Tuesday, September 27, 2022

香港濟貧後扶貧 與 美國有償「捐」血漿

我的信報文章(2022927A18)刊登後的改良加長版

香港濟貧後初踐扶貧 美國有償血漿

https://www1.hkej.com/dailynews/article/id/3256831

                                                 劍昭


 

96日,《紐約時報》一篇題為賣我的血漿的文章,描述作者在美國有償捐血漿的親身經於收取100美元後這樣寫:人們以血漿沒有不當我只認為捐者應該付更多(donors should be paid more)

[Note 1a]

血漿(blood plasma)是抽血時紅血球、血小板等其他成分,安全地由儀器輸回血者,最後只有血漿留在袋/;血漿可作輸血、製藥用。

[Note 2]

文來得正巧,因為一位謙錢莊小主管讀者以電郵賜教除了對附到期日貨幣提贈高見外,還鼓勵我對貧富懸殊不是大問題『為富不仁』才是問題的核心之言(7月拙文) 多添闡釋。

[Note 3]

根據經合組織(OECD)2001研究報告The World Economy — A Millennial Perspective

公元元年的全球人均國大約是 444美元

1870年僅僅增至 867;

但隨着科技的爆炸性創新發展,在一個世紀後的1998年已急增到 5,709元。

最新的統計是202012,263美元。

故傾向相信貧富差距擴闊的主因是科技進,而較少人能抓住其衍生的機會積累巨額財富

[Note 4]

 

儘管營商者會嘗試淘汰競爭對手,唯早在 1759年,亞當·史密斯於其《道德情操論》,已強調謀利圖財為富者必須遵守道德原則(包括審慎prudence、行善beneficence)

[Note 5]

可惜言者諄諄,聽者藐藐。從的槍砲殖民到今天的金融掠奪,為富不仁的行為隨處可見,給窮人帶來不必要的艱苦。

華夏文化濟貧傳統在香港從未中斷過,民間有贈醫施藥、派米送毯。政府有

廉租住房(寮屋區連串災害石硤尾大火後展開)

免費教育(提高生)

便價醫療、

綜援津貼;

而前兩者既助民眾安居樂業,

亦具備帶動向上流動社會階梯以貧的積極副作用。

但禍患總是接二連三濟貧緩解了日常衣食住行困,貧的機制也如常運作(例見2002年考獲10A成績的綜援入讀港大醫學院),社會卻出現了新一類的跨代貧窮現象。

[Note 6]

主事官員一些前線社工已察覺其本質有於往2012年成立扶貧委員會,推出「師友計劃」,旨在幫助學員正面思維; 再於今年試行「共創明『Teen』計劃」,積極正向的態度定下個人目標培養正確理財觀念」」,建立「正向人生觀」,力爭上游。

[Note 7]

扶貧有至少兩個特點。

一是提高心理質素,而非提供金錢物資目前,貧窮青少年缺乏的不是可支配的錢,而是鬥志恆心毅力。缺乏意志的成因錯綜複雜,身邊有太多的誘惑是關鍵之一,而最破壞人格的誘惑是比倣(emulate)

[Note 8]

像其他(同齡)人一樣,迅即享受吃喝玩樂的五官滿足,是一種難以抗拒的吸引力。大量商人更提倡即時滿足慾望的消費價:

以往重視天長地久的珍惜,

現在吹捧只在乎曾經擁有的刺激;

以往表揚小富由儉的克己,

現在要擁抱當下零等待

 

理財觀念也有顯著變化:

以往落街錢買麵包,借錢又怕老婆鬧

現在容易借錢的宣傳排山倒海;

以往期望半斤力,想話攞番足八兩

現在只求賺快錢買心頭好,無視工資低於付出的辛勤、承擔的風險。

另一項扶貧特點是服務對象有選擇性。因傷病、劣習(賭毒) 導致的貧困,已有其他方式給予救故此被扶貧的人以幼有所長為優先。

對於須同時照顧孩子的低薪工人,除了予以指導以保持身心健康,還要提供協助,達到家庭和睦萬事興。

而對於正在成長的貧困少年、兒童,學習「積極正向的態度修養「正向人生觀」,當然必不可少。一旦少年時染上快花錢成習慣,畢業後就業,很容易會失自控地犧牲身心健康去賺快錢、借快錢。

