Human Rights expert speaks about U.S. torture policy. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch and co-editor of Torture: Does it Make Us Safer? Is It Ever OK?, spoke about torture, its implications and rationale, at the Aspen Book Series in New York on December 14. Detailing his views on the impact of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees by the United States, and the damage done to the rule of law when the U.S. openly defies it, thereby inviting others to act likewise, Roth made the case for an absolute ban on torture. Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter provided additional commentary.

Economists and Politicians Review Tax Policy in America. A group of policymakers, experts, and business leaders gathered at the Aspen Institute on December 9 to discuss the Tax Reform Panel's recommendations and their implications for savings in America. This Initiative on Financial Security (IFS) breakfast roundtable discussion featured former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), and Congressman George Miller (D-CA) as speakers (pictured at right with IFS executive director and moderator Lisa Mensah). Read more.

Top US War and Intelligence Journalists Speak out about War Coverage. Leading journalists convened at a recent Homeland Security Initiative roundtable at the Washington, DC, headquarters of the Aspen Institute to discuss the US news media’s coverage of the events leading up to President Bush’s declaration of war against Iraq in 2003. In the time since 9/11 and, subsequently, the start of the Iraq War, the role and efficacy of the American media has been a central debate in national and international discourse. Hence Feet to the Fire: The Media After 9/11, the latest book by reporter and media critic Kristina Borjesson (pictured at right with Homeland Security Initiative director Clark Kent Ervin), in which she interviews 21 prominent and key news reporters and writers for their opinions on the coverage leading up to the Iraq War. Read more.

Panel Discusses the U.S.-India Strategic Relationship at the Institute's Washington Offices. Four former Indian ambassadors, Naresh Chandra, K. Shankar Bajpai (pictured at right with moderator Walter Isaacson), S. K. Lambah and G. Parthasarathy, joined India's retired Air Force chief S. Krishnaswamy, and columnist C. Raja Mohan to share their perspectives on the developing partnership between India and the United States at the Institute's Washington, DC headquarters on Wednesday, December 7th, 2005.  The six panelists, who were members of a delegation co-hosted by the Aspen Strategy Group and the Confederation of Indian Industry, expressed enthusiasm for the recently-announced U.S.-India nuclear deal and recognized the congruence of American and Indian perspectives on several major political, economic and social issues. Read more.

Rehabilitation of Louisiana Wetlands Discussed at Institute Roundtable. Retired Army Corps of Engineers Gen. Gerald Galloway, Mark Davis, executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt (pictured together from left to right) offered a variety of approaches to restoring coastal wetlands at a December 5 dialogue at the Institute’s Washington, DC offices. All agreed, though, on the need for coordinated state-federal planning and an integrated overarching vision rather than project-by-project spending. Read more.

War on Terrorism/Iraq Debated at Institute Forum. Two differing perspectives on dealing with both the threat of terrorism and the future course of US policy in Iraq were offered at a roundtable at Institute headquarters in Washington, DC, on Thursday, December 1, 2005. As an installment of the roundtable series sponsored by the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund, CSIS Senior Fellow Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, both former Clinton NSC terrorism experts, and co-authors of the new book The Next Attack: The Failure of the War on Terror and a Strategy for Getting It Right (Times Books) sparred with AEI Resident Fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht (author of The Islamic Paradox: Shiite Clerics, Sunni Fundamentalists and the Coming of Arab Democracy (AEI Press). Pictured above, from left to right, are Reuel Marc Gerecht, Institute EVP Elliot Gerson, who served as moderator, Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon. Read more.

Physicist Lawrence Krauss Attempts to Uncover an Extra Dimension. As part of the ongoing Aspen Book Series, author and physicist Lawrence Krauss spoke about his recent book, Hiding in the Mirror: The Mysterious Allure of Extra Dimensions, from Plato to String Theory and Beyond (Viking), at the Institute’s Washington, DC headquarters on Wednesday, November 30. At the lunch, Krauss, the Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics and director of the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Case Western Reserve University, took on topics including the clash of religion and science, science education in America, and the existence of an extra dimension — the subject of Hiding in the Mirror. Read more.

