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2003 Conference on World Affairs The Panels Overview Monday - April 7, 2003 The Power of Bad Ideas PANELISTS: Simon Hoggart, Philip Plait, Jean Houston, Limor Shiponi Best Ideas We need more bad ideas. And good ideas. And intermediate ideas. Spawn lots of ideas and see which ones last. One idiot, in one minute, can say something that takes three days to debunk. Opening Plenary SPEAKER: Richard Rodriguez Best Ideas "Assimilation Happens!" Put two cultures side by side, as we do everywhere in America, and they will blend. "Humans have a cruel choice, work or daytime television." Anonymous wit. (Part of intro.) "There is a Spaniard making love to an Indian in your burrito." Who Drinks Tang Anyway: The Positive Effects of NASA on the Public PANELISTS: Andy Ihnatko, Seth Stoshak, Barbara Thompson Best Ideas The view of the Blue Ball from space is quite humbling. NASA for a small relative cost, provides us all with a great sense of adventure. The Current State of Our Collective Soul PANELISTS: Patricia Elliott, John Grim, Dorothy Marcic Best Ideas The message is not always in the logical content of the words. It may be in the emotion of the presentation and delivery. What we hate, is the teacher. This is similar to "If you are pointing a finger at someone else, look where the other three fingers are pointing." Mothers Acting Up MOTHERS: A group of mothers from Boulder. Not a panel Best Ideas Read alternative media to get the facts! [But why is alternative media considered more fact-worthy? Everybody has a bias.] Instead of protesting things happening now, direct our energies to something productive we can do about the future. Tuesday - April 8, 2003 Does My SUV Make Me a Supporter of Terrorism? PANELISTS: Roger Ebert, Achim Ködderman, Harvey Wasserman Best Ideas We do not pay the full cost of gas or of using our roads. If there was a way that people paid the actually cost of driving an SUV (road damge, fuel economy) then people might drive them less. Better planning of communities might allow for better use of public transit. Women Are The Root of All Evil: The Paralyzing Power of an Idea PANELISTS: Thereza de Motta, Emily Shihadeh, Limor Shiponi, Mary Evelyn Tucker Best Ideas "How many women are necessary to make a great man?" Find out what you do best and build around it. We Can Speak For Ourselves, Thank You: Women Who Have Had Abortions PANELISTS: Woman Two, Woman One Best Ideas Keep sharing stories. It is easy to have an uninformed opinion on the matter. Learning about real people and real stories can change your perspective. The right kind of sex education can make a difference, but, at the same time, there is always something you don't know. CLOWN PLENARY: What is Your Love Strategy? CLOWN: Patch Adams Best Ideas Love is one of the most important things in life and few people have a strategy for it. Someone should find a love strategy big enough for Saddam Hussein and George Bush. Difficult Conversations: Dialogue Versus Debate PANELISTS: Liz Weir, Dorothy Marcic, Jane Bullock, Sonya Hamlin Best Ideas Listen with your heart as well as your mind (or ears). What the other person is saying can be as important as what they are feeling and trying to convey. (Variant on what was learned in The Current State of Our Collective Soul, as noted above.) Television has conditioned us to hate dead air. We are not used to pauses in conversations and by trying to fill them with words we impair our ability to listen. Wednesday - April 9, 2003 PLENARY:Zambia and the Democratization of South Africa SPEAKER: Kenneth Kaunda Best Ideas "Love Thy Neighbor" also means that you do not allow them to exploit you or others. Many challenges lie ahead, but we all need to play together like a jazzband, with talent and passion. War as a Catalyst for Reforming the Arab World PANELISTS: Kathy Christison, Laurent Guérin, Achim Ködderman, Jim Smith Best Ideas Idea ----- Policy ----- Implementation. War is an implementation tool. Rather that just come out against war, understand the ideas and the policy and come up with a better idea. Are we out to reform the Arab world, or just to create conditions for reform. Looking at the tools of love or war, ask what conditions are created. The Arabs need to be the ones to reform the Arab world. Thursday - April 10, 2003 Technology and National Security PANELISTS: Jane Bullock, Bill Christison, Alan Harris, Jim Smith Best Ideas Telemarketers know more about us than the security people at airports. We probably need a multi-national foreign policy, if only to get people talking about what it might be like. Corporations in Schools: Philanthropy or Marketing PANELISTS: David Bernknopf, Bill Clifford, Achim Ködderman, Barbara Thompson Best Ideas Education is our highest social good and should not be for sale. Do we have the resources to avoid bad resources? How do we know when we are buying a lemon? (For example a lemon drink with no lemon.) It is what you do with the money that matters. Risking Your Life for Science PANELISTS: Paul Andres, Philip Plait, Seth Stoshak, Jim Smith Best Ideas "A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for." Many times people are not risking their lives for science. Either they do not know the risks, or worse, they are risking your life for science. Current Conflicts Caused by Colonialism PANELISTS: Kathy Christison, Kenneth Kaunda, Ken Rutherford, Anthony Sinclair Best Ideas Some cultures have been fighting for thousands of years and it is not likely we can change that in just couple of years. The quest for objectivity in a situation can some at the cost of some sensitivity to people's feelings. Friday - April 11, 2003 What Makes Great Stories PANELISTS: Frederick Marx, William the Nack, Stephanie Oswald Best Ideas Hearts most tested are the most beautiful. (Like diamonds under pressure.) You should have a plan, but you need to be able to modify it if something interesting comes along. U.S. Hegemony: Leadership or Just the Finger PANELISTS: Janet Breslin-Smith-Ellsberg, Daniel Ellsberg, Anthony Sinclair, Jim Smith Best Ideas Whatever Whatever Too