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.                                                                                      

What is our Deportation policy? Are thousands of ICE agents in an urban setting—unskilled in police work—a disruptive force? Or needed to fulfill a winning election promise to deport all Undocumented Immigrants? How practical is that goal and quota to make 3,000 deportations a day?

 

Trump wants Republicans to “nationalize” elections—take away State control, believing States should only facilitate National control.  How serious is Trump’s attack on elections? Would Free National Voter I.D. settle the issue of who can legally vote?

 

Does the release of millions of Epstein files change anything important for the victims?  

 

What does the Democratic Party primarily stand for today? With no National leader, and no National election until 2028, does it matter that Democrat Approval is as low as Trump’s? Why did Democrats win virtually all the special local elections held in 2025? 

 

America now has a “Department of War”. Is it in America’s best interests to use our unmatched military might to acquire or change nations? Run Venezuela? Impose a naval blockade on Cuba? Facilitate regime change in Iran? Gain control over Greenland?

 

Trans Sports: Do you Agree, or Disagree? Sport already accommodates biological variation. Hormone therapy can mitigates advantage so there is no clear evidence of systemic unfairness, and excluding Trans athletes from women’s sports is inconsistent, unnecessary, and ethically unjustified.

 

Is America essentially stepping away from maintaining a tight relationship with our European allies? Why would the risk of any unraveling of NATO be in America’s best interests?

 

Who is going to win the Super Bowl? Do you care one way or the other about “Bad Bunny”?

 

Why can’t we improve Education everywhere? A Literacy-Based Promotion Act passed in Mississippi in 2013 put the emphasis on K-3 grade-level reading skills. 4th-grade reading scores jumped from 49th to 21st in national rankings by going back to the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Why not everywhere?

 

Is it OK to selectively apply Federal Law against “political enemies”—because elections have consequences? When does “Political Retribution” step outside America’s Rule of Law?  Case in point: using the FACE Act to arrest Don Lemon for reporting protests at a church service.

 

Is Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace” a step in the direction, or does it create a problem? Secretary General Antonio Guterres: “The basic responsibility for international peace and security lies with U.N. and with the Security Council.”

 

Regarding blatant lies, should Freedom of Speech be controlled on air as it is in print?

 

Can Mayor Mamdani effectively help “the poor” by super-taxing “the rich”?Replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”

 

What good comes out of raising skepticism about Vaccines? RFK jr.’s new “whole foods pyramid” focuses on Proteins and Fats. (Have you tried Tallow?)

 

How effective are Celebrity political speeches at Awards Ceremonies?

 

How much are Trump’s actions hurting Republicans? Does he care about political pain his polices are causing the GOP? Trump’s 1st Year Report Card: Failure. 39% Approval.  29% with Independents. Most Americans feel he has set the wrong priorities, mostly hurt the economy, and has acquired too much power.

 

Did we learn anything with Jack Smith’s testimony before Congress?

 

How likely are we to see some compromise bill on Health Care? With no subsidy, Health Care has become unaffordable for millions. Is that OK?

 

$3 meals? Agriculture Secretary  Rollins claims their revamped food pyramid leaves plenty of room for us to maintain a healthy diet for as little as $3 a meal. Just eat “a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli”, “a corn tortilla” and “one other thing”.

 

Trade deficit soared 94% in November, higher than LY, despite tariffs.

 

President Trump saw value in accepting the Nobel Prize medal Machado was actually awarded. How might leaders of other nations deal with Trump?

 

How big an issue is the stealing of federal funds from public assistance programs in Minnesota?  Does it matter that criminals are mostly Somali?

 

Time magazine named "The Architects of A.I." as 2025 Person of the Year.

 

NY Times: Are there any limits to your power? “My own morality. My own mind. That’s the only thing that can stop me.”

 

Might China take steps to acquire Taiwan? Will Trump act to stop them?

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.