Tonight's PCFR: French elections, Brexit, Trump & other adventures
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (pcfremail@gmail.com; thepcfr.org):
Jean Lesieur, one of Europe’s most distinguished journalists, will be the speaker at tonight's (April 5) Providence Committee on Foreign Relations’ dinner. Mr. Lesieur is a novelist, a co-founder of France 24 (the French version of CNN), a former foreign correspondent and a former senior editor at the magazines Le Point and L’Express, among other publications. Among other things, he’ll talk about Europe in the Brexit/Trump eras, the state of the Western Alliance and, of course, the wild French election campaign.
Jean Lesieur to speak on French elections, future of Western Alliance in Brexit/Trump era
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfrmail@gmail.com).
Our next speaker comes on Wednesday, April 5, when Jean Lesieur, one of Europe’s most distinguished journalists, joins us. Mr. Lesieur is a novelist, a co-founder of France 24, the French version of CNN, a former foreign correspondent and a former senior editor at Le Point and L’Express, among other publications. Among other things, he’ll talk about Europe in the Brexit/Trump eras, the state of the Western Alliance and, of course, the wild French election campaign.
The road from Rio
March 12, 2017
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com).
New England’s bizarre climate – the worst part of the winter comes near its end this year!
Distinguished Brazilian political economist and commentator Evodio Kaltenecker will speak on Thursday, March 16, about the challenges and opportunities for that huge nation as well as conditions in South America’s Southern Cone – Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. The recent past has been very tumultuous in Brazil particularly. Will the instability continue?
The title of his talk:
Brazil: 2018 and beyond and the pro-market wave in Latin America.
Upcoming foreign-relations dinners
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com).
There might be a couple of additions to this list over the next few weeks.
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (pcfremail@gmail.com; thepcfr.org)
Our next speaker comes on Thursday, Feb. 23, with Carl Maccario, an expert on international security issues involving terrorists and other bad actors. He's an internationally known specialist in behavior recognition, evaluating truthfulness and detecting deception, and nonverbal communication.
He has provided behavior recognition training to virtually every part of The Department of Homeland Security and as well as to various branches of the Department of Defense entities and to foreign nations.
He’ll have some exciting visuals to show us.
Dr. Stephen Coen, director of the Mystic Aquarium, will speak on the condition of the oceans, Wednesday, March 8.
Brazilian political economistand commentator Evodio Kaltenecker willspeak on Thursday, March 16, about the crises facing that huge nation.
On Wednesday, April 5, famed French journalist, novelist and broadcaster Jean Lesieur will speak on the global order being turned upside down by the advances of dictators, the retreat of democracies and the presidency of Donald Trump, not tomention the existential crisis of the European Union.
Dr. Rand Stoneburner, M.D., the international epidemiologist, willspeak on Wednesday April 19, about world public health challenges, including Zika.
James E. Griffin, an expert on ocean fishing and other aspects of the global food sector, will speak to us on Wednesday, May 17.
Joining us on Wednesday, June 14, will be Laura Freid, CEO of the Silk Road Project, founded and chaired by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions and studying the ebb and flow of ideas across nations and time. The project was first inspired by the cultural traditions of the historical Silk Road.
At the PCFR: Is foreign trade good for us?
Containerships carrying international cargo.
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com).
Our next dinner comes on Wednesday, Dec. 14, with:
Jeffrey Frankel, James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth at Harvard and former member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. He will talk about international trade and when and if it’s good for national economies.
His research interests include international finance, monetary policy, regional blocs, East Asia and global climate change. His publications include "Does Trade Cause Growth?" in the American Economic Review, and “Regional Trading Blocs.’’
American trade deals were, of course, huge (or is it “yuge’’?) issues in the U.S. presidential campaign and helped elect Donald Trump.
At the PCFR: Global warming and international security
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com).
Our next dinner comes on Nov. 15, with U. S. Naval War College Prof. James Holmes talking about the geopolitical and security issues presented by global warming,
Then on Dec. 14:
Jeffrey Frankel, James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth at Harvard and former member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. He will talk about international trade and when and if it’s good for national economies.