無處不在的為富不仁者,會利用這類窮人的賺快錢心理圖利,導致他們陷入自貧的惡性循環,播下跨代貧困的種子。

為富不仁的普遍程度既廣且深,號稱救病扶傷的醫藥業經營商也難免。

2021年,血漿市場規模約為240億美元,而美國是全球最大的血漿出口國,佔其出口總額多達2.69%;因為縱使抽血過多會損害免疫系統,美國仍然允許一個人年被抽血多達 104 次,冠全球(香港24次、英國26次、德國60)

[Note 9]

血漿中心主要由三家公司經營,一公升血漿總成本約為 150 美元,轉手即以 500美元賣出。

[Note 10]

文不評論賣血的道德問題,只提出兩點

一是賣血者的報酬過低(underpaid)。根據上《紐時》文章,100美元是首次給賣家的賞金,常客(regulars) 只能得到40-60美元。血漿可挽救寶貴的生命,但冒着健康風險的賣血者只能得到這麼少的金額;相反,醫療營商者從中獲利頗豐。

[Note 1b]

製藥的利潤固然以萬億計算,輸血也能帶來豐厚利潤。2011 年發表的一項調發現,美國213所醫院的輸血

平均成本單位210.74±37.9 美元,

平均收費卻高達 343.63±135 美元

(一家香港私營醫院輸血一次收費1,2402,150港元,視病房等級而定, 香港紅十字會免費提供血液)

[Note 11]

香港賺血汗錢的基層工人的報酬也過低。與美國醫療體系相比,最低工資辯論實際上忽略了港府通過醫管局向基層(長工時)勞工提供便價醫療,已對僱主作出補貼。

另一點是美國在自由市場的大旗下,散佈在貧窮社區的賣血站對鄰里居民,尤其是孩子們構成不良心理影響;不僅導致自我形象低落,還會自暴自棄,靠賣血賺快錢來獲得所謂的快樂生活 (2018年,英國《經濟學人》呼籲全球有償捐血漿合法化)

[Note 12]

相反,香港官民在心態、價觀層面合作扶貧,得高度表揚積極支持不管是直接擔任導師,或提醒親友警惕市面流行的諸種劣品缺德消費宣傳行為,都有助於貧困孩子建立「正向人生觀」,不讓香港像美國般進入吸血新世紀

同時,也感謝你無償捐血。

 

Notes for reference

[Note 1a]

2022 Sep 9 

New York Times  

“The Exceptionally American Experience of Selling My Plasma”, By Vanessa Veselka

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/opinion/plasma-donation-poverty.html

I was paid $100 for my recent donation.  …

I have no problem with people being paid for plasma. I just think that companies should take less of the plasma, and that donors should be paid more.

 

[Note 1b]

2022 Sep 9 

New York Times  

“The Exceptionally American Experience of Selling My Plasma”, By Vanessa Veselka

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/opinion/plasma-donation-poverty.html

I was paid $100 for my recent donation. The next donation will pay me $125 plus $10 more from a coupon I was given, but only if I go back within 45 days. If I go back later, I lose the new donor benefits and will make only $40 to $60 like the other regulars.

 

[Note 2]

2022 Sep 9 

New York Times  

“The Exceptionally American Experience of Selling My Plasma”, By Vanessa Veselka

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/opinion/plasma-donation-poverty.html

The phlebotomist punctured a vein in my arm with a 17-gauge needle and had me pump my fist until the blood started to flow up the line and into the machine where it would be separated into red and white blood cells, platelets and plasma. The plasma would go into the bottle, and the rest, along with complimentary saline solution, would flow back into me.

