Boston Bureau

Kennedy School Plays War Game over Oil

Reverend Wright versus Kennedy School of Government

Men in dark suits (and two women) gather to play War Games at Harvard yesterday. That's former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin gesturing as the oil price per barrel reaches $140 and the price per gallon $4.55. Above, from left: Joe Lockhart (portraying Counselor to President), Meghan O'Sullivan (as Sec.of State), Lawrence Summers (as Sec. of Treas.), Robert Rubin (as National Security Advisor), Ashton Carter (as Sec. of Defense), Philip Sharp (as Sec. of Energy), and Joan Dempsey (as National Intelligence Director).    Photo by Martha Stewart

Wright is entertaining; Harvard is theatrically brain-scratching

By Libby Hughes, Cape Cod Today's Boston Bureau

While Reverend Wright was seizing center stage at the National Press Club in D.C. on Monday April 28 and stealing the spotlight from all three presidential candidates, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government was playing a War Game, called "Oil Shockwave" on Monday evening. The Reverend was entertaining, but the Harvard Forum theatrics were sophisticated and brain-scratching.

A fictional cabinet meeting

Under the sponsorship of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard's Forum was playing to an audience of mostly males in dark suits and ties. There were a few women and a handful of students scattered here and there, but a crowded press riser.

The setting was a simulated cabinet meeting of seven cabinet members with an hour and a half to report and recommend to the president on two crises. There were seven high-backed leather chairs behind the arc of joined desks. Behind them were three high-tech panels in orange and red, displaying a map of the world on each panel. Portraits of  the stars of the panel were rotating in the center panel.

The cast

The cast was star-studded, drawing upon members from Bill Clinton's cabinet, Bush appointees, and other luminaries from Harvard's Kennedy School and Belfer Center.

From left to right, here they are:

Joe Lockhart (former Spokesman for President Clinton) playing Counselor to the President

Meghan L. O'Sullivan (former Special Assistant in Security to President Bush) played Secretary of State

Lawrence H. Summers (former President of Harvard) played Secretary of the Treasury

Robert E. Rubin (former Treasury Secretary for Clinton) played National Security Advisor and moderator.

Ashton B. Carter (former Assistant Secretary of Defense) playing the Secretary of Defense.

Philip Sharp (former U.S Representative from Indiana) playing Secretary of Energy.

Joan Dempsey (former Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board for Bush) playing National Intelligence Director.

The first fictional crisis

There were two crises, reported by GNN (Global News Network) from video screens. They were both fictional. Off the coast of Turkey, there was an oil tanker hi-jacked and sunk by terrorists in the Bosporus Straits, which leads to Russia and Europe through the Black Sea. Another ship full of civilians was sunk also. The fictional cabinet has 90 minutes to discuss what they will report to the American president.

Exploring solutions

Robert Rubin, seated in the center, posed the questions to the six other cabinet members. Immediately, Ash Carter as Secretary of Defense gave a briefing, elaborating on the attack. He informed them that three million barrels of oil a day pass through the Bosporus. He calculated that it would take until 2010 to surface and reroute the tankers through the shallow waters. By January of 2009, he estimated that the cost of a barrel of oil would rise to $160.

Rubin asked the panel, "What do we do now? Do we dispatch troops or suggest conservation or consult the world and bring them with us?"

What do we do?

As Secretary of the Treasury, Larry Summers offered a slick and immediate response. "Let's not do anything stupid. We don't have to establish price controls, but we could use a bio-fuel strategy. What will happen if the price rises? By the way, I think the price will soar to $210 a barrel. We should quietly work with the Saudis for more production. But most of all, we should stay cool," he warned.

As Secretary of Energy, Phil Sharp advised, "Defer a decision and get ready. The Europeans will put restraints on right away."

Media reaction

Meghan O'Sullivan, playing the Secretary of State, said, "We have to consider the media's reaction and what the behavior will be in the Middle East. We need to determine our policy while making sure that domestic politics in Turkey do not get inflamed. We want to know what the embassies out of Brussels will say."

Carter jumped in, "What will our position be long-term with a chain of events. We need to act to secure other oil sources."

Summers says no price controls

Rubin suggested rationing. Summers rejected the idea of price controls. "It would be a big mistake by lowering prices and going into our reserves because people and traders will hoard. Let the prices go up-people will figure it out."

Global problem with global solutions

As a group, they decided that oil supplies are a global problem and require a global solution. All agreed that the president should not act quickly, but with caution. The one suggestion for conservation that they all rejected was to enforce the speed limit to 55 miles an hour. They also agreed that strong leadership was the key, giving the country and the world reassurance while consulting with the world about reserves.

Summers said, "Don't drop bombs. Higher taxes would reduce dependence."

Second fictional crisis

The next fictional crisis came from GNN, which reported that there was a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, attempting to overthrow the House of Saud. Rubin asked the group whether to act immediately or wait?

Let Saudis do it

Ash Carter suggested, "We would have to depend on the Saudi Army to secure the oil fields. Only as a last resort would the Saudis ask for our support."