The Dalai Lama Speaks at Special Aspen Lunch. During his recent Washington visit, His Holiness the Dalai Lama served as the special guest at a roundtable lunch held at the Institute’s headquarters office. His opening remarks focused on his notion of universal responsibility. “Basically, universal responsibility is feeling for other people’s suffering just as we feel our own. It is the realization that even our enemy is entirely motivated by the quest for happiness,” he said. “We must recognize that all beings want the same thing that we want. This is the way to achieve a true understanding, unfettered by artificial consideration.” Read more, watch an excerpt using windows media player or real player, view photos of the event.

Senators John Warner and Joe Lieberman Call for Bipartisan US Foreign Policy. At a time when this nation's partisan divide seems to be ever widening, Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) teamed up at a recent installment of the monthly Aspen Roundtable Series in Washington, DC, sponsored by the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund, to speak out about the critical need for bipartisan policymaking. Both senators offered foreboding predictions for the situation in Iraq if America's political setting continues to be as divided as it is currently. "I anticipate a very stressful situation unless this Government takes strong control in Iraq—120 days from now is when serious stress on where we're going to go will begin to set in," said Warner. "I don't want to see us digging around anymore for who did what in 2003," said Lieberman, stating that continued partisan finger pointing is damaging the public support that is needed to complete the efforts in Iraq and finally bring US troops home. Read more.

Twenty-Second Annual Awards Dinner. On November 3rd, 2005, friends and supporters of the Aspen Institute gathered at the Metropolitan Club in New York to honor GE Chairman & CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt (far right), who received the Aspen Institute Corporate Leadership Award and William D. Budinger (right), founder of Rodel Inc., and the inspiration behind the Aspen-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership, recipient of the Henry Crown Leadership Award. More information and pictures.

Senate Staffers Convene at New “Socrates Washington” Seminar and Debate Civil Liberties. The Socrates Society recently convened 12 top Senate staffers from both sides of the political aisle and 12 leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors at the Institute's Wye, MD, campus on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay for a weekend of discussion regarding "Civil Liberties in a Time of War." Acclaimed journalist and legal scholar Jeffrey Rosen moderated the weekend discussion. Attendee Jeff Weiss, managing director of ASAP Ventures, shares his thoughts on the Socrates weekend.

NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell Holds Forth at Aspen Book Talk. In a recent conversation with Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson at the Institute’s Washington, DC headquarters, NBC Newswoman Andrea Mitchell opened by candidly discussing the hotel bombings that had just occurred in Amman, Jordan. “This is as bad as it can get in terms of the fragile alliances that we have tried to develop,” said Mitchell, referring to Jordan’s support of the US. “It’s a very powerless time for the [US]. We’ve got to get Iraq won.” Mitchell was on hand as the featured guest at the Institute’s monthly book series to sign copies of her new memoir, Talking Back…to Presidents, Dictators and other Scoundrels (Viking, Sept. ’05). Read more.

Uncommon Leadership for Common Values: Bipartisan Cooperation on Human Rights. On November 1 the Global Interdependence Initiative teamed with Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), pictured at right, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to co-host a conference that explored prospects for political cooperation on a range of international human rights concerns. The four morning sessions filled Georgetown University’s largest auditorium as leading Republicans and Democrats did battle against partisan roadblocks to progress toward stopping human trafficking, helping refugees, preventing genocide, and pushing for religious liberty. Read more.

Business and Society Program Issues Ranking of Top 30 Global MBAs. More than 150 business school deans and faculty, business leaders, and media representatives attended the New York City launch event for Beyond Grey Pinstripes 2005, a survey and ranking of global business schools. Beyond Grey Pinstripes identifies those MBA programs that do the best job at preparing students to manage the increasingly complex social and environmental aspects of business. The rankings, methodology, and information on thousands of courses at hundreds of schools can be found at www.beyondgreypinstripes.org.

