is a black and white narrative it's a very linear one and it doesn't the egyptian people do not buy it at all they want to be able to they want to be respected as individuals and indeed make individual choices for themselves. it's very interesting as i mean the muslim brotherhood has been brought up here and it's been actually been run brought up late in the game as it were is events unfold i mean they were very very quiet here and then they make a statement that they're willing to work with the with whatever authorities would on the other opposition groups remain to be seen if they want to these opposition groups want to work with them but at the same time i mean it's really people that are driving this year i mean it's even remarkable if you look at social movements

is a black and white narrative it's a very linear wine and it doesn't the egyptian people do not buy it at all they want to be able to they want to be respected as individuals and indeed make individual choices for themselves. it's very interesting as i mean the muslim brotherhood has been brought up here and it's been actually been rather brought up late in the game as it were is events unfold i mean they were very very quiet here and then they make a statement that they're willing to work with the with whatever authorities with the other opposition groups remain to be seen if they or want to these opposition groups want to work with them but at the same time i mean it's really people that are driving this year i mean it's even remarkable if you look at social movements there's no there's no head right now there's no one person or party it's really you know in the first step to get rid of this guy and make society coalesce into what it needs you know to find whatever parties are ideologies or groups that are already out there muslim brotherhood has played a very small role in this s

that was a beginning moment for me. >> one of the narratives that runs through this book, particularly as he becomes more sick in the last part of it, you are the relentless, you are going to be okay, there is going to be hope, if i make enough contacts, i'll fix this. he is the almost unfailing despite his occasional request to you to help voice of it is not going to get better, deal with it, what did you learn over the course of that thing about the terrible tension between hope and reality acceptance when you are close to someone who has a terminal illness? >> that is such a hard question because the fact is they are so you. you are looking at yourself. it is impossible when your brother, sister, and 2 and a half years apart. i couldn't give what he was going through a reality. i couldn't see it for what with it was. it was catastrophic. now that i had my brother, i was desperate not to lose him. >> you hadn't had him until this. >> we had that cotten batting between us. we had a fierce attachment, when you are that locked together in this kind of angry, very strong bond, underneath

so the book is written in a narrative style, which i hope will be engaging. it's hard for me to just plug my book and tell you it's well-written and illustrating it. but it's a total page turner and if you start reading it tonight, you probably won't stop until the morning when you finish it. [laughter] as to whether it's appropriate for high school students, i think absolutely. i think the sooner people start to read and consider and deal with the truths of the past, the better they will be able to understand it, to make sure we don't make the same mistakes again. and so i spoke to eighth graders yesterday were incredibly engaged and asked some wonderful questions. and i don't think that this story is one that should be kept from children. in fact, i think of a young man, when i was younger, i would've loved to hear the story because too often when we think about slavery and when slavery is taught in schools, slavery is -- we are taught to think about the slaves as victims, to think about slavery guilty to a depressing. when we look back we feel ashamed and

of the war door to the extent he can control the narrative of the war and he's doing what he thinks is his job and one thing that i found interesting in peace to you is that you know there is that assumption that well it now if it is in charge if obama loses the war then it's not going to be his fault because petraeus is the man that everyone thinks can do anything do you think that's true and i think that was in the minds of the obama people when there's still obama's war well it's almost there will be a lot of debate about who is exactly responsible when this is over and i think the obama people felt that they had been confined and constrained by transected city in running up to the last review and giving him command was essentially ok we'll hear then it will be your responsibility and this is something that you can handle and you will take some of the load away from the president now let's talk about what he's doing in afghanistan on the ground that we know that he's increased violence increased you know these night raids he has a role in the tank these increased airstrikes but h

it's not any sort of a narrative form. put them into the exfil database is see a good cross reference what participated in the revolt, where they've come, what they've done, what work they did on the plantation. excuse me. the nine of the databases on to a planned maps and it's sitting at the library with crayons in this plantation colored greenup if there's five-to-10 i will colored or range etc.. so i built that and once i hit the list of sleeves and how they participated and all the cross reference database then i started to piece together the crooks so i knew from the descriptions and the military officials were uncertain events happened and we're usually the google maps you can figure of how long it would have taken to walk from one place to another and you can say if this happens and it was 50 miles from here and that happened at this time, so then i turned that back to fred pantry evidence but i figured out spatially to a chronological narrative the whole process sounds simple but it took about a year and then once

