Saturday, May 15, 2021

Shekhar Koirala: Voice Of Reason

ज्येष्ठ सांसद महंथ को नेतृत्वमा सर्वदलीय सरकार हो निकास

अहिले समय हो राजनीतिक नाटक समाप्त गर्ने, महामारी मा फोकस गर्ने। उठापटक त पहिले पनि थुप्रो भएको तर अहिलेको राजनीतिक उठापटक क्रुर कर्म हो। 

ओली लाई बजेट पास गर्न दिन सकिँदैन। 

ओली लाई चुनाव गराउन दिन सकिँदैन। 

भकुन्डो खेल्दा मैदान मा रहेका सबै खेलाड़ी सँग चिनजान हुनु जरूरी छैन। सबैसँग आत्मीय सम्बन्ध हुनु जरूरी छैन। तर खेलको नियम त पालन गर्नैपर्छ। देशको प्रधान मंत्री ले भकुन्डो हातमा लिएर कुदेको कुदै अवस्था छ। भद्रगोल। 

नेकपा फुटेर कांग्रेस लाई फाइदा त हो, तर अबको एमाले नै फेरि फुटेर ओली को नेतृत्वमा चुनाव हुन्छ भने बामदेवले एक समय गृह मंत्री हुँदा गरेको स्थानीय निर्वाचन सम्झे हुन्छ। 

भकुन्डो हातमा लिएर कुदने रोग जसपा मा पनि सरेको छ। हस्ताक्षर संकलन का भरमा बहुमत जुट्छ कतै? कोरम पुग्ने गरी बैठक बस्नुपर्ने हुन्छ। तर यो त अल्पमत बहुमत गर्ने समय नै होइन। अहिले त सर्वसम्मत निर्णय हरु गर्दै मधेसको मुद्दा सम्वोधन गर्ने समय हो। 

अहिले त खुद माधव लाई चाहिएको महंथ। मौखिक सम्झौता का आधारमा केपी लाई फेरि पत्याउन थाले माधव। 

भोट बटुल्ने मधेसमा कुरा गर्ने दार्चुला को मान्छे जस्तो कांग्रेस ले। त्यो जमाना गयो। संविधानमा लेखेको मानव अधिकारको पनि रक्षा नगर्ने: देश अहिले त्यहाँ छ। मधेसले मानव अधिकार र एक व्यक्ति एक मत लोकतंत्र भन्दा बढ़ी के माँगेको छ? नागरिकता पत्र त मानव अधिकार हो। संघीयतामा प्रदेश ले के कति शक्ति पाउँछ त्यो त उत्तराखंड, उत्तर प्रदेश, बिहार, पश्चिम बंगाल, सिक्किम जहाँ हेरे पनि हुन्छ। त्यहाँ नरमाइलो मान्नुपर्ने के पर्यो त्यस्तो? 

ओली ले दुई चार थान झुठा मुद्दा फिर्ता गर्ने जमर्को गर्यो। विप्लव को सच्चा मुद्दा फिर्ता गर्नेले झुठा मुद्दा फिरता गर्दा जश्न मनाउनुपर्ने त्यस्तो खासै केही छैन। संविधान संसोधन अब न ओली को पछ्यौरा समाएर हुन्छ न देउबा को। अब को बाटो सर्वदलीय नै हो। आफै कमांड गर्ने हो। मानसिक दासता को तोसक बिसाउने अब। जाड़ों गयो। सर्दी ख़त्म हुवा। 






