a place of punishment in various religions. It is frequently described as fiery and eternal. Cultural interpretations vary across history and literature

#afterlife #punishment #religion #mythology #literature

A quotation from Richard Feynman

It doesn’t seem to me that this fantastically marvelous universe, this tremendous range of time and space and different kinds of animals, and all the different planets, and all these atoms with all their motions, and so on, all this complicated thing can merely be a stage so that God can watch human beings struggle for good and evil — which is the view that religion has. The stage is too big for the drama.

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist
Interview (1959-05-01) by Bill Stout, Viewpoint, KNXT radio

More about this quote: wist.info/feynman-richard/5462…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #richardfeynman #feynman #agnosticism #cosmos #evil #existence #God #good #goodandevil #meaningoflife #morality #moralityplay #purpose #reality #religion #universe

Today's slow rollout of the shocking findings in the AP/NORC survey includes:

Jews think both parties suck but will vote Democrat anyway, Jews are more concerned about antisemitism than non-Jews, and avg Americans think Trump supports Jews more than Jews think he does. 🤯🤡

Anyway... the comments are the real America. Worth perusing.

"The new #survey of 1,022 #Jewish adults — including people who identify as Jewish by #religion and religiously unaffiliated people who identify as Jewish through #culture, #ethnicity or family background — offers a rare detailed accounting of a key demographic that sits at the very center of some of the nation’s most divisive #political debates."

https://apnews.com/article/poll-jewish-adults-democrat-republican-trump-netanyahu-9114d71c93fad1997ae224e8992b7988

Nice?

"#Jews faced government harassment in 69 countries and faced harassment by private individuals, groups, or organizations in 92 countries in 2023, according to research by #PewResearch Center.

The study explores the levels of social hostilities involving #religion in different countries in 2023.

Overall, 55 countries had elevated (high or very high) levels of social hostilities involving religion in 2023, up from 45 the previous year. Countries are rated on two scales: the Government Restrictions Index (GRI), which captures ways that government officials, laws, and policies can impinge on #religiousfreedom; and the #SocialHostilitiesIndex (#SHI), which captures various kinds of harassment and violence by private individuals and nongovernmental organizations that target religious communities."

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-901742

Today, in lieu of scheduled celebrations of a US that is held hostage by forces bent on dismantling democracy, I am re-posting an essay I wrote in September 2024, prior to the last election, about the considerable repair work that American democracy needs to protect itself from tyrants.

https://netsettlement.blogspot.com/2024/09/repairing-democracy.html

#politics #USPolitics #4th #july4th #FourthOfJuly #US250 #US250th #Democracy #Freedom #Constitution #SCOTUS #ElectoralCollege #Gerrymandering #voting #impeachment #CitizensUnited #Rights #Corporations #Marriage #Abortion #Pardons #DEI #Religion

I consider Chinese modalities of selfhood.
https://philosophics.blog/2026/07/04/considering-a-chinese-selfhood/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social
#philosophy #blog #podcast #video #china #self #perspective #authenticity #habits #history #ideas #religion #introspection #psychology #selfhelp

this is going to piss a lot of people off, but it doesn't make it any less true. sorry.

(the fun thing about posting the truth like this is, afterwards i get to watch "the unfollowing", which i welcome😁💙)

#religion #atheism #politicians

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How can we blame politicians for being stupid? We require that they worship & obey an invisible sky daddy Then we complain when it turns out they are unable to use reason or logic ~WT7

A quotation from Vonnegut

For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course, that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. “Blessed are the merciful” in a courtroom? “Blessed are the peacemakers” in the Pentagon? Give me a break!

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) American novelist, journalist
A Man Without A Country, ch. 9 (2005)

More about this quote: wist.info/vonnegut-kurt-jr/385…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #vonnegut #kurtvonnegut #Beatitudes #Christianity #churchandstate #Decalogue #hypocrisy #Jesus #mercy #Moses #peace #religion #TenCommandments

Bit convoluted but otherwise excellent piece on the manufacturing of Jewish collective guilt.

"The old structure survived beneath newer ideological clothing. Entire populations became suspect through association. #Loyalty became a matter not of conduct but of presumed affiliation. The accusation could move from #religion to #race to #ideology without losing its essential shape.