His research interests include international finance, monetary policy, regional blocs, East Asia and global climate change. His publications include "Does Trade Cause Growth?" in the American Economic Review, and “Regional Trading Blocs.’’
German General Consul Ralf Harlmann on Wednesday, Jan. 11, on the role of Germany in the post-Brexit world and facing a more aggressive Russia.
International epidemiologist Rand Stoneburner, M.D., on Zika and other burgeoning threats to world health, Jan. 18.
Indian Admiral Nirmal Verma, on military and geopolitical issues in South and Southeast Asia, Feb. 15.
Dr. Stephen Coen, director of the Mystic Aquarium, on the condition of the oceans, March 8.
Brazilian political economist and commentator Evodio Kaltenecker on April 5 to talk about the crises facing that huge nation.
James E. Griffin, an expert on ocean fishing and other aspects of the global food sector, will speak to us on Wednesday, May 17.
Joining us on Wednesday, June 14, will be Laura Freid, CEO of the Silk Road Project, founded and chaired by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions and studying the ebb and flow of ideas across nations and time. The project was first inspired by the cultural traditions of the historical Silk Road.
Brexit bathos, followed by mysterious Mongolia
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com), which meets at the Hope Club:
Our new season will open on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Our Web site, meanwhile, will be updated with news items fairly frequently. PCFR evenings start with drinks at 6 p.m., dinner by 6:50; the talk by dessert, and the evening ends at 9, except for those who would like to repair to the Hope Club’s lovely bar.
Meanwhile, we are working on a newelectronic system to make thespeakers’ remarks clearer everywhere in the room.
Mark Blyth, our first speaker, whom some of you have heard on NPR commenting on Brexit, will speak on Wednesday, Sept. 14, on Europe after Brexit.
Mark Blyth is Eastman Professor of Political Economy andProfessor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Brown.
He is an internationally celebrated political economist whose research focuses upon how uncertainty and randomness affect complex systems, particularly economic systems, and why people continue to believe stupid economic ideas despite buckets of evidence to the contrary. He is the author of several books, including Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2002, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (Oxford University Press 2013, and The Future of the Euro (with Matthias Matthijs) (Oxford University Press 2015).
Coming fast after that will be:
Prof. Morris Rossabi, probably the world’s greatest expert on Central Asia and particularly Mongolia: a democracystuck between the police states of Russia and China, Sept. 21. How does this faraway country do it? He’ll be speaking to us soon after returning from Mongolia and other points in Asia.
Then:
FormerU.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Tod Sedgwick, on thetense situation in Central Europe, Oct. 5.
Meanwhile, the World Affairs Council of Rhode Island and the PCFR are preparing a forum for Oct. 20 at the Hope Club on the foreign-policy visions and challenges of the U.S. presidential candidates. Stay tuned.
Naval War College Prof. James Holmes on the geopolitics of global warming, Nov. 15.
German General Consul Ralf Horlemann on the role of Germany in an E.U. without the U.Kand with an aggressive Russia pressing in from the east, Dec. 14.
Internationalepidemiologist Rand Stoneburner, M.D., on Zika and other burgeoning threats to world health, Jan. 18.
Indian Admiral Nirmal Verma, on military and geopolitical issues in South and Southeast Asia, Feb. 15.
Dr. Stephen Coen, director of the Mystic Aquarium, on the condition of the oceans, March 8.
Brazilian political economistand commentator Evodio Kaltenecker on April 5 to talk about the crises facing that huge nation.
James E. Griffin, an expert on ocean fishing and other aspects of the global food sector, will speak to us on Wednesday, May 17.
Joining us on Wednesday, June 14, will be Laura Freid, CEO of the Silk Road Project, founded and chaired by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions and studying the ebb and flow of ideas across nations and time. The project was first inspired by the cultural traditions of the historical Silk Road.
Brexit expert to lead off Providence Committee on Foreign Relations season
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com):
Herewith is part of the PCFR’s annual Summer Letter. Please note that there are a few updates below.
We are heading into our 89th season, which is a pretty impressive number.