Key Stakeholders Discuss the Urgent Need for Clean Water Worldwide. Seeking ways to highlight a problem that causes one death every 15 seconds, the Aspen Institute’s Program on Energy, the Environment, and the Economy (EEE) hosted an October 19 roundtable discussion of A Silent Tsunami: The Urgent Need for Clean Water and Sanitation, at the Aspen Institute’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The report — a result of a conference last April attended by leaders from business, government, and environmental and faith-based organizations — outlined constructive recommendations for the US government and other US organizations to provide water services and to make the World Water Forum in Mexico City next March a success. Read more.

Is US Prepared for Another Disaster? Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Prevention and Preparation. “Nothing is more important from a public policy standpoint than the issue of preparedness,” said US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff at a recent Aspen Institute roundtable. “I think as we look backward and forward in terms of preparedness,” he continued, “what we need to do has not changed: We need to build preparedness in civilian organizations.” Read more.

Middle East Strategy Group Welcomes Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo. On October 19, 2005, the Aspen Institute Middle East Strategy Group welcomed Yossi Beilin (pictured far right) and Yasser Abed Rabbo (pictured near right) to a roundtable meeting to discuss the situation in the Middle East following Israeli Prime Minister Sharon’s recent disengagement from Gaza and selected settlements in the northern West Bank. Yossi Beilin, leader of the Yahad party in the Israeli Knesset, and Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Culture and Information, discussed the upcoming elections in the Palestinian territories and the role of the United States in the peace process. More information on the Middle East Strategy Group.

South African Jurist Edwin Cameron Talks on HIV/AIDS. South Africa Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Edwin Cameron read from his memoir Witness to AIDS during a luncheon sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Institute. This event marked the US release of Justice Cameron's book. The reading was followed by a panel discussion featuring Gay McDougall, executive director of Global Rights, Partners for Justice; Princeton Lyman, Chair, Advisory Board of the Institute’s Global Interdependence Initiative and Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; Terje Anderson, executive director, National Association of People with AIDS; and moderated by ABC News producer Marie Nelson.

Bill Clinton Lauds the Africa Leadership Initiative. The Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) received special mention at the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative Summit held September 15-17, 2005. Speaking while presenting a certificate of commitment to Ali A. Mufuruki, Chairman and CEO of Dar es Salaam based Infotech Investment Group LTD and a co-founder and chairman of ALI - East Africa, President Clinton praised what he called the good and necessary work being done by ALI towards equipping emerging leaders in Arica with the knowledge tools they need to lead in the globalisation era. "I am very grateful for what you are doing in Africa and wish you the best of success," said Mr. Clinton. Read more.

Chris Whittle Offers a Fresh Take on Education. On October 5, the Aspen Book Series featured Edison Schools founder and CEO Chris Whittle, pictured far right, who discussed his new book, Crash Course: Imagining a Better Future for Public Education. He was joined by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), pictured near right, and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson, who moderated the conversation. He began by asking Whittle to outline the legislation that he thinks should, ideally, follow No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Read more.

State Department Counselor Philip Zelikow Defines US Role in Post-9/11 World. Philip Zelikow, US Department of State counselor and former executive director of the 9/11 Commission, recently addressed a crowd of international dignitaries, foreign policy experts, and media during the first Fall 2005 installment of the Aspen Roundtable Series. In this lunch session, one of ongoing monthly events sponsored by the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund, Zelikow led discussion on the US role in the world, focusing on the new world order in the 21st century. Read more.

Palestinian Children in War-Torn Gaza Raise Money for Hurricane Katrina Victims. A group of more than 300 Palestinian high school students in Gaza raised $405 to aid New Orleans children affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Middle East Strategy Group (MESG) recently delivered the students’ contribution, which was matched and doubled by MESG member Samir Shawa, chairman of the Al-Hani Cultural Foundation. Ten high school students led the fund-raising efforts and gathered donations from eight schools in the area. "The students wanted to express their gratitude for US assistance to Palestinians," says Shawa, "and also show a demonstration of solidarity with the victims of hurricane Katrina." Read the letter from Mr. Shawa.

