Third Saturday Seminar 2015-2016
Return of the Elders, Unleash your Wisdom
Session 07
“American Muslims – Who are they, and what do they stand for?”
a conversation with Riaz Siddiqi, about the American Muslim experience
Saturday, 16 April 2016 9:30AM til 12:00 NOON
Room B-102, Lone Star College – Montgomery
3200 College Park Drive – Conroe, TX – 77384 – 936.273.7000
He will address current perceptions about the role of Muslims in American society, and how their faith enables them to fully embrace and celebrate the American ethos. He will address challenges and opportunities that face American Muslims and all Americans at large.
Riaz Siddiqi is a founder and Managing Partner of Denham Capital and brings more than 35 years of experience to the firm in the energy and asset management sectors. He is a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight, Pilots for Patients and Veterans Airlift Command, and is a recipient of the Asia Society Houston Center’s award for leadership in business and philanthropy.
Siddiqi is involved in several public service causes and is the Chairman of the board of the American Pakistan Foundation, and is on the Board of Convergence. He is a member of Business Executives for National Security; an organization that works with the U.S. Government on national security matters. He has been a leading force in developing Friends of Iman’s Annual Interfaith Iftar. (1) (2) He has been involved with Compassionate Houston and the Organization of Pakistani entrepreneurs of North America as a Founding Board Member and a past President.
As usual, our world is still in “interesting times”. We will start the session with Current Events (Distractions)
There are too many to list but here are a few items.
Presidential Primaries Update (www.realclearpolitics.com)
Republican Delegate Count
Republican Popular Vote Count
Democratic Delegate Count
Democratic Popular Vote Count
HuffPost Pollster tracks thousands of public polls to give you the latest data on elections, political opinions and more.
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster#2016-primaries
You would think that the Political Parties would want to nominate a nationally electable candidate, but experience belies this.
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster#2016-general-election
US scolds others about offshores, but looks other way at home
By Kevin G. Hall and Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Washington Bureau
BUFFALO, Wyo. , April 5, 2016 11:02 AM The U.S. government has publicly and privately pressured countries that act as offshore havens for hiding money, while this barren, sparsely populated state offers the same secrecy.
CBS News April 10, 2016, 9:09 AM
The crash of 2008 put the economies of many nations ON ICE. But few took a harder hit than Iceland. Years later, politicians and bankers are still paying the price, as Martha Teichner reports in our Cover Story:
In Iceland, a volcanic eruption of the political kind: angry protestors demanded the resignation of their prime minister, when last week’s sensational data leak revealed his millions of dollars of undisclosed holdings in Iceland’s three biggest banks, which collapsed during the world financial meltdown in 2008.
Iceland is known for its volcanic eruptions, among its many exotic natural wonders, and now for something else: after the crash, it let its banks fail, and put its bankers in jail.
This past Tuesday, Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson stepped aside.
Panama Papers spotlight how world’s rich hide money offshore (CBS Evening News, 04/04/16)
The “Panama Papers”: 6 key takeaways (CBS Moneywatch, 04/04/16)
World leaders under fire amid “Panama Papers” scandal (CBS This Morning, 04/05/16)
28 Pages
Former Sen. Bob Graham and others urge the Obama administration to declassify redacted pages of a report that holds 9/11 secrets’ Correspondent Steve Kroft, 2016 Apr 10
The following script is from “28 Pages” which aired on April 10, 2016. Steve Kroft is the correspondent. Howard Rosenberg and Julie Holstein, producers.
In 10 days, President Obama will visit Saudi Arabia at a time of deep mistrust between the two allies, and lingering doubts about the Saudi commitment to fighting violent Islamic extremism.
It also comes at a time when the White House and intelligence officials are reviewing whether to declassify one of the country’s most sensitive documents — known as the “28 pages.” They have to do with 9/11 and the possible existence of a Saudi support network for the hijackers while they were in the U.S.
