Commonwealth Club of California

Join Us at Our New Blog!

2011-04-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Commonwealth Club's blog has moved. With the launch of our redesigned, re-architected website in early April 2011, we have moved our blog onto the same website platform.

So you can find all of our latest blog posts at our new ongoing blog.

Members-Only Japan Teleconference

2011-03-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today, Friday, March 25, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific time, The Commonwealth Club is holding a teleconference with a number of experts to discuss the situation in Japan and its implications for the world and for us here in California. Members of the Club received call-in information in a special e-mail yesterday.

Members can post questions for our teleconference panelists by putting it in the Comments section (click on "Comments" at the top of this blog post, right under the headline above).

Here's the background on the program:

The Tragedy in Japan: Lessons for The U.S. and The World

As Japan continues to grapple with the immediate impact of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis, this situation raises long-term issues that affect the U.S. and other countries. What will be the impact of this disaster on the Japanese economy and society, and on the global economy? What are the current and future health effects of the released radiation? How can U.S. nuclear plants, especially in California, be made safe from major earthquakes and tsunamis? What will be the impact of the Japanese experience on plans for development of nuclear power and other forms of energy?

Panelists:

Glen Fukushima, Former President, American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Participating from Tokyo.

Dr. Burton Richter, Director Emeritus, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; physicist and expert on nuclear energy. Paricipating from Palo Alto, California.

Dr. Brian Tucker, former Supervising Geologist, California Geological Survey; Founder and President, GeoHazards International, nonprofit organization promoting earthquake and tsunami preparedness globally. Participating from Palo Alto, California.

Michael Zielenziger, Former Tokyo Bureau Chief, Knight Ridder Newspapers; Visiting Scholar, University of California, Berkeley; Author, Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation. Participating from Hong Kong.

Moderator: Dr. Gloria Duffy, President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club of California

During the program, you can submit written questions and comments for the speakers one of two ways:

• Here on The Commonwealth Club's blog, post a question in the comments section (click on "Comments" right under the Headline at the top of this blog post);
• If you have a Twitter account, tweet your question, and include #cwclub in the tweet.

We will be selecting questions from the Twitter feed and from the blog comments section for our panelists to answer during the program.

Is Tweeting News?

2011-03-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

As allied forces begin to expand their involvement in the ever-changing situation in the Middle East, Americans find themselves going to a new source for up-to-the-minute news. Twitter and Facebook have quietly emerged as premiere destinations for information. With the help of social media, citizens have been able to spread news globally. Instantaneous and always on, new media has created an innovative way to stay on top of today’s headlines.

But with rapid-fire news comes a lack of editorial control. The information being received isn’t always the truth and, in some cases, is purely fabricated. So what is more important: information now or well-edited news tomorrow? Will Twitter ever replace CNN? Has society lost the need for the 24-hour news cycle?

The Commonwealth Club will host a lecture to help answer those questions: "News Media vs. Social Media: Can Both Survive?" will look at the evolving state of news in a constantly updated world. Join NBC news anchor Diane Dwyer for a nonpartisan discussion on the fate of the news industry on May 9th.

Also, be sure to check out just how much has changed by listening to a 2006 speech from journalist industry icon Dan Rather. With more than 40 years of experience, Rather has seen the evolution of the news media first hand. From the rise and fall of the newspaper industry to the creation of the 24-hour television news cycle, he experienced the highs and the lows of the industry. Hear what he has to say about the state of American news and where he thinks it’s heading by listening to the audio recording of "What is Happening to the American Media?"

–James Dohnert

Warren Christopher, Former Secretary of State, Passes Away

2011-03-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

Former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher died Friday after a fight with cancer. He was 85. He served as the nation's top diplomat during President Bill Clinton's first term. Among many other positions in his career, he had previously served as deputy secretary of state for President Jimmy Carter.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, the current secretary of state, issued a statement in which she praised the late diplomat. "The longer I spend in this job, the deeper my appreciation grows for the giants who came before," Clinton said. "Warren was a diplomat’s diplomat – talented, dedicated and exceptionally wise. As well as anyone in his generation, he understood the subtle interplay of national interests, fundamental values and personal dynamics that drive diplomacy. "

In February 2001, Christopher spoke to The Commonwealth Club of California. His topic, "Chances of a Lifetime," covered his long career in politics and government. You can read a transcript of the event here.

Four New York Times Journalists, Missing in Libya

2011-03-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

Journalist Anthony Shadid addresses The Commonwealth Club in September 2005 about the Iraq conflict.
Photo by Paul Eric Felder.

The New York Times reports that four of its journalists covering the fighting in Libya are missing. The paper said it is still trying to get information on their whereabouts, and it has asked the Libyan government for help locating them. There were unconfirmed reports that the four had been detained by the government forces in the port city of Ajdabiya.

The journalists are Stephen Farrell, Tyler Hicks, Lynsey Addario, and Anthony Shadid, the newspaper's Beirut bureau chief and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for foreign reporting. Shadid spoke at The Commonwealth Club of California in 2005 about "Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War." At that time, he was with the Washington Post. You can listen to the audio of his speech online.

Philanthropist Tad Taube Profiled in San Francisco Chronicle

2011-03-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

From his escape from Poland just months before the Nazi invasion to his successful career in business and philanthropy here in the Bay Area, Tad Taube told his story to the San Francisco Chronicle this past Sunday for an extensive profile.

Taube is the president of the Koret Foundation, chairman of Taube Philanthropies, and chairman and founder of Woodmont Companies. He is being honored with The Commonwealth Club's Distinguished Citizen Award at tonight's 108th Anniversary and 23rd Annual Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner in San Francisco. The other honorees include Mary B. Cranston, firm senior partner and immediate past chair at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, and Janet W. Lamkin, president of Bank of America California.

Finalists Announced for the 80th Annual California Book Awards

2011-03-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

The following books are finalists for the 80th Annual California Book Awards, presented by The Commonwealth Club of California. The winners will be announced the week of April 11th and will be celebrated in an Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 2, 2011.

Poetry:
Camille T. Dungy, Suck on the Marrow. Published by Red Hen Press
Judy Halebsky, SKY=EMPTY. Published by New Issues Poetry & Prose
Barbara Jane Reyes, Diwata. Published by BOA Editions, Ltd
Alexandra Teague, Mortal Geography. Published by Persea
Brian Turner, Phantom Noise. Alice James Books

Non-Fiction:
Yunte Huang, Charlie Chan. Published by W. W. Norton & Co
Don Lattin, The Harvard Psychedelic Club. Published by HarperOne
Julia Whitty, Deep Blue Home: An Intimate Ecology of Our Wild Ocean. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

First Fiction:
Angie Chau, Quiet As They Come. Published by Ig Publishing
Tim Z. Hernandez, Breathing, In Dust. Published by Texas Tech University Press
Zachary Mason, The Lost Books of the Odyssey: A Novel. Published by Picador
Suzanne Rivecca, Death Is Not An Option: Stories. Published by W. W. Norton & Co.

Fiction:
Zoe Ferraris, City of Veils. Published by Little, Brown and Company
Joan Frank, In Envy Country: Stories. Published by University of Notre Dame Press
Eric Puchner, Model Home. Published by Scribner
Adrienne Sharp, The True Memoirs of Little K. Published by Farrar, Straus &; Giroux
Karen Tei Yamashita, I Hotel. Published by Coffee House Press

Children’s Books:
Cecil Castucci, Grandma’s Gloves. With illustrations by Julia Denos. Published by Candlewick Beverly Gherman, Sparky: The Life and Art of Charles Schulz. Published by Chronicle Books.
Rene Colato Lainez, From North to South/Del Norte Al Sur. With illustrations by Joe Cepeda.
Barbara Kerley, The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy). With illustrations by Edwin Fotheringham. Published by Scholastic Press
Icy Smith, Half Spoon of Rice: A Survival Story of the Cambodian Genocide. With illustrations by Sopaul Nhem. Published by East West Discovery Press.

Young Adult:
Margarita Engle, The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba. Published by Henry Holt and Co.
Ron Koertge, Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs. Published by Candlewick
Dana Reinhardt, The Things a Brother Knows. Published by Wendy Lamb Books
Neal Shusterman, Bruiser. Published by HarperTeen

The White-Knuckle Worries about Japan and Nuclear Problems

2011-03-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

As a terrified and grief-stricken Japan begins to rebuild, questions about what can be learned from this terrible tragedy are beginning to be assessed in our own country. The matter of nuclear power plant safety in America is slowly becoming a talking point of many U.S. politicians worried about issues similar to those Japan is facing after the quake.

Democratic Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts has recently called into question the practicality of building a nuclear power plant in states prone to earthquakes. "We just have to call a time-out and examine whether or not those safety features necessary in the future are built into new nuclear power plants in our country," said Markey, who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The question of nuclear power safety even reaches farther than just earthquake-prone territories, according to politicians like Senator John Kerry. “We clearly need to have a new generation of safer, more fail-safe plants if any are going to be built,” said the former presidential candidate in comments quoted on Politico. “Obviously this is going to go through a much greater scrutiny. It ought to. There’ll be a much tougher standard. There ought to be. Whether there’s any at all,” he added.

So as the fallout from Japan continues to be assessed and U.S. leaders begin to make plant safety an issue, people are asking: Is nuclear power worth it? With more than 70 percent of carbon-free energy in the United States estimated to be coming from nuclear power, we’ve clearly made nuclear energy a staple of alternative energy in America. But are we doing enough to protect ourselves, and should we continue down our current path of nuclear investment?

On April 8, the Commonwealth Club's Climate One series will hold a program on the viability of nuclear energy in California. "Nuclear Power: More, Less or the Status Quo" will examine if nuclear power is worth it for California and discuss viable options to improving it if it is.

Also join us for a discussion on green energy solutions other than nuclear power on April 5. Duke of Energy and Energy Policy: What's Next? will give a closer look at what’s next in the green sector. Learn what is possible and get an insider's look at what the future might hold for America’s energy needs.

–By James Dohnert

San Francisco Examiner Interviews Mary B. Cranston

2011-03-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

Attorney Mary B. Cranston, firm senior partner and immediate past chair of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, was profiled in the San Francisco Examiner yesterday. We heartily recommend you take a look at it and learn more about this leading legal voice and what makes her tick.

There's just a little bit more time to join us tomorrow as we honor Ms. Cranston with The Commonwealth Club's Distinguished Citizen Award at our 108th anniversary and annual dinner in San Francisco. She is being honored along with Janet W. Lamkin, president of Bank of America California, and The Honorable Tad Taube, president of the Koret Foundation, chairman of Taube Philanthropies, and chairman and founder of Woodmont Companies.

Learn more about our biggest fundraising event of the year.

Learning More about Learning

2011-03-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

President Obama recently stated that the education system should be spared cuts in order to protect the country's future.I n a speech earlier this month, he stated: “A budget that sacrifices our commitment to education is a budget that sacrifices our country's future."

But his belief that our school system should be spared is not shared with some of his colleagues across the aisle. Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, for example, has been taking part in a heated battle with his state's teachers unions over the right of collective bargaining. The GOP governor believes the teachers' salaries and pension benefits are an indispensable part of curbing his state's spendig.

So who’s right? Depends on who you ask. While conservatives would likely agree about the importance of education for our future, they have long argued that we can fix the school system in ways that hold teachers more strictly accountable – with increased private schooling, for example. Many liberals, meanwhile, argue for a reinvestment in teachers and a system that promotes improvement while assisting teachers.

It’s a fundamental political battle consistent with the type of party politics that have defined our country for over 50 years. But what does it all really mean? How will the policies of today affect not only the people of today, but also the leaders of tomorrow? Can we fix the problems of 2011 without ruining the future of the country?

Well, according to upcoming speakers such as American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, there is. Weingarten proposes a system of teacher evaluations that also allows teachers the ability to gain tenure. Supporting clear standards of what teachers should be able to do along with support groups to assist teachers deemed unsatisfactory, she hopes to create a system that holds teachers to a realistic code of accountable practice. Speaking on her plan, she's stated, "Our aim is to have a comprehensive, fair, transparent and expedient process to identify, improve, and—if necessary—remove ineffective teachers," noting that "neither drive-by nor test-score-driven evaluations" do that.

On the other side of the educational reform debate is upcoming speaker Michelle Rhee. During Rhee’s time as chancellor of the D.C. public school system, she implemented a system that she believes improves students' futures while holding teachers to a more productive accountability. She created a pay system based on “student achievement” and the removal of teacher tenure. Her evaluations were based on student test scores and a form of accountability akin to those found in the No Child Left Behind Act. The polices she implanted, and stands by, created a teaching environment that called for a quick turnaround on student success (a warning, followed by a one-year mandate for improvement) with bonuses for teachers able to improve students' test scores. She will be speaking along with Sacramento mayor (and former NBA star) Kevin Johnson about her system and its effect on her constituency.

Finally, come listen to Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp as she discusses what is going on with working teachers. Find out about the issues that she teachers face day in and day out and learn how she wants to use education to improve the lives of America’s Children.

–By James Dohnert

David Broder, 1929-2011

2011-03-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

David Broder at The Commonwealth Club in 2003. Photo by Paul Eric Felder.

Longtime Washington Post columnist and veteran political reporter David Broder died today at the age of 81. One of the giants of the political scene – he covered every presidential candidate for 50 years, beginning in 1956 – Broder will be missed.

