i just wanted to provide the additional information. commissioner fung: can you describe a little further what is in the various tax -- what is in the variance? >> i have not reviewed it. galvanized metal is required by the census go building and fire department in order to remove the existing fire escape system. president garcia: why does that require a variants? >> because the property encroach on the existing rear yard. there are no pending building permits at this time. this is the most recent building permit. this is the only pending case for entitlement that we have at this time.

there would be another building permit that would be required in order to implement the variants that was filed. commissioner fung: regarding the rating on this as a resource? >> nothing that would trigger historic preservation or commission review. not a landmark building. it is a resource. we have identified it as a resource. in terms of additional review, the hspc would not trigger that. >> is there any public comment? seeing none, we will move into a bottle. we will start with michelle. >> i just have a couple of quick things. i will read from the code about the eggs a garage. "exits shop pastor kitchens, storage rooms or spaces used for similar purposes, like a garage.

" it is not that i have a problem or do not think that some part of the fire wall is not necessary. if you think of the future permit, they are building this directly abutting 2323. i agree that a fire wall or two should be required. my question is the wall as part of this permit. it does not appear to ever be part of the future where the two buildings might kiss. this wall, as drawn, opens into a courtyard of approximately 10-foot with. it serves no purpose, even for their future expansion plans. as a person who tries to work this stuff out for everybody's benefit, i could come up with a scheme that says that that part of the walt is not necessary

where the buildings actually touch. >> when the variance gets granted and the unattractive fire exit is removed and the stairs are put in the back, you need to get to the backyard through the front yard and you need to do it through your property. you need a fire-rated wall. it is the wall we are building to protect that entry from the front yard to the room backyard. -- from the front yard to the rear yard. this drawing has been shown a couple of times, we have never seen it. i do not know where it came from. it does not appear to be accurate to me. but i withhold judgment because it is a piece of a drawing. it does not show the whole side.

i do not think you can put storage in a garage. i think that is what the code says. i think you can exit through the garage. i am certain that to solve the problem, we can get the equivalency and come out of what is a very ample and generous garage area, rather than going out to our property and leaving in that way. there was a neighborhood meeting and they were at that neighborhood meeting. the entire plan for the whole of the product was shown to them. you can see in our brief that are representative was there and signed as having been there and seen the whole project. that is what prompted their lawsuit. thank you. president garcia: this probably has no relevance at all, but why would -- it seems as though it has not been that long since

this property went through a property transfer. why would the property lines have not been straightened out at that time and settled at that time? >> it would make a lot easier for us if it had been straightened out. the project that was done in 2003 was done by an owner prior to these owners. we did not own 1100 lombard at the time. i really cannot answer that question. president garcia: it seems odd that a property could be transferred without having well- defined property lines. >> i agree. >> anything further from the department? >> in the 2010 san francisco building code, we have a local

ordinance for going through a garage area. exiting on 2323 hyde could apply for that. we do have something there that lets people get through garages for exiting in certain time -- in certain conditions. president garcia: would they need a door or would they be able to use the door as it currently functions? >> i think you need a man door and a designated path. and some painted markings in the garage to make sure you exit through that. i have not inspected one, but i have seen it used before. it is a case-by-case basis. i just thought i would point that out. >> commissioners, the matter is submitted.

commissioner hillis: this sounds to me like it is the tip of the iceberg. we have a fire wall caused by a ceqa appeal and this permit being appealed to us. as commissioner garcia said in the past, it is good for people to get together and figure out the more complicated issues. as this gets farther along, the host of issues -- i guess this is getting the ball rolling. i did not hear anything necessarily to make me inclined to overrule the permit. i do have some concern about the flue and putting some language in about it being accommodated. this picture, it shows the flue. this is the wall of the

neighboring property or your wall? so there are options to rid it is hard to understand where this is or what the options are. we should put in some accommodation for that flue. president garcia: i think it is already an encroachment, right? >> the flue is an encroachment but we will work with them to figure out a way to vent what needs to be vented. if that means moving our wall back 4 inches to accommodate a rectangular flue or something like that, we will do it. if you want to condition the permit accordingly, of course we will work with that. commissioner fung: the -- it is

like the saying, if somebody wants to build a -- i better not say that. the questions that have been brought up, if you look at that main door that is being covered, it appears to be a door that had been added at some point. one of the windows does not show much detail to it. and one of the windows, perhaps the one stop in the notch in the building, the -- i see nothing that has been brought forth is against this permit at this point.