 

Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service

https://www5.ha.org.hk/rcbts/donation-apheresis?lang=tc

血液是由紅血球(紅細胞)、白血球 (白細胞)、血小板和血漿組成的。

當您曾重覆捐血後而沒有任何不適便可考慮捐贈成分血,中心利用先進儀器於捐血時選擇捐出血漿、血小板或兩者一起捐贈,其他血液成分如紅血球等則安全地由儀器輸回到捐贈者

 

https://www.blood.co.uk/why-give-blood/how-blood-is-used/blood-components/plasma/

What is plasma used for?

Plasma can be given as a transfusion or made into medicines

 

[Note 3]

2022 July8/F   (信報 202278A19)

勸戒厚酬銀行家 與 翻譯《論語》的詩人龐德

https://www1.hkej.com/dailynews/article/id/3183305

 

2022 Aug2/T   (信報 202282A18)

美元武器化 附到期日貨幣

https://www1.hkej.com/dailynews/article/id/3204277

 

[Note 4]

OECD 2001

The World Economy — A Millennial Perspective, by Angus Maddison

Table B-21 World GDP per capita 0-1998 A.D.

https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/the-world-economy_9789264189980-en

p.265/385

 

[Note 5]

Adam Smith Institute

“The Theory of Moral Sentiments”

https://www.adamsmith.org/the-theory-of-moral-sentiments

…Virtues. Smith ends The Theory Of Moral Sentiments by defining the character of a truly virtuous person. Such a person, he suggests, would embody the qualities of prudence, justice, beneficence and self-command…

 

Wiki, The Theory of Moral Sentiments 1759

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_Moral_Sentiments

The Theory of Moral Sentiments is a 1759 book by Adam Smith.[1][2][3] It provided the ethical, philosophical, economic, and methodological underpinnings to Smith's later works, including The Wealth of Nations (1776), Essays on Philosophical Subjects (1795), and Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue, and Arms (1763) (first published in 1896).

 

[Note 6]

baike.baidu.com/item/李奇光/15617042

李奇光,男,漢族,2002年以10A成績成為會考元的李奇光,是觀塘瑪利諾書院有史以來首位十優生,幼年喪父,一家三口領取綜援過活,因而被稱為“綜援元”。

 

[Note 7]

扶貧委員會 「師友計劃」

https://www.povertyrelief.gov.hk/chi/future_starplan.html

https://www.povertyrelief.gov.hk/chi/pdf/2021_FSMP_Programme_Brief_c.pdf

希望透過個人友師分享他們的生命故事,得獎學生的正面思維,擴闊他們的生活視野,陪伴學生探索生涯規劃,提升他們對自己未來的希望感,從而促進他們向上流動的能力。

 

共創明『Teen』計劃

https://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_young/sub_strive_and_rise/

師友配對:

名學員配對一名義務友師,與學員分享人生經驗,幫助學員加強自信,以積極正向的態度定下個人目標;以及幫助學員培養正確理財觀念,有效使用計劃提供的財政支援

目的:

推動學員開闊眼界,加強自信,建立正向人生觀,為自己未來定下目標,力爭上游

 

[Note 8]

詳見拙文

2022 Apr 6/W   (信報 202246A12)

低酬誘少年運毒 有閒階級論

https://www1.hkej.com/dailynews/article/id/3094745

 

[Note 9]

2021 March 11

Business Insider

“Business is booming for the $24 billion plasma industry — but it may be putting vulnerable donors at risk”

https://www.businessinsider.com/plasma-donating-industry-vulnerable-health-2021-3

The US supplies two-thirds of the world's plasma, and it's one of the few countries where donors get paid.

In fact, thousands of Americans rely on plasma donation as a main source of income.

For thousands of Americans, donating plasma is a lifeline. In the 90 minutes it takes to donate, they make five times the federal minimum wage.

Americans supply two-thirds of the world's blood plasma. The industry is worth over $24 billion today, according to the Marketing Research Bureau, and that number could nearly double by 2027, as global demand for plasma-derived medicine rises by 6% to 8% each year.

 

2022 June 30

CNBC

“Why blood makes up over 2.5% of all U.S. exports

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/why-blood-makes-up-over-2point5percent-of-all-us-exports.html

Blood makes up 2.69% of U.S. exports, according to the Census Bureau.

