Russia Rising

Thursday, March 22, 2018, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)
Meeting cancelled due to inclement weather.

The completely expected election of Putin was an anticlimax of a week of rising tensions with Russia due to the attempted assassination of a former Russian agent in the UK. Somewhat surprising, Trump not only condemned Russia for this action, but also added sanctions for election interference and cyber-hacking our electric grid and other infrastructure.

Here are the videos for the next meeting:

• Vladimir Putin maintains grip on power in Russia
• US, UK, French, German leaders blame Russia in spy poisoning
• Treasury Department Sanctions Russian Cyber Actors For Election Interference
• ‘We Have So Much More To Lose’ Than Russia
• Russian Bots and Trolls

North Korea Again

Thursday, March 15, 2018, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

North Korea is again in the news with Trump agreeing to talk to Kim. Trump has been criticized for accepting without conditions but his defenders say that nothing else has worked. So Kim gets a big boost in prestige but what then? Is it possible that Kim really wants to deescalate nuclear tensions to improve his economy. Or is he just stalling to improve his missile guidance system.

Here are the videos for the next meeting:

• Fareed: Trump summit a victory for North Korea
• Winter Olympics and the Korea Crisis: Last chance for peace?
• Kim Jong Un meets with South Korean officials

----------------------------------------- Updated 3/15/18 -------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• China and Russia strike joint position on North Korea
• World awaits response from North Korea on summit with US
• A look at the career of Rex Tillerson
• After ‘Rexit’ What's next for US diplomacy under Pompeo
• How North Korea’s Mountains Preserve the Kim Dynasty
• Untold Stories About North Korean Popstars

World Dominance

Thursday, March 8, 2018, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

The sole superpower status of the United States is being challenged by the second largest economy, China, and by the second strongest military power, Russia. In China, Xi is about to remove term limits so he can pursue unhindered his goal of making China the dominant superpower. In Russia, Putin announced new nuclear weapons that would overpower the US arsenal. While in the USA, Trump is starting a trade war with its allies as if encouraging China and Russia to take over world leadership.

Here are the videos for next week:

• Fareed: Is anyone paying attention to China?
• Putin unveils new nuclear weapons
• Trump Doesn't Think Twice About His Looming Trade War

---------------------------- Updated 3/8/18 -------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• Xi Jinping's ideology now written into China's constitution
• Ex-Australia PM Rudd Isn't Surprised Xi Abolished Term Limits
• China to pass law allowing president for life

Parkland Continues

Thursday, March 1, 2018, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

The Parkland shooting continues in the news, as the student demand some action to curtail gun violence. The NRA, of course, want more guns to fight guns, but their political allies are offering concessions that the NRA opposes. However, they still reject a ban on assault weapons.

For the next meeting, we will explore the gun issue in three parts, what is currently being proposed, what is being avoided and what is overlooked. Here are the videos for the meeting:

• Trump: 'I really believe I'd run in' Florida school during deadly shooting
• The President Lives In A Fantasy World
• My son was a Columbine shooter

--------------------------------------- Updated 3/1/18 -------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• AR-15 style rifle used in another mass shooting
• Did the last assault weapons ban work?

NeverAgain Rising

Thursday, February 22, 2018, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

At first the Parkland shooting seemed like it would play out like all the other mass shootings, but the reaction by the students, in the NeverAgain movement, may indicate that this time it's different. The speech by Emma Gonzales was the wake call to the media that it needs to pay attention to this movement.

Just before the shooting, the Porter domestic abuse scandal and the MeToo movement dominated the media. We covered this last week, but some members wanted to stay on this topic to look beyond the politics to the underlying cause. So for the next meeting, we will also look at the common factor in domestic violence and mass shootings, which is male violence.

Here are the videos for the meeting:

• Emma Gonzalez’s Powerful Speech Demanding Gun Control
• Violence against women—it's a men's issue

---------------------------- Updated 2/22/18 --------------------------------

Here are the other Videos shown at the meeting:

• Parkland Survivors Transform Gun Debate
• Parkland Survivor Sam Zeif

MeToo Rising

Thursday, February 15, 2018, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

In spite of the huge deficit projections in the face of the rollout of the infrastructure plan, the news focused on the domestic abuse scandal involving two Whitehouse aides. It is now more likely that the MeToo movement will be the primary issue in the 2018 midterm elections.

Here are some of the videos for the next meeting:

• Trump calling for due process after staffers resign
• Donald Trump White House Facing Security Clearance Questions
• Why was Porter allowed to work closely with Trump?
• Abuse allegations against former White House aide overshadow Trump budget

--------------------------------------- Updated 2/15/18 --------------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• Donald Trump Has Never Condemned Domestic Violence
• Rob Porter’s Ex-Wife Jennifer Willoughby
• FBI Director Contradicts White House On Porter Investigation
• Trump breaks silence on domestic abuse
• Pence: "I think the White House could have handled this better."
• Judge Nap on Porter Scandal

Two Memos

Thursday, February 8, 2018, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

For the next meeting, we will be talking about the released Nunez memo and the yet to be released rebuttal memo. I am still going through the videos, so I will not have the complete selection before the meeting.

For starters here are two videos which provide the background and a quick summary of what was in the Nunez memo:

• Trump and Republicans Hail Release of Classified Memo on Russia Probe
• Schiff: Key part of Nunes memo is untrue

------------------------------------------ Updated 2/8/18 -----------------------------------------------

Here are the other videos shown at the meeting:

• What's in the Nunes memo?
• Schiff: Just part of dossier used for Carter Page warrant
• Will declassified Nunes memo impact Russia probe?
• A Footnote Completely Ruins Devin Nunes' Argument
• Cooper: Is memo delay a double standard?
• Lawyers Reportedly Advise Trump to Refuse Meeting with Mueller
• Jeff Flake: Treason Is Not A Punchline
• Tucker Carlson: You Can't Trust Government That Abuses Power
• Top Democrats claim Russian bots are pushing #ReleaseTheMemo
• Just Between Us: Nunes Memo Dominates Court of Public Opinion