Sunday-Tuesday, May 4-6

Film Screening --The Judge and the General

The Judge and the General, a documentary co-directed by American filmmaker Elizabeth Farnsworth and Chilean producer/director Patricio Lanfranco, premieres at the San Francisco International Film Festival. In Chile, Judge Juan Guzmán opposed the democratically elected President Salvador Allende and supported the general who overthrew him, Augusto Pinochet. In 1998, Guzmán was appointed -- by judicial lottery – to try the first criminal cases against the general he had supported. The film follows Guzmán’s investigations as he solves cases of murder and kidnapping from the 1970’s and 1980’s. Descending into what he calls the “abyss” of crimes committed by the government of General Augusto Pinoch et, Guzmán must confront his past collusion with the military government and face his own doubts about

whether or not Pinochet should be indicted.

When/Where: Sunday, May 4 3:00 PM & Monday, May 5 6:00 PM at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas in San Francisco; Tuesday, May 6 6:30 PM at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley

Info: For tickets or more information, please visit www.sfiff.org or http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/12

“Fixing Failed States—A New Approach to Development, Security and State-building”

Who: Ashraf Ghani, Chair, Institute for State Effectiveness; former Finance Minister, Afghanistan’s Transitional Administration.  Clare Lockhart, Director, Institute for State Effectiveness

Event: Today between forty and sixty nations, totaling two billion people, have either collapsed or are on the brink of failure. Encompassing the world’s worst problems, the international community has devoted billions of dollars, yet these efforts have not succeeded. In their new book, Fixing Failed States, Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart consider why past efforts have not worked and argue that only an integrated state-building approach, assigning responsibility equally among the international community, national leaders, and citizens, can heal these failing countries. Ghani and Lockhart have taken an active part in the effort to save failed states for many years, serving as World Bank officials, as advisers to the U.N., and as high-level participants in the new government of Afghanistan.

When: Monday, May 12; Registration: 5:30pm; Program: 6pm

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: FREE; Students: $5; Nonmembers: $15

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/13

“Leadership in Unexpected Places”

Who: Harriet Fulbright, President, J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center

Event: Today between forty and sixty nations, totaling two billion people, have either collapsed or are on the brink of failure. Encompassing the world’s worst problems, the international community has devoted billions of dollars, yet these efforts have not succeeded. In their new book, Fixing Failed States, Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart consider why past efforts have not worked and argue that only an integrated state-building approach, assigning responsibility equally among the international community, national leaders, and citizens, can heal these failing countries. Ghani and Lockhart have taken an active part in the effort to save failed states for many years, serving as World Bank officials, as advisers to the U.N., and as high-level participants in the new government of Afghanistan.

When: Tuesday, May 13; Registration: 5:30pm; Program: 6pm

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: FREE; Students: $5; Nonmembers: $15

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/14

“Saving Lives, Creating Hope: America’s Response to the Global HIV/AIDS Crisis”

Who: Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator

Event: Ambassador Mark Dybul will join the Council to highlight the release of the Saving Lives, Creating Hope documentary. The program will feature a trailer documenting a tale of bold leadership and the transformational power of partnerships in the fight against global AIDS. Ambassador Dybul will also discuss implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest international public health initiative in history dedicated to a single disease. The U.S. government has committed $18.8 billion to the fight against global HIV/AIDS, exceeding its original commitment of $15 billion over five years. This commitment reaffirms the United States’ historic leadership in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

When: Wednesday, May 14; Registration: 5:30pm; Program: 6:00pm.

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: Free, Students: $5, Nonmembers: $15

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Peninsula Chapter, 05/14

“Security or Freedom: The Costs of Counterterrorism

Who: Laura Donohue, Fellow, CISAC and the Center for Constitutional Law, Stanford Law School

Event: How has counterterrorist law in both the United Kingdom and the United States impacted the balance of power between the branches of government? In the aftermath of a terrorist attack political stakes are high: legislators fear being seen as lenient or indifferent and there is a heightened potential to grant the executive broader authorities without thorough debate. The judiciary’s role, too, is restricted: constitutional structure and cultural norms can narrow the courts’ ability to check the executive at all but the margins. To shed light on the impact of combating terrorism in liberal, democratic states, Laura Donohue, author of The Cost of Counterterrorism: Power, Politics, and Liberty, joins the Peninsula Chapter to discuss the cost of counterterrorist law in the U.K. and the U.S., arguing that the damage caused is significantly greater than first appears.