Broder moderated a February 27, 2003, program at The Commonwealth Club of California concerning "Campaign Finance and the Drawing of District Lines." You can read a transcript of the event here.

President Obama Announces Support for Changes to the 2010 Health Care Law

2011-02-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama told the attendees of the National Governor’s Conference in Washington, D.C., today that he supports amending the historic health-care bill passed by Congress last year to allow individual states to opt out of some of the law’s requirements three years earlier than they are currently allowed to do so.

Under the proposed legislation, states can request federal permission to bypass the health-care law’s mandates if they can prove that they can find alternative ways to cover as many people as the original law would at the same expense.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have praised President Obama’s announcement, because it will allow the states to enact health-care reform in an individualized manner, though states must do several things to obtain a waiver to opt out of the health care law’s requirements.

The Commonwealth Club has featured numerous programs related to health-care and health-care reform, which you can find on our special health-care resources page

–By Ella Arnold

Charles Ferguson's Post-Oscars Appearance this Wednesday in San Francisco

2011-02-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

“Forgive me, I must start by pointing out that three years after a horrific financial crisis caused by fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail — and that’s wrong,” said Charles Ferguson, the documentary filmmaker who opened his Academy Awards acceptance speech last night with a declaration that encapsulated his Oscar-winning film's thesis.

That film, Inside Job, presents the case that the finance industry took advantage of a deregulated atmosphere and tried to get rich at the expense of others. In conversations with industry insiders and government officials, Ferguson's film calls the meltdown a preventable disaster that was created by greedy and deceptive men. And on a night dedicated to glitz and glam in Hollywood, it was his cry for accountability that left many in the crowd captivated.

Political speeches are nothing new to the Oscars, and they are often controversial. At an event where LA stars shine the brightest, it was a documentary filmmaker who stood out. Inside Job received Hollywood’s highest honor, and its director made the most of the moment, despite the decidedly uncontroversial nature of this year's program. Ferguson was greeted with cheers from the movie-making elite at Sunday's Oscars and was credited by some with breathing fire into the otherwise tame telecast.

With his film's stock on the rise, the filmmaker continues to spread his message to fans by coming to The Commonwealth Club this Wednesday.

He will be taking part in a Q&A with Fortune magazine Senior Editor Adam Lashinsky; the documentarian will talk more about his film and personal views. Ferguson will be heard by a sold-out crowd in The Commonwealth Club's San Francisco club office; but for those unable to attend in person, please join us for our live stream at BeNowTV. The program begins at 6 p.m. Pacific time.

–By James Dohnert

The Debate Over Public Workers’ Rights Comes to California

2011-02-23T15:42:00.000-08:00

Over the past couple of days, the debate over the rights of public workers in America to collectively bargain has spread from Wisconsin, where GOP Gov. Scott Walker proposed tough union legislation last week, to Indiana and now California, where Republican state assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) introduced a bill on Tuesday that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for California’s public school teachers, nurses and every other public worker in the state.

The bill proposed in California likely faces an early death, because the state’s legislature leans heavily Democratic, and Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has already vowed not to target public workers to help solve the state’s monumental budget woes. Many of California’s Republican lawmakers, however, are calling for dramatic public pension reform as a component of the state’s budget negotiations. Despite the numerical advantage enjoyed by state Democrats in the legislature, Brown still needs a handful of Republicans to cross the aisle before his budget can pass, notes Reuters.

The Commonwealth Club of California has often examined the role of unions in California and across the country, and below are some examples of related material:

Cesar Chavez, November 9, 1984
Robert F. Kennedy, January 4, 1968
Upcoming event: Teachers Unions vs. the State, March 28, 2011

–By Ella Arnold

The Middle East in Turmoil

2011-02-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

What started in Tunisia and blazed through Egypt is now showing itself in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen. Civil unrest against oppressive regimes is seeing a surge in North Africa and the Mideast. With citizens in the region taking steps toward over throwing leaders they view as unfit to lead. The poverty of their lands, the cruelty of their dictators and the ability to connect to others through social media have all played a part in getting oppressed people to pursue building the kind of government they want. To give you more background on the situation in the Mideast, please take a look at some Commonwealth Club materials on the issue.

Egypt & the Middle East: Revolutions 2.0

Inspired by the Tunisian people, Egyptians took to the streets in protest of Hosni Mubarak and eventually toppled his 30-year rule. Through Google and Twitter, they began peaceful protests that led to a mostly nonviolent revolution. But just how big was the role of social media in the revolution? And how will the power of Facebook affect world governments going forward? Join The Commonwealth Club's Inforum division on March 10th for a panel discussion of journalists who covered the revolution as they try to answer those questions and others.

Reza Aslan: Bridging the Middle East and America Through Culture

The Arab world is bogged down with the stigma of being an angry society. But the non-violent protests in Tunisia and Egypt paint a different picture. As countries of the Arab world show themselves in a different light – trying to achieve their goals for more representative and responsive governments peacefully – the American media is beginning to see a different side of the region. With the Middle East demonstrating itself as something other than a stereotype, now is the perfect time to learn more about its culture. Listen to Reza Aslan and a panel of artists as they discuss some of the cultural luminaries of the Muslim world.

Middle East Discussion Group

Finally, take your chance to join the discussion. The civil unrest in the Middle East is at the forefront of global news, and now is your chance to take part in a conversation examining what it all means. Come to the Middle East discussion group at the Commonwealth Club on February the 28th.

–By James Dohnert

Charlotte Shultz Reappointed San Francisco Chief of Protocol

2011-02-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

(Left to right) Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, Maria Shriver, and Maryles Casto at The Commonwealth Club's 2010 annual dinner. Photo by Lyra Frederick.

Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, a leading light of the Bay Area's and California's political and diplomatic circles, has been reappointed by San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee to the post of the city's chief of protocol, a position she has held under eight different mayors.

Shultz, who is married to former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz, is a longtime member of The Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors.

For details, here is the announcement from the mayor's office.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, February 11, 2011

MAYOR LEE APPOINTS CHARLOTTE MAILLIARD SHULTZ AS CHIEF OF PROTOCOL

San Francisco, CA—Mayor Edwin M. Lee today appointed Charlotte Mailliard Shultz as Chief of Protocol. Shultz remains the head the Mayor’s Office of Protocol, which works in conjunction with the City to host foreign dignitaries, attract commerce and tourism, and promote diversity and cultural understanding. The Chief of Protocol also advises the Mayor on diplomatic and consular matters and works closely with the international business community to raise the profile of the City.

“Charlotte brings years of experience, tremendous stewardship, and an unparalleled commitment to public service,” said Mayor Lee. “She is a legend in our City Hall and a tremendous asset to San Francisco, showcasing our world class city around the world. I am proud to reappoint her to the position and grateful for her willingness to serve the people of our City.”

Through her work in the Mayor’s Office of Protocol, Shultz has served in eight mayoral administrations, helped to present San Francisco to distinguished and notable guests from around the world, arranged for its largest civic celebrations, and facilitated diplomatic relations with the San Francisco Consular Corps. Shultz has also served as the Chief of Protocol for the State of California from 2004-2010 appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Shultz is the Chair of the San Francisco Host Committee and the San Francisco Special Events Committee, both of which work to lessen the burdens of the government of the City and County of San Francisco by providing financial support to the activities and efforts of the Mayor’s Office of Protocol.

Shultz currently serves as the President of the San Francisco War Memorial Board of Trustees, which governs the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center. She also has the honor of serving on the San Francisco Opera Board of Directors, the San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors, the San Francisco Ballet Board of Trustees, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Board of Trustees, the Commonwealth Club of California Board of Governors and the World Affairs Council of Northern California Board of Trustees. Shultz was Chair of the building committee of the new San Francisco Public Library and Co-Chair of the Committee to Restore the San Francisco Opera House and San Francisco City Hall.

Shultz has received numerous awards, including the State of California Woman of the Year Award in 1996 and 2000, the United Nations Association of San Francisco’s Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Commonwealth Club’s Distinguished Citizen Award, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Citizen Award and the Woodrow Wilson Award.

In 2007, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed on Shultz the title of Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for her long record of service in assisting royal visitors. In 2008, she received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from the University of San Francisco. Shultz is married to former United States Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

###

Mark Zuckerburg Tells Inforum in 2006 How He Created Facebook

2011-02-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

Back in 2006, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was on a panel discussing "Online Personas" at Inforum, the Commonwealth Club programming aimed at young professionals. Considering the tremendous growth of the site in recent years and the sometimes controversial role of Zuckerberg, we thought it was timely to share with you this video clip from the event, in which Zuckerberg recalls the early (and fast) creation of Facebook.

You can listen to the entire program from our audio archives.

South Sudan Votes to Become the World’s Newest Country

2011-02-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

By Ella Arnold

The people of South Sudan, who have faced persecution from the north for more than twenty years, have voted in a landslide election to secede from northern Sudan, resulting in the creation of the world’s newest country later this summer.

The major source of the civil wars that have plagued the country of Sudan for more than two decades stems from the religious differences between Sudan’s mostly Arab northern region and its primarily animist and Christian southern region. More than 2 million people were killed in Sudan before a peace agreement was adopted in 2005. The president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity committed against the people of the Darfur region of Sudan.

Today officials announced the election’s final vote count from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. Of the more than 3.8 million southern Sudanese, 98.83 percent voted to secede from the north to form their own country.

Official independence will be declared on July 9, 2011. Plans for a new capital building in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, have already been proposed. Last month, the government announced that South Sudan has been suggested as the official name for the new country.

Issues such as citizenship and oil-revenue rights, however, still are significant hurdles that the people of South Sudan must overcome if they truly want to gain total independence from the north. Furthermore, South Sudan is one of the poorest regions in the world due to extreme poverty and the longstanding civil war with northern Sudan.

The United States has said that recognizing southern independence may eventually lead to the lifting of the economic sanctions previously placed on the north. And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised today’s developments in South Sudan as “a historic step” toward the implementation of Sudan’s comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

For some related programs at The Commonwealth Club, see:
Land Grab in Africa: The Case of Ethiopia: 2/1/11
The Last Jews of Yemen: 3/14/11
Jesse Jackson's 2004 speech, in which he discusses the humanitarian crisis in Sudan
David Kay's 2004 speech, in which he includes Sudan in his discussion of failed states

Researching the Innovation Economy

2011-02-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

By James Dohnert

In recent weeks President Obama has set his focus on economic growth and American innovation. Having put an emphasis on renewing the country’s infrastructure, the president is hoping the country can take the lead in the international business landscape. Speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the president recently said, "We need to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build our competitors." But just how far has the U.S. fallen in the business innovation race? Has American innovation and entrepreneurship died? And what does the push for alternative energy mean for our countries economy? The Commonwealth Club has highlighted February lectures that may offer answers to those questions and others.

Environment and Natural Resources Planning Meeting

Consumer demand for viable fuel alternatives has never been higher. Business now must put an emphasis in understanding the future of energy. To innovate in the growing industry entrepreneurs must gain insight into what exactly is viable going forward. Keep that in mind when The Commonwealth Club holds an environment and natural resources planning meeting on Thursday the 17th.

Successful Strategies for Products That Win

With a new focus on homegrown business and American innovation, now is the time of an entrepreneurial boom. Facebook, MySpace, and many other American businesses have started out with just a singular idea and grown into multimillion-dollar businesses. To learn more about how you can take your idea and turn it into a viable business, come to our Successful Strategies for Products that Win seminar. Listen to author and entrepreneur Steve Blank as he discusses his strategies for creating a successful business on Tuesday the 8th.

Has China Surpassed the U.S. in Supercomputing?

Some members of the media have recently declared China the global leader in high-performance computing. As another major industry on the world's businesses front (and a point of global bragging rights), supercomputing is an industry that must remain viable. With China's continued growth in the market, now is the time to get educated to what business are doing both home and abroad in the field. It's even more important for those of us here in Silicon Valley. Coming up at the Commonwealth Club, the associate director of computation at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Dona Crawford, will discuss how far we are lagging in the supercomputing race. With more than 30 years of industry experience, Crawford hopes to shed light on the global industry when she speaks on Wednesday the 23rd.

Unrelated:
Club Space

Huffington Post Purchased by AOL, Reinforces Importance of Content

2011-02-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

In the era of digital media, people frequently say that "content counts," but the reality is often different from the rhetoric. Online news in many cases is repurposed content from print or other "old" media, and original online content is increasingly produced by unpaid and heavily opinionated writers.

So news people might well be heartened by the report today that AOL has purchased The Huffington Post for $315 million. Namesake and co-founder Arianna Huffington will remain as editor-in-chief of the site. The liberal blog-and-news service has grown quickly in popularity in recent years, adding more paid staff, localized editions, original content, and special sections. Its acquisition is the latest sign that AOL sees its future in quality content, not in providing access to the internet itself, which was its former reason for being. The company made headlines last year with the purchase of TechCrunch, and it has been steadily building out its network of "hyper-local" news sites, AOL Patch.

For some background: Huffington has made numerous appearances at The Commonwealth Club of California. Below is video of Arianna Huffington addressing the Club in 2008, when she discussed her take on American politics and the old/new media divide.