One of our members says that the PCFR dinner meetings are “the best party in town.’’ That’s a competitive field, of course, but we think that we can accurately say that attendees have a very good time, while learning a bit more about the world.
Our 2015-2016 season speakers included:
Evan Matthews, director of the Port of Davisville, on international shipping changes, particularly in the context of the expansion of the Panama Canal.
Greg Lindsay, writer, futurist and expert on cities around the world and their relationship to airports.
Hedrick Smith, PBS documentary maker, former star foreign correspondent.
David Alward, Canadian general consul.
Allan Cytryn, international cybersecurity expert.
Andrew Michta, U.S, Naval War College expert on Russia and NATO.
Rima Salah, High U.N. humanitarian-relief official.
Eduardo Mestre, Cuban-American civic leader and international banker.
Paul Glader, author, former Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent and expert on Germany.
Scott Shane, New York Times correspondent, book author and expert on terrorism.
Mark Blyth, our first speaker, whom some of you have heard on NPR commenting on Brexit, will talk on Wednesday, Sept. 14, about Europe after Brexit.
Mark Blyth is Eastman Professor of Political Economy andProfessor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Brown.
He is an internationally celebrated political economist whose research focuses upon how uncertainty and randomness affect complex systems, particularly economic systems, and why people continue to believe stupid economic ideas despite buckets of evidence to the contrary. He is the author of several books, including Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2002, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (Oxford University Press 2013, and The Future of the Euro (with Matthias Matthijs) (Oxford University Press 2015).
Coming fast after that will be:
Prof. Morris Rossabi, probably the world’s greatest expert on Central Asia and particularly Mongolia: a democracy stuck between the police states of Russia and China, Sept. 21. How does this faraway country do it? He’ll be speaking to us soon after returning from Mongolia and other points in Asia.
Then:
Former U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Tod Sedgwick, on thetense situation in Central Europe, Oct. 5.
Meanwhile, the World Affairs Council of Rhode Island and the PCFR are preparing a forum for Oct. 20 at the Hope Club on the foreign-policy visions and challenges of the U.S. presidential candidates. Stay tuned.
Naval War College Prof. James Holmes on the geopolitics of global warming, Nov. 15.
German General Consul Ralf Horlemann on the role of Germany in an E.U. without the U.K and with an aggressive Russia pressing in from the east, Dec. 14.
International epidemiologist Rand Stoneburner, M.D., on Zika and other burgeoning threats to world health, Jan. 18.
Indian Admiral Nirmal Verma, on military and geopolitical issues in South and Southeast Asia, Feb. 15.
Dr. Stephen Coen, director of the Mystic Aquarium, on the condition of the oceans, March 8.
Brazilian political economist and commentator Evodio Kaltenecker on April 5 to talk about the crises facing that huge nation.
James E. Griffin, an expert on ocean fishing and other aspects of the global food sector, will speak to us on Wednesday, May 17.
Joining us on Wednesday, June 14, will be Laura Freid, CEO of the Silk Road Project, founded and chaired by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions and studying the ebb and flow of ideas across nations and time. The project was first inspired by the cultural traditions of the historical Silk Road.
Meanwhile, we’re trying to keep some flexibility to respond to events. Everything in human affairs is tentative. ”We make plans and God laughs….’’
We are talking with our friend Michael Soussan to come to speak about the U.N., diplomacy, Iraq and his book Backstabbing for Beginners, now being made into a major movie and with an international travel expert (to give us business- and pleasure-travel advice) in world that sometimes seems to be imploding.
Suggestions and contacts are always appreciated!
Robert Whitcomb: Coastal conflicts; uniting on infrastructure; urban wildlife
This column of diverse ruminations originated as Robert Whitcomb’s GoLocalProv Digital Diary column, a fresh version of which goes on that site ever Thursday,
New England coastal communities have long hosted heated shoreline-access disputes made more complex by state laws, some going back to colonial times, that favor property owners’ rights to tightly limit the public’s access to the shore.
Some states, most famously California, heavily favor the public when it comes to beach access – but not in New England!