 

2018 March 15

The Atlantic

“How Blood-Plasma Companies target the poorest Americans”

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/03/plasma-donations/555599/

This all has been a boon for the industry. Over a decade, the number of donations—really, “sales” is a more accurate noun—in America tripled, from 12 million per year in 2006 to 38 million per year in 2016, according to the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, a trade group. The number of donation centers in the U.S. has more than doubled to meet demand, from fewer than 300 sites in 2005 to over 600 today. Global sales jumped from $5 billion in 2000 to $20 billion in 2015, and are expected to keep growing at a rapid clip well into the next decade.

 

2022 Sep 9 

New York Times  

“The Exceptionally American Experience of Selling My Plasma”, By Vanessa Veselka

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/opinion/plasma-donation-poverty.html

The problem is that while plasma does many wonders for those who receive treatments derived from it, its removal threatens the health of the people who sell it. Repeated plasma donations can weaken a donor’s immune system and lead to other negative side effects. Very few countries allow payment for plasma, in part out of concern that financially vulnerable people would risk their health for money.

Other developed nations place stricter limits the number of times one can donate. In Britain, plasma can be given every two weeks; in Germany, it’s up to 60 times a year. The United States allows a person to sell plasma 104 times year.

 

[Note 10]

2021 March 11

Business Insider

“Business is booming for the $24 billion plasma industry — but it may be putting vulnerable donors at risk”

https://www.businessinsider.com/plasma-donating-industry-vulnerable-health-2021-3

According to analysts at Fortune Business Insights, two-thirds of these centers are owned by one of three companies: CSL Plasma, Grifols, and BioLife.

 

2018 March 15

The Atlantic

“How Blood-Plasma Companies target the poorest Americans”

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/03/plasma-donations/555599/

Because plasma can be a medical necessity, companies that collect it tend to wield significant pricing power. These days, a liter of plasma that costs a company about $150 to collect and process could sell for in the neighborhood of $500—a substantial markup in any industry.

 

[Note 11]

2011

National Library of Medicine

“Costs to hospitals of acquiring and processing blood in the US: a survey of hospital-based blood banks and transfusion services”

Richard W Toner 1, Laura Pizzi, Brian Leas, Samir K Ballas, Alyson Quigley, Neil I Goldfarb

PMID: 21174480 DOI: 10.2165/11530740-000000000-00000

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21174480/

Results: a total of 213 surveys were completed. The mean (SD) acquisition cost for one unit of red blood cells purchased from a supplier (n = 204) was $US210.74 ± 37.9 and the mean charge to the patient (n = 167) was $US343.63 ± 135. There was significant statistical variation in acquisition cost by US census region (p < 0.0001) and division (p < 0.0001).

 

Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital

Blood Transfusion Administration Service Fee

https://www.hksh-hospital.com/en/fees-and-charges/blood-transfusion-administration-service-fee

 

[Note 12]

2018 May 10

The Economist

“Bans on paying human blood distort a vital global market”

https://www.economist.com/international/2018/05/10/bans-on-paying-for-human-blood-distort-a-vital-global-market




Thursday, September 1, 2022

把「暫停中美氣候商談」變為一個轉折點

 我的信報文章(202291A16)

刊登後的改良加長版

暫停中美氣候商談」變為一個轉折點

https://www1.hkej.com/dailynews/article/id/3233897

                                                劍昭


85信報》即時新聞:針對美國眾議院議長執意竄訪台灣,中國外交部宣布採取8項反制措施包括「暫停中美氣候變化商談。有別於其他7項本質上屬雙邊議題,氣候商談顯得異常突出

[Note 2]

今年的北半球夏季,熱浪乾旱終於教歐洲一頓苦頭;為避免將來更糟,會強烈要求政府做點實事

由於美國在這方面有至少兩個嚴重自衍缺陷,北京可藉此機會擺華盛頓的纏擾,自行創設新的跨國合作模式並通過區域協調等各方各面,

贏取信任

申明話語、

發揮影響

造成一個轉折點

建立以人類命運共同體為目標的生活新常態

 