When: Wednesday, May 14; Refreshments: 7:00pm; Program: 7:30-9:00pm

Where: Los Altos Youth Center, 1 South San Antonio Rd., Los Altos

Admission Costs: FREE to all

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/20

“Security or Freedom—The Costs of Counterterrorism”

Who: Laura Donohue, Fellow, CISAC and the Center for Constitutional Law at Stanford Law School

Event: How has counterterrorist law in both the United Kingdom and the United States impacted the balance of power between the branches of government? In the aftermath of a terrorist attack political stakes are high: legislators fear being seen as lenient or indifferent and there is a heightened potential to grant the executive broader authorities without thorough debate. The judiciary’s role, too, is restricted. To shed light on the impact of combating terrorism in liberal, democratic states, Laura Donohue joins the Council to discuss the cost of counterterrorist law in Britain and the U.S., arguing that the damage caused is significantly greater than first appears.

When: Tuesday, May 20; Registration: 5:30pm; Program: 6:00pm.

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: Free, Students: $5, Nonmembers: $15

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/21

U.S. Involvement in the Middle East: The Origin and Consequences”

Who: Lawrence Freedman, Professor of War Studies, King’s College, London

Event: In recent decades the Middle East has proved to be one of the most troubling as well as important parts of the world. The war in Iraq, the standoff with Iran, the regular failures of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and the continuing danger posed by al Qaeda all testify to the complexity of the region’s problems. In his new book, A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East, Lawrence Freedman argues that three pivotal events in 1979 helped establish the foundations for U.S. involvement in the Middle East that would last for thirty years without offering any straightforward or bloodless exit options. Sir Lawrence joins the Council to make the case that these three strategic choices and subsequent crises led the United States into the predicament that it finds itself in today.

When: Wednesday, May 21; Registration: 11:30am; Program: 12:00pm.

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: Free, Students: $5, Nonmembers: $15

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/21

“Film Screening—Iraq: The Lost Generation”

Who: Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Award-winning filmmaker and journalist

Event: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is the first non-American journalist to be awarded the Livingston Award and the youngest recipient of the One World Media Broadcast Journalist of the Year Award. Obaid-Chinoy began her career with New York Times Television where she produced “Terror’s Children,” which won her the Overseas Press Club Award, the American Women and Radio and Television Award and the South Asian Journalist Association Award. She has produced and reported on more than twelve films around the world and traveled to Afghanistan to report for Channel 4 and CNN. Obaid-Chinoy visits the Council to present her film, Iraq: The Lost Generation, which investigates the largest refugee crisis in the Middle East since the Palestinian diaspora of 1948.

When: Wednesday, May 21; Registration: 6:00pm; Film Screening & Discussions: 6:30pm.

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: Free, Students: $5, Nonmembers: $15

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Marin Chapter, 05/21

“War in Your Living Room: The Legacy of Ace Combat Photographer Norman Lloyd”

Event: For forty years, Norman Lloyd covered war for CBS News wherever he could find it. From Cambodia to Panama, from Vietnam to Iraq, his footage made Americans aware of the grim truths of frontline combat, whether on “60 Minutes,” “The CBS Evening News,” “48 Hours,” or scores of special programs and documentaries. Mr. Lloyd “embedded” himself with small Army and Marine units long before the term was in common use, shared the risks of common soldiers, and was himself wounded in action in Cambodia. This program will include gripping scenes of jungle warfare from Norman Lloyd’s coverage of the U.S. incursion into Cambodia, as well as tapes shot four decades later in Iraq. The latter vividly convey the unfamiliar roles our servicemen have had to assume in a radically new form of warfare. Mr. Lloyd and Lieutenant Colonel Steve Countouriotis, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, will provide commentary and answer questions.

