As well as the pressures and stresses in all our lives these days, it seems, we see news of worse elsewhere. Floods in Burma, millions displaced, aid refused, control by generals; in China, millions displaced, each mountain ringing some valleys collapsed. Central America sees GI American aid workers on their way home from war torn Iraq. Hurricane and tornado alleys in America on cue, destroying homes, towns, lives.

Chinese antiques history has gone through quite a ride even in this past century. For thousands of years China lived in splendid isolation, far from plaques that ravaged the west. The states within China had independence to fight amongst themselves. Often between Mings and others, as in the days of Marco Polo, China was led by an Mongol emperor. When the "Golden Hordes" of Mongols swept terror through to Moscow and Warsaw they were able to wind back out the Teutonic arrows of their silken shirts, while fallen knights in heavy armour found themselves wielding their long heavy sword to their death.

This news to China is another diamond of the moral lessons from God or pure living, or Buddha himself. The way we live, is the way we die. Buddha had a following not because what he said, but how he lived such a holy serene life as no other holy man of his time. And while this diamond of a gentle man lived a simple life, and like Socrates in the west, merely answer questions with a question, and go inside his bliss.

When we see and hear leaders of Europe on a British television, it is refreshing to hear such diamond thinking. What they say has great and good events coming at us, even through all the gloom of the moment. They speak to a delegate from Russia, and from Serbia, and we hear of their amazing brilliant thinking. Their minds are of peace and so beyond those of the warrior man from Russia and the man from Serbia.

The irony that from ancient Chinese antiques history, when the Economist says China was by far the richest nation in the world. Marco Polo was thought mad for all his wild stories of this fabled land, even though diamonds and gemstones, riches and silks that he wore ten layers thick under his beggars poor coat. There was also this advance in civilization called gunpowder, which was to change Europe forever.

Healthy lifestyles would not have suggested you be a capitalist in 1948 Shanghai when Chairman Mao came to power. And history well knows indeed, for the decade to succeed, it was off with their lives, a million bullets a month, for those months to proceed. By 1950, the Panda was so secure in its new throne, while North Korea was a distraction, it took over Tibet.

American antiques history has shown before how America has expanded confidently into the world, and then shrunk back in on itself, becoming fearful of the outer world. That fear helped make of a market hiccup in 1929 a lost decade for the world. Many studies have concluded that most of the silliest decisions possible had been made by all parties involved.

The times they are changing, daily, as events around the world arrive to us so much more than ever before. Events of protest in Tibet come to us live, as does activities and horrors from everywhere on earth now. We have today watched the British channel interview, from the back, three women who live in that hell hole on earth run by a hateful fool, Zimbabwe.

To watch the news from the middle east can be so painful. We can feel our hearts ache for those dying and being blown apart each day, we can despair, or still search for ways to stop the bloodshed. How we can best apply a kind and wise use of compromise and decision to create fair agreements that all can abide by is still nowhere in sight.

Perhaps it is near time that we all take one step back from their wall building actions, which do not seem to be working as hoped for.

The Economist reported a survey by the Pew Institute of America recently that was very revealing about personal attitudes of elder people in selected nations around the world. They were asked that if they had to suggest one nation in the world to a younger loved one that they would recommend they move to for a better life.

Only a majority of one of those dozen nations chose America, and that was India.

When Greek antiques met the incoming Roman warriors, what usually was left of the library was in shambles and flames; there was always much blood on the floor and the walls, and after not as much book learning as sword contests forever and a day ever after. And such fine minds who could bring others together in a common goal based on mutual discussion leading to what seemed a meeting common ground between two very opposing views.

What a day of irony on the international news from London! From the hopes of Greek antiques democracy, the torch being lit in Olympus near Athens, to views of Chinese police in Tibet walking the streets, running at and hitting to the ground any saffron robed young man. And then just now to election which have today concluded in Bhutan, the mountain kingdom just over those very high hills from Tibet.

As we see Chinese antiques democracy at the worst, in the riots and beatings on television of events in Tibet, we all know the peoples of Tibet are having that new train from China bring more settlers each day who speak a Mandarin language of north China, and make difficult normal life as it was in Tibet.

And now for the past hour I have been watching the Premier of China on a documentary live from Beijing.

The words of that great classic American antiques shop hero Henry David Thoreau are underlined deeply in my university English text under many words of Thoreau.

Thoreau first appeared to me, and many, just as the war in Vietnam was heating up, and to be on a university campus was to experience many new events during that era. From 1960 and the hope of President Kennedy, through his 1963 death, and all our despair as new President Johnson from Texas with almost no foreign policy experience began the buildup into a full scale war that went on for a decade.

Our recent talk about the amazing vote in a classroom in China dealt with the inevitable fact that as a national economy improves, so does the free will of the people who realize their cooperative industry is helping this happen.

Our British documentary team that I am watching did that usual approach, when we want to document the day in the life of a lion, or stranger, is just hang around so much, often with your sly side camera catching the action while your main camera and your face stare off into nowhere.