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Showing posts with label humanity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humanity. Show all posts

Saturday, August 14, 2021

Moral vacuum at the heart of modernity, now embodied in US laws!

 

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MAN and nature are running out of time. That’s the core message of the UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released this week.

` UN secretary-general António Guterres called the report a “code red for humanity”. “The evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.”

` What can we, individually and collectively, do about it?

` Many animals and human beings cannot survive at high temperatures. Seattle, a temperate climate city, hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit in June, only four degrees below the maximum 108 degrees where humans can’t survive.

` Like the pandemic, the twin effects of climate warming and biodiversity loss are hurting the bottom half of society who are most vulnerable to natural and/or man-made disasters.

` Indeed, indigenous and native people who live closest to nature, comprising 5%-6% of world population scattered in remote areas, are likely to face loss of culture, lives and habitat because all their water, food and livelihoods will be devastated by climate change.

` In essence, we are in an existential situation whereby nature is being destroyed by human excess consumption, which creates pollution and carbon emission, but all this is made possible by monetary creation by bankers and businesses who seem to care more about their profits than the human condition.

` Thus, decisions over climate change, human activities, financialisation and globalisation are essentially moral questions over the power to lead us out of the wilderness of nuclear destruction through war or planetary burning.

` In his monumental “History of Western Philosophy” (1946), British philosopher Bertrand Russell argued that those in power understand that they have twin powers over nature and political power to rule other human beings.

` Traditionally, the limits to such power have been God and truth. But today, religions are also in turmoil on what is their role in finding pathways out of the current mess. Furthermore, FakeNews obscures what is truth.

` The current mess is not unlike the Lost People wandering in the desert waiting for Moses to find the 21st century version of the 10 Commandments. Unfortunately, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aspirations and not commandments.

` As economists say, climate change is a market failure, but there is no modern day Moses nor operating manuals to translate SDGs to environmental, social and governance (ESG) projects and programmes for businesses, governments and social institutions.

` In this twin injustices against man and nature, people sense that there is both a moral vacuum in globalised modernity, as well as lack of a shared, practical pathway out of planetary destruction. If secular science or politics cannot help us, is religion the solution?

` Ironically, religion has played a far larger role in the current quandary than meets the eye.

` Two papal bulls empowered the Portuguese and Spanish conquests of new land in the second half of the 15th century. Papal bulls are public decrees, letters patent or charters issued by a Catholic pope.

` The Papal Bull Romanus Pontifex issued by Pope Nicholas V in 1455 gave Portuguese King Alfonso the right to “invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ whatsoever placed, and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions and all movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery... to convert them to his profit... [such assets becoming] justly and lawfully acquired.”

` The Papal Bull Inter Caetera, issued after Christopher Columbus returned from America in 1493, not only reinforced the Spanish right to property and slavery seized or colonised from non-Christian kingdoms or pagan natives, but also established the Doctrine of Discovery.

` This doctrine formed the basis of national and later international laws that gave licence to explorers to claim vacant land (terra nullius) on discovery. Vacant land meant land not populated by Christians, and thus the Christian discoverers and occupiers could have legal title to them, regardless of the rights of the indigenous people.

` In short, historically it was the Church that gave the moral blessing for colonisation, slavery and genocide during the Age of Globalisation. The tragedy is that the Doctrine of Discovery is now embodied in US laws.


` In the historic case of Johnson vs McIntosh (1823), Supreme Court Justice John Marshall ruled: “According to every theory of property, the Indians had no individual rights to land; nor had they any collectively, or in their national capacity; for the lands occupied by each tribe were not used by them in such a manner as to prevent their being appropriated by a people of cultivators. All the proprietary rights of civilised nations on this continent are founded on this principle. The right delivered from discovery and conquest, can rest on no other basis; and all existing titles depend on the fundamental title of the crown by discovery.”

` If humanity still treats nature as a free asset to be mastered, and other human beings to be dominated and disenfranchised because of the Doctrine of Discovery, how can we move forward morally to create human inclusivity and planetary justice?

` Under secular science, the elites that control the media, military, economy, political or social institutions have forgotten that they are not masters of man and nature, but stewards to protect human well being and nature for future generations.

` In this polarised age, we forget that the shamans of the indigenous people carry ancient wisdoms about how to live with nature and each other through traditional values, medicine and shared rituals. The shamans are not seers but healers and carriers of tribal memories and values.

` When modern scientists and technocrats have no solutions to present problems except more speed, scale and scope in the rush to modernity, isn’t it time to listen to traditional wisdoms from those who have living but dying memories of how to live with nature and each other?

` Without moral bearings, no wonder we have no maps out of the current mess.

 

Andrew Sheng | South China Morning PostBy Tan Sri Andrew Sheng (born 1946) is Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese banker, academic and commentator. He started his career as an accountant and is now a distinguished fellow of Fung Global Institute, a global think tank based in Hong Kong.[1] He served as chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) before his replacement by Martin Wheatley in

Andrew Sheng comments on global affairs from an Asian perspective. The views expressed here are his own.


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Wednesday, March 24, 2021

China aid offers Covid-19 vaccine assistance to 80 countries

The first batch of Chinese-donated COVID-19 vaccine doses is unloaded from a plane at Robert Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe on Feb 15, 2021. Photo/Xinhua] 

Vaccine assistance is first large-scale effort of its kind

China is providing and will offer vaccine assistance to 80 countries and three international organizations, the first large-scale assistance of its kind, the country's International Development Cooperation Agency said on Friday.