ओली पुन: प्रधानमन्त्री बन्दा राजनीति अन्योलतातर्फ धकेलियो : यादव

अझै कति शव गनेर बस्ने ! यो महामारी दलहरूका लागि परीक्षा पनि हो । कसैले राजनीति नगरौं । पहिले जनता बचाऔं, राजनीति पछि गरौंला । ....... अहिले भारतले जुन नियति भोगिरहेको छ, हामी त्योभन्दा खतरनाक र भयावह विन्दुतर्फ अग्रसर छौं । ......... यसरी निषेधाज्ञामा राखिरहने हो भने आम जनतामा भोक र अन्य रोगका साथै आक्रोश पनि थपिँदै जानेछ । किनकि सरकारको हरेक कुनामा बिचौलिया पसेका छन् । अब त कुनाकुनामा पसेका बिचौलियाले ‘कात्रो र शववाहन’ मा पनि कमिसन नखोज्लान् भन्न सकिन्न । यो हाम्रो राजनीतिक संस्कारले नै निम्त्याएको अवस्था हो । ट्रेडिङमा रमाउनेहरूमा आफ्नो लगानी नगरी राज्यको लगानीबाट कमिसन लिने र खाने बानी राजनीति गर्नेले नै पारिदिएका हुन् । ......... अघिल्लो लकडाउनका कारण थला परेको पर्यटन र आर्थिक क्षेत्र कोमामा जाने अवस्था छ । यो क्षेत्रलाई पूर्ववत् स्थितिमा फर्काउन एक वा दुई वर्षमा सम्भवै छैन ।

भगवान्‌कै भरोसा ! ‘गिट्ठा–भ्याकुर राष्ट्रवाद’ को वकालत गर्नेहरूले जेसुकै भनून्, रोटीको आफ्नै राष्ट्रियता हुन्छ । मान्छे पलायन त्यसै हुँदैन । ........  जो आफ्नो दैनिक आवश्यकता पूरा गर्न असमर्थ छन्, तिनीहरूले मास्क र स्यानिटाइजर प्रयोग गर्लान् वा पटकपटक साबुन–पानीले हात पखाल्लान् भनी अपेक्षा नै गर्न सकिँदैन । तराईमै यस्ता बस्तीहरू छन् जहाँ खानेपानीको सहज आपूर्ति छैन । तिनीहरू लापरबाही गर्न खोजेका छैनन्; बस, निरुपाय छ । यस्ता भुइँमान्छेहरूमा पुरुषजतिले गम्छा र महिलाजतिले साडीको सप्को वा घरमै उपलब्ध पुरानो कपडालाई मास्कका रूपमा प्रयोग गरिरहेका छन् । थातथलोमा यतिखेर घरबन्दीले गर्दा काम ठप्प छ, घरबाहिर निस्किन पाबन्दी लगाइएको छ । तर गाईवस्तु पाल्नेले के गर्ने ? ....... घर नफर्कूं, मरिने; फर्कूं, झन् मरिने । .......  रोजगारीका लागि भारत जाने नेपालीहरूको आँकडा हेर्ने हो भने सबैभन्दा बढी अदक्ष श्रमिक छन् । .......  भारतमा कति नेपाली छन्, तिनीहरू कहाँकहाँ छन्, कस्तो अवस्थामा छन्, के काममा संलग्न छन्, त्यसको कुनै लेखाजोखा छैन । .........  नेपालको वर्चस्वशाली जमातको हित संरक्षण दिल्लीस्थित दूतावास र कोलकातास्थित महावाणिज्य दूतावासबाट निर्वहन भैरहेको परिप्रेक्ष्यमा असंगठित भुइँमान्छेहरूका लागि कसले चिन्ता लिने ? नेपालको राजनीतिक नेतृत्वले भारतसँगको सामाजिक–आर्थिक सम्बन्धको प्रमुखतालाई स्वीकार नगरेसम्म केही हुनेवाला छैन । ...... खेतीमा ‘वर्क फ्रम होम’ चल्दैन । ..... हाम्रै नेपालभित्र अर्को नेपाल पनि छ, जो यस पटकको महामारीमा भगवान् भरोसे बाँचिरहेको छ । इतिहासमा यिनको कुनै अभिलेख हुँदैन । मृत्यु स्वीकार गर्नु वा घिटघिटी गर्दै बाँचिरहनु अदृश्य मान्छेहरूको क्रूर वर्तमान हो ।