O'Sullivan thought the president should talk with King Abdullah before taking action.

Summers jumped in, "Don't evacuate Americans right away. Some want to stay. It's harder if we evacuate. If we show that we are "for" the Saudis that also makes it harder. We have to be careful how to manage diplomacy."

Strong leadership

Lockhart said, "The president should look at his legacy and change his energy policy and explore other sources of energy. We have to get used to higher prices. The president has to get serious. We should advise the president of the gravity, but he must show flexibility and strong leadership. Let the president be the agent of change."

Questions

There were six questions and then the War and Oil game was over after two hours. Apparently there are six scenarios that are offered to professors to use in their college classrooms to make young people aware of our vulnerability and to do something through these virtual tour exercises. These scenarios were developed by Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE).

Over and out from the Forum.

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Cape author writes Obama bio

Obama is the Real Deal

By Libby Hughes (author of an upcoming biography on Obama)

Barack Obama may be a gifted and eloquent speaker, but he is authentic-the real deal. Forget race, forget party allegiance, and look at character. What you see is what you get.

My main vocation in life is writing biographies about international heroes and heroines for young adults. These are people they can admire and hope to emulate. The list is not very long. Obama is the 13th, and there are only two women: Margaret Thatcher and Benazir Bhutto (recently translated into Vietnamese). The one on Obama is titled Barack Obama: Voice of Unity, Hope, and Change. It will be out the end of May or early June.

Like many Americans, I was wowed by Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention (on right) in Boston. He was a fresh voice with some unifying ideas and memorable phrases. When he announced his candidacy for president, I knew this was a role model for young adults (and adults, too). Thus, I embarked on the research.

But what drew me even more to the biography were some common ties that made me feel connected to Barack Obama. He had lived in the enchanted land of Indonesia as a boy from the age of six to ten. Barack's mother had met her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, at the University of Hawaii. After they married, Ann Dunham Obama Soetoro and her young son followed Lolo to Jakarta, where they lived in primitive conditions on the outskirts of that capital city.

My Indonesian tie to Barack

I, too, had lived in Jakarta the same year Barack and his mother arrived in 1967. My former husband was writing a book about the coup of Sukarno, who had flirted seriously with communism. Temporarily, we moved with our babies from Hong Kong to the heart of Jakarta in an embassy official's house to do the research.

At their home in Jakarta Barack's mother, Ann Dunham, poses in this undated photo with her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, their daughter, Maya, and a young Barack Obama.Indonesia has a mystique about it. At night, the frangipani bushes and trees fill the air with a sweet fragrance similar to our honeysuckle. At that time, the street lamps were a soft yellow, leaving people, bicycles, and cars in shadowy silhouettes. The Indonesian people radiate such a sweetness and are soft-spoken. They are irresistibly likable. The turmoil of the coup (which happened in 1965) and the students, who had protested so vigorously, had subsided.

When young Barack landed at the Jakarta airport and drove with his parents to their new home, he would have seen what I did-the water buffaloes sloshing through rice paddies; he would have sniffed the fragrant air and felt the humid days; he would have seen the women in colorful batik long skirts and blouses and men in batik shirts; he might have attended shadow puppet shows at dusk and heard the gamelon (like a xylophone) orchestras playing as they sat cross-legged behind their instruments. It was all very mysterious and romantic.

Barack's mother found a job at the American Embassy, teaching English to Indonesian businessmen. Her greatest concern was for her son's education since they couldn't afford to send him to a private school. First, he attended a Catholic school and then a public Muslim school. The religion was of no interest to her, but the academics were. To supplement his learning, Ann Soetoro sent to America for education tools. Every morning she would awaken Barack at 4:00am to work with flash cards. Barack yawned, but cooperated through most of these sessions.

Finally, when Barack was ten-years-old, Mrs. Soetoro decided to send him back to Hawaii to live with her parents. There, he went to the Punahou School to complete his high school education. Like many teenagers, Barack had some identity problems, but eventually outgrew them as he attended Occidental College in California, Columbia University, and Harvard Law School.

My second tie was Kenya

The other common tie I felt to Obama was to Kenya, the land of his father. We had lived in Africa six years and in Kenya a couple of times. So, I was familiar with the landscape. Outside of Nairobi is a hilly area called the Highlands where coffee and tea farms grow in abundance. Barack Obama senior began his childhood in a village near Victoria Falls. He was part of the Luo tribe, known for its superior intelligence. Eventually, he moved to Nairobi to attend a British school. Then, because of his intellect, two American ladies wrote 26 letters to American universities to find a scholarship for him. He was accepted at the University of Hawaii where he met 18-year-old Ann Dunham in a Russian class. They married and lived with her parents. Young Barack was born in August 1961. Then, Barack won a scholarship to Harvard University in economics. The family couldn't go with him. They divorced. Father and son met only once after that when Barack was ten-years-old. He missed the father figure desperately.