Cambridge Philosopher Simon Blackburn Speaks on Truth at Book Talk. The Institute kicked off a new season of the Aspen Book Series by hosting Simon Blackburn, University of Cambridge philosophy professor and author. At the Institute’s Washington, DC, headquarters, Institute president Walter Isaacson spoke with Blackburn about his new book, Truth: A Guide (Oxford University Press, Aug. 2005), in which he explains the timeless philosophical debate over the existence of absolute truth versus relative truth. Read more.

Business & Society Program Deputy Director Nancy McGaw Featured on Webcast. Nancy McGaw discussed BSP's work with executive educators on a webcast sponsored by the Institute of Executive Development on September 15, 2005. View the slide show from the webcast (free site registration required).

World Leaders Discuss The Challenge of Global Poverty. Former Vice President Al Gore and Tanzanian entrepreneur Ali Mufuruki participated in the panel discussion "The Challenge of Global Poverty" in Aspen on Wednesday, August 3. The discussion was part of the conference "The Private Sector in the Fight Against Global Poverty", sponsored by the Brookings Center for Global Development and the Institute's Ethical Globalization Initiative.

2005 McCloskey Speaker Series in Aspen, CO

The Aspen Meadows campus hosted these notable guests for the 2005 McCloskey Summer Speaker Series:

• Neal Lane, former White House science advisor and former director of the National Science Foundation
• Bob Schieffer, CBS News anchor and moderator of Face the Nation
• Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey Governor and administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
• Henry Louis Gates, Jr., WEB DuBois Professor of Humanities, Harvard University
• Bob Woodward, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author; assistant managing editor, The Washington Post
• Michael Eisner, CEO, Walt Disney Company
  
  

Sens. Lieberman and McCain Receive Institute's 2005 Public Service Award. On August 6, the Aspen Institute presented its annual Public Service Award to Senators Joseph I. Lieberman and John S. McCain. The senators participated in a discussion in the Benedict Music Tent in Aspen, Colorado with Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson. They offered insights and opinions on global warming, troop withdrawals from Iraq, and US treatment of imprisoned combatants and noncombatants (Senators sound off on Iraq, torture and climate change, The Aspen Times; Climate change unites senators, The Denver Post). Mr. Isaacson's announcement of the award. Past recipients of the Institute's Public Service Award.

Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, was the guest in a conversation with Institute President Walter Isaacson to discuss various US foreign policy issues before a public audience of some 200 at the Institute's Paepcke Building in Aspen.

Program Explores Social Enterprise. The Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program recently hosted a conference in Aspen on the broad range of institutions that undertake economic ventures to address social problems: "Enterprising Organizations: New Approaches to Social Problem-Solving" Pictured at right: Gar Alperovitz, Founding Principal, The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland  Read more

"U.S. Donors to Pay Departing Jews for Gaza Greenhouses" The New York Times (August 13, 2005)
JERUSALEM, Aug. 12 - A consortium of wealthy Americans has put up $14 million to compensate Jewish settlers for their Gaza Strip greenhouses, and the facilities will be handed over to the Palestinians as soon as the Israelis leave, participants in the deal said Friday. Continue this article

Helping Low Income Families Retire
With the debate over retirement security heating up, the Initiative on Financial Security (IFS) hosted a bipartisan roundtable on Capitol Hill exploring how Congress can expand retirement savings incentives for low and moderate income households.  IFS Executive Director Lisa Mensah led a discussion with guest: Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Rep. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland and Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut.