A peculiar feature of this #history is that the accusation often works in opposite directions simultaneously. #Jews have been condemned for insufficient attachment to a nation and excessive attachment to a nation. They have been accused of dangerous #cosmopolitanism and dangerous #nationalism. They have been portrayed as disloyal outsiders and as hyper-coordinated insiders. The content shifts according to circumstance. The demand remains remarkably stable: explain yourself. Declare your #loyalties. Account for others.

That demand has not disappeared. It has merely become more sophisticated."

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-problem-of-collective-responsibility/

I guess it’s only protected if it’s *their* #religion.

#SCOTUS rules #Rastafari man can’t sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks.

#law #discrimination #FreedomOfReligion
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-prison-dreadlocks-rastafari-louisiana-f9b4d53346daee56335185542db3d4ec

A quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt

We must show by our behavior that we believe in equality and justice and that our religion teaches faith and love and charity to our fellow men. Here is where each of us has a job to do that must be done at home, because we can lose the battle on the soil of the United States just as surely as we can lose it in any one of the countries of the world.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
India and the Awakening East, Conclusion (1953)

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-eleanor/28…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #eleanorroosevelt #America #charity #civilrights #coldwar #diplomacy #example #exemplar #foreignaffairs #foreignrelations #internationalrelations #leadbyexample #leadership #religion

A quotation from John Adams

The substance and essence of Christianity as I understand it is eternal and unchangeable and will bear examination forever but it has been mixed with extraneous ingredients which I think will not bear examination and they ought to be separated

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1825-01-23) to Thomas Jefferson

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-john/84580/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #johnadams #Christianity #cruft #dross #purification #puritanism #religion #superstition

How Is the Dalai Lama Chosen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbnzTzrSI-E

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

#religion #history

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The 14th Dalai Lama speaking at an event with a bright orange background. He is wearing his traditional maroon and yellow monastic robes. He is also wearing clear glasses with thin frames.

#Philosophy #Religion #FirstCommandment #ReligionIsPoison #Theology #TenCommandments #Christianity

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The core text reads: "I am the Lord your GOD... You shall have no other gods before Me." "THE FUNNIEST PART OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT IS THAT IT ADMITS THE EXISTENCE OF OTHER GODS AND IMPLIES THAT GOD IS INSECURE ABOUT HIS STATUS AMONG THEM"

This stunning Book of Hours from around the 1490s was made for a woman back in the day.
Thanks to Domeisen Rarebooks for sharing this gem from their upcoming July Sotheby’s sale.
@xmuse_ #globalmuseum #books #history #religion #rarebooks

The mathematical secrets hidden at the heart of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família

By Sergi Muria Maldonado, Anton Aubanell Pou, Jordi Font González

https://theconversation.com/the-mathematical-secrets-hidden-at-the-heart-of-barcelonas-sagrada-familia-285185?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Europe%20Newsletter%20-%2017%20june%202026&utm_content=Europe%20Newsletter%20-%2017%20june%202026+CID_0ed8ba030e1c6cfd72ba6230c88daaf9&utm_source=campaign_monitor_europe

Books about Mathematics and Religion at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=mathematics+religion

#Books #Mathematics #Religion

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Melancholia I by Albrecht Dürer, with a numerical grid visble in the top right-hand corner. It shows a winged, brooding figure surrounded by tools of geometry, science, and craft—scales, hourglass, compass, ladder, a polyhedron, and a sleeping dog—yet seemingly stuck in inactive thought rather than using them. A magic square (summing to 34 in every direction) is set into the wall, with the date 1514 hidden in its middle row. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melencolia_I#/media/File:Albrecht_D%C3%BCrer_-_Melencolia_I_-_Google_Art_Project_(_AGDdr3EHmNGyA).jpg

The Virgin Birth narrative is not in the Bible. You only think it is. Jesus is a man, not a 'god incarnate.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEnfdnqoC64

#VirginBirth #Jesus #Gospel #Bible #Religion #Theology #LetTheBibleSpeak #Unitarian

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Christian nativity scene showing baby Jesus in a manger padded with straw with Joseph and Miriam kneeling over the baby. The words, 'Baby God' run atop the scene, and the words, 'No Virgin Birth' run beneath the manger.

A quotation from Terry Pratchett

Not that he had anything against belief. People needed to believe in gods, if only because it was so hard to believe in people.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld, Book 7, Pyramids (1989)

More about this quote: wist.info/pratchett-terry/8444…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #terrypratchett #belief #faith #gods #humannature #idealism #religion #theism

[#occult #transhumanism detected]

The irony ...

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."

Artemis (Diana) is Apollo's twin sister. Together the two are 'Lucifer'.