Syria ceasefire on verge of collapse as peace talks resume
“Talk about OXYMORONS” Curt’s comment!
Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor, 12 April 2016 • 7:17pm
International powers are struggling to prevent a breakdown in the Syria ceasefire in advance of a new round of peace talks due to start on Wednesday.
The Assad regime has announced a new offensive to recapture Aleppo from rebel forces, following ten days of intense fighting south of the city.
There have also been clashes elsewhere, including in the Assad family’s home province of Latakia and in Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus.
Regime and opposition representatives are due to meet in Geneva for a second round of talks due to address the most sensitive issue – a “political transition”.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN Syria envoy who is hosting the talks, has been on a tour of Middle East capitals in advance and was in Iran yesterday, whose staunch support for President Bashar al-Assad is putting it at odds with most other regional and international powers.
“We agreed that what is very important is that cessation of hostilities continues… and that a political process leading to a political transition is now crucially urgent,” he said after meeting the deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
At the weekend, Ali Akbar Velayati, the powerful foreign affairs adviser to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the removal of Mr Assad was a “red line”. Iran believes “political transition” can be covered by a new constitution.
This puts Iran at variance with Russia, Syria’s other major backer, which has indicated it wants to preserve the regime in some form but is not committed to Mr Assad personally. His departure is the baseline demand of all opposition groups.
President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he was drawing down troops from Syria has been said by Russian analysts to be an attempt to force Mr Assad to make concessions in Geneva.
At a briefing on Monday, Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi, a member of the Russian general staff, appeared to deliberately slap down the regime, saying there was no intention to retake Aleppo.
But he confirmed that the Russians were helping the regime prepare to fight a build-up of “10,000 fights from Jabhat al-Nusra”, al-Qaeda’s local branch, south of the city.
His words highlighted the key fault-line in the ceasefire – many if not most of the rebel fighters operating south of the city are not from Jabhat al-Nusra, which was never included in the ceasefire, but from allied rebel groups which were.
Mr Amir-Abdollahian blamed the “increasing activities of armed groups” for the outbreak of fighting in contravention of the ceasefire, but France, a supporter of the opposition, blamed “the impact of the regime and its allies’ offensives around Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta”.
Voters For Trump Ad – SNL – Satire Video 1:25 min
The General election will be Tuesday, November 8, 2016 Will you be ready?
Third Saturday Seminars – Spring 2016
6 Sessions
To refer to an ancient Chinese saying, “our world is in interesting times” and individual citizens are assaulted with a blinding array of propaganda from every conceivable source. The Third Saturday Seminar is about demystification of what is going on around us. Time will also be spent on current events. Meets 1/16, 2/20, 3/12, 4/16 (2nd Sat), 5/21 and 6/18. Meets on Montgomery Campus in B102.
15216 S 1/16-6/18 9:30 a.m.-Noon B102 Gibby
LSC-Montgomery
3200 College Park Drive, Conroe, TX 77384
ALL- Montgomery Links:
Academy for Lifelong Learning: LSC-Montgomery
http://www.lonestar.edu/all-montgomery.htm
Steven Gorman
Program Manager, Academy for Lifelong Learning,
LSC-Montgomery 936.273.7259
steven.gorman@lonestar.edu
Registration
How do I register for a class? You can fill out a registration form and submit it to ALL:
· In person: LSC-Montgomery (3200 College Park Dr., Conroe, TX 77384), Continuing Education/ALL Office Building E (Room 205)
· Phone: 936.273.7446 ,Fax: 936.273.7262
Reminder for ALL members:
Please let ALL know if you change your address, phone number, or email. Call 936.273.7446 or email: MCALL@LoneStar.edu.
“Some part of our being knows this (the universe) is where we came from. We long to return. And we can. Because the cosmos is also within us; We’re made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” Carl Sagan
See you Saturday, 16 April 2016 at 9:30am, Room B-102
Curt Gibby, Director