The vaccines are being donated to a wide range of countries from five continents in a timely and orderly manner, including 26 in Asia and 34 in Africa, the agency's spokesperson Tian Lin said in an interview.

The country also offered vaccine doses to the African Union, the Arab League and the United Nations Peacekeepers, Tian said.

China has acted swiftly to donate the vaccine doses, he said, adding that the nation is also providing injection devices to countries facing difficulties.

So far, over 60 countries have authorized the registration or emergency use of Chinese vaccines, and many foreign politicians have been inoculated with Chinese vaccines, including the president and prime minister of Hungary, the Pakistani president and Chile's president, which Tian said is a vote of confidence in the security and effectiveness of Chinese vaccines.

China applies the strictest quality control measures with regard to its vaccines and ensures the timely delivery of high-quality vaccines, he said.

The moves aim to implement the promise made by President Xi Jinping at the opening of the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly via video link last year that COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment in China, when available, will be made a global public good.

The ongoing assistance is provided to ensure developing countries have fair and timely access to vaccines, and is based on the pandemic situation and the specific needs of related countries, he said.

China provides the assistance to help developing countries save lives, to which it attaches no political strings and has nothing to do with geopolitics, he said.

China is not a savior, but tries to be a friend in need, a sincere partner to be counted on in times of difficulty, he added.

Tian called for efforts to promote the fair distribution of vaccines around the globe. He noted that while high-income countries have quickly acquired a large number of vaccine doses, there are fewer opportunities for poor nations to obtain vaccines.

He said that China firmly opposes selfish behavior such as hoarding, monopolies and "vaccine nationalism", and hopes the international community will do more that is conducive to global cooperation in combating the pandemic.

Vaccine assistance will not affect domestic inoculation, he said, adding that China always offers foreign aid according to the principle of doing the utmost within its capabilities.

- China Daily/ANN/The Star 

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80.46 million people had received #COVID19 vaccination as of Mar 22. After the first vaccine was approved for emergency use in July 2020, China's vaccination rate has accelerated. Check this graphic for more details:
 
 

China promotes world's largest vaccination drive, to surpass US in number of doses in April

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Monday, January 4, 2021

Basics of palliative care

 

 
Palliative Care: YOU Are a BRIDGE
https://youtu.be/lDHhg76tMHc

THE process of dying and the death of loved ones create a profound and lasting impact on their families and wider communities.

As a society, we are not exposed enough to be fully equipped to support end-of-life journeys.

We need to be able to normalise the process of death and have the courage to advocate for a holistic care plan not by just buying insurance policies but also by showing love, empathy and compassion. This is known as palliative care, which may begin at the start of life-threatening illnesses to end-of-life journeys.

Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice, described palliative care in its most holistic sense: “You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.”

Palliative care regards dying as a normal process in the journey of life, integrating psychological and spiritual dimensions into patient care. A holistic approach care plan enables patients and families to better cope with the course of the illness and provides a support network for bereavement care.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of palliative care in all healthcare systems. The need for relief from severe suffering, the difficult decision-making and complicated grief brought on by the pandemic are exactly the types of problems that palliative care was designed to help address.

My father, who is a consultant haematologist, treats cancer patients, among other life-threatening blood disorders, and fully supports palliative care causes. I, as a tech start-up builder, believe that blockchain, AI and other automation technologies will drive the future of society. Despite our different calling in life, I also join my father in fully supporting palliative care as essential care for vulnerable members of our community.

We both fully recognise that palliative care does not start and stop with doctors and nurses alone. The success of effective and affordable palliative care lies in the hands of an informed society.

Hospices in Malaysia and Singapore are typically independent non-profit entities run by community members on charitable donations and volunteerism.

Ultimately, palliative care is a community-driven initiative. All of us have a part to play as family caregivers, pastoral caretakers, therapists, healthcare professionals and more.

Through a journey I’ve undertaken as a volunteer carer in a hospice, I have developed a genuine understanding of the principles of palliative care in practice. Hospice environments provide a powerful example of how we as a community can show love, empathy and compassion when facing fear and loss of loved ones.

What matters to patients who are actively dying include relief from pain, maintaining one’s dignity, not dying alone, and having a comforting hand to touch during their end-of-life journey.

Community volunteers can support palliative care nurses and doctors by assisting with non-clinical pain management, such as cleaning and feeding of patients, providing wheelchair assistance, and spending time with patients. These acts of love for others are what truly makes us human.

Through volunteering in a hospice, I was able to face the mirror of death and fully embrace my humanity by showing love, empathy and compassion for the suffering of others – something that technology or AI machines can never truly replicate.

Let’s all do our part today to build a palliative care-aware society, whether it is through advocacy, community volunteerism or giving.

KATHERINE NG LI PEI
Co-founder of Ministry for Good, a non-profit start-up to scale technology for good

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Ministry For Good | LinkedIn 

Ministry For Good

Ministry For Good is a non-profit business consultancy and ideas incubation platform founded to improve the lives of people through effective use of spatial technology.

Ministry For Good | LinkedIn

 

What is Palliative Care? | Definition of Palliative Care | Get ...