They are chief deities of the solar worship cult.

#NASA #AprilFools #Moon #Artemis #Apollo #Bible #Babylon #Lucifer #Gods #Demons #Worship #Religion #Space

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtEidzV5nNE

"Ever heard of the Enuma Elish? It’s this ancient Babylonian myth where the gods got tired of working, so they created humans to be their slave class. Sound familiar?"

"In this video, I’m exploring how Silicon Valley is basically reenacting this exact same story right now. Except this time, we want to be the gods, and AI is the new slave class."

"I dive into the difference between being made in the "Image of God" vs. the "Image of Man" (Imago Hominis), and why that distinction matters more than ever. We aren't building a god; we are building a mirror—and the reflection isn't always pretty."

#AI #SiliconValley #Tech #ArtificialIntelligence #Religion #Myth

While everyone is distracted by the scripted ICE theater the counter-reformation unification of Roman Church and state proceeds stealthily. Rome's agents are slowly converting America to the Imperial Roman religion. This is the true goal of so-called 'Christian Nationalism': the forcible conversion of America to Roman imperial Christianity, a la Constantine and Justinian.

From his bully pulpit the President is proclaiming Imperial Roman religion about their Roman moon goddess Mary, also known as Minerva, Venus, Easter, Astarte, Semiramis, and Isis.

Presidential Message on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

"In her honor, and on a day so special to our Catholic citizens, we remember the sacred words that have brought aid, comfort, and support to generations of American believers in times of need: Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/12/presidential-message-on-the-feast-of-the-immaculate-conception/

#President #Religion #Church #ICE #Reformation #Catholic #RomanCatholic #Imperialism #Christian #Jesus #Nationalism #ChristianNationalism

Christian Nationalism is Roman Constantinian Idolatry

This political idolatry of 'Christian Nationalism' is not new. Only the wide perception of it is new due to everyone now being plugged into the Internet via their ever-present phones and tablets.

In the 1600s through the 1800s we see the political idolatry was at fever pitch and full swing, giving a host of politically-oriented cults, such as Witch-burning Puritanism, Swedenborgianism, Mormonism, Seventh-Day Adventism, etcetera. Even the Anglican church is an Imperialist political cult and has no warrant or sanction in the Holy Scriptures. It is a 'nationalist' tyranny over the mind. And then we see Islam, which Christians mistakenly believe to be a non-Christian religion. Islam is a Christian heresy, founded by heretical Catholics. Even the name, "Mohammed" is a corruption of the earlier Arabic, "Mahmed" meaning, "Messiah". Islam is an offshoot of medieval Christianity with its Saturn idolatry gone to seed. Islam is a daughter of Babylon, the Judeo-Roman prostitute.

Christianity has always been a politically idolatrous cult. For instance, The council of Nicea was convened by the Apollo-worshiping, Luciferian Emperor Constantine for nefarious and ungodly political purposes. Every bishop who was a political apparatchik showed up, ironing out a fascist version of Christianity that was forced on the empire by the sword for centuries.

The luciferians try to repeat this in every generation in which it looks like Christians will flee the Church plantation for the true body of Christ outside the Church.

Remember, the outer sea court of the temple was for the Gentiles (nations). The kingdom was removed from the inner court and given to them without. Christian authoritarians still have not recognized this.

If you want to advocate for a more biblical and faithful version of Christianity you need to leave behind the Imperial leadership model of the Church. The Apostles and the Reformers warned us about the man of sin sitting in the chair of the bishopric building his tower of Babel using the people (laity) as their bricks.

This thing commonly called, 'Christianity' is the backsliding idol worship of Israel in the Old Testament, brought to life in our current age. Jesus Christ is not a Christian. The Apostles of the Lamb are not Christians. Neither Jesus, nor the Apostles, nor the Prophets would recognize Christianity as legitimate. The sum of all their teachings mark Christianity as an impostor religion of idolatrous customs trading darkness for light.

There is no municipal kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of God cannot be brought about by the force of arms of mortal men. It comes by the Spirit of the Lord, not by the spirit of the world. Everyone pretending to build God's kingdom by inveigling, shaming, brow-beating, force, intimidation, fear-mongering, or authoritarianism, or civil government sanction, is an anti-christ, no matter how much they pretend to worship the Father and the Son and no matter how many zillions of times they claim their names.