The Press: Shaping Public Policy
The Communications and Society Program and the Global Interdependence Initiative hosted a roundtable discussion of the role of the press in America’s public policy. Leading the discussion were scholar Timothy Cook and former Washington Post ombudsman Geneva Overholser. The roundtable discussed issues of the press and public policy, emanating from a recent book, The Press, edited by Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson.

Aspen Institute Names Emerging Leaders as 2005 Henry Crown Fellows
Santa Barbara, Calif., June 7 -- The Henry Crown Fellowship Program today announced its 2005 Class of Henry Crown Fellows. The Henry Crown Fellowship is designed to engage the next generation of leaders in the challenge of community-spirited leadership. It brings together young executives and professionals under age 45 who have already achieved conspicuous success in their chosen fields of endeavor. More

Shakespeare in Aspen
The Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, DC, will present its production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in conjunction with the Aspen Ideas Festival. The production, directed by Mark Lamos and restaged by Jef Hall-Flavin, will run at the Aspen District Theatre from July 6 through July 10, 2005. The production will play at 8 pm Wednesday through Saturday, and at 1 pm Saturday and Sunday. To purchase tickets, please call 970.920.5770 or visit the Wheeler Opera House website. Read more.

Gen. Anthony Zinni Offers Frank Appraisal of US Strategies in Changed World Construct
The Aspen Roundtable Series––monthly lunches sponsored by the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund––concluded its spring season with a featured talk by Gen. Anthony Zinni, US Marine Corps (Ret.). Gen. Zinni is a former commander-in-chief of the US Central Command, in charge of all American troops in the Middle East, and has also been a special envoy to the Middle East early in the first term of the George W. Bush administration. Read more.

Harry Blackmun Biographer Linda Greenhouse Holds Forth at Aspen Book Talk
The Institute welcomed New York Times Supreme Court correspondent Linda Greenhouse at the season’s final Book Series installment at its Washington, DC headquarters offices. Greenhouse discussed her latest book, Becoming Justice Blackmun, a look at the life and career of Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun (who spent 16 summers moderating the Institute's Justice & Society seminar and asked to have a portion of his ashes strewn on the Institute's Aspen Meadows campus). Read more.

Steven Brill Warns of Continued Vulnerabilities at Homeland Security Roundtable
Clark Ervin, director of the Institute’s Homeland Security Initiative, recently hosted a roundtable discussion featuring noted Court TV founder and homeland security activist Steven Brill, author of After: How America Confronted the September 12th Era (2003).

Brill stressed that the nation cannot protect itself against every conceivable threat and must work to manage risk, determining what level of danger is unacceptable and acceptable. We must learn to live with an acceptable level of danger, and work at the margins to reduce our vulnerability to unacceptable danger. Brill also lamented the lack of accountability for the failures that led to 9-11, referring to the missteps made by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the FBI in particular that led to the vulnerabilities that the 9-11 terrorists were able to exploit. Finally, he called for efforts on the part of homeland security experts to arrive at a consensus as to a set of metrics by which progress (or the lack thereof) in homeland security can be measured. Such metrics would be an enormously valuable tool in evaluating programs and allocating scarce homeland security dollars. The Homeland Security Initiative will take the lead on such an effort in the very near future. Read more.

Conference Examines Future of Community Development Finance
The Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) recently co-sponsored a conference in Chicago with the Federal Reserve System that focused on the future of community development and community development finance. Entitled “An Informed Discussion: Achieving Sustainability, Scale and Impact in Community Development Finance,” the conference was the first of seven such events to be held at various reserve banks and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors over the next two years. The conference series is based on a paper, co-written by EOP Director Kirsten Moy, which was published in a recent edition of the Chicago Fed publication Profitwise News and Views. View conference proceedings. Learn more about Moy’s work.