With the explosion of new and immense wealth in a sliver of the population in the past 30 years and the love of being on the summer shore, the tensions have gotten worse. The increasing arrogance and separation from their fellow Americans of many very rich coastal-mansion owners have poured more cyanide in the surf. Some of these people are much tougher than their more modest summer-place predecessors in dealing with the Great Unwashed trying to get close to the water.
Fast-moving sand and (related) rising sea levels linked to global warming will pour on more legal gasoline.
A case in point is a controversy about a beach near Oyster Pond on Martha’s Vineyard involving Boston real-estate mogul and Vineyard summer resident Richard Friedman. The Boston Globe reported, “The section of the beach that Friedman’s deed gave him rights to was a small sliver that, by the mid-20th Century, had moved into Oyster Pond itself.’’
“Friedman and a handful of {friendly} neighbors … believed that they could claim ownership of a bit of the beach’’ on the basis of old deeds and custom.
But some other landowners in the area objected, arguing, reports The Globe, that “Friedman’s property was legally underwater, 200 feet offshore. And the rest of the beach, they said, belonged to them’’ under assorted legal documents.
But Mr. Friedman decided to becomea man of the people. His legal advisers came up with new approach: As The Globe put it: “Oyster Pond, they note, is legally {under state law dating to colonial times} a ‘great pond’ – at least 10 acres – which Massachusetts law considers public property’’ and thus, they argued, the whole beach, part of which, again, had moved into the pond, is open to public use.
So Mr. Friedman got legislation filed on Beacon Hill declaring that barrier beaches that move into great ponds are thereby public property!
Some of the other rich landowners in the neighborhood don’t like this one bit. They assert that Mr. Friedman’s public-access argument would involve taking private land and thus require the state to reimburse the owners.
Anyway, as the sea rises and coastline erosion speeds up, especially of the low, sandy glacial debris that makes up such places as Cape Cod, the Vineyard, Nantucket and southern Rhode Island, then what?
Prepare for a lot of new law to be written in the next couple of decades. As for the Oyster Pond case, the law is so murky that the lawsuits could last as long as Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce, in Dickens’s novel Bleak House. With beaches ever faster becoming sandbars and vice versa, oceanside bluffs falling ever more rapidly into the sea and summer people forced to put their (usually too big) houses on stilts, the land-law circus is coming to town. Maybe ahuge hurricane will clarify things.
xxx
In other, perhaps happier, environmental news, zoologists are telling us about how many wild animals normally associated with the countryside are adapting to life in cities.
The East Side of Providence provides examples of this opportunism. Coyotes are thriving, raccoons are into everything, rabbits are proliferating and birds are learning new tricks to find food on rooftops and parking lots. There have even been some deer sightings by the mighty Seekonk River. (A moose wandered through inner Boston suburb Belmont, a few weeks ago; sadly, a car killed it soon thereafter in Weston.}
Why the rabbits (which we saw very few of when we moved to the East Side the first time 26 years ago)? My guess is that they thrive because more dogs are leashed in the area than years ago, there are fewer loose cats and there’s always lots of water being used in backyards and thus lots of green grass and clover and other edible plants. And those automatic irrigation systems (which deposit far too much of their water onto nearby sidewalks and streets) provide lots of reliable drinking water for creatures large and small.
But sadly, because of too much insecticide use, you don’t see many fireflies in our neighborhood.
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One thing that hasn’t changed is the crickets, which started their chirping last week in a melancholy reminder that we’re heading into late summer. The hot dry weather may have started the chirping a bit earlier than normal this year. Retailers ravaged by the Internet seem to have started their back-to-schools ads earlier than usual, too.
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I fear that this will be one of the most vicious and unpleasant presidential campaigns in history. Still, there’s one area inwhich Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton should be able to come together: Fixing America’s infrastructure.
They, and virtually all Americans, agree that our transportation system – roads, bridges, rail lines, airports, etc. recalls the Third World. That also goes for much of the rest of our infrastructure, too – e.g., public school buildings and libraries. That’s in large part because of the anti-tax mania (maintained by lobbyists for the very rich) that has produced such inanities as no rise in the federal gasoline tax since 1993. In Rhode Island, with the truckers, and elsewhere we have seen how hard special transportation interests fight to avoid paying for the damage that they do to roads and bridges.