Here is audio from her 2003 appearance at The Club. She returned in 2004 to discuss that year's political campaigns; you can read a transcript of her 2004 speech and audience question-and-answer session. And, finally, she spoke to a sold-out Inforum crowd just this past November, when she and moderator Raj Patel talked about everything from the Huffington Post's news choices to The Daily Show's John Stewart; you can read an extended excerpt from that event in the digital edition of The Commonwealth magazine.

Abbas Milani: The Shah, the Ayatollah and Iran's Nuclear Program

2011-02-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Below is video from the January 19, 2011, program at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club. Dr. Abbas Milani is the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University and a visiting professor of political science.

Lessons of Tucson: Gloria Duffy's Latest Huffington Post Article

2011-02-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

Mental illness and access to guns were more at the heart of the tragedy in Tucson than was the tone of political debate, Commonwealth Club President and CEO Dr. Gloria Duffy writes on the Huffington Post.

She notes that "guns and mental illness have a pretty high chance of colliding in our society to predictably produce the killing sprees and assassinations we are experiencing."

Read more.

From Ike to Obama: Bipartisanship at Home and Abroad

2011-01-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

President Eisenhower addresses
The Commonwealth Club in 1960.

By James Dohnert

President Barack Obama recently gave a speech about political bipartisanship, the landscape of international affairs and the importance of an investment in science and technology.

But this wasn’t the first time a politician would give such a speech, nor will it likely be the last. At the Commonwealth Club, we have a recording of a speech given to the Club by President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1960. In the speech the former president outlines the importance of cooperation, the concept of international bilateralism and the power of governmental investment in technology. Sound familiar?

Lets take a look at just how little things change in 50 years.

Egypt Today and Yesterday: American Involvement

2011-01-28T12:04:00.000-08:00

While you follow coverage of minute-by-minute happenings in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, where longstanding authoritarian governments are being rocked by mass street protests, we offer some background in the form of history of American involvement in the Middle East.

Audio of then-ambassador of Egypt to the United States Nabil Fahmy's February 21, 2006, program at The Commonwealth Club of California: "U.S.-Egypt Relations"
In 2007, Michael Oren discussed "America and the Middle East"; watch the video.
Jordanian diplomat Marwan Muasher spoke at The Club in 2008 on the need for moderates in the Middle East; watch the video.
Syrian ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha addressed U.S.-Arab engagement in the Middle East at a 2007 Club program; watch the video.
Read the speech of Jordanian King Abdullah II, who accepted Inforum's 21st Century award on April 16, 2004.

New Issue of The Commonwealth Magazine

2011-01-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

The February/March 2011 issue of The Commonwealth magazine has been published and is appearing in members' mailboxes this week. Commonwealth Club members receive the magazine as a benefit of membership; they also get access to the digital edition of the magazine (via the weekly Club e-mail newsletter).

Here's a preview of this issue:

Cover story: U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: "The Recovery, Part II"
Author James Ellroy: "L.A. Story"
Arianna Huffington: "Middle-Class Dilemma"
AEI President Arthur Brooks: "Earned Success and Happiness"
Reza Aslan and a panel of Muslim artists: "Cultural Exchange"
CDC Director Thomas Frieden: "The Economic Imperative of Preventive Measures"
Historian Simon Winchester: "Tales of the Sea"
U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra: "High-Tech Health Care"
Plus: Dr. Gloria C. Duffy on why "Wikileaker Is No Hero," an interview with Kiva.org President Premal Shah, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter on national mental health care policy, the Club's annual report, complete Club event listings, and more.

New Republic's Martin Peretz Leaves Post after Nearly Four Decades

2011-01-27T12:11:00.000-08:00

Martin Peretz announced that he will be stepping down as editor-in-chief of political magazine The New Republic, a publication he has led as editorial voice and part-owner for 37 years. During that time, the magazine rose to prominence and controversy in the Washington, D.C., and political scenes, employing talents such as Michael Kinsley, Fred Barnes, Hendrick Hertzberg, Morton Kondracke, Andrew Sullivan, and others.

According to a statement quoted by magazine industry publication Folio:, Peretz tells readers that he wants to focus on writing for the magazine and its web site. He will be adopting a new title of editor in chief emeritus. Peretz moved to Israel earlier this year, and the Jerusalem Post reports that he keeps busy with his writing and teaching English to refugee children.

Peretz visited The Commonwealth Club on May 5, 2003, to speak about "Mirage and Reality in the Middle East." You can read a transcript of his speech here.

Your State of the Union Prep: Economic Outlook for 2011

2011-01-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

The Commonwealth Club hosted a private, off-the-record panel discussion on the U.S. and California economies, prior to the member’s-only Bank of America/Walter E. Hoadley Annual Economic Forecast luncheon on Friday, January 21, 2011. Panelists included former U.S. Representative and California State Finance Director Tom Campbell, former Semiconductor Industry Association President George Scalise, Public Policy Institute of California economist Dr. Jed Kolko, and Brian Riley, managing director of Merrill Lynch.

In light of the expected focus by President Obama on jobs and economic growth in tonight’s State of the Union address, we thought some of the ideas and observations of the panelists last Friday might be of interest. Because the session was not for attribution, we have not identified the individual sources of the observations below.

• In California, increases in output are still outpacing employment growth. The latest statistics on California unemployment rates show a recent rise: the jobless rate in the state now stands at 12.5 percent.

• The semiconductor industry experienced 30-percent growth in the past year, and technology and electronics remains California’s largest export industry. There was 10-percent growth in both the film and tech industries overall. But with the manufacturing companies mainly investing in capacity overseas, the future picture is not so rosy. In the longer term, based on decisions that have already been made and are being made, the growth and the jobs will occur outside of California and much of that outside of the United States.

• The federal budget deficit is extremely worrisome. Currently 38 percent of our budget is borrowed. The national debt has escalated to $45,000 today for each person in the United States. This is about triple what it was in the mid-1990s. Investment by business, particularly by small businesses, is driven by future profit expectations; large federal budget deficits increase uncertainty about the future stability of the economy. The result — businesses invest less and thus hire fewer workers. This, in turn, impedes the economy's recovery.

• The budget deficit must be addressed through Social Security and Medicare means-testing, probably also through cuts in defense spending. Unfunded pension liabilities must also be addressed.

• One thing the federal government could do to encourage businesses to hire employees would be a moratorium on costs to hire new employees, for a year. The cost of a new hire now is $10,585 in addition to salary, with required benefits and other costs imposed by regulation.

• The government must create incentives for companies to build their facilities and base their business in the United States. A five-year tax holiday for companies would have a dramatic impact. The economic activity caused by the resulting job creation would compensate for the lost tax revenue three to four times over.

• There is $1.8 trillion of cash on hand in the private sector. Economic policy needs to take the appropriate steps to increase confidence and certainty, such as reducing the deficit and creating incentives for businesses to expand and do it here in the United States.

• The industries that have been hurt the most will be the sites of most growth in the future – e.g. housing construction.

• Expanding sectors will include professional business services. Health care and nursing will be important, due to the aging population.

• Agriculture is still the largest industry in California, but government policy is getting in the way. The limits of access to water (federal regulations) and labor (immigration) are limiting the growth of this industry.
• The underfunding of higher education in California is a serious threat to our long-term leadership in technology, medicine and the other fields in which the United States and California have been so successful.

R. Sargent Shriver's 1963 Peace Corps Speech to The Commonwealth Club

2011-01-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

R. Sargent Shriver, the Peace Corp's first leader and a longtime public servant, passed away earlier this week. We wanted to share with you a speech he gave to The Commonwealth Club of California on October 11, 1963, in which he discussed the volunteer organization.

Below are two scans from a 47-year old copy of The Commonwealth, the official magazine of The Commonwealth Club. Click on the images below to view them in larger size; you can print them out for clearer viewing, if you wish.

First sheet:

Second sheet:

Eric Schmidt Steps Aside as Google's CEO

2011-01-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

Google's Eric Schmidt announced today that he was stepping aside as CEO of the online giant and assuming the role as executive chairman.

Schmidt reported that:

Larry [Page] will now lead product development and technology strategy, his greatest strengths, and starting from April 4 he will take charge of our day-to-day operations as Google’s Chief Executive Officer. In this new role I know he will merge Google’s technology and business vision brilliantly. I am enormously proud of my last decade as CEO, and I am certain that the next 10 years under Larry will be even better! Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead.

Sergey [Brin] has decided to devote his time and energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products. His title will be Co-Founder. He’s an innovator and entrepreneur to the core, and this role suits him perfectly.

As Executive Chairman, I will focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google’s global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.

You can watch the video below of Schmidt's popular appearance at The Commonwealth Club's Climate One program on October 1, 2008, where he discussed "Where Would Google Drill?" – a look at innovative energy investments by the company.

Diane Ravitch Still Making Waves in Education After Decades of Work

2011-01-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

Photo courtesy pf the National Archives and Records Administration

Diane Ravitch, a scholar and advocate of improving education in America, has been finding herself on the opposite side of big issues from some longtime allies.

Early in 2010, The New York Times reported on the change of mind she's had on such topics as No Child Left Behind, standardized testing, and charter schools. Ravitch had once supported all of those efforts, but she told the Times that her mind was changed when she examined the data about, for example, how charter schools performed versus public schools, or how other countries' education systems performed.

In each case, she began to be concerned that, instead of improving public education, the reform effort in the United States was dismantling public education.

Ravitch served as assistant secretary of education in President George H.W. Bush's administration, and she is currently a research professor of education at New York University. She is the author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education.

Ravitch will make her case about "The Paradox of Education Reform Today" during a February 24 event at The Commonwealth Club of California in Silicon Valley. This is a free program. For details, visit the Club's web site.

Remembering L. Jay Tenenbaum

2011-01-18T16:17:00.000-08:00

The Commonwealth Club of California lost a treasured member of its Board of Governors January 16 when L. Jay Tenenbaum passed away in Woodside, California. He was 87.

A retired investment banker, Tenenbaum contributed greatly to the Club, chairing or serving on its development (fundraising) committee and its annual dinner committee. He was generous with his time and effort and, in the words of one Club executive, was a "gung-ho fundraiser" ready to call potential supporters of the Club and bring new people into the fold.

Tenenbaum joined the trading and arbitrage business of investment firm Goldman Sachs & Co. in 1953, and he was made a partner in 1958. He remained head of trading & arbitrage until 1976 and became a limited partner in San Francisco.

Writing on Forbes.com, Robert Lenzner noted the loss of Tenenbaum, his former boss at Goldman Sachs in the 1960s. "Tenenbaum was an assiduous master to his apprentice, and I honor his crucial role in my development here in this writing," wrote Lenzner. "He chose to retire early and to become a pillar of San Francisco activities like the San Francisco ballet and his beloved Commonwealth Club, where he played a key role."

He made his presence felt throughout San Francisco. A former vice chairman of the San Francisco Ballet, Tenenbaum served on its board for 28 years. He also served on the boards of KQED and the Stern Grove Festival Board. He was San Francisco's deputy chief of protocol from 1992 to 1996. And for the past 12 years, he served on the Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors.

Tenenbaum majored in mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University. He was a 1st lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II and held the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and 2 Purple Hearts. Serving in Italy, he earned one of his purple hearts when he was shot in the same engagement that saw the wounding of future Senator Bob Dole, who served in a neighboring regiment.

An avid tennis player, he had a clay court at his house where he liked to invite friends to play. His love for the game extended to his support for Youth Tennis Advantage, a group that taught inner city children to increase their skills and self-confidence through playing tennis.

We are sad for the loss of this local treasure, but we're heartened by the knowledge of all of the things he did for The Commonwealth Club and the people of the Bay Area.

David Brooks Talks Tucson, Mental Illness, Politics, & More

2011-01-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

New York Times columnist and "PBS NewsHour" commentator David Brooks addressed a standing-room-only Commonwealth Club of California audience January 11 in San Francisco. More than 500 people showed up to hear the conservative writer cover some of today's most talked-about issues – and one of the least talked-about aspects of the current hot-button topic.

He began by talking about the recent shooting tragedy in Tucson, stressing the mental illness issue that likely caused the event. But he also spoke about a number of other important topics, such as the Tea Party candidates in office, his assessment of President Barack Obama, possibilities for cooperation between the two major parties in Washington, D.C., and much more. You can watch it all in the video below, courtesy of our video partners at Fora.tv.

San Francisco Giants' Bruce Bochy, Brian Sabean at Commonwealth Club in February

2011-01-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Fresh off their World Series-winning season and right before heading to spring break to defend their title, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy and senior vice president and general manager Brian Sabean will appear together at a special Commonwealth Club of California event on February 3.

Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Giants

The noontime program will be moderated by Roy Eisenhardt – a man who knows a thing or two about Bay Area baseball, having served as president of the cross-bay Oakland A's.

Don't miss this opportunity to meet up close the two men running the team that brought the World Series trophy to San Francisco for the first time.

For more information and for tickets, visit our web site.