Jim Lehrer Discusses New Novel and Champions Moderation in Today’s Political Discourse
As part of the Aspen Book Series, the Institute hosted author and PBS news anchor Jim Lehrer (pictured at right) at an evening reception to discuss his latest novel, The Franklin Affair, in a dialogue with Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson. The two explored the nuances of Benjamin Franklin—the subject of both Leherer's new historical fiction mystery and Isaacson's 2003 Benjamin Franklin: An American Life—and also talked about the craft of writing, the current filibuster debate in the Senate, and how the partisanship of today's political landscape compares with that of Franklin's time. Attendees of the event, which took place at the Institute's Washington, DC headquarters, included Mr. Lehrer’s novelist wife, Kate Lehrer, Washington Post Chairman Donald E. Graham, and NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr.

Justices O’Connor, Scalia and Breyer Offer Views on US Constitution and More at National Archives Program
The Aspen Institute recently collaborated with the Philadelphia-based National Constitution Center and the National Archives to co-host a rare public conversation among Supreme Court Associate Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer before an assembled audience of 300+. Tim Russert of NBC News served as moderator. The Justices shared their views on the true meaning of the Constitution, whether international law ought to have any influence in helping to determine the Court’s case rulings, as well as what actually goes on behind closed doors at the Court. To learn more about their discussion, read a New York Times article covering the event.

Walter Isaacson Assesses a Growing Population Shift to the Exurbs and a Resulting Political Divide
Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson appears on the Weekend America radio program with host Barbara Bogaev to discuss what accounts for the cultural and political distinctions emerging between “aspirational” cities and “cultivated” cities in America today. (Listen to the program, Real Player required).

Author Jim O’Toole Tells How to Live a Good Life According to Aristotle’s Wisdom at Aspen Book Fete
The Aspen Book Series recently featured leadership expert and longtime Executive Seminar moderator Jim O'Toole discussing his new book, Creating the Good Life: Applying Aristotle's Wisdom to Find Meaning and Happiness. In a conversation conducted by the Institute's EVP for Seminars and Public Programs Elliot Gerson, O'Toole used diverse contemporary examples, including well-known individuals from Gandhi to cycling champion Lance Armstrong and the late Elliot Richardson, to illustrate the philosopher's practicality and resonance in modern society. "Happiness comes from a complete life well-lived," he said, "with an emphasis on complete." After the conversation, he took questions from the audience and signed copies of the book.

Life of Seminal Physicist Robert Oppenheimer Examined at Aspen Book Talk
Co-authors Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin captivated an Aspen Book Series audience as they discussed the subject of their new biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.  The authors discussed Sherwin’s more than 25 years of fastidious research and interviews, the remarkable genius of the man considered to be the father of the atomic bomb and the political backlash against him after he warned of the dangers of nuclear weapons proliferation.  The standing-room-only crowd included Polish Ambassador Przemyslaw Grudzinski,  Presidential biographer Robert Dallek, and atomic diplomacy historian Gar Alperovitz.

Israel’s Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority’s Mohammed Dahlan Find Common Ground at MESG Dinner Forum
On April 6, the Institute’s Middle East Strategy Group (MESG) gathered a group of top Israeli and Palestinian leaders for a public forum and benefit dinner at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. The events followed a day of intense meetings at the Institute’s DC headquarters, with discussion focusing on the group’s mission, investing in specific civic and business projects to create stakeholders for peace and make Israel’s disengagement in Gaza a successful building block in the larger peace process. Photos of the event.

Christine Todd Whitman Urges Moderates to Action
Former New Jersey governor and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christine Todd Whitman recently gave a frank insider's view of the battles raging in the Republican party at an Aspen Book Series program centered around her new book, It's My Party, Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America. Whitman described in detail the conflict between "social fundamentalists," who are changing the focus and nature of the party, and moderates, who remain true to the core Republican principles. Citing recent close elections as examples that each vote counts, she urged moderates to participate in elections and make their voices heard.

Governor Mark Warner Emphasizes Reform in American Schools
At a recent Aspen Institute roundtable, Governor Mark Warner (D-VA) spoke to education policy heavyweights about his work to maintain the competitiveness of American schools and his desire to develop comprehensive reform in American high schools. Sharing both setbacks and successes he has faced as governor of Virginia and Chairman of the National Governor’s Association, he stressed the importance of “making higher education more accountable for K-12 education” and quantifying the preparedness of our teachers and the student dropout rate.

