Wahoooo! The Center for Global Leadership just it the 10,000 reader milestone. Thank you everybody.

We have a number of exciting global initiatives and alliances in the early, middle, and late development phase pipeline. Game changing opportunities around the planet. Can’t wait to tell you more when the deals are finalized.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org

Just returned from two days at the 2009 Economic Self Reliance Conference. Inspired social entrepreneurs from around the world, gathered in one room, discussing how to accelerate global change.

Brilliant!

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community - learn more about our work at www.Leadglobally.org

We have discussed Kilimanjaro’s rapidly melting ice fields before, but here is additional data on the topic. The bigger issue is what happens to the villages around Kilimanjaro’s base when the snow cap is gone. If you have ever flown over the area, you quickly notice the only green you see is around the base of the mountain. Where will the water that sustains the local population come from?

Snow cap disappearing from Mount Kilimanjaro

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON – The snows of Kilimanjaro may soon be gone. The African mountain’s white peak — made famous by writer Ernest Hemingway — is rapidly melting, researchers report.

Wow, this conflict resolution process has been going since June 28th. The conflict resolution message… keep the discussions going, regardless of how hopeless the impasses may seem.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org

Honduras’ ousted president, government sign pact
By JUAN ZAMORANO, Associated Press Writer

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Representatives of ousted President Manuel Zelaya finally reached an agreement with the interim government that could help end the monthslong dispute over Honduras’ June 28 coup, and possibly pave the way for Zelaya’s reinstatement.

Permanent Presidency of the European Union? Interesting concept…

After his recent stint as special envoy to the middle-east, it looks like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is lining up for “Permanent Presidency of the European Union.”

To that possibility I say a resounding “Wahooooooooo!”

While I didn’t always agree with Tony Blair’s positions on global issues, I was inspired by his articulate way of expressing his convictions in a logical and coherent fashion. I always felt like I knew where Mr. Blair stood on issues.

The following are some of my favorite things about Tony Blair. The basic points were pulled from a Christian Science Monitor editorial earlier today – with my own editorializing:

Accountability towards the suffering of others:

• Blair is a proponent of intervention in the case of a humanitarian crisis or gross oppression of a civilian population.
• In Fox words… “The world can not stand around and watch another Rwanda genocide, while doing nothing to prevent it.”

And…

• Blair… “I still believe that those who oppress and brutalize their citizens are better put out of power than kept in it.”
• In Fox words… “Just make sure you follow the Colin Powell advice to exhaust all diplomatic channels before you put soldiers and civilians in the line-of-fire.”

Do the right thing, regardless of the personal consequences to yourself:

• Blair… “I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honor. But sometimes it is the price of leadership and cost of conviction.”
• In Fox words… “Stand in your core truth, even if it is going to cost you the prime minister role in Britain.”

Service to others:

• Blair started a foundation to increase understanding between the different faiths of the world.
• In Fox words… “Rock On Soul Brotha’!”

The Koran’s version of true islam:

• Blair… “Islam is progressive, humanitarian, sees knowledge and scientific advance as a duty, which is why for centuries Islam was the fount of such invention and innovation.”
• In Fox words… “Absolutely agree, so let’s keep getting that message out there in the press.”

And…

• Blair… “Our job is to support and partner with those Muslims who believe deeply in Islam but also who believe in peaceful coexistence, in taking on and defeating the extremists who don’t.”
• In Fox words… “I love Tony Blair.”

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org

Interesting post about the internet and the man who invented it 40 years ago.

What a long, strange trip it’s been…

The internet has “changed everything” in many ways. Things like instant global connectivity, mass flow of data, and facilitating real-time grassroots movements.

In other ways, the internet has “changed nothing” at all. The societal and environmental issues are still the same, forty years later.

In still other ways, studies have shown the internet has contributed to a decline in emotional intelligence, social interaction skills, and attention spans of Generation Y – our Millennium Generation. And no, this generalization does not apply to all of you “Y’ers”.

