Philanthropic Colonialism : The Charitable-Industrial Complex

By PETER BUFFETT | Published: July 26, 2013

I HAD spent much of my life writing music for commercials, film and television and knew little about the world of philanthropy as practiced by the very wealthy until what I call the big bang happened in 2006. That year, my father, Warren Buffett, made good on his commitment to give nearly all of his accumulated wealth back to society. In addition to making several large donations, he added generously to the three foundations that my parents had created years earlier, one for each of their children to run.

Early on in our philanthropic journey, my wife and I became aware of something I started to call Philanthropic Colonialism. I noticed that a donor had the urge to “save the day” in some fashion. People (including me) who had very little knowledge of a particular place would think that they could solve a local problem. Whether it involved farming methods, education practices, job training or business development, over and over I would hear people discuss transplanting what worked in one setting directly into another with little regard for culture, geography or societal norms.

Often the results of our decisions had unintended consequences; distributing condoms to stop the spread of AIDS in a brothel area ended up creating a higher price for unprotected sex.

But now I think something even more damaging is going on.

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Syria :: Who is supplying whom, what?

One of the key issues in the Syrian conflict over the past two years has been the supply of weaponry to both sides, which has kept the fighting going.

The government has been able to rely on a steady flow of arms from its foreign allies, while the rebels have received weapons and non-lethal aid in a more clandestine way. Here is a look at where the military support is coming from.

Here is a look at where the military support is coming from.

Food for thought! Muhammad from the view of an agnostic Jew?

Lesley Hazleton: The doubt essential to faith.

Published on 24 Jun 2013 : When Lesley Hazleton was writing a biography of Muhammad, she was struck by something: The night he received the revelation of the Koran, according to early accounts, his first reaction was doubt, awe, even fear. And yet this experience became the bedrock of his belief. Hazleton calls for a new appreciation of doubt and questioning as the foundation of faith -- and an end to fundamentalism of all kinds.

Bilderberg 2013 - Your guide to 'The Bilderberg Group'

Published on May 30, 2013 : HELLO! We are Truthloader, and this week we are LIVE from the Bilderberg conference at the Grove Hotel in Watford. Check out our playlists, and subscribe so you don't miss out!

Bilderberg 2013 will be held at the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, England. It's a gathering of some of the world's most powerful and influential people. As such, Truthloader will be attending - sort of. We'll be at the new 'press area' away from the actual conference with the rest of the journalists and activists interested in what takes place there.

We wanted to make a video about who the Bilderberg are, some of the theories that surround them, and what we THINK goes on there.