Attendees included Chellie Pingree, President of Common Cause; Marguerite Sallee, President and CEO of America’s Promise; Bob Wise, President of Alliance for Excellent Education; and Kerstin Eliasson, Deputy Minister of Science and Education of Sweden.

Homeland Security Experts Agree Much Work Remains to Protect America
The Aspen Institute Homeland Security Initiative recently held its inaugural roundtable on the state of America's security since 9-11, with the discussion centering around the improvements in national security measures that have been made since 9-11 and those yet to be made. Among the distinguished experts attending were Cathleen Berrick, US Government Accountability Office; Dr. James Jay Carafano, The Heritage Foundation; Frank Cilluffo, The George Washington University; David Heyman, Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Michael Wermuth, RAND Corporation.

9-11 Commissions Hamilton and Lehman Review Whats Happened Since Their Reports Release
9-11 Commission Vice Chair Lee Hamilton (pictured at left) and Commission Member John F. Lehman (pictured below) held forth at a recent lunch at the Institutes Washington, DC, headquarters office to assess how effectively the Commissions recommendations have thus far been implemented. The dialogue focused on the pivotal assignment of John Negroponte in his new role as director of National Intelligence, the sharing of information among government agencies, the merits of strong public diplomacy, and the need for serious reform in how Congress performs its oversight and appropriations responsibilities on intelligence and national security matters. Read more.

NEA Chair Dana Gioia Captivates Audience with Poetry and Ballad at Aspen Book Series Discussion
National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia, a poet and author, participated in a lively evening conversation with Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson. Gioia discussed the decline of the print form and its impact on poetry and literature, observing that American poetry has been reincarnated as a more populist, predominantly oral form, as exemplified in rap, poetry slams, cowboy poetry, and other modern phenomena. "Does this mean [rapper] Snoop Dogg is the new Wallace Stevens?" quipped Gioia. His response: "Not yet."

Media Assessed and Awards Bestowed at THE WEEK Forum and Dinner co-hosted by Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute partnered with THE WEEK magazine to celebrate THE WEEKs second annual Opinion Awards in Washington, DC. The afternoon began with the Opinion Forum at the Freer Gallery of Art on the National Mall, which featured two panel discussions before a 300+ audience, the first titled Opinion Journalists: Serving What Master? and the second, The War in Iraq: Patriotism, Propaganda and the Making of Public Opinion. Following the forum, some 200 people gathered at the grand Mellon Auditorium for the awards dinner, which included a brief keynote address by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and a panel discussion, Is the Media Elite Out of Touch with America? (more).

"Spare a House, Save the Peace" by Walter Isaacson, The New York Times (Feb. 18, 2005)
ISRAEL is scheduled, thanks to the bold disengagement plan of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, to withdraw its troops and settlements from the Gaza Strip this summer and turn the area over to Palestinian control. The way things are now planned, this welcome step will be accompanied by an unwelcome sight: that of Israeli forces bulldozing and destroying the homes, greenhouses and other business and agricultural assets built by the settlers, rather than leaving them for the Palestinians. Continue this article.

Searching for Strategy on the Crisis in Darfur
The Institute's Global Interdependence Initiative (GII) with special assistance from the Program on Energy, the Environment and the Economy, hosted a broad-ranging discussion on the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan and what the United Nations, the U.S. government, American advocacy groups, and the media can do to stop the killing and punish the killers.

The discussion featured H.E. George A. Obiozor (above right), ambassador to  the United States from Nigeria, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the African Union; Charles J. Brown, president and CEO of Citizens for Global Solutions; Omer Ismail, co-founder of Darfur Peace and Development; Ray Suarez of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; and Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby. Ambassador Princeton Lyman, the Ralph Bunche senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former director of the GII, moderated the discussion.