Watch Timothy Ferris: The 4-Hour Work Week (Video)

2011-01-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

Author Timothy Ferris recently visited The Commonwealth Club of California's Inforum division. Our video partners at BeNow.tv streamed the event live over the internet, and here is an archived version of the video from that program:

Watch live streaming video from commonwealthclub at livestream.com

Protecting Seniors from Fraud and Abuse

2011-01-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

We have received a number of comments from folks interested in the vexing problem of people who take advantage of seniors – fooling them into signing away inheritances, home-improvement frauds, insurance scams, and more. Commonwealth Club President and CEO Dr. Gloria Duffy related her family's own experience with this trend in her InSight column in the October/November 2010 issue of The Commonwealth.

Because we've received requests for this column, we are posting it below.

And if this topic touches your life, consider our February 28 program in San Francisco, "Protect Yourself, Family and Friends from Senior Fraud. Speakers Nancy Meyer and Robin Myers will discuss strategies for avoiding increasingly prevalent crimes that take advantage of seniors.

Click on the jpg image below to view a large size that you can read and, if you desire, print out.

The FCC’s New Years Regulations and the Future of Information

2010-12-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

By Sally Schilling

The Club will be ringing in the New Year with discussions of one the most controversial topics of 2010: regulation of the Internet.

In what has been a year of contentious issues over Internet regulation – from China’s Internet censorship to Wikileaks’ exposure of secret government documents – this week’s actions by the Federal Communications Commission may have been a turning point in the future of the freedom of information on the Internet.

The FCC approved a “net neutrality” regulation that orders non-wireless Internet providers to ensure the free and equal flow of all content. But the new regulation does not require wireless Internet providers to do the same. In effect, broadband companies can choose to limit access to sites and applications. The New York Times has labeled the new net neutrality regulation as the creation of two classes of Internet access: fixed-line and wireless.

Yesterday, Craig Aaron, managing director of media reform group Free Press, told Amy Goodman, host of news program DemocracyNow!, that having loose rules for wireless Internet providers is an important issue because more and more people are using wireless Internet. “[This regulation] condones discrimination in wireless space, which is the future of the Internet,” he said.

According to Aaron, the problem with allowing wireless providers to prioritize content is that it will inhibit the benefits that the Internet can provide for the public. “[The new regulation] jeopardizes the growth of the Internet as an unrivaled source of economic innovation, democratic participation and free speech,” he told Goodman.

When Goodman – a major proponent of free speech – spoke to the Club back in April, she praised Internet site Wikileaks for its posting of an Iraq war video showing American soldiers murdering two Reuters journalists in Iraq. She said that if the American media were to expose to the public the truth about the wars in the Middle East for just one week, the American people would not allow the wars to continue. Unfortunately for Goodman, the future of controversial sites like Wikileaks may be subject to the selective priorities of Internet providers.

Recently, Apple dropped its Wikileaks application due to what Apple says was a violation of their terms of service. This action by Apple – and other large companies such as Amazon and Visa that have stopped Wikileaks services – along with the new net neutrality regulation, suggests that the future of the free flowing information on the Internet will remain a hot topic for a long time to come.

The Club is hosting Josh Silver, founder of Free Press, to talk about Internet and journalism policy in the public interest. Ask him what the real implications of the new “net neutrality” regulation are for the future of journalism and politics in America when he comes to the Club on January 31 at 6 p.m.

Amy Goodman spoke at the Club in April. You can watch her program here:

Gloria Duffy to Discuss New START Treaty Dec. 23 on KQED's Forum with Michael Krasny

2010-12-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

In a busy day on Capitol Hill in Washington today, the U.S. Senate passed a number of bills, with perhaps the biggest one being the ratification of the New START Treaty with Russia, which will lower the number of nuclear weapons each country is allowed to have and it will enable the return of on-the-ground inspections in each country.

The treaty was a priority of the Obama administration, which also drew on broad bipartisan support in its campaign to get the treaty passed. The bill passed today by a vote of 71-26. A two-thirds majority is required by the U.S. Constitution for the ratification of treaties by the Senate.

Commonwealth Club President and CEO Dr. Gloria Duffy, a former nuclear arms negotiator in the Clinton administration, will discuss this new treaty tomorrow (Thursday, December 24) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time on KQED Radio's "Forum with Michael Krasny." That's 88.5 FM in San Francisco or 89.3 FM in Sacramento, or you can listen to live streaming from the KQED web site.

From Commonwealth Club of California

Hillary Clinton's Commonwealth Club Remarks Continue to Spur Debate

2010-12-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (right) discusses U.S. environmental and foreign policy with Commonwealth Club Vice President and Climate One Director Greg Dalton. Photo by Sonya Abrams.

When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared before a giant crowd at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco in October, she discussed a wide range of issues. Mexico's drug war, technology, expansion of diplomacy, Afghanistan, a crude oil pipeline.

It is that last item, the pipeline, that is causing lasting controversy. As Politico.com – a Washington, D.C.-based political web site – reports today, critics such as Republican Sen. Mike Johanns (Neb.) have gone after the secretary for saying the Obama administration was inclined to approve a pipeline that would bring crude oil from Alberto into the United States.

Politico reports:

“The State Department and the Obama administration are in a real jam,” Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) told Politico. “They want to look very environmental, and I just think they’re just struggling on what to do with this thing.”

Johanns and other critics of the pipeline lambasted Clinton for comments she made in October suggesting the department was “inclined” to greenlight the pipeline even as thousands of comments were still being reviewed as part of an ongoing environmental assessment.

... Johanns has contended that Clinton’s remarks will inevitably lead to lawsuits citing that the department had come to a premature conclusion if it grants the pipeline. “For her to come out and say we’re inclined to grant it when the public comments had not been fully reviewed certainly is going to lay the groundwork for someone to claim that the process was arbitrary and capricious,” he said.

... Clinton has since emphasized — as recently as in a letter last week to Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) — that the department has not finished its review of the plan to build a 1,700-mile pipeline through five states — entering Montana, through South Dakota and Nebraska before meeting up with an existing pipeline in Kansas. It then continues in Oklahoma and into Texas.

“In order for the State Department to make a sound decision, it is important that we conduct our review in a thorough and transparent manner, taking into consideration all relevant factors, including both environmental and economic impacts,” Clinton wrote.

The Politico article does not quote Clinton's original comments at length. However, here is the original comment the secretary of state made in her on-stage conversation with Climate One Director and Commonwealth Club Vice President Greg Dalton:

DALTON: Another international issue that you signed in on last year was the Alberta Clipper, a pipeline from Alberta that brings tar sands, oil sands directly into Wisconsin to the U.S. Midwest. This is some of the dirtiest fuel in the world. How can the U.S. be saying climate change is a priority when we're mainlining some of the dirtiest fuel that exists?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, there hasn't been a final decision made. It is –

DALTON: Are you willing to reconsider it?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Probably not. And we — but we haven't finished all of the analysis. So as I say, we've not yet signed off on it. But we are inclined to do so and we are for several reasons — going back to one of your original questions — we're either going to be dependent on dirty oil from the Gulf or dirty oil from Canada. And until we can get our act together as a country and figure out that clean, renewable energy is in both our economic interests and the interests of our planet — I mean, I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone how deeply disappointed the president and I are about our inability to get the kind of legislation through the Senate that the United States was seeking.

Now, that hasn't stopped what we're doing. We have moved a lot on the regulatory front through the EPA here at home and we have been working with a number of countries on adaptation and mitigation measures. But obviously, it was one of the highest priorities of the administration for us to enshrine in legislation President Obama's commitment to reducing our emissions. So we do have a lot that still must be done. And it is a hard balancing act. It's a very hard balancing act. But it is also, for me, energy security requires that I look at all of the factors that we have to consider while we try to expedite as much as we can America's move toward clean, renewable energy. And the double disappointment is that despite China's resistance to transparency and how difficult it was for President Obama and I to drive even the Copenhagen Agreement that we finally got by crashing a meeting of China and India and Brazil and South Africa, which –

DALTON: I would have liked to have seen that one.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yeah, that was — [audience applause] — well, so we got the Copenhagen Agreement and China did sign up for it. But at the same time, they're making enormous investments in clean energy technology. And if we permit that to happen, shame on us. And it is something that United States should be the leader in. It is one of the ways to stimulate and grow our economy and create good jobs. So that's just a small window into the dilemma that we're confronted with.

You can read an excerpt of her entire program in the digital edition of the current issue of The Commonwealth magazine.

Elizabeth Edwards, RIP

2010-12-07T15:16:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Edwards appeared at The Commonwealth Club of California in Silicon Valley on October 24, 2006. Photo by Paul Eric Felder.

Elizabeth Edwards, an attorney and the wife of former two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, passed away today after a long battle with cancer. She was only 61.

Edwards discussed her book Saving Graces in her October 2006 appearance at The Commonwealth Club in Silicon Valley.

We're sorry to report that we don't have audio or video of that speech available. You might want to check out John Edwards' own 2006 address to the Club, which is available in streaming audio.

States Step out in Cancun

2010-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

Greg Dalton, Club vice president and director of its Climate One program, is in Cancun this week for the climate conference taking place there. He blogs:

With international negotiations stuck in the sand and the political climate in Washington DC hostile to the reality of "global weirding," much of the discussion at the Cancun climate conference is about what states and cities can do to keep moving forward. Seen in that light, the United States looks firm around the edges and is starting to appear flabby in the middle.

California has been a bright spot at these conferences for the past several years and it's aura is shining even stronger these days following the results of this fall's election. Lauren Faber, Assistant Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, crowed that more people (nearly 6 million) cast ballots to sustain the state's core clean energy policy (AB 32) than voted for or against any other candidate or issue around the United States.

Read his entire blog post

Where Does Unemployment Rank Among Washington's Priorities?

2010-12-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

By Sally Schilling

While Congress is focused on Bush tax cuts, former Newsweek senior White House correspondent Richard Wolffe says the government’s first priority should be addressing unemployment.

President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors put out a report last week warning that if Congress does not extend unemployment benefits, which expired on November 30, two million people could lose coverage in December and as many as 600,000 jobs could be lost over the next year.

Facing an inevitable congressional stalemate on tax-cut issues, Obama told legislators that they should work beyond political lines on unemployment benefits. Wolffe told MSNBC that Obama’s optimistic “moving beyond party politics” message is not a demand for action so much as a political strategy.

Wolffe – who, at the very beginning of the campaign, was asked by the Obama himself to write a book about his journey to the presidency – said that though bipartisan action on unemployment benefits is highly unlikely, speaking about the parties working together is what Obama needs to do to get re-elected.

The president needs to appeal to independent voters, Wolffe said, and independent voters want to see the parties working together. Having the inside scoop on the White House (his new book, Revival, describes his first-hand look at the challenges Obama faced in the first two years of his presidency), Wolffe thinks he knows exactly what is behind Obama’s every move.

So is Obama’s focus on getting re-elected a sign that unemployment doesn’t merit immediate attention?

A recent New York Times article compared the unemployment crisis today to quicksand, and said if the issue remains unaddressed, could become more like cement. Catherine Rampell wrote in the Times that instead of resolving high unemployment, European countries have grown to just accept it, and the U.S. could very well do the same. “The real threat, economists say, is that America, like some of its Old World peers, might simply become accustomed to having a large class of permanently displaced workers,” writes Rampell.

Millions of Americans undoubtedly feel that the urgency of the unemployment crisis is real, but, Wolffe’s observations suggest, Washington is too tied up in politics to act. Does Richard Wolffe think there is still hope for Washington to make a move before high unemployment becomes a permanent fixture of our economy? Come ask him when he speaks at the Club at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 7.

Gloria Duffy to Discuss START Treaty, Koreas on Ronn Owens 12/2

2010-12-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

Commonwealth Club President and CEO Dr. Gloria C. Duffy will appear on Ronn Owens' popular KGO Newstalk Radio program tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific time. She will be discussing the volatile situation on the Korean peninsula and the up-in-the-air prospects for ratification of a new nuclear arms control treaty with Russia.

San Francisco Bay Area audiences can listen on the radio at AM 810; out-of-area audiences can hear it live streaming from KGO's web site.

Milton Friedman at The Commonwealth Club: A Reader, Part II

2010-11-29T15:01:00.000-08:00

This is the continuation of a previous post.

We decided to make Milton Friedman's Commonwealth Club speeches available here for anyone interested in what this guru of the modern market economists had to say. We think that even if you disagree with his politics and theories, you will find him to be an engaging speaker, and it might help people understand how Friedman's many acolytes in free-market circles think.

The speeches are presented here as scans of the published speeches and question-and-answer sessions from The Commonwealth, the official publication of The Commonwealth Club. We apologize if some of the quality of the scans are not the greatest; we did the best we could without doing damage to the bound copies of the publication. Unfortunately, we do not have audio or video files of these speeches, or we would gladly link to them here.

Click on the images to view them in larger sizes.

July 17, 1987: "In Defense of Dumping"

July 15, 1988: "Internationalization of the U.S. Economy – Fact or Fiction"

July 21, 1989: "Communism and the Market"

June 1, 1990: "A Welfare State Syllogism"

August 7, 1992: "Parental Choices: The Effective Way to Improve Schools"

August 14, 1998: "Two Lucky People"

See the first part of this Milton Friedman reader here.

Milton Friedman at The Commonwealth Club: A Reader, Part I

2010-11-29T14:42:00.000-08:00

When conservative political satirist P.J. O'Rourke spoke at The Commonwealth Club of California in February 2007, he was asked who he thought was the modern equivalent of Adam Smith. O'Rourke replied, "Unfortunately, he just died. Milton Friedman was the guy."

