Bethesda Chevy Chase Rotary Club Calendar

July 12th

Club Assembly 2011-12 BOD

July 19th

Su Meck – Relearn Living

July 26th

George Garner- Exxon Mobile

Aug 2nd

Guy Timberlake- American

Small Business Council

Aug 9th

Sanjay Puri – US India

Relationship

Aug 16th

Arthur Berger – International

Impact of Holocaust

Aug 23rd

Ednan Mushtag–Msnva

Chairman on Healthcare Reform

Aug 30th

Captain Michael Malanoski-

on BRAC/ Naval Support &

Activity in Bethesda

Email club secretary Nancy Scott (nancysbcc@gmail.com) if you want to visit as a guest.

Rotary Peace Fellowship

Last Week Zarrin Gladwell told us about the

Rotary Peace Fellowship. 7 Rotary peace

Centers around the world provide a master

degree in Peace & Conflict Studies. In her

group participants came from Brazil, Vietnam,

Pakistan, Zambia, Liberia, Nigeria, etc.

working with International NGO’s,

community development, children education,

human right advocacy, peace building, HIV

AIDS and human rights. Zarrin intends to use

her newly acquired knowledge to develop

communication and education material about

peace work. Specifically, she wants to

simplify the material for high school students

and develop a course on human rights for 10

year old students.

Dr. Bruce Trock on Prostate Cancer Research

Dr. Bruce Trock told us about
prostate cancer research and the challenges of
gathering large consistent data sets. A lot of
data is stored in the library but very little is
consistent, limiting successful research. Yet, 1
in about 6 men is affected by prostate cancer.
About 27,000 men die of prostate cancer each
year. Although age, race and genetics are
obvious risk factors, they also suspect
hormones, diet and inflammation. US and
European citizens have much higher rates than
Asians. Asians immigrating to the US end up
in the same statistics, leading them to believe
that life style has a huge impact on cancer
incidence.

The current level of detection of malign

cancer is insufficient. Since the treatment of

prostate cancer is complicated, potentially

affecting dramatically the life style of men

who underwent the surgery, it would be a

great idea to collect better data. This is where

the Rotary could help.

CureKids.org

Last Week our scheduled speaker, Neil

Campbell from CureKids, was not able to

make it. We were fortunate to have Chris

Ward, Senior Advisor from CureKids, step in

at the last minute.

CureKids is a global charity that was started

by Rotary over 30 years ago. Their focus is

on childhood diseases, and disorders,

investing millions in medical research. Just a

few of their successes have been; Asthma,

childhood Diabetes, Liver Disease, and

Respiratory Illnesses. Some of the current

projects and studies done by researchers

funded by Cure Kids are; Bone and Birth

Abnormalities, Childhood Cancer - Painless

Testing, Cystic Fibrosis, and Obesity -

Identifying the Risk Factors.

One of their current research projects

addresses the number one cause of death in

children; acute injury to the brain. The project

looks at predicting brain damage in children

with acute brain injuries. About 70% of the

brain injuries are caused by the heart stopping,

breathing problems or trauma.

George Like on USAID

Last Week our speaker was George Like, Director of the Schools and Hospital Office of USAID. The American Universities in Cairo, Beirut, and other locations, as well as hospitals, such as Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, all receive assistance through funding. The history of USAID dates back to the Marshall Plan, at the end of WWII. The Marshall Plan eventually morphed into USAID, which now provides foreign aid throughout the world. The aid is generally focused on furthering US foreign policy objectives. The US and its citizens also provide significant private aid through many organizations and foundations such as Rotary. As Americans we have a moral obligation to help others improve their standards of living. Foreign aid last year was .007 of the total US budget, which is $21.8 billion of the $2.7 trillion budget. This aid includes military aid as well as humanitarian aid. The funds go primarily to Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Peru, and Columbia.