And so, in the biography, there is some history and description of Indonesia, Kenya, and Hawaii-the backdrops to Barack Obama's extraordinary life thus far. Caroline Kennedy has endorsed Barack Obama because she claims that his political values are closest to those of her father. A landslide of endorsements have come for that very same reason.

You should know that Barack Obama can turn a bitter enemy into his best friend. The last line of my book refers to his nickname, "Healer-in-Chief." Whether he wins or not, his future will be spectacular, be it in the Oval Office or elsewhere.

Libby Hughes is an author of 17 books and 45 plays. Her musical about Ginger Rogers was produced in Palm Desert, California, in February and will go to LA in 2009. She writes columns for Cape Cod Today as their Boston Bureau chief and drama critic.  See her website.

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Cape Playhouse Plans Music, Music, Music for 2008

The Cape Playhouse: Grande Dame of Summer Theatres
Holds her head high for upcoming 82^nd season

By Libby Hughes, Cape Cod Today Drama Critic

The golden days of the summer "straw hat circuit" brought magic and excitement to New England theatres in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. When plays and musicals closed on Broadway, they were packaged with stars and spent a week in each of these theatres: the Ogunquit Playhouse and Skowheg Playhouse in Maine; North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA; South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, MA; Falmouth Playhouse on Cape Cod; Cape Playhouse in Dennis, MA; Westport Country Playhouse in CT; and the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA; and sometimes the Melody Tent in Hyannis, MA. It was a true summer theatre circuit.

No straw circuit today

Today, in the 21^st century, the circuit of old doesn't exist. Each theatre does its own thing either with a repertory company or packaged shows out of NYC. Audiences in each area have different tastes and the theatres cater to them. During the straw hat decades, stars could easily be paid at least $50,000 a week for their appearances.

Star system once upon a time

And the Cape Playhouse in Dennis was no exception. When this reviewer started covering the Cape Playhouse in 1977, a parade of stars from Ginger Rogers to John Ritter to Jean Stapleton marched across the boards, commanding large salaries. Every week, the legendary Margaret Adams, Publicity Director, held press conferences in the stage restaurant for interviewing the celebrities. This was great copy for the daily and weekly newspapers. Stories about celebrities sell newspapers as they do today. One could never be overwhelmed by a star because there was a story to write and a deadline to meet. It was at the Cape Playhouse I met and interviewed Ginger Rogers. Eleven years later, she tracked me down and asked me to come out to her house in California to edit her autobiography.

Cape Playhouse is the Grande Dame

The Cape Playhouse is something of a star itself. It is the oldest summer theatre in America and deservedly is called the Grande Dame. In 1927, a young theatre enthusiast, Raymond Moore, landed in Provincetown to fulfill his dream of becoming a landscape painter. Instead, he joined an acting group. Intense competition existed between his group and the famed Provincetown Players with whom Eugene O'Neill was associated. On a whim, Moore bought an old Unitarian Meeting House, bought it for a few hundred dollars, and moved it to a three and a half acre cow pasture in Dennis. Beneath a torrential rainstorm on July 4, 1927, the Cape Playhouse opened its doors. The rest is history. The only time it closed was between 1942 and 1946.

Transitioning to non-profit

In the past few years, the Playhouse has been transitioning between a commercial venture to the 501 C3 non-profit status along with the rest of its campus compatriots: the Cape Museum of Fine Arts and the Cape Cinema. This non-profit status has caused a difficult financial strain on the Playhouse. They will now be dependent on grants, patron gifts, subscribers, and ticket sales to keep them afloat. With a roller coaster economy and the price of tickets climbing, the task has not been easy even though tickets are half or even a quarter the cost of Broadway. Nevertheless, their confidence has not been dampened in the face of some financial bumps.

At a press reception on April 17 for nine Board members, patrons, and the press, James Wilson, President of the Board, said, "We are making an early announcement of our 82^nd season at the Cape Playhouse, and we are broadening the Cape Center for the Arts and making it more diverse with the Cape Museum of Fine Arts, the Cape Cinema (where they did simulcasting of eight operas from the Metropolitan Opera during the winter.), the Stage Café, internships at the theatre, and the Dennis Walk for the Arts. The over-all thrust seems to be for educational projects.

Evans Haile outlines season

Artistic Director Evans Haile drove up from NYC for the reception and introduced the upcoming season of four musicals and two comedies that run from June 23 through Sept. 13. "Tired of the political debates and want to experience joy with friends?" he asked. "Music is the way to escape from politics. Why should you come to the theatre? Because it's something you can't see at home. It is live right in front of you. You see it as it happens."

Then, Mr. Haile introduced the man from the opening show, "Marc Salem's Mind Games." Salem entertained the reception group with a sample of his mind games: memory, money, consonants and vowels, espionage, and watches. Amazement and applause for his magical and humorous tricks from a trained psychologist. It promises to be a different and entertaining kick-off to the theatrical season.  The playhouse website.