A massive federal infrastructure-repair and expansion campaign would train and employpeople, make business more globally competitive and, all in all, the country stronger. It shouldn’t be a Democrat-vs.-Republican thing.
Part of the answer, of course, is mass transit, which has helped make such cities as Boston and New York rich. It still gets far too little money and marketing, although more of it would save a lot of wear and tear on our roads and bridges, improve the environment, discourage sprawl, strengthen downtowns, and ease the lives of the elderly and the millions of people (many of them working young people) who can’t afford cars.
But it takes patience to make it work. Many complain, for example, that the newish Wickford, R.I., MBTA station is an under-used boondoggle. But they ignore that the Providence train station’s MBTA business took a while to get cooking but is now thriving.
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Maybe the big public-works project could provide jobs for some of those despairing, druggy, tattooed and chain-smoking people who hang around places like gritty/beautiful downtown Pawtucket with nothing to do but await assistance from social-welfare agencies there. You get a vivid look at America’s social dysfunction and decline driving through old mill towns like Pawtucket on a summer weekend.
xxx
There’sa weird glamour about New England diners, which show up in movies from time to time. The latest: Scenes for a Jack Black movie, TheMan Who Would Be Polka King, will be shot at the Modern Diner, in Pawtucket. As of this writing it’s scheduled for Aug. 12. The intimacy and chattiness you find in dinersmake them great places for close-conversation shots, and that they were inspired by late 19th Century lunch wagons and railroad dining cars evokes a kind of (pre-natal?) nostalgia.
The Modern is one of two surviving Sterling Streamliner diners still open, with the other in Salem, Mass.
The Pawtucket diner has a heroic side: In the early ‘90s, Walt Disney Co. sold thousands of shirts featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse standing before the Modern Diner and its iconic neon sign. In doing so, the behemoth Disney broke copyright laws. The Modern’s owners, represented by Providence lawyer Michael Feldhuhn, who died recently, sued Disney and won.
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The oafish Fox News’s Roger Ailes’s well-paid exit from GOP house organ Fox News is a reminder that sexual harassment is still going strong in some companies. Now that he’s gone will Fox’s on-air bombshells dim their blinding lipstick?
Another example of women being taken advantage of comes in a new book, The Lady With the Borzoi: Blanche Knopf, Literary Tastemaker Extraordinaire, by Laura Claridge.
The heroic Blanche Knopf was a brilliant publishing executive and literary lion finder and cultivator who, more than her husband, Alfred, was responsible for the success ofAlfred A. Knopf Inc., which in its 20th Century heyday was probably America’s most prestigious publisher, including of Nobel laureates. But her often cruel husband took most of the credit. This book provides a global panorama of book culture over the last century and ends up being very moving.
xxx
You might be interested in a nonprofit public-affairs organization called the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com), which hosts speakers at monthly dinners September to June. Our 2015-2016 season speakers included:
Evan Matthews, director of the Port of Davisville, on international shipping changes, particularly in the context of the expansion of the Panama Canal.
Greg Lindsay, writer, futurist and expert on cities around the world and their relationship to airports.
Hedrick Smith, PBS documentary maker, former star foreign correspondent.
David Alward, Canadian general consul.
Allan Cytryn, international cybersecurity expert.
Andrew Michta, U.S, Naval War College expert on Russia and NATO.
Rima Salah, High U.N. humanitarian-relief official.
Eduardo Mestre, Cuban-American civic leader and international banker.
Our new season will open Sept. 14.
Mark Blyth, the first speaker of the new season and whom some of you have heard on NPR commenting on Brexit, will speak on Wednesday, Sept. 14, on Europe after Brexit.
Mark Blyth is Eastman Professor of Political Economy andProfessor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Brown.
He is an internationally celebrated political economist whose research focuses upon how uncertainty and randomness affect complex systems, particularly economic systems, and why people continue to believe stupid economic ideas despite buckets of evidence to the contrary. He is the author of several books, including Great Transformations: Economic Ideas and Institutional Change in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2002, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (Oxford University Press 2013, and The Future of the Euro (with Matthias Matthijs) (Oxford University Press 2015).