महामारीमा सत्ता राजनीति सर्वसाधारणका लागि राज्यको उपस्थिति मसानमा बाहेक अन्यत्र कतै प्रभावकारी छैन । ..... महामारीको पहिलो चरणमा वृद्धवृद्धाहरूका लागि खतरनाक मानिएको कोरोनाले दोस्रो चरणमा संसारका युवा पुस्तामाथि आक्रमण सुरु गरेको छ । ........  युरोप होस् वा अमेरिका वा अफ्रिका, मानव जातिको जहाँजहाँ उपस्थिति छ, कोरोनाले कतै छोडेको छैन । छिमेकी भारतमा यसको कहर अत्यन्त निर्मम छ । नेपालमा त्यसको गहिरो प्रभाव परेको छ । कोरोनाकालमा भारत र नेपालका अर्थतन्त्र अविभाज्य देखिएका छन् । महामारीको पहिलो चरणमै कोरोनाबाट बच्न भारतबाट घर फर्केका मानिस केही दिनपछि नै कसरी फेरि कामको खोजीमा भारत गएका थिए ? यो तथ्य नेपालीले बिर्सिएका छैनन् । ........ देशका जनता एकातिर कोरोना महामारीले आक्रान्त भइरहेका छन् भने, यही समय देशको राजनीतिमा सत्ता परिवर्तनको ‘लाली’ चढेको छ ।  .......  देशको स्वास्थ्य व्यवस्था ‘कोल्याप्स्ड’ भैसकेको छ । ठूला पुँजीमा चलेका अस्पतालहरूले असमर्थताको हात उठाइसकेका छन् । सम्पूर्ण स्वास्थ्य क्षेत्र अराजकताको अन्तिम विन्दुमा उभिएको छ । मेचीदेखि महाकालीसम्म, चारैतिर छरिएर रहेका, सहर–बजार तथा खोंच र उपत्यकाका ठूला–साना स्वास्थ्य चौकी र अस्पताल विस्फोटक अवस्थामा पुग्ने खतरा छ । ........ निषेधाज्ञाका बेला जनताको रासनपानीको व्यवस्था कसरी भैरहेको छ ? संघीय, प्रादेशिक वा स्थानीय सरकारलाई त्यसको सरोकारै देखिँदैन । मानिसहरू सरकार र सरकार चलाउने जातिका विषयमा निषेधका टिप्पणी गर्न थालेका छन्— अक्सिजन र उपचारको व्यवस्था गर्न छाडेर सरकार वाग्मती किनारमा नेपाली सेनाका जवानहरूलाई चिहान खन्न लगाइरहेको छ । ........  देशको राजधानी सहरमा एक हूल पैसावाल व्यापारी छन्, अर्को हूल जग्गावाल व्यापारी छन्; त्यसभन्दा पर जनताप्रधान भन्ने कोही पनि छैन । .........  राजाले आफ्नो सुविधा र तजबिजअनुसार, राष्ट्रको ढुकुटीको उपयोग गर्थे । त्योभन्दा अगाडिको समयमा, राजाले सोझै ढुकुटीको प्रयोग गर्थे । उनका लागि लोकलाजको अर्थ थिएन । अहिले लोकतन्त्रका नेताहरू लोकलाजलाई पन्छाएर, राजाको त्यही ‘कदम’ को अनुसरण गरिरहेका छन् । ........  अहिलेको संसदीय अंकगणित केलाउँदा प्रतिनिधिसभाबाट पराजित भएर पनि प्रधानमन्त्री ओली निकै जब्बर देखिएका छन् । .......  जनताले सुशील कोइराला, खड्गप्रसाद शर्मा ओली, प्रचण्ड, शेरबहादुर देउवा सबैको शैली देखेका छन् । कोरोना महामारीको व्यवस्थापनमा प्रधानमन्त्री ओलीले फैलाएको अराजकता सबैले बुझेका छन् । ...... अहिलेसम्म यो देशको बागडोर त्यस्ता मानिसले सम्हालेका छन्, जसले कहिल्यै देश र जनताको चिन्ता गरेनन्, क्रान्तिका आदर्शहरूको सम्मान गरेनन्, देशको साधन र स्रोतलाई लुट्ने काममा लागे । अहिलेको संसद्मा जो छन्, तिनको योग्यता र उपयोगिता पनि योभन्दा बढी छैन । तैपनि, रामायणका रचनाकार वाल्मीकिजस्तो उनीहरू पनि सुध्रिन्छन् कि ? यो एउटा कल्पना हो ।