While the internet makes our Center’s work possible around the world, I’m more than a little scared where the inventor of the internet see it going in the future (hint – read the last line of the post.) In the end, the internet should be a tool for us, not the other way around.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community - learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org

Happy birthday to the internet

by Glenn Chapman

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Technology stars, pundits, and entrepreneurs joined the Internet’s father on Thursday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his culture-changing child.

A continuation of our Climate Change series…

The closer we get to reaching a global climate change agreement, the more furiously the skeptics are hitting the media with limited and very selective data to support global cooling – versus thousands of correlated studies that show global warming. As a world leader, the United States is being watched by every country around the planet – waiting to see how we will step up to help adress climate change.

As the UN Secretary General says… “The [United States] Senate can have a huge political impact for other negotiators of other counties. Many developing countries, such as China and India, are ready to make some political compromises only if and only when the United States is ready to do that.”

Hmm, the price of leadership.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org

UN signals delay in climate change treaty
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS – Just weeks before an international conference on climate change, the United Nations signaled it was scaling back expectations of reaching agreement on a new treaty to slow global warning.

The global warming skeptic’s arguments should be titled “Playing with the numbers – how selective data sets provide any outcome you are looking for”…

While everyone is entitled to opinions, at least use solid data models to form those opinions. I’m constantly frustrated by individuals looking at small data sets and then drawing conclusions (insufficient sample size to draw trends.)

Long term data records provide meaningful data trends. Better yet, look at long term data trends from hundreds of different systems. When virtually all the data sets suggest the same trends, you are probably onto something (long-term global warming.)

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org

AP IMPACT: Statisticians reject global cooling
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON – Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book.

Only one problem: It’s not true, according to an analysis of the numbers done by several independent statisticians for The Associated Press.

The case that the Earth might be cooling partly stems from recent weather. Last year was cooler than previous years. It’s been a while since the super-hot years of 1998 and 2005. So is this a longer climate trend or just weather’s normal ups and downs?

The peace process continues. Although it can be frustrating with the constant “One step forward and two steps back.” That is a reality in intense conflicts. The important component is to keep all parties talking, in spite of frequent set-backs.

Headlines like this don’t help matters… I understand why the police took the action they did. I also understand why Palestinians are angry and frustrated.

Welcome to the world’s “shades of gray” where right and wrong depends on which group you are in. The “black and white” versions of the world order typically come from people only looking at their own side – refusing to acknowledge the issues of other parties. Exploring the issues of all parties is what conflict resolution is all about.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community - learn more about our work at www.leadglobally.org

Israeli police storm Jerusalem’s holiest site

By RAWHI RAZIM, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM – Israeli forces stormed Jerusalem’s holiest shrine Sunday, firing stun grenades to disperse hundreds of stone-throwing Palestinian protesters in a fresh eruption of violence at the most volatile spot in the country.

Congratulations to Paul Polak for his Brave Thinker award from Atlantic magazine. The first time I listened to Paul at a lecture, I knew he was onto something big in the developing world when he said to “treat the poor as consumers and entrepreneurs” and  ”help them earn more money…” Our Center’s approach is 100% in agreement. We’ve talked on a preliminary level with Paul’s organization to help drive an upcoming initiative in Africa – wahooooo!

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org

Brave Thinkers

• Name: Paul Polak
• Job: Founder of International Development Enterprises and D-Rev
• Why he’s brave: His companies treat the poor as consumers and entrepreneurs.
• Quote: “Talk to the people who have the problem and listen to what they have to say.”

Criticizing charities and development groups—for bloat, condescension, or naïveté—can be a convenient excuse to forget about the excruciating reality of poverty and inequality.

But not for Polak, whose complaint with conventional charities is that they fail to consider the market potential of the world’s 1.2 billion poor people.

Treating the poor as potential consumers and entrepreneurs, he believes, is the best way to help them achieve self-sufficiency.

Operating under the guideline “Cheap is beautiful,” his companies sell affordable and useful tools—like manual-treadle pumps for irrigation, or solar-powered water purifiers—that poor people can use to make a living selling products to their peers.