Coming fast after that will be:
Prof. Morris Rossabi, probably the world’s greatest expert on Central Asia and particularly Mongolia: a democracystuck between the police states of Russia and China, Sept. 21. How does this faraway country do it? He’ll be speaking to us soon after returning from Mongolia and other points in Asia.
Then:
FormerU.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Tod Sedgwick, on the situation in Central Europe, Oct. 5.
Meanwhile, the World Affairs Council and the PCFR are preparing a forum for Oct. 20 at the Hope Club on the foreign-policy visions of the U.S. presidential candidates. Stay tuned
Naval War College Prof. James Holmes on the geopolitics of global warming, Nov. 15.
German General Consul Ralf Horlemann on the role of Germany in an E.U. without the U.Kand with an aggressive Russia pressing in from the east, Dec. 14.
Internationalepidemiologist Rand Stoneburner, M.D., on Zika and other burgeoning threats to world health, Jan. 18.
Indian Admiral Nirmal Verma, on military and geopolitical issues in South and Southeast Asia, Feb. 15.
Dr. Stephen Coen, director of the Mystic Aquarium, on the condition of the oceans, March 8.
Brazilian political economistand commentator Evodio Kaltenecker on April 5 to talk about the crises facing that huge nation.
The rest of the season’s schedule is being worked on now. And we’re trying to keep some flexibility to respond to events.
In any event, we are working with, among others, Laura Freid, to talk about the Silk Road Project, of which she is CEO; Michael Soussan to talk about the U.N., diplomacy, Iraq and his book Backstabbing for Beginners, now being made into a major movie; an expert on the ocean-fishing industry, and an international travel expert.
xxx
Digital Diary talks with Bruce Newbury on WADK (15:40 A.M.) most Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. and sometimes more frequently, depending on the news. You can also hear the show at any hour via wadk.com.
Robert Whitcomb is the overseer of New England Diary.
A boy's art amidst refugee anguish
One in a series of art works using stones done by a Syrian boy in a refugee camp. It was forwarded to us by my friend and fellow Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org) member Reza Mahdavi, a Cambridge, Mass.-based international businessman. -- Robert Whitcomb
George T. Giraud, RIP
The Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org) mourns the loss of George T. Giraud of Providence and South County, who died April 17 at the age of 96. This kindly gentleman was a longtime, very loyal and enthusiastic member of the PCFR and a dedicated Rhode Island civic leader.
We extend our condolences to his widow, Anne, and the rest of his family and many friends.
Mr. Giraud spent his childhood in France and graduated from Blair Academy and Brown University, Class of '42. He served in World War II as a lieutenant (jg) in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.
As an investment adviser in Providence his career spanned four decades until his retirement as a senior vice president with Paine Webber.
During his years of community involvement he served on many boards, including the Legal Aid Society, the Society of Financial Analysts, the Boys and Girls Clubs and several Rhode Island state development councils and commissions.
A dedicated world traveler, he also loved antique cars.
Among his great pleasures, besides PCFR dinners, were the Review Club, the Shakespeare Society and the Providence
In recognition of his 30 years of service, including terms as president and treasurer, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Providence Boys and Girls Clubs (550 Wickenden St., Providence, 02903) would be appreciated. Condolences may be left at monahandrabblesherman.com.
Next at PCFR: Hedrick Smith, cities, backstabbers and ports
March 23, 2016
To members and friends of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com)
It was gratifying to see such a large crowd on Tuesday, March 22, when the very distinguished Andrew A. Michta, professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and an adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Europe Program), talked to us about resurgent Russia and NATO/E.U. fecklessness.
Big stories internationally now include the bombings in Belgium, the Ziki virus and economy worsening in Brazil; the effects of Obama’s trip to Cuba; the North Korea regime threatening a “pre-exemptive’’ nuclear strike on South Korea; China continuing to militarize the South China Sea; the partial Russian military exit from Syria; the start of the British debate on leaving the European Union; gains by right-wing parties in Germany, and preparations for the G7 Summit in May, to be held in Japan.