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Rotarians learn about Muslims in Massachusetts from Bilal Kaleem

Young Muslim Talks to Rotarians about Islam
There are 120,000 Muslims in state and 70,000 in Boston

By Libby Hughes, Boston Bureau of Cape Cod Today

The Rotary Club of Boston meets weekly at the 80-year-old Boston Park Plaza Hotel in the heart of the city. Beneath gold leaf ceilings and ornate chandeliers, history oozes from the footsteps of celebrities and U.S. presidents who have crossed through its lobby. Every meeting room on the fourth floor has the name of some historic personality such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The Rotarians meet in the Alcott Room, named for the 19th century author and teacher of transcendentalism, Bronson Alcott. His daughter, Louisa May Alcott, was equally famous as an author of the classic novel "Little Women."  These philanthropic and dedicated Rotarians invite speakers of interest and note for its members and visitors.

After a three-course hearty luncheon on April 16, their speaker, Bilal Kaleem (on right), Executive Director of the Muslim American Society, Boston Chapter, gave a brief overview of Islam and Muslims in the Boston area.

Personal biography

With a pronounced American accent, the young and handsome Mr. Kaleem gave a biographical sketch of his life thus far. His parents came from India, He grew up in Zambia and Nigeria before living in New York between the ages of nine and eighteen. He majored in computer science at M.I.T and worked for Oracle and Goldman Sachs briefly before becoming involved with the Muslim American Society.

Muslims in the West

Kaleem gave an honest assessment of Muslims living and working in a Western Society. "Muslims are not engaged in public service. Usually, they are doctors and engineers, but absent from the media or law or politics. Although they are masters of religion, they are struggling to find their identity," he acknowledged.

As Executive Director of the Muslim Society, Kaleem is attempting to change that dynamic by organizing a community for guiding young Muslims under the age of thirty. A Freedom Foundation would engage in civic affairs. Finally, an Outreach Center would be responsible for educating others about Islam, including Hollywood and the media.

What is Islam?

In a short time, Kaleem tackled the big question, "What is Islam?" "There is a Creator that brings meaning and purpose to life and allows us to grow to our full potential-spiritually and morally-by seeking guidance through God. Improving ourselves and serving others is worship. By coming closer to God means complete justice and accountability. Every prophet has brought core teaching within this framework," he said.

Muslims in Massachusetts

After giving this capsulated definition, Kaleem moved on to more localized comments. "In Massachusetts there are 120,000 Muslims and in Boston, 70,000. Some are indigenous-coming as slaves from West Africa. From 20% to 40% of those slaves were Muslims. The rest of Muslims here today are more diverse and come from Pakistan, India, Bosnia, Turkey, and other distant places," he stated.

Muslim desires

Muslims want to be educated and use their talents. "If they work hard, Muslims feel that they can get ahead. Fifty percent of Muslims make over $50,000 in a yearly income and feel they have achieved the American Dream. However, Muslims are very materialistic and want the finest things in life," he admitted. "Only six percent of polled Americans feel they have achieved the American Dream."

Selfless service

"We want to help the elderly, young people, and to become involved in the political process, but we have challenges. In a survey by Gallup,  40% of average Americans feel that Muslims should have ID cards. The public has a lack of perspective about these challenges," he said.

Recommending a book

There were several questions. One questioned whether Muslims educated in the West can be correctly compared to Muslims living in the region of the Middles East."There are no easy answers," he replied. However, he did recommend a book, titled What do a Billion Muslims Really Think by John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, based on six years of data from Gallup polling.

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Cape book author, cc2day correspondent, knew and wrote about Bhutto

A father's words, “Benazir, never become bitter no matter what happens to me or you.”The news of the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan rocked the world in total shock and great sadness for her husband and three children. They had been exiled in London and Dubai for many years. The sorrow also extends to her supporters of the Peoples Party of Pakistan (PPP) and for the cause of democracy, which she and her father long championed in Pakistan. The military and religious leaders were powerful forces for a Muslim woman to challenge, even though the name “Bhutto” is revered in her country.

Her story resembles that of Joan of Arc, who became a martyr in the cause of freedom for her beloved France. Benazir, too, will become a martyr for the cause of freedom in her beloved Pakistan. She was burned at the stake by a suicide bomber on December 27, 2007. When she returned to her country in October, it was a risk. Pakistan was roiled in violence from terrorists, but Bhutto felt invincible and eschewed warnings about personal attacks. Bhutto had planned to challenge Pervez Musharraf and her former rival, Nawaz Sharif, in the January 8, 2008 elections. She had just given a political speech in Rawalpindi—a place where her father had been imprisoned—when the fatal blow happened.

Benazir Bhutto greets fellow Radcliffe alumna Anne Fadiman in front of a portrait of Bhutto's father in this 1989 photo.An arranged but happy marriage 

Upon her release when Zia was killed in an air crash, she agreed to an arranged marriage to Asif Zardari, a wealthy business man from the same province as her family.  It was a very happy marriage, and they had three children. When they married, Asif had to promise to serve his wife who was serving her country. A unique promise in a Muslim country.