टीभीका प्राइम टाइममा देखाइने यी टक शाेहरूले हामीलाई के सिकाउँछन् ?  ४ सय वर्षबीचको दौरानमा यस्ता कलोसियमहरूमा ४ लाखभन्दा बेसी ग्लाडिएटर अर्थात्् मानव जीवनहरू समाप्त भएका थिए । ......... प्राइम टाइम बहसका कार्यक्रम सञ्चालकहरू सबैभन्दा कम लगानीमा आममानिसहरूलाई सजिलै मूर्ख बनाइरहेका छन् । ......... ३९८ कार्यक्रममध्ये ३०० हाराहारीका कार्यक्रम संसद् विघटन, सर्वोच्चको निर्णय, नेकपाको फुट, एमालेभित्रको किचलो, राजनीतिमा प्रतिपक्षीको कमजोर भूमिकाकै वरिपरि मात्र रुमल्लिइरहेको देख्न सकिन्छ । ........  मूर्ख व्यापारीले नयाँ उत्पादन गरिरह्यो, टेलिभिजनका बहसका कार्यक्रमहरूमा तिनै मूर्खताको भव्य होडिङबोर्ड लगाइयो, ती होडिङबोर्डमा रहेका उत्पादनहरूको सक्दो विज्ञापन यी प्राइम टाइम शोहरूले बेचिरहे । जनता मूर्ख बनिरहे । तर, राजनीतिज्ञको भेषमा रहेका व्यापारी हुन् या तिनका एजेन्टका रूपमा हाम्रोमाझ देखापरेका यी टेलिभिजनका बहसका शोहरू हुन्, यी सबैले बुझ्नैपर्ने कुरा के हो भने आम मानिसबिना कुनै पनि खेल सम्भव छैन । र, जब खेलमा आममानिसको उपस्थिति हुँदैन, या त व्यापार बन्द गरिनुपर्छ या त असल व्यापारको सुरुवात गरिनुपर्छ ।

सत्तास्वार्थ र बजेट साटासाट : महन्थ ठाकुरलाई मागेजति रकम जसपा अध्यक्ष महन्थ ठाकुरले चालु वर्षको बजेटमा नपरेका आयोजनामा पर्याप्त बजेट लगेका छन् । अर्थ मन्त्रालय स्रोतका अनुसार ठाकुरका लागि बुधबार मात्रै ३ अर्बभन्दा बढी रकमान्तर तथा स्रोत सुनिश्चितता गरिएको छ । ......... अर्थ मन्त्रालयका एक अधिकारीका अनुसार ठाकुरले करिब एक दर्जन आयोजनामा रकम माग गरेका थिए । तीमध्ये तीनवटा आयोजना २० करोड रुपैयाँभन्दा बढीका छन् । अरुमा पनि ५ करोडभन्दा धेरै रकम रकमान्तर तथा स्रोत सुनिश्चितता गरिएको छ । .......... बजेट मार्गनिर्देशन २०७७/७८ ले पनि खर्च गर्न नसकेको बजेट खर्चको ग्यारेन्टी भई रकम अभाव हुन सक्ने क्षेत्रमा बजेट सार्न सकिने व्यवस्था गरेको छ । यही प्रावधानलाई टेकेर महन्थ ठाकुरसहित उनीसँग नजिक रहेका नेताहरूले मागेका आयोजनामा मनपरी रकमान्तर गरिएको छ ।  