Institute Measures Charities Response to Tsunami Disaster
The Institutes Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program (NSPP) and the Global Interdependence Initiative (GII) co-hosted a compelling roundtable discussion on the response effort and the continuing challenges facing charities after the Tsunami disaster in South Asia. 

Featured guests included Jan Egeland, under-secretary general for Humanitarian Affairs at the United Nations (top right); H.E. Devinda Subasinghe, Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States; Serge Duss, director of Public Advocacy for World Vision; and pictured at right, Kathryn Bushkin, executive vice president of the United Nations Foundation; and Marsha Evans, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, (along with Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson and NSPP Director Alan Abramson). Read more.

Senator Dianne Feinstein Probes Potential for Middle East Peace at Institute Dialogue
US Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was the featured guest at a lunchtime gathering of some 35 foreign policy and Middle East experts at the Institute's Washington, DC headquarters to discuss the prospects for achieving a comprehensive Middle East peace.

At this Aspen Roundtable Series lunch, sponsored by the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund, participants heard anecdotes, analysis, and rare insights from Senator Feinstein as well as others around the table, including: Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA); Mitchell Reiss, director of Policy Planning at the US Department of State; Elizabeth Dibble, deputy assistant secretary of State for Near-East Affairs, Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt; and Toni Verstandig of the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation. Inspired by the work of the Institutes newly established Middle East Strategy Group (MESG), the discussion tackled such issues as the opportunity presented by Yasser Arafat's death, recent political developments in Israel, the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on US relations around the world, and the complex challenges posed by Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.

A U.S. Dialogue Heard Around the World
The December 2004 issue of Environment magazine reviewed A Climate Policy Framework: Balancing Policy and Politics, the report of an Institute meeting held in association with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. In an article titled " A U.S. Dialogue Heard around the World, Bo Kjelln, former chief climate negotiator for the Swedish Ministry of Environment, wrote that The Aspen report demonstrates the scope and quality of the reflection on climate change policy that exists in the United States."

Clark Ervin Joins Aspen Institute to Lead Homeland Security Program
The Aspen Institute recently announced the appointment of Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general of the US Department of Homeland Security, as a Paul H. Nitze Fellow and director of the newly established Aspen Institute Homeland Security Initiative. Mr. Ervin begins his new position immediately. "It's a great honor to have someone who is so smart and wise, and who was so closely involved during the creation of the Homeland Security Department, to be leading our efforts to explore this field," said Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. Read more.

Aspen Institute Announces New Fellowship Program for Emerging Political Leaders
The Aspen Institute has announced the establishment of a new fellowship program designed to provide the nations top young political leaders with a better understanding of Americas underlying democratic principles and to help foster civility in the public arena. The program, to be known as the Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership, is to be funded by the Rodel Foundation and based at the Institutes headquarters office in Washington, DC. Former US Congressman Mickey Edwards will serve as director of the new program. Read more.

Aspen Institute Collaborates with Americas Promise to Raise Profile of Childrens Agenda in National Policy
The Aspen Institute recently joined America's PromiseThe Alliance for Youth to convene some 26 public officials, civic-minded venture capitalists, and other leaders for an innovative dialogue on how to go about making America's youth a priority in the nation's public discourse. The Washington, DC, discussion was hosted by Jean and Steve Case, CEO and chairman respectively of the Case Foundation. To see more pictures and read more, click here.

Israeli Ambassador Shares Both Hope and Concern at Aspen Roundtable Lunch Dialogue
Israeli Ambassador to the US Daniel Ayalon served as the featured guest at the December installment of the Aspen Roundtable Series--lunch discussions on the evolving role of the US in the world sponsored by DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund--and offered both hope and concern over the precarious situation in the Middle East. Given a post-Arafat world, Ambassador Ayalon suggested that there is a strong chance for a "paradigm change" as it relates to Israeli-Palestinian relations and, importantly, that the US [and EU] could soon have an enhanced role to play in the peace process. Read more.