Definition of Sustainability, Wikipedia, 2005. The Ecocosm Paradox, by Willard R. Fey and Ann C. W. Lam, Ecocosm Dynamics Ltd, 1999. Reprinted in the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, 5 volumes, UNESCO, 2001. The Bridge to Humanity's Future, by Willard R. Fey and Ann C. W. Lam, Ecocosm Dynamics Ltd, 2000. Reprinted in the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, 5 volumes, UNESCO, 2001. Sustainability: Human, Social, Economic, and Environmental, by Robert Goodland, World Bank, 2002. Reprinted in the Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change, Wiley & Sons, 2004. Introduction to Sustainability, Enviropedia, 2005.

[04] See Globetrotter Website - Ivory Coast and CIA World Fact Book - Cote d'Ivoire for more information on lavish basilicas and mosques in a country that is only 20% Christian, 20% Muslim, and very poor (37% of the population live below the poverty line).

[05] List of Cathedrals, Wikipedia, as of 4 January 2006.

[06] Demography and Poverty, Aqdas Ali Kazmi, The News International, 10 June 2004. "The population living on less than US $ 1 a day is estimated at 1.2 billion (20 percent of the total) while the population living on less than US $ 2 a day is placed at 3.0 billion that is 50 percent of the total world population."

[07] One example is the grandiose cathedral of the Holy Family in Barcelona, Spain, which is still unfinished: Spain's Sagrada Familia cathedral slowly builds on its designer's dreams, Andrew Selsky, AP, 26 April 1996. Another example of empire building is the recently completed cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California: "The new site is ideal for a Cathedral Church. It sits on an elevated section of downtown Los Angeles, the old Bunker Hill, where it is seen by millions of people each year as they travel the busy Hollywood Freeway." Yet another extravagance is the current project to install Italian ceiling mosaics at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC (see New mosaics, made in Italy, to be installed at national shrine, Carol Zimmermann, Catholic News Service, 29 December 2005), "funded with money that had been set aside for it." When are they going to start selling properties and give the money to the poor (Mark 10:21)?

[08] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Asian Tribune, 6 January 2006. "As of today, Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained for a total of 10 years and 71 days. Aung San Suu Kyi is now serving her third term of house arrest. She was arrested on 30 May, 2003 after the regime's militia attacked her convoy and killed up to 100 of her supporters."

[09] Iran Gov't Shuts Down Newspaper, Magazine, Persian Journal, 4 January 2006. "Iran closed a daily newspaper and a magazine, one of the publications said Tuesday, in a stiffening crackdown on the press. Iran's hard-line judiciary has closed down more than 100 pro-democracy publications in the past five years on vague charges of insulting religious sensibilities or top clerics. Since the election of ultraconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the government has given the judiciary a free hand to prosecute its crackdown against the media, which began in 2000." Women also are targeted when they insult "religious sensibilities or top clerics": Iran: Women First in Moral Drive, Adnkronos International, 13 December 2005. "The government of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has begun preventing women who are not wearing the chador - the traditional Muslim head to toe veil used in Iran - from entering restaurants owned by government bodies and state institutions. For several days, the Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards) have been standing guard outside such restaurants preventing access to any women who wear alternative forms of the hijab, such as a scarf. Iranian law stipulates that women must cover their heads in line with conservative interpretation of Islamic teaching, but does not specify how or make reference to the chador." But there are signs of hope: Women’s rights: From words to deeds, Yemen Times, 4 December 2005. "A conference on the Women Rights in the Arab World: from Words to Deeds, concludes on Monday. The conference, which lasted for three days, involved 300 Arab and world women personalities interested in women and human rights. Among the attendants were ministers, MPs, civil community women leaders and representatives from academic institutions."