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Friday, May 14, 2021

जनमत पार्टी का समय और भ्रष्टाचारका मुद्दा




पृथ्वी नारायणका काठमाण्डु कब्ज़ा हो या कोतपर्व, सात सालका नेहरूके सहयोगमें बीपी द्वारा किया गया राणा विरुद्ध का क्रांति हो या फिर सतरह सालका प्रतिगमन, सोवियत संघ विगठन और राजीव गांधीके नाकाबंदी के बाद का ४६ सालका आंदोलन जिसने बहुदल स्थापित किया, या फिर सन २००६ का आंदोलन जिसने गणतंत्र स्थापित किया, या फिर मधेसी क्रांति जिसने संघीयता स्थापित किया। अभी महामारी के कारण लग रहा है कुछ वैसा ही परिस्थिति पैदा होने जा रहा है। ये जनमत पार्टी के लिए बड़ी छलांग लगाने का मौका हो सकता है। 

भ्रष्टाचार के मुद्दे पर लेजर फोकस 

बात तो शिक्षा और स्वास्थ्य की भी है। बात आर्थिक विकास की आती है। लेकिन चुनाव के लिए एक मुद्दा को कस के पकड़ना बहुत जरूरी है। अभी के समय में वो मुद्दा भ्रष्टाचार ही है। पंचायत गिरी। बहुदल आया। दोदलीय भ्रष्टाचारतंत्र को गिराना है। जनता राज स्थापित करना है। 

डिजिटल प्रविधि का सम्पुर्ण प्रयोग 

नेपाल में फेसबुक प्रयोग करने वाले बहुत लोग हैं। नेपाल में आम मतदाता तक पहुँचने का सबसे सस्ता रास्ता ही है फेसबुक पर विज्ञापन का रास्ता। अगर आपके पास दुरुस्त संगठन है तो उससे भी सस्ता है वीडियो उत्पादन करिए और अपने संगठन के भितर व्हाट्सएप्प समुह एक समुह से दुसरे समुह के रास्ते एक कान दो कान मैदान, अर्थात केंद्र से प्रत्येक वार्ड तक पहुँचिए। आम मतदाता तक ३० सेकंड का वीडियो। स्थानीय नेता तक उसीका तीन मिनट भर्सन। केंद्रीय और जिल्ला तहके नेता के लिए ३० मिनट भर्सन। महामारी के समय उपयुक्त डिजिटल रास्ता। जनमत पार्टी वैसे भी डिजिटल प्रविधि के प्रयोग में सब से आगे है ही। अपने इस मजबुती को जोड़ से पकड़िए। 

पहाड़ में एयर फ़ोर्स भेजिए 

मधेसके २२ जिल्ला में ४०% लोग पहाड़ी हैं। एक दो पीढ़ी के भितर जो पहाड़ से उतर के आए हैं। अगर इरादा है कि मधेसके २२ जिल्ला में स्वीप करेंगे तो उस ४०% जनसंख्या को नजरअंदाज नहीं किया जा सकता। और उस ४०% लोगो पर भी फोकस करने का मतलब आप बाँकी पहाड़ के लिए भी तैयार हैं। स्रोत साधन के कमी के कारण जनमत पार्टी को २२ जिल्लों पर फोकस करना पड़ा है अभी तक। लेकिन बेसिक फोर्मुला तैयार है। अब डिजिटल प्रविधि के रास्ते पहाड़ और हिमाल तक पहुँचिए, काठमाण्डु में भी संगठन विस्तार किजिए, उपत्यका में भी चुनाव लड़ने की सोंचिए। एक नंबर ब्रॉडकास्ट किजिए। पहाड़ में जो लोग सदस्यता लेना चाहे, संगठन से जुड़ना चाहे,जिल्ला समिति बनाना चाहे वो कृपया इस नंबर पर फ़ोन करें। 

