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.                                                                        

On Day 10, how much does America see this Iran War as being in our national interest? Polls show most Americans don’t support this war. How patient will we be if fighting is protracted? How likely is it Trump will declare a total Military victory, and then say the rest is up to the Iranian people?

 

Does the IRGC still control Iran? Any sign they are losing their grip on the country?

 

What should we do to address Russia giving Iran intel on U.S. targets to kill Americans?

 

How likely is it that Trump will send in ground troops? Pro-American, Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq are preparing armed units that could enter, creating a potential new front.

 

Trump demands “unconditional surrender”. What would that look like? He offers amnesty to IRGC members, police, and military who surrender weapons to avoid "certain death". To who?

 

Trump says he must be involved in picking Iran’s next Leader. Is that “nation building”? How can Iran’s leadership void be filled “tops down” as we did with Venezuela? Or must it be “bottoms up” through the Iranian People? How does America help facilitate an outcome that’s in our best interests?

 

Your thoughts on how the Administration is selling the War. Hegseth: In disclosing the names of soldiers killed, “The press only wants the President to look bad.” Social Media is replacing daily press briefings. “Call of Duty” video game clips are meshed with actual military footage to project “power”. 

 

FOX reports “Cuba will be falling in a few weeks. Trump’s focus is on securing the Western Hemisphere.” What might a “friendly take-over” of Cuba look like?  Trump: “I now ended 8 wars, and another one is coming”. Is he talking about a “friendly war” to take over Cuba?

 

Is “Shield of the Americas” essentially Trump’s focus on force under his “Don-roe Doctrine”? Is his foreign policy approach: “You can take yours. We’re going to take ours.” The initiative reflects Trump’s effort to shift U.S. national security strategy toward the Western Hemisphere. How does being at War with Iran fit into this broader strategy?

 

Reports are that Trump didn’t fire Noam over her policy or how she handled deportation. He hated the flap over “self-promoting” TV commercials. $220M was spent on her TV spots. Under oath, Noam says Trump approved them. Trump says he did not. What role has Miller played?

 

What experience and skills are important to leading Homeland Security? How qualified is Sen. Markwayne Mullin? He has been an Oklahoma Senator since 2023, and was a U.S. Representative for ten years prior. Former successful plumbing business owner, rancher, and undefeated mixed martial arts fighter. Mullin has an associate degree in construction technology.

 

Are Democrats anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian? How much does this reflect the country?

 

How effective are local Democrat candidates who mostly just hammer Trump in their ads?

 

Will Netanyahu be pardoned? Trump wants President Herzog to pardon Netanyahu "today". He calls Herzog "a disgrace" for failing to act over the last year. "Every day I talk to Bibi about the war. I want him to focus on the war and not on the f*cking court case. I want the only pressure on Bibi to be the fighting against Iran.”

 

What did we learn with the Texas Primary? Democrats chose a less known Moderate Centrist, Talarico, over a much better known firebrand, Crockett. More Moderate Sen. Cornyn and controversial Attorney General, Paxton, now face an expensive run-off. Paxton suggests he would be open to dropping out of the run-off if Senate Republicans eliminated the filibuster and pass a bill that requires voters to show proof of citizenship to register to vote. The shift from Paxton comes after Trump said he plans to endorse in the Senate GOP primary “soon” and called for whomever he doesn’t endorse to drop out of the race.

 

How does Trump’s often combative approach with anyone who differs with him affect Republicans running in November? Is he concerned about polls that show his key polices are not well received by voters?  Trump’s Approval is 40% driven by Prices, Immigration, Tariffs, Warfare.

 

Is Voter I.D. logical and necessary in today’s high-tech world?  Or does requiring a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate to register create an unacceptable hurdle for too many?

 

The DHS Shutdown continues. Who do you believe is winning the political battle?

 

How useful an idea is Trump’s Board of Peace? Can it make an important difference?

 

Will Trump compromise with Dems and change how we execute Deportation? Would it help Republicans if Trump only targeted bad guys, not ALL Undocs—as Miller prefers?

 

Stats show Crime falling. But, do you feel Crime is truly on the decrease? Violent crime dropped significantly in 2025. Big cities saw murders down 19-21%. Robberies and aggravated assaults also down, with some metrics falling below pre-pandemic levels to 100-year lows. 

 

Is eliminating all standards for greenhouse gas emissions in our best interests? How smart is it to totally disregard the concerns of scientists vs. moderating how standards apply?

 

Re: 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.

 

Secretary of State Rubio: “The United States and Europe belong together." But has Trump moved away from America’s historic tight relationship with our European allies.

 

How important is the TrumpRx pharmacy plan that gives discounts on popular drugs?

 

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?)

 

$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”.

 

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

 

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

 

Our Current Divisive Politics aside, how do you feel about America’s experiment in Democracy? Where do we stand as a nation as we celebrate our 250th Year? Are we generally heading in a mostly positive direction?

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.