Asif was put in jail for eight years for allegedly taking kick-backs for business deals he made with the West. Benazir proved this was not so in a court of law in both Switzerland and Canada. The Pakistani authorities offered to release her husband if she would promise never to re-enter politics. Of course, she would not make such a promise.

Her two terms as Prime Minister of Pakistan
 

   Author Libby Hughes spent 40 minutes with Benazir Bhutto in her office in Islamabad in 1989, asking questions for her biography: Benazir Bhutto: from Prison to Prime Minister.
   Bhutto gave Hughes a Pakistani carpet, which is in her Cambridge office.
   Bhutto also wrote the afterword to the book.

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Kite Runner novelist talks

                                    By Libby Hughes, Boston Bureau of Cape Cod Today

The threat of snow did not discourage the crowd coming to the Performing Arts Center in Duxbury on Sunday afternoon December 2. They were there for two reasons: to raise money for a girls' school on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan and to hear "The Kite Runner" author speak. For $50, a seat was for the balcony; for $100, a seat was in the orchestra; for $250 a place was assured at the dinner table with Khaled Hosseini. And guess what? $54,000 was raised for the school.

Heroic Afghan woman

Who was responsible? The Rotary Club of Duxbury and Razia Jan of Marshfield. Razia is a woman who moved from Afghanistan to America in 1970. She has a tailor and dry-cleaning business in Duxbury. However, her heart has never strayed very far from her homeland, especially for humanitarian purposes since 9/11. She made blankets and care packages for the soldiers and sent 30,000 pairs of shoes to the children of Afghanistan. Who says one person can't make a difference? And the Rotary Club was a big part of it.

Entertainment

The program was full of entertainment before the main speaker appeared. A silent auction preceded the event. At 2:00pm. Razia Jan in traditional Afghani costume welcomed the audience and worked her way through a list of thanks for supporters. She expressed her displeasure at the way the British teacher in Darfur has been treated.

The New Hope Dancers-young girls in bright, colorful Afghani costumes-performed a traditional dance from Afghanistan. Then a composer and singer from Afghanistan, Eisan Aman, brought out his three piece band. They sat cross-legged on a handsome carpet from Afghanistan. One  man was on the keyboard, another on drums, and Aman on the accordion as well as the lead singer. All the music was in original Afghani style, composed by Aman.

Three Muslim kisses were exchanged at greetings and partings.

The author himself

Then it was Khaled Hosseini's turn. The successful author is youngish (early 40s) slight in build, and somewhat shy. He seems more comfortable with words on a page than in front of an eager audience. Hosseini now has two bestselling novels: The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. In fact, he is a trained medical practitioner.

Liberating Afghan women

His speech had two angles: one for the reason of his coming (fundraiser for the Zabuli School for Girls) and his second novel that deals with the treatment of women. While in Afghanistan in 2003, a man told him how a woman was arrested in 1920 for not wearing her veil in public and was beaten. The story stuck in his mind and was the seed for his second novel. Hosseni traced the history of war and the roller coaster treatment of women in Afghanistan.

1920 King was ahead of his time

In 1920, King Amanullah wanted fair treatment for women. He also wanted to encourage monogamy with a law of protection for women where they could file a claim if they were forced into an unhappy marriage. The King established education for women in 1921-primary education-and also education abroad to show a rising generation of promise. The government had to face the rural countryside where women were faceless and voiceless. By 1929, the backlash against the enlightened king was overwhelming.

In the 1950s and 1960s there was another attempt to liberate women. Under the communists in the 1970s, the Soviets tried to emancipate women, making 16 the legal age for girls to marry and 18 for the men..An Afghan rebellion resulted. The Taliban wanted to return to the old ways and turn tribal life into national law.

Today there is more gender freedom. Women can work in schools and government, but must wear the burqa.

Questions

At question time, this writer asked him if he had any future plans to write a novel about events stemming from the 9/11 event. He replied, "It has been written about so much. I shied away from it. But it is a fascinating topic." I asked how he combined a medical career with a writing career? "I had to put the medical career on hold."

Someone wanted to know how his books were received in Afghanistan? "Overwhelming. I get dozens of emails every week from Afghanistan with positive remarks. Even emails from Europe. I have my attackers, too. But I feel it is the job of the novelist to speak about our lives instead of mass contentment."

Because he is not a woman, a questioner wanted to know how he could write a novel from a woman's viewpoint. "I was crippled by that thought and almost gave up the idea. Then, I looked at women as human beings with hopes and dreams and this helped me."

He was asked who are the people of the Taliban? "There are two types: one group comes out of poverty, may have a grudge against the government, and wants to get paid more. The other group is ideological and virulent. We had never heard of suicide bombing in Afghanistan until 2005."

What inspired The Kite Runner? "I wrote a short story about kite running and it turned into the basis of the novel. The inspiration for the title of the second novel came from a poem."