so the book is written in narrative style which i hope will be engaging.is hard for me to just plug my book and tell you it is really row win and you will love reading it but it is a total page-turner. if you start reading it tonight you probably won't stop until the morning when you finish it. but as to whether it is appropriate for high school students, i think absolutely and i think the sooner people start to read and consider and deal with the truth of the past that better able they will be to understand it and to make sure that we don't mistake, make the same mistakes again. and so i spoke to 8th-graders yesterday who were incredibly engaged and asked me some wonderful questions. and i don't think that the story is one that should be kept from children. in fact, i think as a young man, when i was younger i would have loved to approve the story because i think too often when we think about slavery and with slavery as taught in schools, slaves are -- we were taught to think about the slaves as victims, to think about slavery is guilty and depressing and

but it is the narratives that are developing around them. i think that is what we have to be very careful of. i focused on the middle east, but they are starting conversations that lead people into believing that there are some realities that are not there. -- i focused on the fact that if the u.s. would strike iran, there would be widespread support. that is dangerous. that is a dangerous assumption. but that is an interpretation of those reports that it is being taken as an assumption that is viewed as valid in many quarters. so i think we need to be quite careful. >> i think the area or this becomes most dangerous is trying to discern intentions of foreign governments, whether they are allies our adversaries. an exercise i do with my own students is that i ask them and if you take a piece of paper and predicted that what you will do for your next holiday vacation a year from now, write it down. a year from now, we will get back together and see if you in fact did it. a significant percentage would say no. your ideas change and life interv

like anything, the narrative of our lives is a narrative of impact, an impact in other people's lives, and it continues next-generation for kids that are here with us, kids that will be joining us in years to come. the impact is extraordinary and why i'm so pleased that you are here, why your colleagues are here, your friends and family are here, and that is why i'm so pleased that a number of years ago people came into my office and said it was about time we say thank you in a formal way. the country has been doing it for years. it goes back president to president to president. the governor's office has been doing it years and years. here in san francisco, we realize up until 2006, the city never formally said thank you to our teachers, and then, we realize this and as we said thank you to our teachers, the next year, we said, what about the principles? we quickly rectified that in 2007. the challenge is that gets more challenging each and every year that we get so many good candidates that it gets harder and harder to make the final decision. what has happened in the past is that it

and i think that is the next narrative in this discussion, is the damage we have done in the last half century is such that this conference, regardless of whether or not we take bold leadership in the next months and years ahead, the reality is we are going to be burdened with the mistakes of the past and we better get serious to begin to address them. so i want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to come here from seattle, los angeles, new york, all across the country, interestingly those coastal cities, appropriately those coastal cities that are taking the time to be here, and begin the process not only of identifying the problem today and working through the consensus again, sort of sharing the same set of facts which continues to dominate the dialogue, but then begin the process of resolving what we do about this reality tomorrow. that being said, in san francisco i'm very proud to be a resident of a city, fifth generation city, of a city that has always been a city of dreamers and doers, a city of entrepreneurs, a city that doesn't just identify these larger gl

i was just wondering what the -- where the american socialist party plays into the narrative with politicians like al smith. where they easily duped to? or sympathetic to the communist party? >> yeah, that's a complicated question. in fact, i have in the book one the interesting document that i found in the archives, commentary in archives from the 1932 presidential campaign where communist party usa was just torching everybody. i mean they hated the republicans, they hated fdr, they hated the socialist. i mean, you know, -- they were going after everybody. i mean it's amazing to the anger that was there among american communist. i was really surprised by that. when you would see these documents, the fights that they had among each other. and so and so, fraud, exposed in daily workers in a stool pigeon. that would be the order from the latest meeting minutes. so they -- but, yeah, and also i would update this. in fact, john -- to connect this to john's earlier question about modern day progressives. one the groups that i looked at in 2007 and 2008, was progressive spur obama. i'm always under