是美國使自己難以獲得別人信任的缺陷之一

儘管總統拜登扭轉了特朗普退出《巴黎協定》的做法,但國兩黨在氣候變化議題上的對峙,令世人質疑其聯邦政府的承諾

87日,美國參議院通過一項法案,目標在2030年底前把室氣體排放量大減四成。但表決時,民主與共和兩黨以5050票形成僵局,最後由兼任議長的副總統賀錦麗投下決定性的支持票

但這不能保證美國真的會實施減碳行動;一旦共和黨在 11月中期選舉重獲參眾兩院多數議席控制權,或共和黨候選人贏得 2024 年總統大選,該法案極可能被推翻

[Note 3]

第二個缺陷是舉世知的美國浪費文化

最早形成的習慣可能是至少有40年的連鎖快餐店棄用一次性餐具現象,非正式估計這類垃圾年不少於600萬噸

[Note 4]

世界銀行一份2018年報告What a Waste 2.0詳細列出各地的人均固體廢物量美國人平均日4.54公斤垃圾(10 磅,約等於20個飲用後的奶粉罐 或227AA乾電池)香港人的垃圾天也多達2.14公斤(4.7磅,約等於12卷衛生紙) 人的廢物量則僅為0.34公斤,約為香港數量的六分之一、美國的十三分之一

[Note 1]

現代生活中,不可避免地總會丟棄一些固體垃圾,例如烹油瓶、碎眼鏡、壞電器但許多固體廢物是由本來可以避免的速棄性消費造成的現時最顯眼的是快時尚(Fast Fashion)

[Note 5]

成千上萬的消費者穿約三四次這類時尚服裝後便撇掉大部分天真的年輕人自以為捐贈舊衣可幫助窮人,但事實恰恰相反2016-7年,六個東非國家與美國發生貿易戰,由於美式舊衣履阻礙其國紡織製衣業發展,也扭曲了當地生活文化這些國家勇敢地禁止從美國進口舊衣華盛頓卻發出警告,表示拒進口美國舊衣履國家會受到懲罰。

[Note 6]

2021在智利北部阿塔卡馬沙漠,包括聖誕毛衣、雪靴在的棄置二手服裝堆積成山,且於烈日下釋出染物

[Note 7]

深受美國文化影響的香港也感染了這種病態做法,隨處可見很多年輕人在街上或商場喝了一些甜飲後即時扔掉塑料瓶和飲管完全沒感到任何欠妥、不當之處;且有蔓延跡象。據我在茶餐廳吃早餐時認識的搬運工人所言扔掉仍然新淨的沙發漸趨普遍

速棄性消費本身就是一種浪費,它不僅浪費了用作生的材料和勞動力,且變成垃圾後,也浪費了花在處理它的資源

大量消費者青睞這種行為,原因之一是個人慾望的迅即滿足凌駕於其他考慮之上,此劣幣的另一面是缺乏照顧地球這個家園的責任感

人類唯一知道自己生活在地球上具有地球意識的生命物種

(詳見拙文代海出聲? 何解不代蚊出聲? 2018423信報

http://contemporarychineselegalism.blogspot.com/2018/04/)

作為地球的擁有者,人類必須妥當地管理自己的家園

[Note 8]

但追求慾望的迅即滿足,卻使很多身為地球主人的人完全忘記了這回事借用制度經濟學Absentee Ownership概念這樣的人可以被稱為「忽略管理讓圖利者上下其手的缺席地球人

[Note 9]

缺席地球人在西方社會人數特別多、行為尤其劣的原因之一,就是在蒙時期後,社會道德逐漸鬆開了宗教原罪觀對行為的約束,代之以追求快樂為人生最高目標但頗多人

以助人為本的快樂

五官的興奮

情慾的滿足混為一談

更進而不惜浪費寶貴的資源,只求一己短暫愉悅

(濫藥酗酒普遍化速棄性消費是誤解快樂的雙胞胎)

[Note 10]

華夏文明具有廣泛的江山如此多嬌」意識也能與科技進並行不悖近日觀賞《魯健訪談: 對話季松》節目,很高興看到華北最大的濕地生態系統白洋淀,成功得到高科技、高質素的保育,蜚聲國際。