For anyone who hasn't read The Kite Runner, it will rip your heart out. I read it twice and wept both times. It is perfectly constructed and beautifully written with all the elements of human nature and drama-class distinctions, friendship, betrayal, regrets, family secrets, and love.

In more peaceful times, author Libby Hughes drove from the breathtaking beauty of Kabul through the historic Khyber Pass to Peshawar, Pakistan.

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China goes to Charm School

By Libby Hughes, Boston Bureau for Cape Cod Today

Despite the whoopee for the Red Sox triumph on Tuesday evening's celebration, the Kennedy School of Government attracted a full house for the Forum's Malcolm Wiener Lecture by James Kynge (on right), author of China Shakes the World.

The audience was silent, hanging on every word from the British journalist who has spent 20 years in Asia with both ears attuned to the peaks and valleys of China's Cultural Revolution and evolution.

Journalists in the mid-1980s

Kynge reminisced to the mid-1980s for foreign journalists in China. "There were rituals for them," he said. "There was a lunch to welcome incoming journalists where rules and regulations were explained, accompanied by a warning-their reports would not have the smallest effect on the development of the country. At the farewell lunch, there would be a plate presented to the journalist with a picture of the Great Wall of China engraved across it. The wall symbolized friendship."

Or did the Great Wall symbolize an impenetrable wall to the inscrutable facts of the real China?

Free markets and democracy?

After Dung Shao Ping's rule (1977-1997), China began to open its doors to a freer market. Chinese students were allowed to study abroad; tariffs came down; changes showed economic strength. It became apparent that China wanted to resemble the West. The West misinterpreted these changes by thinking that China was becoming a capitalist country, heading towards democracy and human rights. Oh no, that was not the case. They were clinging to their Communist Party control, but with an appetite for economic expansion.

China becomes a big investment player

In the last few years, according to Kynge, China has been changing and engaging in the world economy, watching the price of the dollar, the future, and Asia's business cycle. China has become a big player in the purchase of banks-specifically, the Standard Bank in South Africa. And yet, their entry into foreign markets is limited because the Chinese don't have a legal system to govern their purchases. Nevertheless, they have $1.4 billion in reserves and are looking for foreign investments. But China is unreformed politically. In fact, James Kynge alleges that the government of China is more powerful today than it was in 1949.

He said that the Communist Party and government manage U.S. relations. They were instrumental in getting North Korea to drop their nuclear power threats. China engages in military exercises with Russia. They are demanding that the United States withdraw from their bases in Asia.

Local disobedience in a big country

Because of growing domestic nationalism in China, young adults are being taught and warned against foreign domination, including Japan. Still, China is dependent on the world to supply them with oil, gas, and technology. Therefore, China is launching a soft power offensive of charm because of hosting the Olympic Games in August of 2008 when a deluge of 20,000 journalists will land in China.

The 15 questions came mostly from Chinese students. Here are some.

• 1. The first questioner asked if the Party Congress still had power. Kynge thought they were important, but not significant since more localities across China are becoming disobedient. He said there had been 87,000 incidents of disobedience.
• 2. The second question dealt with the Olympics and journalists. Again, Kynge noted that journalists are now free to travel anywhere in the country without prior permission. China hopes that the foreign press will show China as much more modern. A big step.
• 3. Another questioner wanted to know if China had any connection to the Middle East. Kynge thought that China's appetite for oil was the driving motive although they were making some attempt to show compassion in Darfur.
• 4. Climate changes affect China? The answer indicated that there is a crisis in pollution. China burns two billion tons of coal a year. Coal is 70% of the country's energy.
• 5. How do the Chinese youth respond to trends? Kynge noted that the Chinese youth are interested in material advancement, but they need spirituality and friendship to balance that against the desire for making money.
• 6. The inevitable question about Taiwan and China was raised. "China has toned down its language against Taiwan and is using charm instead. Taiwan only wants de facto independence. China wants to bring Taiwan back into the fold, but they know America will come to Taiwan's defense. Over time, economic convergence will pressure Taiwan into reunification."
• 7. What about the Chinese stock market? With a slight smile, Kynge stated that the stock market has had a dramatic rise in China, but predicted that it wouldn't fall before the Olympics. Understated laughter.

And so, the Chinese giant wields a club of charm. America, BEWARE.
__________________

Editor's note: Author Libby Hughes lived in Asia for six years.

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Dowd keeps 'em laughing

By Libby Hughes, Boston Bureau for Cape Cod Today

From the press riser at the Kennedy School of Government's Forum, I kept staring at the back of Maureen Dowd's head as she waited to be introduced as the key speaker. Her hair is red (she's Irish) and straight, falling about four inches below her shoulders. The hair isn't a bright red or an auburn red. It is a chestnut roan red --like that of a star race horse. The highlights sparkled under the spotlights around the Forum, filled with an audience of a mature vintage, but mixed with eager students in the bleachers above.