over the past two decades, marion has used an incredible range of mixed media to create not just narrativeuilts but also abstract wall hangings, larger than life portraits and grand scale public art commissions. once she has a theme in mind, there's no end to the directions her quilts may take. >> one of the ways of thinking about improvisation within quilting tradition is to say that it's an impulse that's not linked to a formula or a prescription. it doesn't mean that it lacks discipline. it doesn't mean that it lacks no know-how. it's just an impulse towards creativity and wanting to tell the story in an unanticipated way. >> i'll add yarn, shells, probably something that will make some sound. something like buttons or something like that. >> that spontaneous approach is at the heart of textural rhythms at san francisco's museum of the african diaspora. the exhibit curator carolyn mazloomi challenged quilters to riff on another improvisational art form -- jazz. >> textural rhythms, we were asked to create pieces about our interpretation of jazz. and so i didn't use jazz artists in my pi

nor israelis should be complacent about this narrative that has started to solidify. first, what arab diplomats may say, especially to u.s. officials in closed rooms, is not always what these countries are going to do. it is true -- i am not trying to deny that arabs states are incredibly alarmed and worried about iran and its infiltration in the region. they are worried less about the nuclear threat, they look at iran as an ideological threat. as a power that is challenging their legitimacy, their influence, their support to hamas and hezbollah, who tried to undermine the credibility of a ruling regimes in the region. this is really viewed as a major threat of iran. since the 2003 iraq war, the way arabs look at it is that iran has been the big winner. they are not just a dominant player, but their reach and influence expand all the way to the eastern mediterranean. this is a real concern for regional countries. i am not trying to deny that these countries are worried about the challenge. what i am suggesting, though, is that this picture is much more new ones. this

if we have a positive narrative it will turn out to be huge issue.t can be a very decisive issue. >> i fully agree. you will have -- everybody is focused on the economy for the next election when we show those numbers. it is rare you have a presidential election without it foreign policy or secure issue. it is there and it may be the deciding issue for those candidates who are running. whether they want to address these issues, if they ignore it, it is probably at their own peril. 75%, you're going to ignore that? i do want to run on think you're going to lose? lose? they'll have to pay attention to it because you are there. the fact you are all listening to this is a sign this is an extremely important issue. yes, we are concerned about losing our jobs, homes, health care. we are also concerned about losing our country. >> the last point. there is a notion people go away. we will solve, deal with his and her own way that we want to. this -- bubble secure america is provide a platform. american people interject himself. it is your interest and your c

as a historian, i see both sides have competing, opposing historical narratives, and neither can acknowledgethe other, and on top of that, both sides have over the decades been drenched in the sense of victimhood. the israelis not only because of the groups, but six decades of conflict from their neighbors, and the palestinians from their own sense of the victimhood of being made homeless. >> you make is seem so, so imminently within reach. why -- what are the impediments? >> well, that's what i would like people to conclude. that they get to the end of the book, and you see a lot of difficult history that both sides have to grapple with, and then there's a conclusion that i think should be seen as rational and filled with common sense, and yet i'm told i am naive and i am completely guilty of that too, but, you know, the realists on this conflict have been dealing with it for decades, and have not gotten anywhere with step-by-step solutions. what is necessary now is something dramatic, and we need leadership and people to acknowledge. >> to be in a position of political influence, although,

>> because it had very good classic narrative structure. >> rose: right. >> and you know that if you have that as an actor than you're just widing the wave because, of course, all you can do is give what you have and then the director is going to put it together. but i knew that that in the script as it existed that there was a very strong arc to it and i loved it andsy thought it was classic in form. and the older i get the more i can appreciate the whole experience of being an actor and when something works because, of course, we've all done things that don't work and so it's a pleasure and i do feel like i can really enjoy the moment more now. >> rose: are you constantly surprised by what you can bring and what it can bring to you? >> well, i try to be. i wish i could say that. i wish i could say yes, i'm constantly surprised. i'm talking about the process, the work. >> rose: it surprisings you. >> that's a good thing. i mean when you... because, of course, you can't... you have to plan, you have to your lines, it's a false situation. nonetheless, what you're trying to find is a m