[Note 11]

再配合深厚的勤儉節約傳統根基,中國具有擺浪費習慣的文化實力,構建順應保育地球的現代生活範例研發新技術(例如能吸收兼重用二氧化碳的材料)同時通過教育熏陶、獎懲政策驅除速棄性消費習慣,吸引各國更願意與北京合作,更多外籍民眾認同中國的取向,變為自覺擁有並須保育的地球出席者

[Note 12]

當然,一項非常艱巨的工程

但氣候變化是美國歐洲

倘若此缺乏

突破性的文化成就、標記性的文明榜樣,

單靠經濟手段以重塑世界和平秩序則更難

1985年酷暑的一天,我登赴長城八達嶺,喝盡銻壺的白開水,在路邊排向一位婦人買一碗茶解公雞碗的釉圖在喫茶後活靈活現再看着姥姥的笑容心和舌都是甜的因為彼此都是擯除速棄性消費的保育地球出席者不僅沒有半點浪費還滿載恆久不忘的歡欣。

 

登嶺者沒有姥姥的清可能會中暑;

賣茶沒有遊客的惠顧生計或有困難。

那一刻那一地命運相連。

命運共同體不是抽象的空談,而是活命的現實

也是轉折點後的目的地。

[Note 13]

 

Notes

[Note 1]

2018  World Bank

“What a waste 2.0 : A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050”

file:///C:/Users/kimch/Downloads/9781464813290.pdf

 

Waste generation rate: kg per capita per day

Figure 3.1  East Asia and Pacific Region p.60/295

Global ave  0.74

Region ave 0.56

Singapore 3.72

HK 2.14

NZ 1.99

AUD  1.54

Japan   0.95

Mainland China 0.34

 

Figure 3.7  Europe and Central Asia  p.67/295

Region ave 1.18

Denmark  2.17

Germany   1.72

France   1.38

Italy    1.34

UK   1.33

Portugal  1.26

Spain 1.20

 

Figure 3.23   North America p.87/295

Region ave  2.21

USA  4.54

Canada 1.94

 

 

2022 0720

BBC, “Wildfires rage in Greece, Spain and Italy as heatwave moves across Europe

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62235561

More than 1,000 deaths have been linked to the extremely high temperatures in Portugal while in Spain it is at least 500.

France has had some of the worst fires, particularly in the southwest region of Gironde, though conditions for tackling them have improved. Temperatures fell from 40C (104F) on Tuesday to the mid-20s on Wednesday.

Spain has also been battling multiple wildfires.

Some 5,600 hectares (13,800 acres) of land have also been burnt in the north-eastern region of Aragon. 

Major fires have also affected Italy in the past days, causing the country to be put on its highest heatwave alert for Thursday. Italian infrastructure has also been heavily impacted, with temporary closure of a key rail route between Rome and Florence, Italian media report.

 

USA  National Interagency Fire Center

2022 0820 Update

https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/nfn

August 20, 2022 

The majority of wildland fire activity continues throughout the West. To date, the 2022 fire year has had over 43,000 fires with nearly 6 million acres burned. These numbers remain above the 10-year-average of 38,000 acres and 4.7 million acres burned

 

2022 0811

std.stheadline.com/daily/article/2480451/日報-國際-歐大旱-萊茵河瀕斷流

(星島日報報道)歐洲正經嚴重的乾旱,德國商業動脈萊茵河水位之低,令駁船可能到本週五就無法通行,威脅煤炭、石油和商品運輸。上一次萊茵河乾涸是在二○一八年,當時航道關閉了一百三十二天,幾乎讓德國陷入衰退。

 

2022 中国新 08-22 09:07

https://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3668316

路透社、英国广播公司(BBC)道称,在德国最大河流的河岸上,饥饿之石些石还带1947年、1959年和2018年等日期。其饥饿之石是一些河床岩石,往往只在水位极低身,有的刻有以前的人留下的警示灾害的信息

 

2022 Aug 19

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/19/hunger-stones-wrecks-and-bones-europe-drought-brings-past-to-surface

 … warning could not be starker. Wenn du mich siehst, dann weine (“If you see me, then weep”), reads the grim inscription on a rock in the Elbe River near the northern Czech town of Děčín, close to the German border.