More recently, a request for information about famed economist Milton Friedman's appearances here set us off on a mission to find all of his speeches at The Club, and we found he had spoken at The Commonwealth Club 12 times between 1977 and 1998.

We decided to make them all available on this blog for anyone interested in what this guru of the modern market economists had to say. We think that, even if you disagree with his politics and theories, you will find him to be an engaging speaker, and it might help people understand how Friedman's many acolytes in free-market circles think.

The speeches are presented here as scans of the published speeches and question-and-answer sessions from The Commonwealth, the official publication of The Commonwealth Club. We apologize if some of the quality of the scans are not the greatest; we did the best we could without doing damage to the bound copies of the publication. Unfortunately, we do not have audio or video files of these speeches, or we would gladly link to them here.

Click on the images to view them in larger sizes.

November 1, 1977: "Liberal McCarthyism: A Personal Experience"

October 31, 1980: "America: It's Economy and Government"

April 15, 1983: "The Real Threat to the U.S. Security"

July 27, 1984: "The Economy: Where Are We Headed?"

June 28, 1985: "Is Hyper-Inflation Necessary?"

June 13, 1986: "What We Know That Ain't So About Economic Policy"

See the second part of this Milton Friedman reader here.

New Issue of The Commonwealth Magazine Now Out

2010-11-23T16:30:00.000-08:00

Members of The Commonwealth Club should keep an eye on their mailboxes over the next week as the December/January issue of The Commonwealth makes its way through the mails.

The issue features U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the cover; inside, she speaks about expanding participation in – and the resources for – American diplomacy, and she answers questions about energy, Mexico, China, Afghanistan, and much more.

Also this issue: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discusses growing up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama; a bipartisan panel takes on the heated topic of solving America's burgeoning national debt and deficit; Swiss Federal Chancellor Corina Casanova compares and contrasts California's and Switzerland's experiences with referenda.

Plus, an expert panel looks at the challenges of funding current and future transportation needs; commentator (and aide to four U.S. presidents) David Gergen gives a sobering view of national decline; attorney David Boies discusses his work on the legal challenge to California's Proposition 8; The Commonwealth has a chat with conservative political satirist P.J. O'Rourke; chef Rick Bayless discusses food and cooking with fellow chef Joey Altman; and Commonwealth Club President and CEO Dr. Gloria Duffy looks at solving seemingly intractable urban problems.

It's all in the new issue of The Commonwealth. Members will receive the print edition in the mail, but they will also have access to the digital version of the magazine. They will receive a link to the digital edition in the weekly e-mail newsletter for members. If you are a member but have not yet subscribed to that e-newsletter, go to our web site and sign up on the e-newsletter box on the left side of that page.

Combating Islamophobia in America

2010-11-18T15:26:00.000-08:00

“If you are painting 1.5 billion people with the same brush of violence and extremism [as al Qaeda], you’re a bigot,” said Reza Aslan, in one of his passionate television appearances discussing the American impressions of al Qaeda, which are frequently transferred onto the Muslim community as a whole.

A popular commentator on a heated controversy in New York – he says that the issue should not be spoken of as “a proposed mosque at ground zero” but rather an “Islamic cultural center (much like the Jewish cultural centers we see across the country) a few blocks away from ground zero” – Aslan aims to expose an unknown side of the Muslim world to the American people.

His intention to reveal the diversity of the Muslim population is apparent in his commentary, including one of his recent columns on The Daily Beast titled “Why Obama Can Be Proud of Indonesia”:

At a time when most Americans believe that Islamic values and democratic ideals cannot be reconciled, Indonesia has proved otherwise. Home to nearly 15 percent of all Muslims on earth, as many Muslims as there are in the entire Arab world, Indonesia is not only the richest, most stable, and most populous county in the Muslim world. It is the Muslim world. While Muslims in the Middle East are still fighting each other over whose vision of Islam will rule them all, Muslims in Indonesia have almost effortlessly fused their Islamic identity with the requirements of a modern constitutional state.”

Aslan is a scholar of religions and a contributing editor at online news site The Daily Beast. He will be speaking Monday, November 29 at the Club office in San Francisco. The Inforum program will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Hopeful Huffington?

2010-11-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

By Sally Schilling

Arianna Huffington will speak to a sold-out audience at the Commonwealth Club on Thursday evening (check our web site, standing room tickets may still be available) about her new book, which has an off-putting yet increasingly relevant title: Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream.

A media innovator, Huffington is the co-founder of an extremely successful political blog which bears her name and which provides links to the political news of the moment. It boasts a large collection of liberal commentary on contemporary issues from noted scholars, actors, authors and political figures. “[The Huffington Post] has grown from a hyperspace operation with a cadre of volunteer journalists to a hefty organization with 6,000 unpaid bloggers and 186 paid staffers,” according to Forbes magazine.

In a recent blog post on her $100 million media blog, Huffington wrote that since writing her new book with a doomsday title, her outlook on the future of America is surprisingly optimistic. Huffington, the queen of the inventive online news medium, wrote that she finds hope for the future in the American citizens who are pulling together by creating their own media innovations, providing online forums for struggling Americans. Huffington cited wevegottimetohelp.org, a blog started in Portland, Oregon, which lists volunteer projects happening around the country and encourages people who are unemployed to put their skills to work to help others in need.

Huffington will speak at the Club Office at 6:30 p.m.

George Weyerhauser Climate Program on KGO HD this Month

2010-11-17T15:40:00.000-08:00

For those of you in the Bay Area who might like to catch The Commonwealth Club's program with George Weyerhauser ("Climate Countdown"), it will air on KGO HD Channel 715 on Sunday, November 28, at 10:00 p.m.

Theodore Sorensen, JFK's Speechwriter, Passes Away

2010-10-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

Ted Sorensen, author of some of the most famous presidential speeches of the mid-20th century, died today at the age of 82.

You can listen to the audio of his May 17, 2010, Commonwealth Club program here, or you can watch the video of the event below:

Video of Secretary of State HIllary Rodham Clinton

2010-10-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed Climate One at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on Friday, October 15, 2010. Here's the video:

Condoleezza Rice Photo Slideshow, 10-18-10 at The Commonwealth Club

2010-10-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco yesterday, speaking about her new book Extraordinary Ordinary People. Photos by Ed Ritger.

Hillary Clinton Photo Slideshow, from 10-15-10 at The Commonwealth Club

2010-10-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's visit to a Climate One program of The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco last Friday is presented in photos in the slideshow below. Photos by Ed Ritger and Sonya Abrams.

Timothy Geithner on Recession, Recovery -- ABC7 News Video

2010-10-19T10:38:00.001-07:00

Photo Slideshow: Timothy Geithner at Commonwealth Club 10-18-2010

2010-10-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

Below are photos, by John Zipperer and William F. Adams, from the program in Silicon Valley yesterday featuring U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner. The program was moderated by Sequoia Capital's Michael Moritz.

If You Missed Hillary Clinton Tonight at The Commonwealth Club ...

2010-10-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Then you missed a great program. Secretary of State Clinton addressed a sold-out audience of 1,400 people in downtown San Francisco this evening, talking about everything from Mexico's drug war to environmental needs; but the underpinning of her speech and conversation with Climate One Director Greg Dalton was the need for the United States to be engaged with the world's problems and to approach challenges intelligently, using all of the tools in the country's toolkit.

Stay tuned to this blog, as well as The Commonwealth Club's radio, podcast, television and online video networks. We'll be uploading audio, video, and still photos from this event in the near future.

Photo by Sonya Abrams.

Condoleezza Rice Establishes Peace with Jon Stewart

2010-10-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night to discuss her new book, Extraordinary Ordinary People. Despite their differing political beliefs, Rice and the host clearly got along well, with Stewart noting that he had been charmed when he had seen her discuss her book at a book fair.

They spent most of the two segments on the program discussing Rice's childhood and family, which is the subject of her book.

Bay Area residents will get their opportunity to see Rice themselves on October 18, when she makes a noontime appearance at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco.

Part one:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Condoleezza Rice Pt. 1

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Rally to Restore Sanity

Part two:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Condoleezza Rice Pt. 2

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Rally to Restore Sanity

Timothy Geithner Addresses the Top "Five Myths About TARP"

2010-10-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

U.S.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner took to The Washington Post opinion pages this past Sunday to address what he calls five myths about the Troubled Assets Relief Program, known by its acronym TARP.

TARP has become broadly unpopular in the country, but Geithner and other Obama administration leaders have been working lately to get out the news that TARP will ultimately result in a much smaller cost to taxpayers than is popularly believed:

[T]he cost of the TARP, which succeeded in reducing the overall economic damage, will be considerably lower than once feared. In fact, the direct budget cost of the program and our full investment in the insurer AIG is likely to come in well under $50 billion -- $300 billion less than estimated by the Congressional Budget Office last year. And taxpayers are likely to receive an impressive return (totaling tens of billions) on the investments made under the TARP outside the housing market.

Even looking beyond the TARP to the losses associated with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's pre-crisis mistakes, the direct costs of the government's overall rescue strategy are likely to be less than 1 percent of GDP. By comparison, the much less severe savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s cost 2 1/2 times that as a share of our economy.

In the article, Geithner addresses other concerns of critiques, such as that TARP helped Wall Street and not Main Street, that it led to greater presidential control over the economy, and other claims.

Read his entire article here.

Bring your own questions for the Treasury secretary when you see Timothy Geithner live at The Commonwealth Club of California this Monday, October 18, in Palo Alto for a 1:00 p.m. program. Details and ticket information are now available.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to Speak at Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley

2010-10-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, The Commonwealth Club of California announced that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be speaking to the Club on Monday, October 18, in Silicon Valley.

Secretary Geithner will address the Obama administration’s proposals to help get more Americans back to work and help reinforce long-term growth at home as well as efforts to build a more stable financial system and to strengthen the global economy.

Don't miss this chance to get up close and personal with one of the most important figures entrusted with getting the nation’s economy back on track.

Generation Know

2010-10-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

By Sally Schilling

Generation Me, Generation Y, Generation Q, iGeneration, Echo Boomers, Millenials, etc…

If you were born between the years 1980 and 2000, you belong to a generation that has been very difficult to define.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has labeled this generation Generation Q, the “Quiet Americans.” Friedman argued that while students are increasingly engaged in service programs like Teach For America, they are not getting loud about our current crises.

“America needs a jolt of the idealism, activism and outrage (it must be in there) of Generation Q. That’s what twentysomethings are for — to light a fire under the country. But they can’t e-mail it in, and an online petition or a mouse click for carbon neutrality won’t cut it,” wrote Friedman in his weekly column.

Author of the book Generation Me, Jean M. Twenge wrote that the “Generation Me” label is not to say this is a selfish generation, but instead that their upbringings encouraged high self-esteem.
“Generation Me has never known a world that put duty before self and believes that the needs of the individual should come first,” wrote Twenge.

Conversely, others have labeled this the Civic Generation. Michael Hais, co-author of Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics said, "Other generations were reared to be more individualistic. This civic generation has a willingness to put aside some of their own personal advancement to improve society.”

There have been passionate debates about the overarching characteristics of this generation that was born with the Internet. These charges of apathetic and self-promoting are surely characteristic of some young people of this era; however there seems to be no single way to define my diverse generation.

One thing is for certain though, The Commonwealth Club is a huge resource for those who are a part of Generation Know: the portion of this complex generation that wants to learn and be involved in the world around them.

Unfortunately, many younger people in the Bay Area who are a part of Generation Know just don’t know about these fascinating speakers or realize how accessible they really are for students. Most programs, even high profile speaking events such as Hillary Clinton, are very cheap for students to attend. Almost all Club programs are $7 for students. Hillary Clinton’s sold-out event is $10 for students, $25 for Club members, and $50 for non-members.

There are all kinds of Commonwealth programs that are of interest to students.

Hosting speakers on the environment, politics, art, food, writing, photography, playwriting, the Internet, business, journalism, health, economy, race, psychology, international relations and history, The Club most likely is hosting someone who is interesting to college students, and maybe even someone that many students aspire to be some day.

Though some people argue that young adults are only looking for entertainment value, others argue that all you need to do is talk about something that young adults care about to grab their attention. The Daily Show host Jon Stewart said that getting younger people to engage in mainstream news shows is “not a question of a host being too old or too young, or the material having a driving soundtrack; it’s putting out material that they come to.”

Some examples of “material” for young adults are the upcoming Club programs featuring the founders of Twitter, Marijuana Economics (Prop. 19), the founder of The Darwin Awards, and Condoleezza Rice.

The Club provides the material that students and young professionals are looking for. Generation Know, come and get it.

Condoleezza Rice on TV This Week

2010-10-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. secretary of state, will be on nationwide TV this week, appearing on at least three big shows:

Tuesday, October 12: The Today Show
Tuesday, October 12: Live with Regis and Kelly
Wednesday, October 13: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

That should whet your appetite for her appearance in San Francisco at The Commonwealth Club on Monday, October 18 at noon. Tickets are going fast, so reserve yours today.

Rice is professor of business and political science at Stanford University, a senior fellow at Hoover Institution, and author of the new book, Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family. In addition, she is a member of The Commonwealth Club Board of Governors.