आप सिर्फ मधेसके २२ जिले में वो भी उन जिलों के ६०% मधेसी तक अपने आपको सीमित रखेंगे तब तो चुनाव होने से पहले ही हार गए। सम्पुर्ण क्रांति का मतलब सारा देश। पार्टी की दुसरी महाधिवेशन काठमाण्डु में करिए, तब तक ७७ जिले में फ़ैल चुकने का इरादा रखिए। 


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This New Covid Vaccine Could Bring Hope to the Unvaccinated World The German company CureVac hopes its RNA vaccine will rival those made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. It could be ready next month. .......... CureVac’s product belongs to what many scientists refer to as the second wave of Covid-19 vaccines that could collectively ease the world’s demand. Novavax, a company based in Maryland whose vaccine uses coronavirus proteins, is expected to apply for U.S. authorization in the next few weeks. In India, the pharmaceutical company Biological E is testing another protein-based vaccine that was developed by researchers in Texas. In Brazil, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam, researchers are starting trials for a Covid-19 shot that can be mass-produced in chicken eggs........ Vaccines experts are particularly curious to see CureVac’s results, because its shot has an important advantage over the other RNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. While those two vaccines have to be kept in a deep freezer, CureVac’s vaccine stays stable in a refrigerator ........... You could, in theory, craft an RNA molecule to immunize people against any virus. You might even be able to create an RNA vaccine to cure cancer, if you could make an RNA molecule that encoded a tumor protein. ....... And perhaps most important, they used a form of RNA that could stay stable at relatively warm temperatures. Instead of requiring a deep freezer, CureVac’s vaccine could be refrigerated. ........ When the coronavirus pandemic hit, CureVac, BioNTech and Moderna all jumped in to make RNA vaccines. But BioNTech and Moderna soon pulled ahead, thanks in part to deep-pocketed allies. BioNTech teamed up with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, while Moderna worked with the National Institutes of Health and received a billion dollars from the U.S. government as part of Operation Warp Speed. ............“They’re going to miss the boat on the major, advanced-economy markets,” said Dr. Kirkegaard. “The U.S., Europe and Japan are going to be largely vaccinated using these Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.” ......... But CureVac will also have to contend with a worldwide shortage of the raw materials needed for RNA vaccines. The shortfall is particularly acute for the company because imports from the United States are limited by the Defense Production Act. Unlike Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, CureVac has no U.S. facilities. .........

CureVac’s RNA vaccine can stay stable for at least three months at 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and it can sit for 24 hours at room temperature before it is used.

......... Because its potent RNA requires only a small dose, the company could potentially create vaccines for different variants and mix them in a single shot.

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India Covid-19: Deadly second wave spreads from cities to small towns
The World’s Richest Men Are Brawling Over the Moon NASA gave Elon Musk’s SpaceX a coveted contract for a lunar mission. Jeff Bezos plans to fight for it.

The Challenges of Animal Translation Artificial intelligence may help us decode animalese. But how much will we really be able to understand? ....... “bees and some birds see in the ultraviolet range of the visual spectrum, but we don’t. Bats, dolphins, dogs, and cats hear sounds in the ultrasonic range, but we don’t.” Dogs have vastly more smelling capacity than we humans do. .......... Today, many dolphins might as well live on a different planet—a gravity-free world that’s typically blue-green in all directions, with no shadows or smells and a vast and alien soundscape. What concepts are needed to navigate such a place? Whatever they may be, dolphins communicate them through sequences of whistles made by nasal-tissue vibration, which many dolphin researchers see as a proto-language—what you might jokingly call “dolphish.” “Dolphins vocalize profusely when they’re all together, and the vocalizations are extremely complex,” Magnasco, the dolphin researcher, said. “They appear to be conversing with one another.” Each dolphin in a pod has a signature whistle, which with a little poetic license could be called its name; dolphins use these whistles to summon one another, and to tell other members of their pod where they are if they lose visual contact. ........ Dolphins don’t just make whistles—they also employ body language and a variety of sounds, including clicks, which they use for sonar echolocation. From the acoustic reflections created by the clicks, a dolphin can form a mental picture of an object’s size, shape, and density. Dolphins can interpret one another’s sonar signals. “They are able to see shapes of things when they passively eavesdrop on someone else’s clicks,” Magnasco said. Using sound alone, they can see what another sees. ........ “The exciting thing about artificial intelligence and computer technology is that we are beginning to be able to decipher animal languages and animal cognition on terms that are meaningful to the animals, and not on our terms” .......... Some of our mistreatment of other species is obviously callous and selfish, as in factory farming, but some of it arises from a communications breakdown........ More than a hundred experts have signed a declaration urging the banning of octopus farming on the grounds that these “sentient and sophisticated” animals should not be kept in “sterile” and “monotonous” environments. ....... even the attempt at translation suggests a deepening of respect for them—and a willingness to free ourselves from our human preconceptions and prejudices.

