Category: Discussion Group

The World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Wednesday, July 9th at 4:00 pm. The topic will be Turkey’s Role in a Fractured Region based on the WACMB luncheon lecture of June 27th by Colonel Christopher Welch, who will join our discussion, and some additional reading. The meeting will be held on Zoom, and all WACMB members are invited to participate.

If you are interested and have never attended our World Affairs Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.xyz to receive log-in information and related study materials.

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The WACMB World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Wednesday, June 11th at 4:00 pm. The discussion topic will be The Impact of Tariffs on Foreign Policy based on selected readings.

The meeting will be held on Zoom, and all WACMB members are invited to participate.
If you are interested and have never attended our World Affairs Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.xyz to receive log-in information and related study materials.

Come join the conversation!

The WACMB + OLLI World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday November 12th at 4:00 pm. The discussion topic will be Foreign Policy Implications of the U.S. Elections Outcome. The meeting will be held
on Zoom, and all WACMB members are invited to participate.

If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.xyz to receive log-in information and related study materials.

Come join the conversation!

The WACMB + OLLI World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday October 1st at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be The Rapidly Changing Arctic and Its Global Impact based on the WACMB luncheon lecture of September 30 by Dr. Brendan Kelly.

“Polar ice caps are melting as global warming causes climate change. We lose Arctic Sea ice at a rate of almost 13% per decade, and over the past 30 years the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has declined by a stunning 95%. If emissions continue to rise unchecked the Arctic could be ice-free in the summer of 2040. What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic. Sea ice loss has far reaching effects around the world.” – World Wildlife Fund

Brendan Kelly, a marine biologist with a focus on sea ice environments – along with Indigenous, scientific, and canine collaborators – has documented ecological consequences of rapidly diminishing snow and sea ice cover. He subsequently devoted much of his career to studying environmental change in the Arctic and the consequences for ecosystems and people. Dr. Kelly is a senior fellow with the Center for the Blue Economy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. His lecture covers the current state of the Arctic, the consequences of change, and the prospects for a sustainable future.

If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.xyz to receive log-in information and related study materials.

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The WACMB + OLLI World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday September 3rd at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Russia and the United States in Space: Conflict or Cooperation? based on the WACMB dinner lecture of August 27 by Colonel William McArthur.

Some believe that space exploration over the next few decades will change the face of global politics. Already competition between the United States, China, and Russia in space is having consequences for us here on Earth. In March of this year the U.S. House Intelligence Committee became alarmed when they discovered that Russia was developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon potentially armed with a nuclear warhead. Space is central to our communications, economics and military strategy, and increasingly important to international relations.

Colonel William McArthur is a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one expedition to the International Space Station via the Russian Soyuz capsule, logging 224 days in space. He discussed the evolution of cooperation in human spaceflight, the new space race, the key players and their goals, and the prospects for fostering collaboration rather than conflict.

If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.xyz to receive log-in information and related study materials.

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The WACMB World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday August 6th at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Navigating the Geopolitical Impact of Artificial Intelligence, based on the WACMB dinner lecture of August 1 by Russell Wald.

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence have brought forth innumerable benefits, possibilities, and challenges. Russell Wald discusses how AI will affect governments and governance across the world and what it will mean for the geopolitical environment. Wald takes us through the latest trends in AI development and how that is impacting the economic and security competition that has been engendered by the rise of AI, which will form the basis for our discussion.

If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.xyz to receive log-in information and related study materials.

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The WACMB World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday July 2nd at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Thailand’s Polarized Politics: Entrenched Elite & Implications for U.S. Policy, based on the WACMB luncheon lecture of June 28 by James Stent.

Over recent decades, the popular aspirations in Thailand for a fully democratic and more just society have run up against entrenched resistance and repression from an elite determined to defend its political control and economic privileges. Polarization between the contending forces has steadily increased. In his talk, Jim Stent describes the underlying cultural and historical issues leading to polarization and outlines the issues at stake today between the contending forces. His presentation includes a discussion of how this domestic political drama conditions the geostrategic rivalry in Southeast Asia between China and the United States, and what the U.S. needs to do to retain the good will of Thailand, a major non-NATO ally.

If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.xyz to receive log-in information and related study materials.

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The WACMB World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Friday June 7th at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Mexico’s Elections, which take place this coming Sunday, June 2nd.

Mexico’s elections on June 2nd will choose a new president and an entirely new national Congress. Much attention will be focused on the choice of a new president, as Mexico’s constitution does not allow the popular incumbent president, López Obrador, to run again. Many argue that no other country has more impact on the daily lives of Americans than does our southern neighbor. Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner and production partner. It is also the entry way for massive amounts of deadly, illegal drugs and large flows of migrants.

If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.xyz to receive log-in information and related study materials.

Come join the conversation!