Our next speaker comes on Tuesday, April 12, when celebrated author, TV documentary maker and former foreign correspondent Hedrick Smith will join us. He’s the author of The Russians and Who Stole the American Dream?
Thanks very much to those who have already let us know! The Hope Club needs good estimates no later than the day before a PCFR dinner.
Dues and dinner cost information may be found at: thepcfr.org. Other membership information may be found there, too. (A member asked if (the modest) duesand dinner fees for this nonprofit educational and civic membership organization aredeductible for business purposes. Ask your tax adviser.)
On Wednesday May 11, comes the internationally known expert on cities around the world, Greg Lindsay.
Look at:
http://www.amazon.com/Aerotropolis-Way-Well-Live-Next/dp/0374100195/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279805811&sr=8-1
He is a contributing writer for Fast Company, author of the forthcoming book Engineering Serendipity, and co-author of Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next. He is also a senior fellow of the New Cities Foundation — where he leads the Connected Mobility Initiative — a non-resident senior fellow of The Atlantic Council’s Strategic Foresight Initiative, a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, and a senior fellow of the World Policy Institute.
On Tuesday, June 7, Michael Soussan, former UN whistleblower; acclaimed author; widely published journalist; NYU writing professor, and women's rights advocate, will speak. His satirical memoir about global corruption, Backstabbing for Beginners: My Crash Course In International Diplomacy (Nation Books / Perseus) is being adapted for a feature film, starring Ben Kingsley and Josh Hutcherson
He will speak about the subject of his next book TRUTH TO POWER: how great minds changed the world. A brief history of thought leadership.
Evan Matthews, a key thought leader at the North Atlantic Ports Association and director of the Port of Davisville, has very kindly offered to talk to us on Wednesday, June 22, on changes in world shipping, including the widening of the Panama Canal and other changes of huge interest to New England ports.
Suggestions are appreciated.
We look forward to seeing you.
The future of world shipping
The next guest speaker of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org) comes Tuesday, Jan. 12, for when we have scheduled Eric Brenner, a high official of Hapag-Lloyd, the huge international shipping company, to talk about the effects of the widening of the Panama Canal and other changes in world shipping – including, presumably, the happy economic effects on the ports of Quonset, Providence, New Haven, Bridgeport, Boston and Portland.
Perhaps he’ll also talk about how a proposed North American-European trade community might boost the volume of shipping.
For Tuesday, Feb. 16, we have scheduled Greg Lindsay. Mr. Lindsay is an internationally known urbanist who speaks often about globalization, innovation and the future of cities. Here’s a sampling of his work:
He is a contributing writer for Fast Company, author of the forthcoming book Engineering Serendipity, and co-author of Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next. He is also a senior fellow of the New Cities Foundation — where he leads the Connected Mobility Initiative — a non-resident senior fellow of The Atlantic Council’s Strategic Foresight Initiative, a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, and a senior fellow of the World Policy Institute.
On Tuesday March 15, we’ll haveMorris Rossabi, one of the world’s greatest experts on Central Asia. He’s a professor at Columbia University
Among his many other honors and posts, he became chairman of the Arts and Culture Board of the Open Society Institute.
We have asked him to focus on Mongolia, whose ability to become a real democracy stuck between the great expansionist police states of China and Russia, has long fascinated me.
In mid-April, celebrated author, TV documentary maker and former foreign correspondent Hedrick Smith will join us; he’ll talk about Russia, and the current state of America, too. We’ll nail down the exact date soon. Thanks to PCFR member Llewellyn King for suggesting this.
Tod Sedgwick, former U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, will join us in May 18 to talk about the future of Central Europe. He’s another friend of Mr. King.
On Tuesday, June 7, Michael Soussan, former UN whistleblower; acclaimed author; widely published journalist; NYU writing professor, and women's rights advocate, will speak. His satirical memoir about global corruption, Backstabbing for Beginners: My Crash Course In International Diplomacy (Nation Books / Perseus) is being adapted for a feature film, starring Ben Kingsley and Josh Hutcherson.
Mr. Soussan will speak about the subject of his next book TRUTH TO POWER: how great minds changed the world. A brief history of thought leadership.
