In the U.S. we see the results of consumerism as a lifestyle: the break-down of family structures, the rampant drug and alcohol use, the lack of support for quality education for our youth, the rise in violence in schools, the pressures for young people to ‘look’ adult at younger and younger ages, the reliance on prescription drugs for numbing the emptiness of lives, and the growing prevalence of obesity, even among the youth. Is this in store for the Chinese consumer?

On June 3rd, 2010 the Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) held a day-long symposium at American University featuring presentations by all 2010 finalists of a BFI ‘Challenge’ contest for architecting the future. This article provides a link to the keynote address by Dr. Michael Ben Eli.

Over the past year I have had a chance to see the spread of culture and human civilization as it has splayed itself out over the land and through the centuries, both in the Orient and in the Occidental world. Many of the places I go are way off the beaten track for American tourists; therefore, I’ve had a unique peek at the world as it is in so many places.

Jordan is a progressive forward-looking country and a beacon of light in the Middle East. This article outlines some of the most important programs they have put in place to empower women in the workplace.

The non-profit Humanitarian Efforts Reaching Out (HERO) is an organization, based in Northern Arizona, that is providing medical care through outreach missions in several places in the world. Two missions to Honduras, in Central America, were conducted in 2008 and 2009. A group of four are leaving again in June, 2010. This is a short film about the work they are doing and the challenges they face getting medical care to villagers in remote areas of Honduras.

An ideological battle has been going on in America – not the historical battle from the 1960s of communism versus capitalism – but, rather a battle between those who seek to sustain market fundamentalism as a credo, and those who believe that regulation of financial markets will help reduce the tendency toward moral hazard. We’ll all have to watch carefully how the debates on financial reform in Congress play out.

For the past three years Sedona Cyber Link has been developing the initiative ‘The New Silk Road.’ This is a program vehicle for providing technology and educational resources for communities in the developing world. The growth of demand for LOHAS products by buyers in the Western world and the growth of demand for products by BOP buyers in Asia is an important phenomenon of the modern global economy.

The fall of the Berlin Wall provides a useful starting point for examining the public policies and private and corporate actions that led to the fall of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage market. These two events are like book-ends to a chapter in history that will entice historians for centuries. The work of three authors who have contributed to our understanding of this time are reviewed.

Day to day life in Burma (Myanmar) is hard for most of the people. This 6-minute video gives a photo-journalistic account of life along the Irrawaddy River.

Conditions in Myanmar (Burma) are coming to a political and economic head. The ruling military oligarchy is moving quickly to consolidate economic power in advance of upcoming elections. There will likely be little political freedom even after elections.