How the US went from having one of the worst Covid responses to being a global leader in vaccinations under Biden

India Is What Happens When Rich People Do Nothing The chamber of horrors the country now finds itself in was not caused by any one man, or any single government. ....... Twitter has become a principal means by which Indians appeal for help. ....... There aren’t enough ambulances to carry the sick to get care, nor are there enough vans to carry the dead to graveyards. There aren’t even enough graveyards, nor enough wood to burn the necessary pyres. ....... After the virus landed on India’s shores, he imposed a brutal shutdown—one that largely hurt the poorest and most vulnerable—without consulting the nation’s top scientists, yet did not use the time to build up the country’s health-care infrastructure; his administration offered little in the way of support for those who lost their job or income as a result of restrictions; and rather than taking advantage of low case counts in prior months, his government offered an air of triumphalism, allowing enormous Hindu religious festivals and crowded sporting competitions to go ahead. ............ Our doctors are among the best trained on the planet, and as is well known by now, our country is a pharmacy for the world, thanks to an industry built around making cost-effective medicines and vaccines. .........

we suffer from moral malnutrition—none of us more so than the rich, the upper class, the upper caste of India.

And nowhere is this more evident than in the health-care sector. ......... India’s economic liberalization in the ’90s brought with it a rapid expansion of the private health-care industry, a shift that ultimately created a system of

medical apartheid

: World-class private hospitals catered to wealthy Indians and medical tourists from abroad; state-run facilities were for the poor........ No one is safe until everyone is. .........

the mass pyres now burning in Bhopal’s crematoriums as a result of coronavirus deaths are worse than anything he saw in 1984.

Vaccine Nationalism Is Doomed to Fail Countries seeking to inoculate their citizens at the expense of everyone else are chasing a false promise. ....... Without equal vaccine distribution, public-health experts warn, the pandemic could continue to live on residually for years, bringing with it even more death and further economic collapse.

If the virus remains endemic anywhere, it will continue to pose a threat everywhere.

............ high- and upper-middle-income countries have collectively reserved nearly 5 billion vaccine doses. These doses are largely the product of bilateral deals between governments and vaccine makers, known as “advance market commitments,” in which governments commit to purchasing doses up front in exchange for priority access once the vaccine is approved ............. The U.S., for example, has entered into at least six of these bilateral deals, totaling more than 1 billion doses—more than enough to inoculate the entire American population. The European Union, Britain, and Canada have each entered into seven bilateral deals, with the potential of securing enough doses to cover their populations two, four, and six times over, respectively ........... there isn’t an infinite supply of vaccines—at least not in the short term. Even with increased manufacturing capacity, it will take years before there are enough doses to meet global demand. ......... “When high-income countries take a large slice of that pie, there’s less pie for everyone else.” ........... proportional distribution of vaccines could avert nearly twice as many deaths as a vaccine distribution limited to only high-income countries. .........

inequitable vaccine distribution could cost the global economy up to $1.2 trillion in GDP.

.......... If the pandemic has cast doubt on the ability of countries to implement a multilateral response to a global problem, that portends poorly for other shared crises—not least climate change. Both challenges require unprecedented collaboration. Both disproportionately affect low-income communities. Neither can be averted by any single nation on the basis of wealth alone.