For instance, a farmer who buys a treadle pump for $8 can use it to transport groundwater to his fields during the dry season, when crops fetch higher prices, and quickly recoup his investment at the local market.

Polak thinks that profitable markets in impoverished areas will spur more prosperity than offering direct donations, financing large infrastructure projects, or relying on government initiatives.

“The single most important thing they need to get out of poverty is to find a way to earn more money,” he writes in his book, Out of Poverty.

“This is so obvious that people tell me that it is a perfect example of circular logic. But the sad fact is that it isn’t at all obvious to the great majority of the world’s poverty experts.”

I’ve covered the Algae topic before, but I like simple things with promise. Hmm, I probably also love the concept because our pond is full of slimy green algae.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community - learn more about our work at www.leadglobally.org

Algae may be secret weapon in climate change war
by Ruth Morris

MIAMI (AFP) – Driven by fluctuations in oil prices, and seduced by the prospect of easing climate change, experts are ramping up efforts to squeeze fuel out of a promising new organism: pond scum.

Interesting article on the conflict resolution efforts in Sudan. Personally, I’m all for pragmatic/realistic approaches that get the job done. I also found it interesting that groups are demanding his resignation for speaking his opinion. Have we really reached a point where people can not have different opinions?

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org.

White House’s New Sudan Strategy Fits Envoy’s Pragmatic Style

By GINGER THOMPSON
WASHINGTON — In their first African venture together in 2006, the future president and the former fighter pilot stood in what had been Nelson Mandela’s jail cell on Robben Island, once an international symbol of oppression.

I’ll freely admit it… I was a big fan of President George Herbert Walker Bush and what I viewed as his balanced (centrist) views on both domestic and foreign policy. As a free-thinking centrist, I admire people and policies, without getting hung up on party affiliation. In my opinion, “H.W.” is one of those people who melted party lines. Remember our motto? “Together we stand, Divided we Fall?” We could use more work on  the “Together we stand” side.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership.

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our Center’s work at www.LeadGlobally.org.

Obama’s George H.W. Bush Visit: A Bipartisan Boost?

By MICHAEL DUFFY / WASHINGTON

There is a long tradition of sitting Presidents courting, relying on and even plotting with their predecessors, and the latest chapter is set to unfold Friday afternoon when former President George Herbert Walker Bush, accompanied by former Secretary of State James Baker, greets Barack Obama as he steps off a Marine Corps helicopter in College Station, Texas.

The following article comes from Phyllis Weiss Haserot – the intergenerational guru. Follow her blog at http://www.nextgeneration-nextdestination.com. She knows what she is talking about – so listen up.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership.

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org.

Each Generation Needs More Resilience

by Phyllis Weiss Haserot

One trait thought to be essential for successful leaders today and in the future is “resilience,” defined as tough-mindedness and the ability to accept criticism.

A study (released in mid-2006) of more than 2,000 employees at the managerial and professional levels by PsMax Solutions, a human capital assessment firm, provides some intriguing findings. Ranked highest of all groups was the middle-managers’ resilience score. CEOs and company presidents ranked lowest in resiliency, followed by executives and professional employees.

Hmm, not necessarily happy news. Remember, it’s what we do with the data that counts. We need action – sustainable, focused actions.

Peace out – Martin Fox with the Center for Global Leadership.

One Earth, One People, One Global Community – learn more about our work at www.LeadGlobally.org.

Arctic ice cap ‘to disappear in future summers’
by Elodie Mazein

LONDON (AFP) – The Arctic ice cap will disappear completely in summer months within 20 to 30 years, a polar research team said as they presented findings from an expedition led by adventurer Pen Hadow.

It is likely to be largely ice-free during the warmer months within a decade, the experts added.

Veteran polar explorer Hadow and two other Britons went out on the Arctic ice cap for 73 days during the northern spring, taking more than 6,000 measurements and observations of the sea ice.