and i would rather not deal with the flue. it is on somebody else's property. i think it is up to them to work it out. perhaps the final solution to this, again, probably not here. commissioner hurtado: i think there would agree with that. i do not see any reason to overturn this permit at all. president garcia: nor do i. but i do wish we had the entire scope of the product in front of us rather than this piece. i do not really think this is a spite wall but part of a future project. i guess it is more about that easement than it is about the wall. at any rate, i moved that we all

hold the permit and deny the appeal. based on the fact that this wall is code complianct and no evidence was presented to cause us to overturn the permit. >> we have a motion from the president to deny this appeal, of all the permit on the basis that it is code compliance and no evidence was presented to cause the board to overturn. on that motion -- commissioner fung: aye. commissioner hillis: aye. commissioner hurtado: aye.

the vote is 4-0. this permit is upheld on that basis. thank you.

>> good afternoon and welcome to today's meeting of the commonwealth club of california, the place where you are in the know. i am currently a director of the california clean energy fund, also a long serving member of the commonwealth club. please turn off all your noise- making devices. we will get under way in just a moment, but first, i want to tell you a bit about a couple of upcoming programs. next monday, november 21, tom brokaw, nbc news correspondent and author, will discuss the current mood of america. this will be a program starting at 1:00 p.m. at the santa clara

convention center. on tuesday, november 29, paula kerger, who is president of pbs, and the president of kqed will discuss the challenges facing public broadcasting and how the challenges impact our program choices. this will be a 6:00 p.m. program here in san francisco at the commonwealth club. it is my pleasure to extend a special welcome to any new members of the commonwealth club who are here today. we know you are going to enjoy your membership and look forward to seeing you often. if you are not a member yet, today is a great time to join. if you have questions, the staff will be available to answer

them after the program. there are question cards at your table for director muller, and these will, of course, the collected during the program. the commonwealth club, as you know, is a nonpartisan organization. we do ask that our speakers be allowed to make their remarks without interruption. we encourage the writing of your questions and submitting them to us. i also want to say that we are very pleased to have with us to moderate the program for the question period, mariono florentino professor at stanford

university law school and co- director at stanford center for international security and cooperation. from early 2009 through the summer of 2010, he served as special assistant to the president for justice and regulatory policy at the white house. now, we are going to pause just for a moment while we begin -- before beginning our radio, tv, and internet programs for a much wider audience. good afternoon and welcome to today's meeting of the commonwealth club of california, the place where you are in the know. you can find us on the internet

at commonwealthclub that board -- commonwealthclub.org. now it is my distinct honor and also a personal pleasure for me to introduce robert s. muller, the sixth director of the federal bureau of investigation. nominated by president george w. bush, he was sworn in to lead the fbi on september 4, 2001, just one week before the al qaeda attacks on 9/11. under his leadership, the fbi has since played the leading role in preventing further terrorist attacks inside america.

all americans should be happy that congress recently approved an extension of his tenure -- his 10-year term for an additional two years. i have known bob since 1970, which was his first year as a law student at university of virginia where i was on the law school faculty. he was a returning veteran from the vietnam war, having led a rifle platoon in the third marine division, receiving a bronze star, purple heart, and vietnamese cross of gallantry. i was always on the lookout for incoming students who played squash. bob more than filled that bill. he improve my game, although i never, never beat the man.

i did, however, get to know him very well. he was a prince. bob also was smart, smart enough for me to offer him a job as my research assistant and dumb enough to accept. he was a delight to work with, and together, we produced an article -- the energy environment conflict: fighting electric power facilities -- which was published in 1972. when bob graduated from uva he left a real hole in my life, but i knew for sure he was going to accomplish great things. we kept in touch as his career progressed until fbi swallowed him in 2001. bob's legal career has been mainly in public service with

interruptions for private practice. all of his focus on criminal law, financial fraud, public corruption, narcotics, conspiracies, money laundering, terrorists. he first became known in san francisco where he served in the u.s. attorney's office, rising to be chief of the criminal division. thereafter, he moved to boston as assistant u.s. attorney and then to the u.s. justice department in washington where he led the criminal division. in 1998, bob returned to san francisco as united states attorney. please join me in welcoming my good friend and one of america's most distinguished public servants, robert muller. [applause]

