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

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:

Nuclear Arms Treaty Gives Boost to Nuclear Reduction Efforts

The news last week of the agreement on a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and Russia might have been overshadowed by continuing heat from the health-care reform effort, but it deserves to have its moment in the sun.


There continue to be bipartisan efforts in the United States to push for further -- and even total -- nuclear disarmament.

By way of background, in the video above of a Commonwealth Club event a couple years ago, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and former Secretary of Defense William Perry make the case for working toward a nuclear-free world.

Here are some reports on the new treaty and its possible impact on the world stage:

Politics Daily: U.S.-Russian Nuclear Treaty not on Public's Radar
The Korea Times: U.S.-Russia Nuclear Deal Could Curb Proliferation by North Korea, Iran
Reuters: Q&A: Why is a U.S.-Russia Nuclear Deal Important?
Washington Post (might require free registration): U.S. Hopes Nuclear Arms Pact to Be Ratified This Year
The Guardian: The Case for Western Missile Defense

Below is a Commonwealth Club video, in which Rep. Ellen Tauscher Talks Nuclear Non-Proliferation:

Obama Seeks New Understanding with Muslim World

Watch CBS Videos Online

"America is not, and never will be, at war with Islam," President Obama pledged to an audience in Cairo, Egypt. "We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists, who pose a great threat to our security. Because we reject the same thing people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children."

Today, President Obama gave his long-anticipated speech in Egypt, addressing head-on perceptions and misperceptions between the United States and Islam.

The CBS video of the speech is above. In it, Obama spends considerable time drawing connections first between himself and the Muslim world and then between the United States and Muslims, harkening back to the country's founding and even the first country to recognize the United States' independence: Morocco. In short, he's trying to build an alliance with Muslims to take on common challenges (such as radicals of all sorts, including Islamist terrorist groups) and to help build a new relationship in this age of globalization.

"Any world order that elevates one nation, or group of people, over another, will inevitably fail," Obama told the crowd. "So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it."

Obama's speech has already begun to be picked over in detail, but it will be interesting to see what is said about the speech from people who have been covering the Islam-U.S. relationship for years. Paul Barrett, director of the investigative reporting team at BusinessWeek, spoke to The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco February 20, 2007. His speech talked about assimilation and identity among Muslims in America -- a topic Obama proudly touted in his Cairo speech. (See Barrett video below.)



On January 23, 2007, Dinesh D'Souza took the topic and viewed it from a different angle. D'Souza, a conservative Catholic, looked at America as he thought Muslims might view it. (See D'Souza video below.)



And, to add a humorous aspect to this (but one with a serious point), political cartoonist Khalil Bendib spoke to The Commonwealth Club September 18, 2008, about Islamophobia -- and reminds any who needed reminding of the broad range of Muslims and attitudes.

The Future of U.S.-Russian Relations

With the news that Russia was cooperating with the United States in developing an approach to deal with Iran's nuclear program, there are questions about how that cooperation will evolve as the two countries confront a host of other pressing issues, including the worldwide recession.

To get insight into the topic, view the video of Columbia University professor and Russia expert Robert Legvold, in conversation with Commonwealth Club President and CEO Dr. Gloria Duffy, herself a Russia expert and veteran foreign policy professional. Levgold is also on the steering committee at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences oon Desiging U.S. Policy Toward Russia. Visit the academy's web site for background on that project, as well as a wealth of related resources.