U.S. to Send Virus-Ravaged India Materials for Vaccines The Biden administration, under pressure to help with a surge raging out of control, will also supply therapeutics, test kits, ventilators and protective gear.

India Continues Shattering Virus Records as World Pledges Aid
The Race to Replace Angela Merkel Is On
What Doomed a Sprawling City Near St. Louis 1,000 Years Ago? Excavations at Cahokia, famous for its pre-Columbian mounds, challenge the idea that residents destroyed the city through wood clearing. ........ the city — known today as Cahokia — was a thriving hub of immigrants, lavish feasting and religious ceremony. At its peak in the 1100s, Cahokia housed 20,000 people, greater than contemporaneous Paris. ...... the explanation of a Cahokia battered by denuded bluffs and flooding actually reflects how later European settlers used the area’s land ...... drought from the Little Ice Age (1303-1860), may have played a role in the city’s slow abandonment

The Anguish of the World’s Doctor Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, has largely kept his pain secret, maintaining a stoic public front. But when I probed, he wept. ........ Dr. Tedros is from Tigray, a part of Ethiopia that since November has endured crimes against humanity by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has properly described atrocities in western Tigray as ethnic cleansing ........ Tigrayan children are starving to death, men have been clubbed to death, and women and girls have been subjected to mass rape. ......... “Hunger is weaponized, rape is weaponized, there is indiscriminate killing,” Dr. Tedros said. “The whole region is hungry.” “It’s so painful,” he added. “I don’t have words.” ........... Even though Dr. Tedros is one of the world’s most recognized public servants, he may have become a refugee. ....... Presiding over these crimes against humanity in Tigray is Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, who came to power in 2018 and was initially hailed as a great reformer;

he even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

Abiy is a pro-Western figure over whom the United States has considerable influence — if we will only use it. ............. For almost three decades, people from Tigray dominated Ethiopia’s central government; Dr. Tedros became Ethiopia’s highly regarded health minister in that period, then foreign minister.

Restoring Biodiversity  how do we combat industrial-scale deforestation? With industrial-scale reforestation. .......... AI-guided tree-planting drones. .......... These drones first map an area to identify prime planting locations, then fire seed pods tucked inside of biodegradable missiles into the ground. The pods contain a custom-designed gelatinous growth medium that acts as a shock absorber to cushion impact, then a nutrient-dispenser to speed plant growth. .......... A single pilot can fly six drones at once, planting a staggering 100,000 trees a day. A global army of ten thousand drones, which is what BioCarbon intends to build, could replant a billion trees a year. ............ Coral reefs are the forests of the ocean ...... Borrowing tissue engineering techniques, Vaughan has figured out how to regrow 100 years’ worth of coral in under two years. ........... The same tissue engineering techniques that allow us to produce steak from stem cells also allow us to grow mahi-mahi, bluefin tuna, etc. In fact, there are now six different companies pursuing exactly this goal, producing everything from cultured salmon to lab-grown shrimp, now heading for our menus. ........... Roughly 37 percent of the globe’s landmass and 75 percent of its freshwater resources are devoted to farming: 11 percent for crops, the rest for beef and dairy. However, these totals are shrinking. Not only are farmers abandoning their land in record numbers, but all of the new farming innovations—cultured beef, vertical farming, genetically engineered crops, etc.—allow us to harvest much more from far less. So, simple idea, let’s give this extra land back to nature. .............. pollution kills 9 million people a year, further costing us almost US$5 trillion. ......... chemicals in our rivers, plastics in our ocean, and particulates in our air, are choking the life out of our planet. .......... zero-to-zero manufacturing. .........  The web of life is not a metaphor. Everything impacts everything impacts everything. ........... we have 12 years to halt global warming at 1.5 degrees. ......... Our innovations may have caught up with our problems. Now all we need is the willpower and collective action. 

 

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