When: Wednesday, May 21; Reception (with hors d’oeuvres): 6:00 PM, Program: 7:00 PM

Where: Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA 94957

Admission Costs: Council Members: $12, Nonmembers: $15, Students with valid ID: $5; PREPAID RESERVATIONS REQUIRED BY MONDAY, MAY 19

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/22

“Higher Education and the Next Generation of Middle East LeadersWho: Sharmeen Obaid” Who: David Arnold, President, The American University in Cairo

Event: Why, when public opinion of the United States in the Middle East is reaching new lows, has American higher education in the region never been more popular? Despite the U.S.’s deteriorating status among many Middle Easterners, the demand for American universities in the region has increased. Arabs still hold the American style liberal arts education in very high regard. After almost five years as president of the American University in Cairo, David Arnold reflects on the next generation of Arab leaders and the role of American higher education serving as an educational and cultural bridge between the Arab world and the United States.

When: Thursday, May 22; Registration: 5:30pm; Program: 6:00pm.

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: Free, Students: $5, Nonmembers: $15

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/27

“Tactics of Hope: How Social Entrepreneurs Are Changing Our World”

Who: Wilford Welch, Author, Tactics of Hope: How Social Entrepreneurs Are Changing Our World; Priya Haji, CEO & Co-Founder, World of Good, Inc.; David Hopkins, Former Director, International Affairs Center of the Roosevelt Institution, Middlebury College

Event: A hundred years from now, people will look back at this time, and realize that it marked the beginning of a dramatic shift in human consciousness regarding our social and environmental actions on earth. In Tactics of Hope, Wilford Welch and David Hopkins highlight the initiatives of twenty-seven social entrepreneurs who have identified solutions to alleviate the plight of the extreme poor and to restore the environment. Welch and Hopkins will be joined by one of the entrepreneurs featured in the book, Priya Haji, CEO & Co-Founder of World of Good,Inc., a company which buys and sells fair trade crafts. The program will be an interactive evening for participants to discuss strategies and tactics that can transform personal concerns into concrete actions. This event is limited to students and young professionals with no more than 5 years of working experience.

When: Tuesday, May 27; Registration: 5:30pm; Program: 6:00pm-8:00pm

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: FREE; Reservations required.

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/28

“Diplomatically Speaking—What Does the World Expect of the United States?”

Who: The Honorable Mauricio Eduardo Cortes Costa,Consul General, Republic of Brazil; The Honorable Abderahman Salaheldin, Consul General, Arab Republic of Egypt; The Honorable Rolf; Schütte, Consul General, Federal Republic of Germany; The Honorable B.S. Prakash, Consul General, Republic of India

Event: As the United States enters the final six months before November‚ presidential elections, what does the rest of the world anticipate from the next administration in Washington? How is the U.S. viewed from abroad, and is its foreign policy meeting the expectations of the world? The Consul Generals of Brazil, Egypt, Germany, and India join the Council to offer four regional perspectives on how the U.S. is perceived internationally and what opportunities will come with new leadership in the White House.

When: Wednesday, May 28; Registration: 5:30pm; Program: 6:00pm.

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: Free, Students: $5, Nonmembers: $15

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

 

 

Event @ the World Affairs Council, 05/29

Qui si parla Italiano—Young Professionals International Forum Italian language Reception 

Event: Mingle with other Italophiles while sampling savory food prepared by a local Italian restaurant. A distinguished guest will address members of the Young Professionals International Forum’s long-running Italian Dinner Group, as well as other interested Italophiles, at this serata speciale. The spoken language at this event is Italian at the advanced, intermediate and beginner level, with many native speakers also expected. Ci Vediamo!

When: Thursday, May 22; Registration: 6:00pm; Reception: 6:30pm.

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Admission Costs: Council Members: $10, Nonmembers: $20

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/

Transcend borders.

 

Art Exhibit @ the World Affairs Council,

April 4, 2008June 30, 2008

"The Other Afghanistan"

Who: Gloriann Liu, Photographer

Event:   Khaled Hosseini, Author, The Kite Runner, and Goodwill Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Gloriann Liu's lens gloriously brings Afghanistan and its people to life. In this breathtaking exhibit, she captures the raw, ethereal beauty of this war-scarred land and the unique spirit of its proud and resilient people.

When: Friday, April 4- Monday, June 30

Where: World Affairs Council, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 312 Sutter St. San Francisco

Info: 415.293.4600; info@wacsf.org; http://www.itsyourworld.org/