Campaign Finance - The Current Hot Topic

2010-10-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Campaign finance is a hot topic right now! Not to mention a very relevant one as we head towards November.

The New York Times published an article yesterday stating that the amount of money spent on television campaign advertisements by outside interest groups has more than doubled from what was spent in 2006. The article points not only to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling as a main reason for the more lax campaign finance regulations, but also to an array of other legal developments that have led to less regulation and less restriction regarding campaign financing.

NPR’s Fresh Air devoted Thursday’s show to the discussion of the new world of campaign finance that has been created as a result of the Citizens United decision. Terry Gross interviewed Peter Stone, of The Center for Public Integrity, Kenneth Vogel of Politico and Lee Fang of the liberal-leaning ThinkProgress to discuss new organizations that have been created since the ruling in order to finance advertisements for campaigns across the country.

The Oakland mayoral race recently had its own campaign finance drama. Oakland mayoral candidates Jean Quan and Rebecca Kaplan were denied their request to tighten rules on campaign finance spending before the Nov. 2 election. The two Oakland City Council members made this request to the Oakland City Council after the Sacramento-based Coalition for a Safer California announced it had exceeded the spending threshold of $95,000 allowed for an independent expenditure committee, in support of an Oakland mayoral candidate. Quan and Kaplan have alleged that Oakland mayoral candidate Don Perata worked with the coalition to get the spending cap broken. Perata has denied this allegation, but admitted on Thursday to exceeding the spending ceiling. Perata says that City Attorney John Russo told him that the spending cap had already been broken. Russo denies having said this. Once the spending cap is broken, mayoral candidates are free to spend more than the voluntary spending limit of $379,000. Read the complete story from the Oakland Tribune.

Join The Club and panelists Bob Edgar, Lawrence McQuillan and Jesse Choper to discuss this polemic topic, delving into the political controversies and the widely unpopular Citizens United Supreme Court ruling. This program will take place on Monday, October 11 at 6PM at The Club’s SF office.

Condoleezza Rice Remembers German Reunification

2010-10-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

This month, Germany is celebrating 20 years since the reunification of East and West Germany.

Unlike British and French leaders at the time, the American administration of President George H.W. Bush encouraged the reunification of East and West Germany two decades ago, even if it wasn't sure how the details would all work out, says former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel, Rice says there was only a short window of opportunity when "the Soviet Union had to be strong enough to sign away its powers and rights but not strong enough to stop it." As a result, when the opportunity presented itself and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl went full speed ahead with plans for bringing together the two parts of the nation separated by the Cold War, the Bush administration supported his fast-track approach.

In fact, there was apparently only one moment of disconnect between the White House and the chancellor's office, when Kohl didn't consult with his American counterparts before he presented a list of 10 points to guide the reunification process. But that speed bump was soon left behind, and Kohl and his plans remained in good standing with Washington.

Read the full Spiegel article for more on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's surprising role, the Bush team's worries about Kohl's re-election chances, the centrality of NATO to American comfort about German reunification, and more.

Condoleezza Rice will speak about her life, work, and family in a special event at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on Monday, October 18.

Free Speech for Organizations, or Purchasing Congress? Big Money in Big Campaigns

2010-10-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

By Camille Koué

Yesterday, the first Monday in October, the Supreme Court started a new session. The court will be hearing an array of fascinating and controversial cases, and everyone will be interested to see how the most female Supreme Court of all time will vote on such heavy matters at lethal injection and lifetime prison sentences for juveniles.

But before such matters could even be considered, a letter was delivered to the United States Congress on Monday asking that one of the court's most controversial rulings of this year, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, be overturned with an amendment to the constitution.

The letter was submitted to Congress by FreeSpeechForPeople.org, a campaign devoted to the cause of reversing the ruling via a constitutional amendment.

The Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission 5-4 ruling permits corporations and unions to promote and finance the campaigns of electoral candidates up until election day. The ruling overturned longstanding campaign finance rules and regulations, and it elicited outrage in many and applause from many others, dividing the country largely along party lines.

The idea of “corporate personhood” was protested across the country by liberal think tanks and politicians. President Obama called the ruling “a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans.”

Conservative think tanks and politicians applauded the court for overturning what they saw as years of unconstitutional obstruction to free speech. Mitch McConnell, Senate minority leader at the time, stated, “For too long, some in this country have been deprived of full participation in the political process. With today's monumental decision, the Supreme Court took an important step in the direction of restoring the First Amendment rights of these groups...”

This was the first Supreme Court case heard by Justice Sonia Sotomayer and the first Supreme Court case argued by then-solicitor general and now Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. So the issues of this ruling touch even the newest on the court.

On Monday, October 11 The Commonwealth Club will have its own debate on this topic. The superb panel of Bob Edgar, president and CEO of Common Cause, Lawrence McQuillan, director of business and economic studies at the Pacific Research Institute, and constitutional law expert Jesse Choper, Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at UC Berkeley, will take on the question of the constitutionality of the recent ruling and discuss what is really electing our political leaders, money or merit?

C-Street Confidential: Which Family Is Real?

2010-10-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

By Camille Koue

The recent New Yorker article on The Family by Peter J. Boyer paints a much different picture than that of the dictator-obsessed, wage-war-with-prayer Family portrait described by author and journalist Jeff Sharlet in his new book C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy. It’s Boyer’s good natured, supportive brotherhood, frat house made up of a well-intentioned, though sometimes naive, network of good-ol-boys, compared to Sharlet’s no-holds-barred, violent, win-or-die-trying secret bunker housing opportunistic, pulpit spewing religious fundamentalists.

The two images look very different and that is what makes Sharlet’s appearance at The Club on Oct 13 so interesting.

Boyer’s article describes the conservative Christian organization as a group of decent men looking to make the lives of others better by spreading the Holy Word, but definitely not by any means necessary. He describes how the leaders of the Family are open to other faiths, and denounce foreign policy that is too extreme.

Sharlet describes them as quite the opposite.

For example, one main contradiction of claims is that Boyer asserts that the leaders of The Family were instrumental in getting the Ugandan anti-gay bill, which would have punished homosexuality with death, withdrawn from the floor of the Ugandan Parliament. Sharlet has asserted that The Family leaders were instrumental in the writing of the bill and fueling the homophobic fire in Uganda.

While Boyer describes the secretive nature of The Family as a way for those tended toward humility to live out their religious work in an anonymous, inelaborate manner that suits them best, Sharlet contends that the secretiveness is calculated, its purpose to allow The Family to fly under the radar, doing whatever they want without anyone knowing while the organization gets more and more powerful.

In a response to Boyer’s piece in a recent Harper’s magazine interview, Sharlet quipped “Lazy reporting aside, the real danger of a piece like Boyer’s is that it perpetuates unexamined claims made by the Family.”

Come and examine these claims yourself and ask Jeff Sharlet your questions on Oct 13 at 6:30PM at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center.

P.J. O'Rourke on the Talk Show that Might Have Been

2010-09-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

Political satirist P.J. O'Rourke visited The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco today (September 30, 2010). He was in town to discuss his new book, Don't Vote: It Just Encourages the Bastards. Following his speech and audience question-and-answer session, he sat down with The Club's editor for an interview.

You'll be able to read portions of the interview in The Commonwealth magazine later this year, and in The Club's column in the November issue of Northside San Francisco. The interview ended with one videotaped question and answer. O'Rourke – a popular guest on such programs as Real Time with Bill Maher and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me – was asked if he had ever been approached about having his own radio or television program.

In his answer, we learn that there was such an idea being hatched by O'Rourke and his friend Christopher Buckley at one point, but alcohol intervened.

The video:

We'll post the complete video of O'Rourke's Commonwealth Club speech and Q&A as soon as it is available.

NEW: Sec. of State Hillary Clinton at Commonwealth Club October 15

2010-09-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

The Commonwealth Club of California announced today that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will appear at The Club on Friday evening, October 15, in San Francisco.

In what will be a much-talked-about event, Secretary Clinton will address important issues of climate change and women around the world, as well as the future of American leadership. She will be speaking at a special program of The Club's Climate One division.

With a bruised economy and developing countries on the rise, can the United States still lead the world in the 21st Century? What challenges do soaring budget deficits, globalization and an unstable climate present for U.S. national interests? Can America's tradition of innovative ideas and technology keep us ahead of the world's biggest problems? How can educating and empowering women around the world help reduce carbon emissions and raise living standards? Join us for a conversation with Secretary of State Clinton at the intersection of diplomacy, innovation and the prospects for a clean and safe future.

Tickets are certain to go fast, so order today.

Thomas Keller's Commonwealth Club Appearance on of Diablo Magazine's "Top Tickets"

2010-09-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Diablo magazine is including French Laundry chef Thomas Keller's September 30th appearance at The Commonwealth Club in Lafayette as one of its Top Tickets.

You can read the magazine's list here.

For tickets and details on the Keller event, visit our web site – but move quickly, because tickets are selling out fast!

The “Don’t Vote” Campaign

2010-09-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

By Sally Schilling

It’s that time again. Midterm elections are beginning to be the talk of the nation once more. With more than a month until election day, major news stations are beginning their up-to-the-minute coverage of pre-election news.

We see the media excitement is building, and with it, the encouragment of people to get out there and vote.

One organization that is mobilizing for this election is The Rock the Vote campaign, with the goal of encouraging millions of young people to register to vote by using a sort of pop-culture marketing vibe.

Another mainstream vote-promoter is CNN. CNNPolitics online said, “U.S. midterm voters choose who makes decisions that touch millions of American lives. These issues range from taxes and national security to Social Security benefits and Medicare.”

Contrary to these conventional words of encouragement about civic duty, P. J. O’Rourke will be telling attendees at the Club on September 30, “Don’t Vote: It Just Encourages the Bastards,” which is the title of his latest book. (In a recent interview with CBS, he said that he apologizes for the vulgar language in the book, but politics is a vulgar subject.)

For those who prefer to follow politics through a more comedic medium, cnn.com may not be your first choice. There is an ever-growing following of political satire. Some of the most popular contemporary satirists can be seen on liberal shows “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central. But don’t think that liberals are the only ones pumping out witty and enlightening critiques of our political system. O’Rourke is one of the conservative kings of political humorist material.

“The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop,” O’Rourke famously said.

This is not the first time O’Rourke will be visiting the Club. His past visits, which have all been popular, have covered topics such as an analyses of The Wealth of Nations or America’s cash-for-clunkers program.

This time, O’Rourke said, in a recent CBS interview, he wants to “remind Americans that we don’t vote to elect great men, we vote to throw the bastards out.”

If that sounds overly cynical, O'Rourke adds that voting isn't the be-all of solving our problems: “We cannot vote that oil away,” he said of the BP oil spill.

O’Rourke will be speaking at the Club at noon on September 30.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann on Gov. Schwarzenegger's Commonwealth Club Speech

2010-09-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Last night on his program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC's Olbermann featured extended excerpts from Monday's speech by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the anniversary of the passage of AB32, the state's climate change law.

Speaking at The Commonwealth Club's Climate One program in Silicon Valley, Schwarzenegger took off his (rhetorical) gloves and sharply criticized the forces that have pushed a repeal or freeze of AB32. Watch the video yourself from MSNBC.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The New Issue of The Commonwealth Magazine: Foreign Policy, Culture Wars, Aghan War, & More

2010-09-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

The newest edition of The Commonwealth, the members' magazine of The Commonwealth Club of California, is in the mail at this moment. If you're a member, watch your mailbox for the October/November 2010 issue, which is filled with interesting people and thought-provoking and even controversial ideas.

The cover story features a bipartisan duo of former U.S. secretaries of state: Madeleine Albright and George Shultz, who discuss with veteran journalist Marvin Kalb the most important issues facing our country today and tomorrow. Other articles include author and Iran expert Stephen Kinzer discussing the relationship between Iran and the United States; Anglican priest Kapya Kaoma on America's export of its culture wars to Africa; author Anna Quindlen discussing family with writer Ellen Sussman; an all-star panel (Laura Tyson, Paul Saffo, Nancy Pfund, Robert Klein, Robert Hertzberg, and Sydnie Kohara) discussing California's economic future; journalist Sebastian Junger on the ground with our troops in Afghanistan; author Nicholas Carr (in conversation with Google's director of research, Peter Norvig) talking about whether the internet is making us stupider; Commonwealth Club President & CEO Dr. Gloria Duffy on financial abuse of the elderly; and we say good-bye to a longtime friend of The Club and a giant of California's modern history, Bill Lane.

If that doesn't keep you occupied for the next month, check out the magazine's calendar of upcoming Club events and start marking your schedule for our great lineup of speakers, travel, and other opportunities in the Bay Area and beyond.

This Week at The Commonwealth Club

2010-09-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

Roz Savage & David Kroodsma, Robert Reich, Climate Change Effects on Animal and Plant Species, Roelof van Ark, New Member Reception, Robert Sutton, P.J. O'Rourke, Pirates, More Pirates, Thomas Keller, & Frank Spinelli.

So there are no excuses for not having anything to do this week!

Join us!

Mary Ellen Hannibal Heads up California Book Awards at The Commonwealth Club

2010-09-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

The Commonwealth Club of California welcomes a new chair of its California Book Awards selection committee. Mary Ellen Hannibal is a longtime professional journalist and editor, having served as book reviews editor at Esquire and Signature magazines, authored three books, and more. She currently chairs the advocacy and communications efforts of the board for the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. Her reviews can be found online at The Readers Review.