NY Times columnist

Maureen Dowd is a famous, acerbic columnist for The New York Times. Not in the venomous style of Molly Ivins, but more satiric. Often the verbal stabs are swathed in sweet and sour phrases or quips or Dowd word creations. She won a Pulitzer Prize for her commentaries in 1999 about the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair. The reason for her presence at Harvard was to give the annual Theodore H. White Lecture on Press and Politics, sponsored by the Joan Shorenstein Center.

Nyhan prize to Dana Priest

Before her speech began, the third David Nyhan prize for political journalism was presented to Dana Priest, reporter for The Washington Post for her coverage of the Walter Reid Hospital scandal in D.C. and for the torture expose in Iraq by the American military. She shyly accepted the framed certificate, said a few words and thank you, and sat down.

Alex Jones introduced Dowd

Alex Jones, a former New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner, made a lengthy introduction, which told us a little about Maureen Dowd. He told how Arthur Gelb, managing editor, had discovered her unique writing talents in the newsroom. Jones described how she wrote her columns when he was at the Times. "First, she would put her quotes up on the screen. Then, she would sit and sit and sit. She seemed to go into a trance. Finally, the reporting and language would come."

In 1995, she wrote an op-ed piece that scourged the Clintons. She was equally scathing of George W. Bush in later columns. According to Jones, these pieces earned her the nickname of "The Cobra."

Fear of speaking

Finally, Dowd stepped to the podium in a sleeveless black outfit, looking like a model as her long red bangs fell across her right forehead and eye. She promised to talk fast because of the upcoming Red Sox game. She admitted to feeling great dread at coming to speak and felt a little like Marie Osmond. She had heard that Harvard folks ignore visitors and she feared they would "ignore me." Her friend Michael Kinsley told her that he had a fear of no one showing up at his talks and hoped that there would be a no-show. In his stage fright, he said that he couldn't remember the name of the person he had sat next to for two hours at dinner. A far worse thing, however, would be a small introduction by Lee Bollinger. RAUCOUS LAUGHTER.

Declaring herself from the old school of journalism, Dowd told what advice her mother had given her when she became a journalist. "Get on the front page and use the word "allegedly" a lot."

Shakespearean drama at White House

Dowd compared the politics of the White House to a Shakespearean drama, full of sex and envy. She cast Dick Cheney in the role of Iago ( without charm) in the play "Othello." She alluded to Cheney as devious and Rummy as Darth Vader. She noted the political dynasties of the Roosevelts, Kennedys, Bushes, and  probably--Clintons. She wondered whether it will be Hillaryland or Rudyville in 2009. "If Rudy Guiliani is a Red Sox fan, anything is possible." She briefly compared Barack Obama to Adlai Stevenson for his self-image as "no image." Dowd also had taken a swipe in her column at Obama's big ears and discovered she had hit a vulnerable chink in Obama's armor.

Her lines rolled out fast and "trippingly on the tongue" as polite laughter rolled after her one-liners. When the question period came, she was much more effective. Being tied to her written speech was inhibiting or maybe covered up her nervousness.

There were 13 questions. Here are some.

One gentleman wanted to know if she cared whether we win or lose in Iraq and if her Bush-hatred meant she was not patriotic.

A.     Many of the men in my family have been in uniform. My father was a cop and my brothers were in the Coast Guard. My mother is overly patriotic on July 4. Yes, I am patriotic. I challenge government to tell the truth. APPLAUSE.

A student asked if she wrote as an American or as a columnist when on deadline..

A.    A deadline is terrifying. In the last years, the stories have been amazing. George W. and Cheney forgot "We, the people..." They thought they knew best, but journalists keep pressing and pressing.

Another student wondered if we can trust newspapers to endorse candidates?

A.    We as reporters don't endorse although Thomas Friedman often tells whom he is not voting for. Times columnist William Saffire, now retired, said it wasn't fair to kick anyone when he was down. I believe in second chances.

Someone wanted to know if newspapers were partisan and whether they exercised self-restraint.

A.    Sam Donaldson could be rude in asking questions, but Ronald Reagan loved it. You know, journalists are citizens, too. After 9/11, things changed. When British reporters came over here, they were rude. Now the U.S. press is back to their old role.

The next question had to do with the columns of Robert Novak and Dana Priest and whether journalists in the future can protect anonymous sources.

A.    Dowd called on several of her colleagues in the audience from The New York Times to help her with an answer. Perhaps because of their one-time reporter Judith Miller's involvement with Scooter Libby, they were reluctant. Finally, the managing editor stepped forward. "The disclosure of anonymous sources as in the Valerie Plame case is worrisome. To puncture the sources journalists establish in government is disturbing."

One of the final questions came from a young woman who wanted to know if Dowd experienced sexism as a reporter.

A.    I don't like the word sexism. Relations are complicated. One muddles through with humor unless another species comes along. LAUGHTER!

Did the young lady know that Maureen Dowd has written a book called "Are Men Necessary?"

The red-haired polemic fulfilled her duty as speaker and entertainer, putting her verbal sword back in its sheath.