>> let me start off by thanking mason for that kind introduction. i will say -- you often wonder when a former professor is going to introduce you. you do not know what is going to come out. but, thank you. you were there to kick start my career when it needed kick starting. let me thank the commonwealth club for having me back. it is great to be back in san francisco but also to be back with you this afternoon. two months ago, we marked the 10th anniversary of the september 11 attacks. the horrific events of that day were the prelude to a decade of political, economic, and cultural transformation, and

globalization and technology have accelerated these changes. consider now how different our world was in the summer of 2001. leaders of egypt, iraq, and libya were entrenched in power. barack obama was an illinois state senator, and arnold schwarzenegger was a movie actor. 10 years ago, most americans had never heard of a credit default swap or mortgage-backed securities. lehman brothers had celebrated its 150th anniversary and in 2001, mark zuckerberg was captain of his high-school fencing team. borders bookstores had $3 billion in annual revenue and meanwhile, kindle something you did to a fire and nook was merely a small corner of the room. most americans knew little about osama bin laden or al

qaeda. at the time, i was u.s. attorney in san francisco and i myself being out here paid little attention to those terrorist attacks that were occurring overseas. today, our world can change in the blink of an eye. the effects of that change are felt more rapidly and more broadly than ever before. consider the current economic climate. when companies fail to recognize and adapt to change, they can go out of business almost overnight. law enforcement and the intelligence community face a similar challenge. if we in the fbi failed to recognize how the world is changing, the consequences can be devastating. lives can be lost. our national security can be threatened, and the balance of power can tip toward our adversaries. terrorism, espionage, and cyber attacks are now the fbi's top

priorities. terrorists, spies, and hackers are always thinking of new ways to harm us. today, i want to discuss how these threats are evolving and what to share with you what the fbi is doing to stay one step ahead to keep our nation safe, prosperous, and free. let's begin with the terrorist threat. during the past decade, we have weakened al qaeda, due to the coordinated efforts of our military, the intelligence community, law enforcement, and our international partners. we have captured or killed many al qaeda leaders and operatives, including osama bin laden. we have shut down terrorist training camps, frozen their finances, disrupted their communications and, most importantly, we have uncovered dozens of cells and prevented terrorist attacks. yet, core al qaeda, operating out of pakistan, remains committed to high-profile attacks against the west.

we confirmed this with records seized from osama bin laden's compaq after his death. we saw this with the plot to bomb the new york subway system in 2009. meanwhile, al qaeda affiliate's have emerged as significant threats. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula operating in yemen has attended several attacks on the united states, including the failed christmas day airline bombing in 2009 and the attempted bombing of u.s.-bound cargo planes in october 2010. most recently, we have a growing concern about the threat from homegrown violent extremists. these individuals have no typical profile. their experiences and motives are often distinct, but they are increasingly savvy and willing to act alone, which makes them difficult to find and stop.

in 2009, smadi was a 19-year-old jordanian citizen living in texas, and although he espoused loyal to -- loyalty to al qaeda and some of the modern, he was not affiliated with any groups that would become terrorists. he had become radicalized on his own on the internet. when he expressed clear interest in attacking a dallas skyscraper, the fbi used undercover agents to set up a sting, and three agents who spoke arabic began talking with him, first online and later in prison. he believed he had found an al qaeda sleeper sell to assist him. after months of planning, he parked what he believed was a truck bomb underneath a skyscraper and dialed a cell phone number he sought would detonate the bomb. the bomb was a fake supplied by

our undercover agents, and the call signaled the agents to make the arrest. last year, he was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison. intelligence led us to him and the combined efforts of our federal, state, and local partners help us stop him before he could do any harm. in the face of this threat, we and the bureau will continue to enhance our intelligence capabilities to get the right information to the right people at the right time, and we will continue to build strong partnerships, for these tools have been the foundation for our success against terrorism over the past 10 years. we must keep adapting to these changing terrorist threats to stay one step ahead of those who would do was harm, and we must do all of this while respecting the role of law and the safeguards guaranteed by the constitution -- stay one step ahead of those who would do us harm.

let us turn from terrorists to spies. many people assume the end of the cold war made the world of cloak and dagger obsolete, but unfortunately, a spinoff is still very much with us. nations will always try to learn one another's secrets to gain political, military, or economic advantage. the bar of intelligence presence operating in the united states is roughly the same as it was during the cold war. we still confront traditional espionage, such as spies working under diplomatic cover, or even posing as ordinary citizens. consider the arrest last year of 10 agents of the russian foreign intelligence service. many of you may have seen tv news stories and videos covering the techniques we use in our investigation. it did feature the stuff from a john le carre novel.

apart from the more traditional types of espionage, today's spies are just as often students, researchers, business people, or operators of front companies. they seek not only state secrets, but trade secrets from corporations and universities, such as research and development, intellectual property, and insider information. consider the recent case of a naturalized u.s. citizen from india. for 18 years, he was an engineer at no. 0 grumman, the defense contractor that built the stealth bomber, one of our nation's most important strategic assets -- an engineer at no. full grumman -- nor folk -- norfolk grumman. he sold highly classified information about the ste