Hannibal succeeds Roy Eisenhardt, who headed the jury for a number of years. Eisenhardt has, in addition to serving as moderator for many Commonwealth Club events over the years, served as the president of the Oakland Athletics and executive director of the California Academy of Sciences.

Hannibal has served on the California Book Awards jury for the past five years, where she says she

has "repeatedly been moved both by the first-rate quality of California writers, and by the power of our award to help frame the importance of books in our culture."

The California Book Award winners for 2010's major categories, presented in June 2010, included Rebecca Solnit, William Vollman, and Yi Yun Li, "by any measure among the most prominent writers in the United States today," says Hannibal. "While the subjects tackled by each of these authors are disparate, they share a deeply compassionate perspective on our world. Listening to their acceptance remarks, I wondered: Is the act of writing itself a moral act? Yes, we live in a digital age, but the power of thoughtful, reasoned, and beautifully written narratives remains a unique testament to human understanding. The California Book Award celebrates this endeavor. I'm very excited to continue working with an exemplary jury to uncover California's best books, and bring them to a wider audience."

Submissions are currently being accepted for next year's awards. Learn more.

James Ellroy on the Hardboiled School of Language

2010-09-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

Author James Ellroy comes to The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Tuesday, September 21, to talk about his fascinating and surprising life. He will be in conversation with Tom Barbash, himself an author and a contributing book critic to The New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

We're sure the conversation will be interesting. In the video above, you can get a taste of Ellroy's willingness to discuss his life – even the darkest moments – and his work such as L.A. Confidential and his new The Hilliker Curse.

To whet your appetite, we would have included video excerpts of Ellroy's appearances on Conan O'Brien's talk show, but let's just say the language is a wee bit too salty for this blog. How much of that will Ellroy bring to the stage of The Commonwealth Club? Come and find out!

Schwarzenegger, AB32, and the Future of California's Environmental Commitment

2010-09-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming to The Commonwealth Club September 27 to highlight the anniversary of AB32, the state's landmark climate-change legislation.

Schwarzenegger will be heading up a program of The Club's Climate One series, which focuses on bringing together people from across the political spectrum, from business to environmental movements and beyond, to address climate-change issues.

He has spoken at The Club for each of the past few years to mark AB32, but this year the discussion should be most poignant. The climate-change bill is the subject of withering criticism from conservative politicians who are arguing that the state should focus on jobs first, then the environment. But Schwarzenegger has been a vocal proponent of using climate-change initiatives to create green jobs and industries.

What does he think of his party's candidates in the fall election who are campaigning on plans to restrict climate-change legislation? Will they undo his legacy? What about Proposition 23?

This is a don't-miss program.

P.J. O'Rourke, Phil Bronstein at The Commonwealth Club

2010-09-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

When you've got a speaker as funny and interesting as political satirist P.J. O'Rourke, you want to team him up with someone who's also a strong figure. Smart, funny, controversial. So we're rather pleased that on September 30 at noon, The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco will be hosting O'Rourke, and moderating duties will be performed by our friend Phil Bronstein, executive vice president at the San Francisco Chronicle.

O'Rourke will be discussing his latest book: Don't Vote, It Just Encourages the Bastards. So come and get into the spirit of the November elections, and be prepared for a great event.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to Address The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco September 30

2010-09-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

With the country working hard to pull out of one of the most difficult economic climates in the past century, the Obama administration's powerhouse economic team is the focus of much hope and much criticism. Are they taking the right measures? What's really happening with the economy? Just how close did the United States' economy come to going off a cliff two years ago?

On September 30, The Commonwealth Club of California is hosting a program featuring U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The event will take place at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco.

This is your chance to hear for yourself what the nation's top financial policymaker has to say about the current and future state of the economy.

Tickets are available for advance purchase.

UPDATE: This program was postponed. We'll keep you informed about any rescheduling.

Sen. Barbara Boxer Defends Filibusters, Suggests Reforms

2010-08-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) called for reforming but not eliminating the practice of filibustering in the Senate.

Asked about the controversial practice, in which a senator or group of senators can refuse to yield to the other party and allow a bill to proceed, Boxer said the filibuster has its place, but it's being abused. "It's being used on motions to adjourn," she said.

She suggested that the practice be reformed by, for example, reducing the number of votes needed to end a filibuster from 60 to 55 votes, which would still be high enough to "protect the minority" party. Boxer also said the filibuster should go back to its roots, when senators used to have to stand at the podium and read from phone books for hours on end in their efforts to stop a bill in its tracks. "I think you should have to stand on your feet all night if you want to filibuster," she said.

Boxer was speaking at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. The moderator for the event was Bob Saldich, (above, at podium), a former president of the Club's board of governors. Just slightly more than two months before the November election – in which she is vying for her seat against Republican businesswoman Carly Fiorina – the senator's appearance drew a sold-out audience and many journalists (see photo right).

Photo Album: Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter at The Commonwealth Club of California

2010-08-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

On Friday, August 13, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter spoke to The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco about an issue she's been working on for decades: mental health.

Ever gracious, Mrs. Carter also took time to meet with Club members and friends at the event, which was held at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre. The Commonwealth Club will post a complete transcript of the event in the future, but for now, enjoy these photos from the event.

Photos by Sonya Abrams.

Why Is President Obama Reading Ben Sherwood's "The Survivor's Club"?

2010-08-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama was recently photographed carrying a copy of Ben Sherwood's book The Survivor's Club. (To see the full photo, click here and scroll almost to the bottom of the page.)

You can find out what interested the president so much yourself on October 13, when Sherwood will be speaking at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. All are welcome to attend.

Even presidents.

ABA Agrees with Richard Dreyfuss: American Schools Need Civics Classes

2010-08-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

The new head of the American Bar Association took office recently, and among his top priorities is using the weight of the ABA's members to expand the teaching of civics in American schools.

He could have been taking notes from award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss spoke to The Commonwealth Club in Silicon Valley on July 19, 2010, about his effort to promote civics education. You can watch the video below, and see for yourself if he's in tune with the lawyers' group.

Doctors Thwarted in Improving Service, Abraham Verghese says in SF Chronicle

2010-08-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

Abraham Verghese, a doctor and the author of Cutting for Stone, argues that doctors need to spend more time with their patients, but the system prevents them from doing so. He makes this point in a timely essay in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Verghese will discuss this and related topics in a speech to The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco August 12.

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Tells SF Chronicle about Advances in Mental Health

2010-08-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who will be speaking at The Commonwealth Club this Friday at noon, was interviewed by Julian Guthrie in today's San Francisco Chronicle. She tells the paper about her decades of involvement in mental health policy (which she discusses in her new book, Within Our Reach), and she also shares her first memories of being in San Francisco – and being told she and husband Jimmy looked too young to drink.

It's a charming interview. And don't forget to get your tickets to see her in-person this Friday.

L. W. "Bill" Lane, 1919-2010

2010-08-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

The Hon. L. W. Lane Jr., the former publisher who built Sunset magazine into one of the country's leading regional publications and a pioneering voice of conservation, passed away July 31, 2010, at the age of 90.

The San Jose Mercury News noted that Lane was a Republican "in the Teddy Roosevelt model of conservation," and he gave generously of his time and money to regional conservation efforts. But he was a generous philanthropist for many organizations, including his alma mater, Stanford, where he donated $5 million in 2005 to endow the Bill Lane Center for the American West.

Lane was also a longtime member of The Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors – in fact, he was the longest-serving member of the board, where he provided invaluable help and expertise. For example, when The Club decided The Commonwealth magazine would begin to accept paid third-party advertising, Lane sat down with The Club's publishing staff to discuss pitfalls and potential, which included many of the lessons he and his family had learned through their long stewardship of Sunset.

But that was only one of his contributions to The Club. Lane noted that his involvement with The Commonwealth Club went all the way back to the 1940s, when his naval commanding officer assigned him to attend Club lunch meetings to keep track of what Club speakers were saying about the war and world events. From Commonwealth magazine redesigns to increasing the visibility of The Club's California Book Awards to underwriting radio broadcasts, Bill Lane left a great legacy – and a lot of friends – at The Commonwealth Club.

We will miss him very much.

David Boies (speaking at Commonwealth Club 8/5) Makes Case Against Prop 8 in Chronicle

2010-08-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

In the Insight section of yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle, lawyer David Boies made "The Case Against Prop 8" as "Unconstitutional Bias."

Boies, a prominent lawyer who represented former Vice President Al Gore in the post-election Bush v. Gore case and worked on many other high-profile cases, raised a lot of eyebrows when he teamed up with Republican former Solicitor General Theodore Olson to make the legal case against California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state.

Calling anti-gay marriage laws "one of the most invidious of the state-sponsored discriminations against gays and lesbians," Boies' Chronicle article provides a legal primer on recent history in anti-gay legislation. He also explains the tactics the team headed by Boies and Olson took in their arguments before the court hearing their Prop. 8 lawsuit.

Read the entire Boies article, and come hear him speak in-person at The Commonwealth Club Thursday, August 5, at 6:00 p.m.

His Club appearance is part of the Geschke Family Series on the U.S. Constitution in the 21st Century.

Photos: Commonwealth Club's Annual Dinner Gathered Bay Area Leaders

2010-07-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Commonwealth Club's 107th Anniversary and 22nd Annual Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner brought out the local stars on April 29, 2010. Gathering at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, attendees ranged from former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to California First Lady Maria Shriver. Honorees included Jack O'Neill, Dr. Bill Rutter, The Honorable George P. Shultz, Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, and Brad Bird.

Here's a photographic overview of the evening:

For more on the dinner, visit the Commonwealth Club's Annual Dinner home.

Rosalynn Carter and the Mental Health Crisis

2010-07-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

In mid-August, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will speak at a special Commonwealth Club event, where she will talk about the "mental health crisis." A long-time advocate of reforming treatment and policy on mental illness in this country, Carter recently took her message to The Daily Show, where she was lauded by host Jon Stewart for her good work.

Mental health treatment has gotten considerable coverage in the news lately, as people have examined the recently passed health-care reform bill and found enhanced coverage of mental health issues.

You'll be able to see Carter for yourself August 13 in San Francisco. Until then, here's a taste of her story:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Rosalynn Carter

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

Rosalynn Carter's program is a part of The Commonwealth Club's month-long special series, The Ascent of Woman.

Condoleeza Rice and Aretha Franklin on Stage Together

2010-07-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and legendary singer Aretha Franklin performed on stage together in Philadelphia. Rice, a classically trained pianist, accompanied Franklin on two of her songs. The event was in support of a charity for helping urban children and raising awareness of the arts.

The two unlikely musicians met at a White House party, according to the BBC. Despite their different political allegiances, Franklin, who had heard of Rice's skills on the piano, suggested they play together some time.

Dr. Rice is a member of The Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors. The prospect of a Rice-Franklin team-up was reported in the July/August 2009 issue of The Commonwealth magazine.

Shai Agassi: A Better Model?

2010-07-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Shai Agassi (left in video) talks with Greg Dalton, Climate One director and vice president of The Commonwealth Club, about making electric cars a reality.

Dr. Carol Fleming to Talk "The Ascent of Woman" in the News

2010-07-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

Dr. Carol Fleming, a member of The Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors and chair of its Member-Led Forums of volunteer-run programming, will be visible in many media outlets in the next few weeks as she discusses The Ascent of Woman. This series of nearly 30 MLF programs will run throughout the month of August at The Commonwealth Club, and will focus on the evolving status of women in the world today.

Sunday, July 25, 8 am – channel 12, Bay Area Focus
Sunday, August 1, radio between 6 and 7 am:
Sunday Magazine with Liz Saint John on Alice@97.3
Community Connection with Liz Saint John on Live 105
Street Talk with Liz Saint John on Movin’ 99.7
Street Talk with Liz Saint John on KFRC-AM 1550.

Find out more about the programs in Ascent of Woman on The Club's web site.

California Book Award Gold Medal Winner Yiyun Li to be at Sonoma County Book Festival

2010-07-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

There are many great reasons to visit Sonoma County, but for Bay Area book lovers, the Sonoma County Book Festival on September 25th is a really great reason. This year, Commonwealth Club members and friends will be pleased to see author Yiyun Li at the event. Li won a gold medal in this year's California Book Awards for her novel The Vagrants.

Learn more about the book festival, which is free to the public.

Photo: Author Yiyun Li speaks at The Commonwealth Club's California Book Awards ceremony on June 3, 2010. Photo by Beth Byrne.

Exploring the Ascent of Woman

2010-07-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

By Allison Vale

Recently The New York Times featured an article, “Aging Gracefully, The French Way,” striking that chord in every American woman who envies that je ne sais qua. I cheekily wrote “How to outlive men gracefully” as the tagline for our August 2nd program on Population Aging as a Feminist Issue, but Ms. Hayutin will be discussing issues far more serious than wrinkles that will affect women all over the globe – especially the French.

