Thursday, December 26, 2019

Current Events Discussion Topics

An on-line "Zoom" discussion is conducted every Monday morning at 9:30am Chicago time through the North Shore Senior Center hosted by Ron Mantegna. You can enroll in this discussion session at   https://www.nssc.org/

Ron conducts a Northbrook Library zoom discussion every 1st and 3rd and 5th Thursday, 10-11:30am. Open free to all who enroll.  Contact the Northbrook Library to connect with Ron Mantegna.                                                                                         

A Military Presence does reduce crime. Can it be sustained long term? Should it be? The Guard isn’t trained in law enforcement. Trump says he will deploy the Guard in Chicago and other cities, even after L.A.’s deployment was ruled unlawful as “creating a national police force”. Might untrained soldiers create a risk without planning & coordination with governors and mayors? 

 

Are Democrats on the wrong side of public opinion in fighting against Guard deployment? Is Pritzker wrong to reject soldiers he could use in admin roles and put more police on the street? What about the wisdom of Trump’s: “Chicago is about to find out why it’s called Department of War”?

 

How much is RFK Jr. putting America’s Health at Risk? Are Politics trumping Science? CDC is in turmoil. Why would a country with the finest scientific and medical resources in the world be under assault—not from the public, but from the government? 1,000 CDC folks call for RJK jr. to resign.

 

Florida ends vax Mandates. What’s the benefit? Will that increase or decrease Health risks?

 

475 South Koreans were arrested at a Georgia auto site. Border Czar Homan says more companies will be targeted.  How much Deportation does America really need or want?  Is Noam doing a good job, or going too far in arresting “peace-loving” Undocs easy to arrest at events, at Immigration hearings, and at work? Is zeal for “quotas” trumping “we’ll be deporting bad guys”?

 

The Department of Defense is being changed back to Department of War.  How might focus on Offense instead of Defense keep America safer? Trump says he wants a "warrior ethos".  Does this attitude conflict with “peacemaker” Trump seeking a Nobel Prize?

 

Bold message sent to Cartels. Justified? How Legal? U.S. struck a Venezuelan drug-carrying vessel killing 11. First time we killed dealers instead of arresting them. Do we need to do more of this? Or should we rely on America’s Rule of Law, Due Process and Constitution to fight drugs?

 

Is our Economy in trouble? Uncertainty grows. Job Market is stalled. Unemployment ticking up.  We’re in a “no hire, no fire” mode. Prices are going up. “Numbers will be “real” 1-2 years from now.”

 

Are Tariffs creating new alliances that help China? Xi hosted Kim, Putin, Iran and India’s Modi as they stood ready to reduce U.S. influence in the world.  Has “America First” become America Alone? Is China the big winner from distancing ourselves from our Allies, and abdicating soft power to China?

 

It’s all a Democratic hoax.” Does America believe that? What did the Maxwell Interview tell us? Will Victims succeed in having all files released? Are we any closer to the end of this Epstein saga?

 

Should Executive Power be held in check? Or does a more Authoritarian approach work better than America’s long-standing Democracy in today’s world? “I am the President of the United States, and I can do exactly what I want.” Trump pushes aside independent experts. One person rules: “If you don’t share Trump’s agenda, we’ll show you the door.”  Is this why Trump was elected? T

 

How excited are you about Swift and Kelce getting engaged? Why are Conservatives critical?

 

Are museums wrong to cover how bad Slavery was? Does History need to be more positive? What’s more harmful: not covering full details, or covering everything?

 

Does Cashless Bail put more Folks at risk while protecting Law Breakers?

 

Will “firing” a Fed Governor affect confidence in our financial leadership? Three Cabinet members have dual mortgages, just like Fed Gov. Lisa Cook.

Are things going too far in pushing back against “Woke”? Cracker Barrel is accused of being “woke” after their flap with their logo to “erase the White guy”?

 

How do we avoid a Government Shutdown? What is going to happen now? Trump revoked $5B in foreign aid Congress already approved as Congress faces an October 1 deadline to fund the government or deal with a shutdown. Are we likely to just kick the can down the road?

 

Is it OK if mail-in ballots and the use of voting machines are stopped?

 

The Justice Department will conduct a Grand Jury to look at “Russia-Gate”.  Muller, Durham and Rubio’s Senate Committee have found no wrong-doing. Does that matter?

 

Is a “Christian Soldier” heading our Military? Hegseth is openly aligned with Christian nationalist, Doug Wilson. Wilson believes in a patriarchal society: stop women from voting, criminalize homosexuality, build a government ruled by Christ.

 

What about the 2025 Melonia (Kennedy) Center awards. Trump as MC? Attendance plumets.

 

Good move? Trump has directed the Commerce Department to start working on a new census, noting that illegal aliens in the U.S. will not be included in the count.

 

Should we allow 16-year-olds to vote, as the UK just approved?

 

What are the implications of record low U.S. Fertility? 1.6 kids per woman. We are not replacing ourselves. It’s a world-wide problem. How does this fit into our Deportation strategy?