[10] Equality in leadership - Asian women seek change, Phoebe Griswold and Marie Panton, Episcopal Life, 1 January 2006. "Cultural contexts continue to challenge women’s efforts to join equally in church leadership, Phoebe Griswold said after returning from meetings with women during a two-week trip to Asia. 'Traditionally, cultural values place women in a secondary role, especially, particularly, as that applies to their public voice,' she said. 'The policies and attitudes have to be adjusted to permit women into leadership circles.' ... During her travels, Griswold emphasized the importance of gender-equity in church councils and leadership bodies. At St. Andrew’s Church, Tokyo, female clergy told Griswold that her presence was an impetus for them to move forward. 'They have women priests and they are moving forward in church leadership,' she said. 'They wanted to share their struggles with a lot of disappointments.'"

[11] Happiness in employment vital for productivity, Q. Perera, Asian Tribune, 21 December 2005. "In India in smaller towns there are more hungry people than in big cities. He said that gender inequity perpetuates hunger and undernourishment. Many women and girls in many parts of the world face serious consequences as number of pregnant women due to their early undernourishment and neglected at birth and because of poverty in their families, the new born child would suffer during its entire life."

[12] Zarqawi and People’s War, J. R. Dunn , The American Thinker, 7 December 2005. "The way the media plays it, you’d think Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was the greatest Muslim strategist since Saladin. Every car bomb is a Jacob’s Ford, every massacre a Hattin, every move a masterstroke against the clumsy and inept Crusaders. He makes no errors and suffers no setbacks, and his victory, when it inevitably comes to pass, will be well-earned. .... Zarqawi’s appraisal of this factor is a matter of guesswork. What is apparent is that he has tried every conceivable obscene gimmick to regain the shock effect of early bombings: striking at hospitals, using women as warheads, targeting reporters cowering in their hotel, murdering children gathered to receive treats from Coalition troops, blowing up a wedding party in Amman, the recent discovery of children’s dolls stuffed with grenades." This atrocity had been reported in November: Iraq seizes booby-trapped toys, 24News, 24 November 2005. "Baghdad - The Iraqi army said on Thursday it had seized a number of booby-trapped children's dolls, accusing insurgents of using the explosive-filled toys to target children."

[13] US 'recess' government appointments spark anger, Holly Yeager, MSNBC, 5 January 2006. "Abortion rights activists, labour groups, top Democrats and others complained on Thursday that President George W. Bush had taken advantage of the congressional recess to make several controversial appointments."

[14] Clark, Cartwright in line to replace Kofi Annan, The National Business Review, 4 January 2006. "International women's rights organization Equality Now is lobbying for a woman to replace out-going UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan -- and two prominent New Zealand women, Helen Clark and Silvia Cartwright, are high on their list of proposed candidates."

[15] Globalization: Anachronism, Community, and the Aim towards a Sustainable Era, Alexander Rai, eTalkinghead Online News Magazine, 16 December 2005. "The modern consumer’s identity is one of rebellion: he rebels against the norms of former tradition, viewing it as antique and vintage, as something laughable; she views it as repressive, crude, and a symbol of historical gender inequity."

[16] Universities Address Gender Barriers, Jenny Zhang, The Tech, , MIT, 9 December 2005. "Barriers still exist to the full participation of women, not only in science and engineering, but also in academic fields throughout higher education .... While considerable progress has been made since 2001, we acknowledge that there are still significant steps to be taken toward making academic careers compatible with family caregiving responsibilities."

[17] The Scheme of Plunder, Mines & Communities Website, 10 December 2005. "Domination has always been carried out against the people, using at least two - combined or alternating - methods: brute force and negotiation, along with all imaginable sorts of in-between strategies. In the past 500 years, these forms of social control have been used to justify and maintain plunder, large-scale devastation and human exploitation. The European colonial system (and its followers, especially the USA), aggregated technical, scientific and psycho-social knowledge to these hegemonic methods. Colonialism has always paid special attention to collaboration, consent and complicity. For this, aside from using the armed forces, the system employs (and often prefers) political and cultural means, applied directly and indirectly."