The Commonwealth Club's Ascent of Women series, which runs all through August, brings together diverse perspectives on the status of women today, both how far we’ve come and how far we’ve got to go. Asha Hagi’s inspiring stories of courageous Somali women drive home how great we have it here in the land of the free and the importance of promoting women’s issues throughout the world. It seems women have broken glass ceilings in just about every profession, but the playing field is by no means level here. Luckily, women are planners, and by the looks of the impressive line-up of speakers and panelists, it seems women are also dedicated to furthering the success of other women. Female scientists, activists, and businesswomen will all share their experiences, and more importantly, just how women can best utilize our distinctive gifts to close the remaining gendered gaps in society.

But we won’t forget to look back on those who came before us and built the ground upon which we now stand – or pose, in the case of Yves Sant Laurent. Women may outnumber men in America’s universities, but stop by on Monday, August 2nd to learn where women’s education all began.

Look at the complete lineup here.

Paul Saffo: Bay Area Should Flex Its Economic Muscles in the Political Arena

2010-07-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

The Bay Area would benefit from thinking more like a city-state and less like a region within a dysfunctional state, futurist Paul Saffo writes in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle.

Noting that the Bay Area's economy would be the 25th largest in the world if it were an independent country (which would put it ahead of Austria, Denmark, and even Taiwan), Saffo writes that local-based pragmatism would result in better economic management than the state currently provides. He argues that "a sudden outbreak of city-state pragmatism might shock Sacramento out of its ideological deadlock and into a serious exploration of how to effect essential but unpopular solutions – from service cuts and tax increases to a rewriting of our state Constitution."

You can read his entire essay here.

The ever-provocative Saffo will be on a high-powered panel at The Commonwealth Club tomorrow night (July 13) that includes Laura Tyson (an economic advisor to President Obama), DBL Investors Managing Partner Nancy Pfund, Robert Klein (governing board chair of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine), former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg – all moderated by KPIX-TV anchor Sydnie Kohara. The event is part of the Chevron California Innovation Series at The Commonwealth Club.

For details and to order tickets, visit The Commonwealth Club's web site.

San Francisco Public Press Hits the Newsstands – And The Club Is There

2010-07-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

The newspaper is dead. Long live the newspaper.

Print critics have been predicting the burial of print newspapers for many years now; in fact, the chairman of Tribune Company, Sam Zell, said this week that home delivery of newspapers will soon become a thing of the past, with papers being replaced by "PDFs."

One could be forgiven for questioning whether he knows what a PDF is, but it is true that the print news business has undergone traumatic downsizings, bankruptcies, layoffs, rising prices, audience losses, and hemorrhaging advertising revenue, and that it's been a tough haul for many if not most newspaper companies. They might be showing some success at reinventing themselves; a number of these large papers, including San Francisco's own Chronicle, are surprising people by reporting that they're back in the black, even as the larger economy continues to struggle. Still, it's probably a safe bet that papers will continue innovating and experimenting, until they come up with a stable new business model.

But the liveliness of print news is not restricted to these traditional publishers. Now that the old vision of what a paper is – what it must contain, how it must be designed and distributed and priced and consumed – has been blown apart, entrepreneurs are looking at print again with a fresh eye and realizing there are some exciting things that can be done with it. On the entertainment side, for example, last year DC Comics produced a 12-issue weekly broadsheet newspaper called Wednesday Comics filled with full-page color comics. It was only a limited experiment, but it might awaken some daily paper publishers to rethink the restrictions on their own graphic entertainment pages. Make it bigger, more colorful, and worth reading on a large page, and you'll give readers a reason to pay a dollar or more each day for your paper.

And there's more. In June, SFPublicPress.org – a nonprofit online news service – produced a broadsheet newspaper edition. A 28-page color paper with no advertising, the first edition carried a cover price of $2 and owes something to the bigger weekly newspapers of Europe (pick up a copy of Germany's Die Zeit the next time you're at Cafe de la Presse and you'll see what we mean). These papers that are not commuter papers; they're papers that entice you to put your feet up on your desk or stretch out on a couch and read about all kinds of things. News, opinion, entertainment, economics. Even comics.

And if you pick up a copy of this first print edition of San Francisco Public Press, be sure to stop on page 12 and read "Gulf Spill Puts Conservation in Spotlight," an excerpt from a recent timely Commonwealth Club Climate One panel discussion. And let the folks at SFPublicPress.org know what you think about their experiment.

An Update on Christopher Hitchens

2010-06-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

A writer, provocateur, intellectual, and even gadfly, Christopher Hitchens has long been the target of jabs from his opponents, and he's thrown more than a few jabs himself. He is also a regular and welcome speaker at The Commonwealth Club of California, where he has had a number of well-received events.

Hitchens was slated to speak in The Commonwealth Club's San Francisco office and in its Silicon Valley location in late June, but at the last moment the programs were canceled due to reported personal reasons. The mystery was cleared up a bit today when Hitchens posted the following message on the web site of Vanity Fair, for which he writes a column:

I have been advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus. This advice seems persuasive to me. I regret having had to cancel so many engagements at such short notice.

So for the many people who had bought tickets for his event and were looking forward to hearing him discuss his revealing memoir, Hitch 22, you now have an explanation for the cancellation. (It wasn't just The Commonwealth Club, of course, that had to cancel appearances by the author; his entire book tour was put on hold.)

The Commonwealth Club joins the many people wishing Christopher Hitchens a speedy and complete recovery, and we look forward to having him on our stage again soon to discuss and argue about things in the way that only Christopher Hitchens can.

Take care.

Tech Night at The Commonwealth Club Is the Talk of the Town

2010-06-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Photo above: Michael Arrington (left) engages author David Kirkpatrick in discussion about The Facebook Effect. Photo below: Peter Norvig (left) and Nicholas Carr talk Google and intelligence. Photos by Steven Bowles.

On Wednesday, June 23, The Commonwealth Club hosted a double header event featuring inside looks at the most talked-about online trends of today.

The evening kicked off with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington interviewing David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect; Salesforce.com founder and CEO Marc Benioff introduced the program. After a reception, Nicholas Carr took the stage to talk with Google's director of research, Peter Norvig. Carr wrote the famous Atlantic cover story "Is Google Making Us Stupid."

The reports in print, blogs, and more continue to come in. Caitlin Donohue chimes in at San Francisco Bay Guardian with her article, "Gotta be smarter than the Internet: Commonwealth Club hosts a techie throwdown." Blogs were all over the map (and they wouldn't be blogs if they weren't, now would they?), from positive to negative. But perhaps befitting the subject matter, the most animated discussions have been in the social media realm of Twitter and Facebook.

We posted the video (here and here) last week. Leave a comment about with your thoughts about the speakers, the topics, and the program.

KGO-TV Reports on Commonwealth Club Transportation Funding Results

2010-06-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

KGO-TV (ABC 7) in San Francisco filed the report below concerning the results of a study on taxation and transit that were presented at a June 25 event at The Commonwealth Club.

Norman Mineta, the former U.S. transportation secretary, moderated the program where the findings were presented. The survey suggested that Americans could be amenable to increased gasoline taxes if some of the money is used for environmental protection.

The news was announced as part of a program titled Transportation Funding in the Next 25 Years: What Are the Options? The sold-out program was co-sponsored by the Mineta Transportation Institute.

You can read Heather Ishimaru's report here.

Getting Around in the Bay Area: Pay As You Go?

2010-06-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

By Heather Mack

California is home to some of the worst traffic in the nation, particularly in the Bay Area, and that’s only one part of our transportation problem. Aging infrastructure, debt-ridden public transportation agencies and an ever-increasing population dominate the discussion on how to grapple with the state’s ways of getting around.

This morning, as The Club hosted another panel discussion on transportation in California, a new plan aimed at curbing congesting and increasing revenues is about to roll out with a series of toll roads planned for the Bay Area. However, the plan has received heavy criticism that the benefits of the pay roads will go to the very people who epitomize congestion conundrums: solo drivers.

Alameda County transportation officials announced Wednesday that toll lanes will premiere on Interstate 680 in September, allowing single-occupancy vehicles the opportunity to buy their way into carpool lanes at a fluctuating rate depending on the flow of traffic. The rate will increase as traffic does, in an effort to maintain a minimum speed of 45 mph and discourage people from buying into the lane when it becomes congested.

While congestion decreased during the depths of the recession as fewer people were driving to work, job development has brought the bottlenecking back to usual, exacerbated by the double-edged sword of necessary but obstructive construction projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the traffic is felt hard in California.

As Norma Ortega, interim chief financial officer of Caltrans, pointed out during her October visit to the Club, California’s unique transportation situation requires partnerships with state agencies like the Metropolitan Transportation Commission that enable us to pass additional sales tax to fund projects like these. Those very relationships mean that a lot of decisions are made on different levels, so priorities at the local level may differ with the statewide needs.

Will the lanes work, or are they just throwing money at a growing problem? As one reader commented on an article in Thursday’s San Francisco Chronicle, “Carpool lanes lose their effectiveness as a tool to discourage single occupancy vehicles if they no longer offer the benefit of less congestion.”

Interstate 680 Express Lane will be the first in a series of such thoroughfares the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has planned for the next 25 years, eventually creating an 800-mile regional network of those express lanes that will blanket the Bay Area.

“We’re hoping to bring more reliability into the system by allowing somebody who is not a carpool to buy into the system and know they can get from point A to point B in a certain amount of time, “ said Frank Furger to the Chronicle; Furger is the deputy director of the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency, which will operate the lane.

But some decry the system as a misuse of funds, calling the roads “Lexus Lanes” that only benefit those who can afford it. The plan calls for spending $3.7 billion to create a regional toll-lane network that would convert the existing 400 miles of carpool lanes into toll lanes available to solo drivers. Critics lament that almost 4 billion dollars of our tax money will be spent on constructing these roads, as well as the need for additional CHP patrols to watch for people trying to sneak into the lane without paying.

Another Bay Area resident commented that, despite the claims by transportation officials supporting tolled expressways and high occupancy toll lanes, area residents should be questioning Alameda County and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission about whether converting public right-of-ways to pay-per-use is an equitable way to raise revenue for transportation improvements.

The Club’s October transportation panel sought to identify the primary factors impeding transportation funding. This morning’s worked to answer the question of whether it is possible to increase revenue in the current anti-tax climate. Toll roads are just the beginning.

Stay tuned to this blog for the video of this morning’s event, which was moderated by Norman Mineta, retired U.S. secretary of transportation, and was made possible by the Mineta Transportation Institute.

Video: David Kirkpatrick on The Facebook Effect

2010-06-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

In the first half of a technology-themed double-header evening two days ago, The Commonwealth Club hosted author David Kirkpatrick discussing his book The Facebook Effect. Introduced by Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff, the sold-out event gave attendees some behind-the-scenes insight into one of the most talked-about social media companies today.

Video: Nicholas Carr on Is Google Making Us Stupid?

2010-06-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

In part two of The Commonwealth Club's technology double-header two days ago, Inforum hosted Nicholas Carr discussing whether the latest developments in social media are decreasing our intelligence and wits, rather than sharpening them.

What's at Stake in California Higher Education Challenges

2010-06-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

By Allison Vale

Recently, the University of California system was honored by Global Green USA with the California Environmental Leadership Award. While certainly an admirable achievement, the award highlights the potential for tragedy for public higher education in California – long a national leader, but one with an uncertain future.

Again and again, the problem stems from a greater statewide crisis. The University of California has lost $813 million in state support. Yes, the university system needs more money, but where is this money going to come from?

Tuition is still significantly lower than out-of-state or private universities. (In fact, the leadership still insists on using the term “fees” in order to stay in accordance with the Master Plan for Education’s assertion that public education be tuition-free. However, tuition/fees have more than doubled over the course of nine short years.)

Fee increases have not coincided with increased benefits for students. Even with the continued existence of financial aid programs, the fact remains that if tuition continues to increase, some of the nation’s leading public universities will become increasingly private.

The overwhelmed California community college system is already engaged in significant cooperation with for-profit schools, such as the University of Phoenix. One of the proposed solutions has been an online university program. It is fairly difficult to imagine an online degree from the University of California coming anywhere near the emotions of a rally on Sproul Plaza or the roar of the crowd during a football game at the Rose Bowl. Many traditional students value those aspects of their University of California undergraduate and graduate educational experience.

Adjustments have been made, but furlough days, eliminated majors or tuition increases might strike some people as being somewhat less than a grand solution. There are concerns about competitiveness after a regime of lay-offs, furloughs and hiring deferrals. For now, each campus is trying to cope, but what the students of California need is hope – hope that they, too, can have access to a quality education.

Of course, local, state, and national politicians have discussed education here at the Club. Unfortunately, noting the importance of education as an economic investment, as a public service, as a right, doesn’t seem to solve the fundamental problem.

At the Keeping California Schools Competitive panel on March 31, Dr. Craig R. Barrett emphasized the needs of the community college system over the state and university systems, while Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach for America, highlighted the social injustice of the K-12 system. With Kopp’s corps of bright teachers motivating disadvantaged students to strive for college, ensuring affordable education becomes all the more important.

Last Wednesday, the chancellors of both the California State University system and the California Community College system, as well as the president of the University of California system, discussed the current status and future of the higher education system with The Commonwealth Club’s president and CEO, Dr. Gloria Duffy.

Each system, even each campus, has had to adapt in unique ways, but the future will require a coordinated, and concerted, effort. You can watch that video here.

Have thoughts? Post them here!