Katrina Ruminski of NRA speaks at Rotary

Last Week Katrina Ruminski, from the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, spoke about the NRA. The NRA was founded in 1871 by two civil war veterans, to promote civilian marksmanship. Currently with four million members, it represents the consumer, not gun manufacturers, though sometimes their interests may co-inside.

The NRA has a large lobbying component, but its real goal remains education. There are 62,000 trainers to teach fire arm safety. Ms. Ruminski discussed a number of issues with the club, including the 2nd amendment, the recent Supreme Court Case which found DC’s gun ban to be unconstitutional, and the reality of federal gun regulations in light of gun ownership being a constitutional right. Ms. Runinksi reminded everyone that the NRA headquarters is in nearby Fairfax, just off interstate 66, with a free public museum, showing the history of guns, and a state of the art driving range that is used by the FBI, military and the general public.

Rotaract Club of Downtown DC

Last Week Kim Farmer, a member of the Rotaract Club of Downtown Washington D.C. was selected as a member of the 2008 GSE (Group Study Exchange) program that visited the southwestern part of the Netherlands.  We sponsored the Downtown Rotaract Club, and Kim was nominated by us for the team.  She spoke about the program and the trip.

The GSE program is an exchange of young professional members from around the world. This exchange is a part of the Rotary goal to promote world peace through the exchange of ideas and the understanding of other cultures. District 1600 includes Rotterdam and The Hague, which are the second and third largest cities in the Netherlands, following Amsterdam. The four GSE members lived with host families, gave presentations to several Rotary Clubs, and visited vocational sites related to their respective professions.

Peter Kyle on World Bank

Last Week Peter Kyle, spoke about the World Bank and its role in health, water and education. WB now has 184 member companies and its primary goal is to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable economic development. The goal is to cut poverty in half by 2015. In Africa poverty is rising, getting worse with the energy crisis affecting food supplies. At thirty percent of its budget, a major effort is financing infrastructure projects; roads, bridges, telecommunications. 7% of its budget is involved in health efforts. HIV/AIDS is top priority, as well as fighting malaria, avian flu and developing vaccines. 8% of the WB budget goes to education, where they are especially active in literacy and education of women. About 9% goes towards financing water, sanitation & flood prevention projects. WB always finances programs through governments, but they need more hands-on effort, to see that programs reach those who really need the help. Rotary can be a great partner in this with Rotary clubs and their local-level resources.

Kurt Chesko spoke about HALO Trust

Last Week Kurt Chesko from the HALO Trust spoke to us about the work of this non-profit NGO that specializes in the removal of land mines and munitions from war theatres around the world.  The organization is composed of over 8,000 volunteers and recently celebrated their 20^th anniversary.

Working primary in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Angola, the volunteers go through a laborious process of de-mining large land areas that globally result in over hundreds of annual landmine accidents.   These accidents have resulted in more than 300,000 maimed landmine survivors worldwide and up to 20,000 deaths and maimed victims each year.

Halo is supported by large donor governments (USA, Netherlands, UK, EU,& Japan).  They also are partnered with Rotary International and work with approximately 18 Rotary Clubs now involved in Cambodian de-mining operations.  Lead by Rotary District 5030, the Seattle club pledged $50,000 to this effort.

Howard Schilit on Financial Shenanigans

Last Week our speaker was Dr. Howard Schilit, author of Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks and Fraud in Financial Reports and Blue Chips and Hot Tips.  Business Week has called him the “Sherlock Holmes of Accounting” and one of the nation’s top 50 savvy investors tuned in early to the danger of fraud in his profession. He was one of the first experts to point out the conflict of interest built into the relationships between many corporations and their accounting firms.  In 1994, when he first codified the “seven shenanigans” for accounting fraud, he found 16 different tactics, which increased to 30 varieties in 2002. First, some companies record revenue too soon or record revenues that are of questionable quality. Second, some companies go a step further and record bogus revenue. Third, there have been instances where companies have boosted income with one-time gains. Fourth, Companies will shift future expenses to the current period, as a one-time charge.