In the Old Testament the Father prophesied to us the rise of the Christian world empire and its eventual destruction in the turning of the ages ahead. The Imperialist Christian cult likes to distract from its own wickedness by pretending Islam is the scapegoat, or by pretending Jews are the scapegoat. It might work for a time for their politics but God the Father is not fooled.

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. ..... How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her."

The 'she' is the Christian Church. She is the harlot Babylon with her many Church babies, a true mother of political prostitutes and abominations of the earth. The Christian church glorifies herself and her system of bishopric authority instead of glorifying the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. Christianity is a machine for perpetuating its own system instead of setting the spiritual captives free.

We can truthfully say to the Christian Church what Christ said to the Scribes and Pharisees of ancient Judea:

"But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven."

In this age the first Adam who fell is the Church, the continuation of temple idolatry on life support. The second Adam who rises is Christ, or Jacob, who will supplant the first Adam as Jacob supplanted Esau in the birthright, as Jacob crossed his arms to swap the birthrights of Ephraim and Manasseh, as Isaac supplanted Ishmael, even as Paul the Apostle told us plainly. God has repeatedly told us how this Christian empire will be supplanted by Jesus Christ in the last days, yet Christians do not see what is plain in the scripture because they want political and spiritual power over other men, rather than being like Christ and humbly desiring to be a servant of servants for the love of God rather than recognition of position.

We learn from the Bible that God doesn't value man's concept of the birthright of authority, and freely supplants the older with the younger, even as he will supplant the older religious and Christian empire of the world with the younger Jesus of Nazareth.

#Christianity #Religion #Cults #Idolatry #Church #Imperialism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #ChristoFascism #Gospel #Jesus

Down with the religious patriarchy.

"And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven."

#patriarchy #religion #bible #church #haha

"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."

"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:"

God is orders of magnitude beyond genius. But sadly Christians don't seem to think God can save on account of man's "omnipotent" free will thwarting God's plan.

The problem with the Christian religion is that their religious leaders think God needs their help to 'spread the gospel' and 'save souls'. In truth, God has been spreading the gospel in spite of the Christian religion perverting it for sixteen plus centuries.

#Bible #Christ #Christian #Jesus #Church #Universalism #Hellfire #Religion #Gospel

He said, "Of course I may be wrong,
But I wouldn’t be surprised
If this were the greatest Christian church
That ever man devised.

Our organ is the very best
Our choir stays on key.
Our stained glass windows — priceless
Our pulpit — the best you’ll see."

But only the wealthy were welcome there,
I heard slanderous gossip galore,
And from that pulpit so highly prized
The preacher glorified war.

"Is there anything more you could want in a church?"
In pride, he said to me.
"Just one thing," I made reply —

"Christianity!"

-- Peace Pilgrim --

#christian #church #religion #christianity #bible #christ #faith #prayer

@religion@a.gup.pe @infostorm@a.gup.pe @bible@a.gup.pe @poetry@a.gup.pe

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A black and white photo of a woman known by the moniker, "Peace Pilgrim" with the words, "Peace Pilgrim" printed on her shirt.

Most events advertised by media and government are fiction. What you see on the Internet and TV is not real. What experts, foundations, agencies, governments, and nonprofits say is never the truth. None of it is real. It is all agitprop. It is all agenda-driven manipulation. None of it has ever been real. There is always an angle or agenda behind the way the information is presented. Those images and sounds and slogans and speeches are NOT reality. It is a false reality offered for you to buy into.

Reality is between you and your neighbor. How you treat your neighbor ... whether or not you treat your neighbor as equal in dignity and rights ... or whether or not you use your fears of government stories as an excuse to hate and abuse your neighbor ... which is why they give you their stories in the first place. By stoking division they can rule you, fleece you, control you, and profit from you.

In the Game of Thrones the Tyrion character was used to tell us who rules:

"What unites people? Armies? Gold? Flags? No. It’s stories. There's nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it. And who has a better story than Bran the Broken? The boy who fell from a high tower and lived… He's our memory. The keeper of all our stories. The wars, weddings, births, massacres, famines, our triumphs, our defeats, our past. Who better to lead us into the future?"

When you believe someone's stories, that person rules over you. The person who crafts the stories that you take for reality has control of your mind and your life. Whoever crafts your reality is your master. They keep ramping up the anxiety to stunt critical thinking and invoke emotional responses and emotional investment in narratives crafted to steer people into doing their bidding.

#Propaganda #Media #News #Politics #Religion #GameOfThrones

@infostorm@a.gup.pe