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Israeli History/Israeli Current Events


Upcoming Discussion

Mark Gelfeld leads a Zoom discussion at the Northbrook Library 10am to 11:30am every 2nd and 4th Thursday. Signup is free at this link. A library card is not needed. 
https://visit.northbrook.info/event/4628524

Israeli Current Events will be discussed for the first portion of our session.
Then...we'll continue reviewing events related to the First Lebanon War
Links below allow you to review slides we show and discuss at each session.

Zionism/Israeli History through 1967  

Below is a list of books mentioned during our sessions:

· "The Arab-Israeli Wars" by Chaim Herzog
· "Kissinger and the Yom Kippur War" by David Morse
· "The Making of Modern Israel 1948-1967" by Leslie Stein
· "Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict" by Charles D. Smith
· “The Iron Wall: Israel & The Arab World” by Avi Shlaim
· “Transformative Justice: Israeli Identity on Trial” by Leora Bilsky
· "Six Days of War : June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East" by Michael Oren
· “The Secret War Against The Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People” by John Loftus and Mark Aarons
· “A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel” by Allis Radosh and Ronald Rados
· "Truman" by David McCullough
· “Louis D. Brandeis: A Life” by Melvin Urofsky
· “The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership” by Yehuda Avner
· “George C. Marshall” by Forest Pogue (a 4 volume work- the most definitive biography)
· “1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War” by Benny Morris
· “Woodrow Wilson: A Biography” by John Milton Cooper, Jr
· “A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East” by David Fromkin
· "Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews": A History by James Carroll
· “In the Garden of the Beasts” by Erik Larson
· “My Promised Land - The Triumph & Tragedy of Israel” by Ari Shavit
· "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide" by Samantha Power
· "The Physician" by Noah Gordon
· "Start-up Nation: the Story of Israel's Economic Miracle" by Dan Senor and Saul Singer
· "Eichmann in Jerusalem: a Report on the Banality of Evil" by Hannah Arendt
· "The Eichmann Trial" by Deborah Lipstadt
· "The House on Garibaldi Street" by Isser Harrel
· "Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices" by Mosab Hassan Yousef
· “Eichmann Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of A Mass Murder” by Bettina Stangneth
· "Jaffa Beach" by Fedora Horowitz
· "Operation Thunderbolt:  Flight 139 and the Raid on Entebbe Airport, the most Audacious Hostage Rescue in History", by Saul David
· "Abba Eban", A Biography by Asaf Siniver
· "Jerusalem: The Biography" by Simon Sebag Montefiore
· "The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine" by Ben Ehrenreich
· "Jabotinsky" by Hillel Halkin
· "Doomed to Succeed: The U.S. Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama" by Dennis Ross 
· "The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel" by Uri-Bar Joseph
· "FDR and the Jews" by Richard Breitman
· "No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kearns Goodwin
· "Remember the Liberty!:Almost Sunk by Treason on the High Seas" by Phillip F Nelson, Ronald G. Kukal, Ernest A. Gallo 
· "Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn" by Daniel Gordis
· "Every Spy a Prince" The Complete History of Israel's Intelligence Community by Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman
· "FDR and the Holocaust: A Breach of Faith" by Rafael Medoff
· "Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations" by Ronen Bergman
· "Then They Came for Me - Martin Niemoller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis" - Matthew Hockenos
· "We Stand Divided - The Rift Between American Jews and Israel" - Daniel Gordis
· "BiBi" - Anshel Pfeffer
· "Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the 40-year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East" - Kim Ghattas


















Thursday, March 6, 2014

WELCOME TO TODAY'S DISCUSSION



“Current Events” Code of Conduct

We respect each other and conduct our discussions with civility.

This includes:

      Never using loud, abusive, threatening or insulting language.
      Never offending, threatening, or insulting groups or individuals based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or any disability.
      Never being under the influence of anything but our best behavior.
      Never harming anyone, including fighting or challenging anyone to fight.
      Understanding every aspect of Sexual Harassment - This includes: • making inappropriate personal comments or sexual advances • using obscene or lewd language or gestures • staring at, or following anyone in a manner that reasonably can be expected to disturb him or her • exposing others to sexual Internet content.

Ron's Rules:

1. Civility means treating each other with respect. Hate the comment. Love the commenter. When you make it personal, I will stop you. Talk to the issue. Respond like this: “I disagree. Strawberry is not better than butter pecan. Here’s why. ….”  Responses like this are out of line: “You’re an F-ing idiot if you think strawberry is better than butter pecan!”   Our goal is to shed light more than heat.

2. If someone else makes your point, you don’t need to make it again.

3. I try to seek different views. In doing so, I will call on some folks more than others so there’s a chance to hear different sides. But I may not get to everyone for some topics.

4. If you’re seeking a “support group” to vent heart-felt rants, go elsewhere. Attend with an open mind. You don’t need to agree with what you hear—just do try to understand the other side. I’m preaching to myself here as well.

5. Finally, It’s perfectly OK to push back against my questions you feel are too slanted or flat out incorrect. That’s going to happen.  Just don’t be picky in the interest of time.