2008: The Inflexion Year with Positive Outcomes!

Dear Friends, Season's Greetings! Thank you for your well wishes and support in 2007. We wish to offer the following positive outcomes for 2008 with humility:

. One World: The global community of nations is realizing that regardless of the complex global risk we wish to address, we all have to come together. The mantra of a "unified global approach" is becoming essential whether it is countering climate chaos and environmental degradation; radical poverty and micro-finance; Geo-politics and energy security; organized crime & extremism; advanced technologies -- bio, info, nano, robo & AI -- proliferation; demographic skews and resource shortages; pandemics; financial systems and systemic risk; or trans-humanism and ethics. United we stand, divided we fall!

. Empowerment Inflexion: Billions of Internet-powered, mobile-telephone enabled, satellite television connected global citizens -- both female and male -- are beginning to act directly, bypassing slow bureaucracy and traditional intermediaries, mostly to make their lives better. The rewards of greater transparency far outweigh the risks!

. Reducing Poverty and Deprivation: An upswing in the re-spreading of global wealth -- from richer countries to hitherto poorer ones -- signals rising incomes for many across the world, and especially in some fast growing developing countries. Watch out for the China and India juggernauts as they lift hundreds of millions out of poverty! To quote Bob Dylan: "The first one now will later be last, as the present now will later be past, for it is the times they are a changin'!"

. Green-to-Gold: Environmental and clean energy solutions are blooming finally as "Green" transforms into the new "Gold" to become the creative finance hub and dynamic engine of balanced growth and rejuvenation for the global economy powered by the changing behavior and preferences of the higher consciousness global consumer. Green-to-Gold, Gold-to-Green!

. Perception Correction: The industrialized nations are being forced to become more creative and humanitarian in their global relations approach as the "hard power" strategy is shown not to work as effectively as the "soft power" one in a truly networked global economy where almost every nation is dependent on others in the inter-linked global village!

. Global Healing: Some enlightened communities, cities and nations are beginning to mitigate the corrosion from fear -- crime and terror -- by deploying cultural healing techniques including realizing the power of coming together, societal unity, harmony, cross-cultural events, meditation and joint prayer. This process of achieving a higher collective consciousness and the unity-of-humankind is accelerating!

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