i don't believe the very simplistic narrative that the egyptian government has sold the west and has sold the egyptian people over the past years. that narrative is that the muslim brotherhood is waiting for one opportunity to get into power, to break off the camp david agreement, to turn egypt into iran. too simplistic. >> reporter: but others are worried. >> now they are like a big crowd between us. >> reporter: this law student, ahmed, has been in the square since the beginning, after reading a notice on facebook. now he feels his revolution has been hijacked. so you were here on the 25th and you saw a change here. tell me about that. >> i'm afraid. >> reporter: what are you afraid of? >> the brothers. the islamic brothers. >> reporter: you're afraid of the muslim brotherhood? >> yeah. >> reporter: why? >> they want it to be islamic like iran and this. but we don't want it to be like that. we are liberal. that's the way we think. they have the biggest crowd in here. that's why they can control it easy. >> reporter: do you feel they really have taken control? >> yeah. >> reporter:

they wanted to use the power of film to bring in the stories, to bring in authentic images and narrativesf the arab world, here to american audiences, in order to fight the negative stereotyping, and to introduce the positive, authentic images to america, which iraq california, -- throughout california, a teasing familiarity, establishing harmony between our communities. the selection this year it is really a good selection. it is perverse, comes from more than 18 countries. it has a bit of everything for everyone. -- it is diverse, comes from more than 18 countries. there are shorts, and from us, comedies, you name it. this year, the film festival takes place in the castro. there is a comedy film from nigeria that is pretty hilarious. you can get to know arabs threw their laughing as well. [speaking in foreign language] >> when you come to see all the diversity, nationality, ethnic, skin color, dialect, anything that you can think of, that world is very rich in diversity. we are trying to represent that diversity so people can see the different parts of the arab world. [speaking in arabi

i realized that because of what i do, particularly texas monthly -- long narrative fiction -- fiction -- [laughter] my stories are nonfiction. but, you know, so what i did in effect was i read a lot of books just for background. but then i reported this thing chapter by chapter. i read about chapter one, wrote it. and if i found things that were later, i put them away. it was never long between researching it which was largely done at university of texas here, a little bit in oklahoma and the panhandle, you know, it was that kind of just doing that. but, you know, i really found to my surprise, i guess, that, you know, when i went into the archives at university of texas where i spent months and months, that the reporting skills that i have evolved just being a reporter, they're the same. i think in some ways, you know, book writing's just really, really slow reporting. [laughter] >> great. this has been great. it's been a real treat for me. we already have a gentleman who wants to ask a question, and a woman here. please, if you have questions, it would be better if you came up to th

this is the real narrative of how tasers are used. the stories are all too common in communities of color. despite the trading protocols that are put in place by the police department, these are the kinds of incidents that happen again and again despite their best efforts to protect against them. we come today with a simple request that the commission should not move forward when some many of our community leaders and so many community members have serious and legitimate concerns. that is why your vote is of critical importance. >> good evening, commissioners. i am the president of the national lawyers guild, i am a local attorney. we live in a world with too many weapons, and we don't need any more weapons. they don't make us safe. i'm opposed to the use of tasers. there is a history of them being developed as instruments of torture. we don't need the extra costs associated with buying tasers. as we've also heard, police are likely to use force against people of color. our black and brown brothers and sisters are likely to be at an a

nor israelis should be complacent about this narrative that has started to solidify.what arab diplomats may say, especially to u.s. officials in closed rooms, is not always what these countries are going to do. it is true -- i am not trying to deny that arabs states are incredibly alarmed and worried about iran and its infiltration in the region. they are worried less about the nuclear threat, they look at iran as an ideological threat. as a power that is challenging their legitimacy, their influence, their support to hamas and hezbollah, who tried to undermine the credibility of a ruling regimes in the region. this is really viewed as a major threat of iran. since the 2003 iraq war, the way arabs look at it is that iran has been the big winner. they are not just a dominant player, but their reach and influence expand all the way to the eastern mediterranean. this is a real concern for regional countries. i am not trying to deny that these countries are worried about the challenge. what i am suggesting, though, is that this picture is much more new ones. this is -- th