The San Francisco Experience

From 1750 to 1918, there was an explosion of constitutional theory and adoption of written constitutions throughout the world, often in the wake of wars. A constitution was a sign of modernity and often served to mend a fractured nation. As civil society grew and literacy increased a constitution served as a binding promise between rulers and governed, primarily men.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak convened a global meeting about regulating AI Safety at Bletchley Park, the iconic stately home North of London where Alan Turing led a team that cracked the German Enigma Code. 29 countries including China attended. What was accomplished ? The US, EU and China have already created their own regulatory regimes. So what was Sunak's end game ?

Xi Jinping has put politics before business in China, making it more difficult for Chinese and expat managers to run businesses in the Middle Kingdom. How will the two leaders, Biden and Xi Jinping face off at the APEC 2023 conference in San Francisco ?

The Ocean Global Race is a 27,000 mile 'round the world race from Southampton, Cape Town, Auckland, Punta del Este, Southampton. 14 ocean going sail boats from 8 countries are participating. Neptune has an additional mission : to raise awareness for Parkinson's disease. One of the crew has Parkinson's but he joined the 10 person crew to fulfil a lifetime dream to sail around the world.

Deploying the James Webb Space Telescope, Madhu and his team at Cambridge University have discovered the first hints of DMS on an exoplanet 120 light years distant from Earth. On Earth, only living organisms produce DMS. More research is necessary to confirm the presence of DMS on exoplanet K2-18b, but the first hints of such are a breakthrough in itself.

The second and decisive round of Argentina's presidential contest takes place November 19. And the choice is - a left wing populist who presided over a 138% inflation rate, Sergio Massa, or a self styled Libertarian who describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist, Javier Milei.

Daniel Noboa, a member of Congress and a business heir, won the second round of Ecuador's presidential election with 52% of the vote, defeating leftist candidate Luisa Gonzalez who garnered 48% of the vote. She was endorsed by former President Rafael Correa who lives in Belgium.

The intelligence chiefs of the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US had a public meeting at Stanford University on Tuesday to warn Silicon Valley and the global tech community, that China has mounted an unprecedented campaign to steal cutting edge technology from the West, before the door of sanctions and regulations slams shut.

Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are being trumpeted as a cure for obesity. While they are proven to induce weight loss, the underlying issues that cause obesity - ultra processed food - are largely unaddressed. Metabolical is Rob Lustig's latest book on the topic

On October 14th, 2023, The Voice to Parliament Referendum which would have given Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders a body to advise Parliament, was defeated 60% to 40%. Professor Chris Wallace analyses what went wrong and the impact the defeat will have on Australian politics and race relations.

Elon Musk's X/Twitter owes a syndicate of 7 banks $13 billion, $10 billion of which is secured by Twitter assets and $3 billion is unsecured. All $13 billion is non-recourse debt. In other words, Musk does not guarantee it. All quarterly interest payments have been paid, even as X's EBITDA has plummeted. The Banks are eager to sell the debt but who will buy it and at what price ?

What is the State ? How has it evolved ? Is it different from nationhood ? And what about failed states ? As Louis XIV said "L'Etat c'est moi."

As Covid 19 becomes a seasonal illness, a new booster shot is being rolled out alongside the flu shot as an annual update to increase our defenses. But masking skepticism and medical misinformation still deter many people from taking the precautionary shot.

Movie Codes were introduced in the UK and the US in the 1920s and 30s. The US model focused on sex and violence while the UK monitored class divisions and other social issues. Alfred Hitchcock successfully navigated both Codes first in the UK where he began his film career and then in the US.

Exim Bank is playing a growing role in financing the export drive of US small business. In California alone, they have 650 exporter clients who ship overseas, product worth $14 billion.

Governor Newsom, in the wake of the death of Senator Dianne Feinstein, has appointed Laphonza Butler to serve out the remaining 15 months of her term. A labor activist, political consultant and a lesbian, Senator Butler's appointment is historic. Will she run for a full term in 2024 ?

The Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Military have a unique relationship among developed nations. James Char explains how the two work closely together.

California's senior Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away September 28, 2023. Her life and legacy are unique and reflective of the San Francisco values she embodied.

Professor Jablonski is a biological anthropologist at Penn State University. She has done extensive research in the fields of the evolution of skin and skin color.

Since the mid 2000s, China has taken a more aggressive stance on the world stage and towards the United States in particular. President Xi Jin Ping reformed the constitution, got rid of term limits and is effectively President for Life. He has rejected collective rule of his predecessors and has concentrated power in his office, much like Mao Zedong. Where will these changes lead China and America...

Barbie, the Summer blockbuster which has already grossed $1.34 billion worldwide, is a unique film that caught the public's attention at a unique moment in time. It has become a cultural phenomenon and stirred debate.

Is Russia so desperate for old Soviet era shells and ammunition still made by North Korea and interoperable with Russian armaments, that they would trade their advanced high tech weapons with Kim ? And what does China - North Korea's largest donor - make of this unlikely alliance ?

San Francisco's great wealth creation in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as the emergence of dynastic family elites largely developed as a result of exploitation of nearby natural resources. But most great cities have followed a similar path. And today's Silicon Valley fortunes are little different in that respect, but substitute the mining of academic excellence for natural resources.

Award winning film maker, John Montoya discusses the 10 part docuseries entitled When the Sound hits the Walls which he is producing . It will feature the Hyde Street Studios, where Rock and Roll Greats like Herbie Hancock, the Headhunters, Creedence Clearwater, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Jefferson Airplane produced iconic hits in the late 1960s and...

Shattered Nation, written by Oxford Professor Danny Dorling, demonstrates how the United Kingdom has been fundamentally damaged by 40 years of neoliberal policies of successive Conservative and Labour governments. Inequality is on the rise while life expectancy is declining and infant mortality is on the upswing. What has caused the reversal in social progress in the UK and how can it be turned ar...