President Obama and President Sirleaf Meet

President Barack Obama lauded the "heroism" of Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf today, saying her commitment to democracy stands as an example for other troubled African nations. The two leaders met in the Oval Office, and Obama pledged that the United States would stand with Liberia at every step of its democratic development.

"I have been an extraordinary admirer of her work for many years now.... Liberia is now emerging from a very difficult period," Obama said.

"Part of the reason it has been able to emerge is because of the heroism and courage of President Sirleaf. She is committed to the rule of law, made strides in reforming the judiciary and in all these endeavors I want to make sure the people of Liberia understand... that the United States is a constant friend and partner."

Obama said Sirleaf's example should be taken as inspiration to other African nations including, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Niger.

President Sirleaf will be the first speaker of the 2010-2011 season of The Richmond Forum when she takes the stage on November 6th. Subscriptions for the full five-program season are now on sale for $155. Other speakers will include former first lady Laura Bush, Anderson Cooper, Dr. George Church, and David Blaine. Subscriptions are available online or by calling The Richmond Forum at 804-330-3993.

What's Next For David Blaine?

In this month's Interview magazine, David Blaine reveals that his next physical feat may involve drifting at sea in a giant glass bottle. Really.

"It started because I had a dream one night that I was in a life-size bottle in the middle of the ocean...and now I'm trying to work out how to make that into a physical reality--into a real physical feat," said Blaine.

Fortunately for us, he doesn't plan to set himself adrift until after his February 2011 presentation at The Richmond Forum when he will take us behind the scenes of his feats and explore the question of whether there are really any limits to what the human body can do. Blaine has made a career of dramatically smashing those limits, from holding his breath for over 17 minutes to surviving 44 days without food.

He explained to Interview magazine: "The one I've been obsessed with, that I don't know how it could be done, is the sleep-deprivation record. "It's 11-and-a-half days. I was thinking I'd try to go one million seconds under test conditions, which is 11.57 days or something close to that.

"But I started experimenting, and for some reason it's the hardest. I think you can build up a tolerance to sleep, but it's a really difficult process, because your body recovers during sleep.

"Your immune system builds itself when you're sleeping. So when I would do tests, I would be up for five to six days, and of course I'm hallucinating. But I also start getting these welts all over my body. I'm a super-hypochondriac. So when you're not sleeping, you start seeing things. And you think you're dying of this disease or that disease. It's really tricky on that end. But that's one that I've been really obsessed with for a long time because it's the scariest thing to me."

David Blaine will be one of five speakers appearing at The Richmond Forum next season. Others include President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, former first lady Laura Bush, Anderson Cooper, and personal genomics expert Dr. George Church. A limited number of season subscriptions are still available, starting at just $155 for all five programs.

Liberia's Iron Lady--President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

The 2010-2011 season of The Richmond Forum will kick off on November 6th with a visit from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. Her personal story is remarkable and the challenges she has faced as the leader of a nation emerging from fourteen years of civil war seem nearly insurmountable. The 2006 documentary Iron Ladies of Liberia took an inside look at the first year in office of President Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president, as she built a cabinet of other strong women in the hopes that women could repair the damage done to their country by warring men. Part one of the documentary can be viewed below and we hope to be able to host a screening of the entire film in Richmond before President Sirleaf's visit in November.

What Do Betty White And David Plouffe Have In Common?

I'm watching one of my favorite Golden Girls, Betty White, host Saturday Night Live. A gig she got not because she has talent that has enabled her to have a show business career that has spanned seven decades (although she does have that talent!), but because a random guy in San Antonio, Texas started a Facebook campaign to petition for Betty White to host SNL following her appearance in a Snickers Super Bowl commercial earlier this year. In three short months, the Facebook petition had so many supporters, NBC announced that White would be hosting SNL on May 8, perfectly coinciding with our rescheduled program with David Plouffe. Plouffe is credited with building the most innovative presidential campaign in U.S. history, boldly using Internet-based technologies to set new records for fundraising and grassroots mobilization for Barack Obama. Plouffe took The Richmond Forum stage earlier this evening to share his thoughts on how widespread usage of social media has made the political process much more participatory, and spurred an explosion of digital dialogue about issues and current events.

So what do the two have in common? In both instances, in an incredibly short time period, broad public participation in a social media campaign helped to bring about results that many would have said were improbable, and some would even have said, impossible. Now, I'm not suggesting that the election of the first black President of the United States and an invitation to an octogenarian to host a late night comedy sketch show are events of comparable magnitude. It's just that, in all likelihood, neither event would have taken place in the past year were it not for tapping into the phenomenal power of internet social networking sites that bring previously unconnected people and groups together and unite them behind a common cause. And that changes the game for all of us as to how to implement a vision in our society today.

Join Us In A Twitter Demonstration Saturday Night

More and more Americans are using Twitter to follow their elected representatives and to comment on the political issues of the day. If you "tweet," please join us in a Twitter demonstration Saturday night during intermission. Just tweet your insightful observation about David Plouffe's presentation (in 140 characters or less, of course) and you'll see your comment, and those of others in the theater, projected on the large screen. You must include the following hashtag in your tweet: #ricforum

After intermission, please remember to turn your mobile devices back off for the remainder of the program.