Fine Master DONNA VERNA entertained us all with her quick and witty questions relating to things that happened during the month of September in history.   ROD FOX manned the duck bucket.

• GARY BROWN learned that September is better breakfast month and paid $40 in celebration of his and his wife’s 36th anniversary
• BONNIE BURDETT announced that next Saturday will be the final annual bike ride to benefit Leukemia in memory of Bonnie’s late husband Ben Eckenhoff, who died in 1994 of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.  The organizers agreed that when they reached their goal of $1 Million in pledge money they would end the ride, and they are within $30,000 of that goal.  So come out, participate in the ride, or simple pledge to end leukemia and help them reach their goal this year.  Bonnie gave $20 to the duck bucket
• CRYSTA KRAMES learned that the first comic strip appeared in the newspaper in September 1895 and paid $30.
• MARLIS MCALLISTER learned that Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock Texas in September 1936 and paid $30.
• SHELLY POTVIN learned that Freddie Mercury was born in September 1946 in Zanzibar and paid $30.
• GEORGE STAFFORD learned that the Ford Motor Co. sold their first Edsel in September 1957 and paid $30.
• DUANNI HURD learned that Simon and Garfunkel reunited for a free concert in Central Park in September 1981 and paid $30.
• TED SORENSON learned that David Letterman’s first top ten list in September 1985 was things that almost rhyme with ‘peas’ and paid $30.
• BRIAN WOLF announced that season tickets to Opera San Jose are being offered to Rotarians at a discount and paid $100 to join the President’s Club.
• JEANNE MAC VICAR paid $20 in honor of KATHY BERRY’s efforts on behalf of the LARC Relay for Life Team.
• JACK WEBB announced it is his 83rd birthday and paid $100 to join the President’s Club.

Speaker
PP JOHN SYLVESTER announces speaker RALPH KUIPER, Chairman of the Peninsula Chapter of the World Affairs Counsel.  Before serving in this position, Mr. Kuiper spent 35 years in the aerospace industry.  He received his Ph.D., as well as his Masters and Undergraduate degrees from Stanford. Mr. Kuiper is on the board of directors of the Bus Barn Theater.
 
Mr. Kuiper appeared before us with a sling on his arm and announced he had recently had rotator cuff surgery.  He talked a bit about the World Affairs Counsel, which is a non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to informing the public on matters of international concern.  The peninsula chapter is one among the San Francisco, Sacramento, Marin, and Contra Costa Chapters.  The Peninsula Chapter of the World Affairs Counsel meets at the Los Altos Youth Center.  They are having a kick-off event on September 15, an outdoor reception in Atherton from 3pm to 5pm, at which the speaker will be Joel Brinkely, Professor of Journalism at Stanford, to talk about the turmoil in the Middle East.  Please visit the website for more information. 

Mr. Kuiper then entertained us with stories and photos from a trip he and his wife took for ten days in 2010 to Iran with the World Affairs Counsel, and it was one of the best trips he has ever taken.  The county of Iran is about the size of Alaska.  It is home to about 80 million people, mostly Shiite Muslim.  People might not realize that Iran is known for their poets and glasswork, as well as their carpets.  The Iranian government structure is a theocracy.  The supreme leader sits at the head of the government with the president serving under him.  During this trip they visited Tehran, Siraz, and Esfahan.  The hotels that they stayed in were all very modern. 

At the time they arrived in the country, it took about three hours to get through customs, and all of the women in the group had to put on their head scarves.  In Tehran, the former American Embassy where the 1979 hostage crisis took place is now similar to a convention center.  The Iranians refer to the former American Embassy as the United States Den of Espionage.  They were also able to visit the crown jewels in a very well bunkered basement.  The crown jewels were more elaborate than anything you might have seen as crown jewels in other countries. 

Iran is also known for its miniature paintings and there were many fine examples that their group was able to view.  The architectural artifacts they were able to view included the Cypress Cylinder built around 538 BC, and the Code of Hammurabi.  Their group visited many outdoor bazaars.  Of interest in the cities were something called charity boxes – they looked a bit like mail boxes, but these boxes were where the citizens could deposit donations to charity to help the less fortunate in their society. 

They also visited a new mosque in Southern Iran built to honor the Ayatollah Khomeini, and the Freedom Tower built when the Shah was in power.  In Shiraz, they visited the Persepolis Ruins which date to around 518 B.C, and the Citadel of Karim Kahn.  There are no alcoholic beverages in Iran so one beverage our speaker came to enjoy was a certain type of non-alcoholic beer.  Poets are revered in Iran.  Some famous Iranian poets include Hafez, Saachi, Rumi, and Omar Khayam.  In Esfahan, a very beautiful city, they visited the very large Imam Square.  In

Esfahan there were many examples of miniature paintings, block prints, and beautiful metal works.  Esfahan also was home to two beautiful 6th and 17th century bridges, as well as a beautiful Armenian Orthodox Cathedral.  A common observation was how the older women wore their headscarves over their hair and forehead, but how the younger women wore their headscarves back from the forehead, exposing some of their hair.  Mr. Kuiper’s group found the Iranian people to be warm and welcoming, and they learned a great deal about the rich culture and history of the Persian culture and the country they now occupy.

This Thursday's Program:
Philip Yun will speak on the subject of North Korea and nuclear weapons.
From 1994 to 2001 he served as an official at the United States Department of State in which he served as a senior member of the U.S. delegate to the Korea peace talks based in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr. Yun was also a member of a senior level working group that managed U.S. policy toward North Korea. Mr. Yun traveled with Dr. William Perry to North Korea in 1999 and again in 2000 with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Philip has been a long-time board member of loughshares Fund and is a well-known expert on Asia-related political and security issues. Ploughshares Fund has led and supported a community of experts, advocates and analysts to implement smart strategies to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. 

Prior to government service,Mr. Yun practiced law at the firms in San Francisco and Seattle.
Mr. Yun grew up in Ohio and attended Brown University and the Columbia School of Law. He graduated with an A.B. in mathematical economics (magna cum laude) and Phi Beta Kappa and was a Fulbright Scholar to Korea.