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CPN hosts environmental authors in Cambridge

Not only does Barack Obama have star power, he has promised to spend $150 billion on new sources of energy. Cape Cod’s advocacy group, Clean Power Now (CPN), is in love with this idea. So are the authors of a brand new book, called "Break Through, From The Death of Environmentalism to the Possibility of Politics.” by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus.

                 Greg Watson
CPN Annual Meeting tonight
Thursday, October 25,
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
   The public is invited to attend Clean Power Now's annual meeting being held tonight, Thursday October 24, 2007 at the Heritage House, 259 Main Street, in Hyannis.
   The keynote speaker is Greg Watson, Undersecretary of Energy and Environment for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Also, William and Dorte Griswold will be speaking about wind power in Denmark.
   Light hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be available. What is CPN?

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Mobs Turn out for Obama Rally

By Libby Hughes, Boston Bureau for Cape Cod Today

The Santa Boston winds were blowing hard over the Boston Common under platinum skies. A full moon hung between two skyscrapers with a veil of mist across its round belly.

As I made my way from the T on Tremont Street to the corner of Boylston Street where the rally was to be held, I passed some large banners devoted to Republican (Libertarian), Ron Paul, who seems to have caught the imagination and support of some Americans.

I joined the long line to go through security for Obama's rally in the late afternoon of October 23. Vendors, selling campaign buttons of Obama ( posed against an American flag or in front of the Jefferson Memorial) were showing their wares up and down the line. Staff members were everywhere with clipboards, wanting to sign everyone up. I kept wondering why young men and women, sporting British accents, were such dedicated Obama workers.

A rabid Russian

Then, a rabid Ron Paul supporter approached a young couple behind me. They were independents, willing to listen to anyone. The man who collared them was Russian. He said, "You Americans don't realize that big government leads to tyranny. I've been through socialism and communism, I know. That's where you're going, too. The government will take all your money." By the end of his tirade, he was shouting.

Protesters

There were others handing out leaflets to stop the war. Still others held up placards with "Abortion Murderers," "Same sex marriage is an abomination," and "Jesus Saves" on yellow paper in black lettering. They were quiet and let the words carry their message. One loan supporter was pushing his candidate--Democrat Dennis Kucinich from Ohio. It was like a political circus.

After the security search, I was through and headed for a place near the front. I focused on the podium and managed to get nine rows back. The eager faces were backed up the slope to Beacon Street. Cameras from the media were on tall tripods on the bleachers.

Young people dominated

I was surrounded by young people of every race and dress. One girl had pink hair. The young man next to me had a Mohawk haircut and silver studs screwed into his eyebrow and ears. I asked him if he were a fan of Barack Obama and if he planned to vote for him. "I definitely don't plan to vote for him, but I've come over from Emerson College to listen," he said authoritatively as he continued to text message.

Lights, cameras, action

By now, the rank of bright lights clanked on, filling the platform in a pool of glaring light. The crowd had been standing two hours, waiting patiently for something to happen and for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Barack Obama to appear.

Governor Patrick endorses Barack

There were two warm up speeches, a chorus to sing a couple of Gospel songs, and FINALLY Deval Patrick approached the mike to an excited crowd. His speech lasted 20 minutes or more. He was there to endorse and introduce his friend and colleague, Barack Obama.

Rock star politician

The moment arrived. The man everyone waited to see and hear, moved in his Henry Fonda style gait to the podium. The reception was deafening--really deafening. The whistles and cheers stamped out Obama's first words of thanks. Obama signs were stabbed into the air. Digital cameras, camcorders, and phone cameras were shoved overhead to click for posterity the man who might be president, 

Senator Obama was impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit, white shirt, covered by a blue and gray striped tie. He flashed his winning smile and the crowd went ballistic. Obama had been in New Hampshire all day, talking, persuading, and earning every vote. By the time he arrived in Boston, his voice was somewhat hoarse, but the crowd energized him. He knows how to deliver a speech and reap applause. They gave it to him.

Obama is a White Sox fan

Briefly, he congratulated the Red Sox, but he confessed, "I am a White Sox fan." The crowd groaned. "You wouldn't want me to PRETEND to be a Red Sox fan." They grudgingly let him wave his magic wand of honesty.

Obama coined a similar phrase to that of Ronald Reagan from the 1964 Republican convention. Instead of "We have a rendezvous with destiny," Obama said, "We have a common destiny."

Loudest applause

The loudest applause and reaction came at the mention of the Iraq War, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, healthcare for everyone, and paying teachers what they deserve. "I am not a perfect person. I will not be a perfect president, but I promise you that I will tell the TRUTH."

Final words

Those were his final words after 50 minutes. A young couple, both musicians, said they liked Obama's honesty and his desire to want to help people in need. As I went home on the T, there was a man in a business suit who saw my sign. "I was there, too," he said. We chatted back and forth and agreed how impressive Obama is. At the same time, neither one of us really knew who would win the election.

Libby Hughes has just written a biography about Obama for young adults. It is called "Barack Obama: Voice of Unity, Hope, and Change" and will be out before Christmas.

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