 

2022 0511

France’s unprecedented drought

https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20220511-france-s-unprecedented-drought-shows-climate-change-is-spiralling-out-of-control

 

wiki, Hunger Stone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_stone

A hunger stone (German: Hungerstein) is a type of hydrological landmark common in Central Europe. Hunger stones serve as famine memorials and warnings and were erected in Germany and in ethnic German settlements throughout Europe in the 15th through 19th centuries.

 

These stones were embedded into a river during droughts to mark the water level as a warning to future generations that they will have to endure famine-related hardships if the water sinks to this level again. One famous example in the Elbe river in Děčín, Czech Republic, has "Wenn du mich siehst, dann weine" ("If you see me, weep") carved into it as a warning.[1]

 

Many of these stones, featuring carvings or other artwork, were erected following the hunger crisis of 1816–1817 caused by the eruptions of the Tambora volcano.[2]

 

In 1918, a hunger stone on the bed of the Elbe River, near Děčín, became exposed during a period of low water coincident to the wartime famines of World War I.[3] Similar hunger stones in the river were uncovered again during droughts in 2018[4] and in 2022[5].

 

[Note 2]

2022 0805  信報》即時新聞    

www2.hkej.com/instantnews/current/article/3209484/外交部宣布對美採取8項反制措施

針對美國眾議院議長佩洛西不顧中方強烈反對和嚴正交,執意竄訪台灣,中國外交部宣布採取8項反制措施。

有關反制措施包括取消安排中美兩軍戰區領導通話;取消中美國防部工作會晤;取消中美海上軍事安全磋商機制會議;暫停中美非法移民遣返合作;暫停中美刑事司法協助合作;暫停中美打擊跨國犯罪合作;暫停中美禁毒合作;暫停中美氣候變化商談

 

[Note 3]

2022 0809  星島日報

std.stheadline.com/daily/article/2480065/日報-國際-美參院通過大舉投資潔淨能源

(星島日報報道)美國參議院周日以一票之差,表決通過民主黨提出、規模達四千三百億美元(約三萬三千七百五十五億港元)的氣候、醫療和收法案《降通脹法案》,這項雄心勃勃的法案,包括美國有史以來最大環保減碳投資以應對氣候變化,目標是在二○三○年底之前,把室氣體排放量大減四成。

該法案周日在參議院表決時,民主與共和兩黨派系分明,以五十票對五十票拉成平手僵局,最後由兼任參議院議長的副總統賀錦麗投下決定性的一票,令這項法案以五十一票贊成、五十票反對過關。賀錦麗投票後站起來,為歡呼的民主黨人通過該法案鼓掌。許多共和黨人紛紛離開會議廳。

 

[Note 4]

2016 0513

One Green Planet, “6 Million Tons of Single-Use Plastics Get Thrown Out Every Year!”

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/how-you-can-stop-single-use-plastic-waste/

 

[Note 5]

Wiki, Fast Fashion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_fashion

 

[Note 6]

2018 0727

America’s insistence that Africans must wear used clothes

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/07/americas-insistence-that-africans-must-wear-used-clothes/

… following US’ insistence that Africans must wear clothes already used by Americans .The steps that led to the war began in March 2016 when the  Heads of State of  Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan who constitute the East African Community, EAC, decided to ban the importation  of used clothes by 2019 as part of the EAC Vision 2050. They sought to grow the  manufacturing sector from  8.7 percent to  25 percent by 2032.

In 2017, it  sent a warning  to the African countries to either accept the used American clothes, or be punished. But the African countries refused to be intimidated. 

