"The NYC Political Forum"

For this meeting, we'll read and discuss Machiavelli's "The Prince" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince).

Based on the reading, here are some questions and themes for our discussion:

▨ The emergence of the Italian renaissance, its reigning rulers of the period, and the governing system.

▨ A brief biography of Machiavelli.

▨ The intended audience and meaning of The Prince.

▨ The analysis and interpretation of The Prince.

▨ The applicability of political principles and theories stemming from The Prince.

▨ The wide-ranging influence of The Prince -- from the revolutionaries, controversial theorists, dictators, to modern politicians.

IMPORTANT: If you wish to attend, it is strongly recommended that you read the text, as the discussion will primarily be based from the reading assignment. Many copies are available on line, including at the following link: https://www.constitution.org/mac/prince00.htm

More details to follow.

IMPORTANT: In order to participate create a profile on Zoom:

https://zoom.us/

If using Zoom for the first time, please download the app. It's free and only takes a few minutes to complete.

You'll receive a link to the Zoom videoconference one day before the Meetup.

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We'll continue discussing the coronavirus pandemic. For the Eighth Session, we'll discuss whether this pandemic is a preview of what's to come if the current projections of climate change turns out to be true.

To that end, below is what we've discovered so far from the pandemic -- and these are the important questions that our society must rigorously examine:

• This pandemic has revealed the sobering reality of the true limits and vulnerabilities of human nature and our technology vs. the mightiness and dangers of the natural world.

• The potential reemergence of "prehistoric" plagues from rapid melting of the Arctic ice. This pandemic has revealed that our immune systems are highly vulnerable to any "novel" pathogens.

• Our society, cultural norms, institutions, infrastructure, and government were grossly unprepared for a global (let alone a nation-wide) crisis.

• Our society, institutions, infrastructure, and government are grossly under-prepared and ill-equipped for an adequate medical response.

• While some experts have been ringing the alarm bell for many years, many of our elected officials and society at large (myself included) were asleep behind the wheel -- some even outright downplayed the dangers. Only after the crisis had unfolded, we then found ourselves asking "how could this have happened? . . . I had no idea it would be this bad."

• FINALLY, assuming that the projections by the overwhelming majority of the experts in the scientific community are true, what can be done? Is it too late? Can the skeptics ever be convinced of the scientific data?

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Past sessions:

▨ Session 1: Sharing our stories about coping, readiness and survival.
(https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/269537632/)

▨ Session 3: COVID-19: From Wuhan to Washington to everywhere
(https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/269537632/)

▨ Session 3: TED Talks: Did Bill Gates predict COVID-19 in 2015?
(https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/269622313/)

▨ Session 4: The Economic Impacts of the Coronavirus
(https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/269653040/)

▨ Session 5: The $2.2 TRILLION stimulus and mega-bailout
(https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/269746655/)

▨ Session 6: COVID-19 Lockdowns vs. Our Individual Freedoms
(https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/269792901/)

▨ Session 7: "The role of faith, spirituality and humanism during a pandemic." (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/269911744/)

▨ Session 8: "Individualism vs. Utilitarianism vs. Collectivism during a pandemic" (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/269972631/)

▨ Session 9: "How the coronavirus is magnifying the racial and socio-economic disparities." (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/270067753/)

▨ Session 10: "The Future of the U.S.-China Relations in the Covidien Era" (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/270203517/)

▨ Session 11: "Europe's response to COVID-19 and the future of the E.U." (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/270294141/)

▨ Session 12: "India's response to the coronavirus -- for its 1.3 billion people" (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/270358983/)

▨ Session 13: "The 1918 'Spanish Flu' Influenza Pandemic - history, pathology & lessons learned" (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/270450880/)

▨ Session 14: "Big Gov't or Limited Gov't" (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/270504613/)

▨ Session 15: "The New Normal" (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/270914119/)
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We'll limit the attendance to ten attendees for each session. Each event will be announced about two to three days beforehand.

For this meeting, we'll discuss the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956.

To that end, we'll discuss and analyze each of its three distinct components: Law, History and Politics.

I. Law

• The Convention of Constantinople of 1888 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_Constantinople)

• The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Egyptian_treaty_of_1936)

• A secret agreement reached between the governments of Britain, France and Israel, later to be known as the "Protocol of Sèvres" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_of_Sèvres)

• The U.N. Security Council Resolution 119 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_119)

II. History

• History of the Suez Canal
• The significance of the discovery of oil in the region.
• The rise of Gamal Abdel Nasser to power, and the nationalization of Egypt's various industries, including the Canal.
• The secrete war plan against Egypt and the subsequent invasion.

III. Politics

• The state of Anglo-Egyptian relations after the post-colonial era.
• The state of Egypt-Israeli relations.
• Nasser's vision and role in shaping the pan-Arabic nationalism.
• Egypt's relationship with the Soviet Bloc.
• The aftermath and the legacy from the epic collapse of the British and French colonial influences. How this ultimately gave rise to the new Superpowers amid the dawn of the Cold War era.

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More about LHP:

The LHP series explore the intersections of its namesake -- an in-depth study of a particular law, court decision, or a legal precedent that shaped the political forces and its historical ramifications.

In Season One, the LHP series covered subject matters that directly related to the U.S. We read and discussed landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, particular Constitutional Amendments, or an influential legislative body of work.

In Season Two, the advanced LHP series explored international and comparative law and treaties from a historic perspective. These included: Magna Carta, the Treaty of Versailles, "populist" revolutions, and the War Crimes Tribunal after WWII,

For Season Three, we'll focus on the development of the modern laws, treaties, and other international efforts in the post-WWII context. These may include the formation of the UN, the UNDHR to various UN Resolutions and Declarations of Independence of many nation-states.

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LHP series (Season Three)

▨ The U.N. Partition Plan for Palestine of 1947 (May 2019): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/261067371/

▨ The Formation of U.N. and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (April 2019): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/256895211/

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LHP series (Season Two):

▨ Nuremberg and Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal (c. [masked]) (Oct. 2018):
https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/252817478/

▨ The French Revolution (July 2018) (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/251616786/)

▨ The Russian Revolution (c. 1917) (June 2018):
https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/251231269/

▨ The "Beer Hall Putsch" (May 2018): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/249570392/

▨ The Treaty of Versailles (March 2018): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/247933278/

▨ Magna Carta (Jan. 2018): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/246064951/

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LHP series (Season One):

▨ Loving v. Virginia and Obergefell v. Hodges (Dec. 2017): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/244020216/

▨ Brown v. Board of Ed. (Sept. 2017): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/242699442/

▨ The Chinese Exclusion Act and Korematsu v. U.S. (July 2017): (https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/239229088/ )

▨ Plessy v. Ferguson, (April 2017): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/237488367/

▨ Federalist Papers Nos. 2, 68, and the Dred Scott Decision (Feb. 2017): https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Politics/events/236391106/?eventId=236391106s