 

[Note 7]

2021 1109

std.stheadline.com/daily/article/2413733/日報-國際-智利沙漠二手衣-亂棄置成垃圾山

(星島日報報道)全球貨品供銷正受疫後供應鏈問題衝擊,但在智利北部阿塔卡馬沙漠,包括聖誕毛衣、雪靴在的棄置二手服裝卻堆積成山,這些快時尚(fast fashion)衣物嚴重染環境

快時尚(提供當下流行的款式和元素,以低價、款多、量少為特點)帶來的極端消費主義令智利社會飽受衝擊,包括少得可憐的低薪與童工問題已為人所熟知,但對當地環境也帶來嚴重負面影響,外界卻知之甚少。智利長年以來都是二手與滯銷快時尚服飾的集散中心。由中國、孟加拉製造的服裝銷往歐、亞與美國後,最終輾轉流入智利,再找機會重新賣到拉丁美洲。

 

[Note 8]

信報 2018423 A18

代海出聲? 何解不代蚊出聲?

http://www1.hkej.com/dailynews/article/id/1823331/

擁有一片受管理土壤的人是地主,擁有一棟房子的人是屋主,唯一具有地球意識的人類由於文明進化,無可選擇地、幸運亦不幸地,已成為地球的主人人類自古以來從除草闢路修築渡口到填海造地興建碼頭都在不同程度上轉化(有些人認為是破壞)生態環境然後生,交易,競爭,立法

http://contemporarychineselegalism.blogspot.com/2018/04/


[Note 9]

Thorstein Veblen (1923), “Absentee Ownership: Business Enterprise in Recent Times — the case of America”, 1996 by Routledge.

https://www.routledge.com/Absentee-Ownership-Business-Enterprise-in-Recent-Times---The-Case-of-America/Veblen/p/book/9781560009221

Absentee Ownership is an inquiry into the economic situation as it has taken shape in the twentieth century, particularly as exemplified in the case of America. According to Thorstein Veblen, absentee ownership is the main and immediate controlling interest in the life of civilized men. It is the paramount issue between the civilized nations, and guides the conduct of their affairs at home and abroad. World War I, says Veblen, arose out of a conflict of absentee interests and the peace was negotiated with a view to stabilize them.

 

[Note 10]

John Lock, “The necessity of pursuing happiness (is) the foundation of liberty …”

https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/john-locke/

Happiness as “True Pleasure”

The doctrines of innate ideas and original sin are brushed aside as relics of a pre-Newtonian mythological worldview. There is no such thing as human nature being originally good or evil: these are concepts that get developed only on the basis of experiencing pain and pleasure.

 

2008

Boston College: The ambiguities of Rousseau’s conception of Happiness

https://dlib.bc.edu/islandora/object/bc-ir:101306/datastream/PDF/view

Rousseau defines happiness as the equilibrium between desires and faculties.

 

 

[Note 11]

央視網20220729

《魯健訪談》 20220729 對話季松

https://tv.cctv.com/2022/07/29/VIDErvVkfZM2qlltyFFv885G220729.shtml?spm=C45305.PtbNPq4hajyS.EW31kUZpQtSl.6

本期節目主要容: 沿著中國海河流域一路向西南,是華北地區最大的濕地生態系統——白洋淀。 143個淀泊星羅棋布、3700條溝壕縱橫交錯的白洋淀對維護生態環境具有重大意義。上世紀五十年代末,孩童時期的季松第一次來到白洋淀。而今,一直懷抱濕地保護使命感的季鬆與白洋淀有了更緊密的連結,這裡的水質、泥底、蘆葦蕩,甚至是一隻菱角,在他心中都有重大意義。 (《魯健訪談》 20220729 對話季松)

 

[Note 12]

2012 0206

Sci Tech Daily

Scientists Develop Material that Absorb Carbon Dioxide From the Air

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-develop-material-that-absorb-carbon-dioxide-from-the-air/

 

[Note 13]

百度百科

baike.baidu.hk/item/人類命運共同體/1096715

人類命運共同體a Community of Shared Future for Mankind)旨在追求本國利益時兼顧他國合理關切,在謀求本國發展中促進各國共同發展。 [1]  人類只有一個地球,各國共處一個世界,要倡導“人類命運共同體”意識。 [2]

人類命運共同體這一全球價觀包含相互依存的國際權力觀、共同利益觀、可持續發展觀和全球治理觀。