We may also have an expert from Bhutan, mostly because that tiny country includes happiness in its measurement of national prosperity, andan official of the Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project. All is not grim on the planet.
A reminder that general and specific information is available on thepcfr.org
PCFR speakers from far and wide
Speakers at the 2014-15 season of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org) were:
Anders Corr, a geopolitical analyst and former Defense Department official in Afghanistan, on Chinese expansionism.
Richard George, former high National Security Agency official, on international cyber-security.
Prof. Evodio Kalteneker, on the Brazilian economy and politics.
Professor and journalist Janet Steele on democratic Indonesia.
Jennifer Yanco, a public-health expert and a director of the West Africa Research Association, on the Ebola crisis.
Australian Consul Gen. Nick Minchin, on his nation’s relations with Asia and the U.S.
Delphine Halgand, a high official of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, on threats to free speech and journalism. (She spoke a few days after the Charlie Hebdo massacre.)
Amir Afkhami, M.D., a psychiatrist, on dealing with mental illness in war zones, particularly the Mideast.
Military historian and retired Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich on why America should stop fighting wars in the Mideast.
Famed Canadian journalist Diane Francis on why the U.S. and Canada should consider merging.
International landscape architect Thomas Paine on making cities more humane, especially in China.
Admiral Robert Girrier, deputy chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, on countering Chinese expansion in the South China Sea.
Gary Hicks, deputy chief of mission in Libya at the time of the Benghazi attack and now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on lessons for the U.S. in Libya and the future of international trade.
The new season looks exciting too. (And maybe even useful for investing decisions.)
We’re still penciling in speakers and dates, but we can say that Cuban-American businessman and civic leader Eduardo Mestre will speak on Sept. 30 about the reopening of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the land of his birth.
Mr. Mestre is a member of the boards of the International Rescue Committee and the Cuba Study Group.
He’s also a senior adviser at Evercore and was previously vice chairman of Citigroup Global Markets and chairman of its Investment Banking Division. Before then, he headed investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney and its predecessor firms from 1995-2001 and was co-head of Salomon Brothers' mergers and acquisitions department in 1989-1995.
Skedded for Oct. 22 is Scott Shane, the New York Times reporter who wrote the new book Objective Troy, about Anwar al-Awlaki, “the once-celebrated American imam who called for moderation after 9/11, but a man who ultimately directed his outsized talents to the mass murder of his fellow citizens’’ and was eventually killed by an American drone. Among other things, he’ll discuss the moral issues raised by the increasing use of drones.
Some of the people we have on the drafting board for the rest of the season:
A U.N. expert on international refugee crises; a journalist or diplomat who will discuss the Greek crisis; a member of the Federal Reserve Board who will discuss international financial-system challenges; a Japanese journalist to talk about that nation’s increasingly muscular regional posture; an expert on international shipping in light of the widening of the Panama Canal; a status report on Mexico; a Chinese philanthropist; a member of the Ukrainian Congress Committee; (we have been trying for some time to get a Russian official or journalist to give Moscow’s side of the war in eastern Ukraine), and the director of the Aga Khan University Media School to talk about training journalists in the Developing World
All subject to change. We frequently repeat Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s purported response when he was asked what he most feared:
“Events, my dear boy, events.’’
Members should feel free to chime in with suggestions.
Also, we’ll strive to frequently update the PCFR Website with supplemental news and commentary on international matters that may be of interest.
Please consult www.thepcfr.org or message pcfremail@gmail.com for questions about the PCFR.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
Robert Whitcomb, chairman
pcfremail@gmail.com
'Cities with Heart' author on 'White House Chronicle'
In Washington, D.C., the episode will air at 9 a.m. on WETA, Channel 26; then at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on WHUT, Channel 32. (WHUT, Howard University Television, is the PBS originating station for the program.)
Pacific Fleet admiral speaking tonight at PCFR
Admiral Robert Girrier, deputy chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, will be our speaker tonight at the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org) monthly dinner. We're pretty sure that he'll talk about how to counter Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea.
World 'Cities With a Heart'
We're looking forward to tomorrow's (May 5) talk at the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org) by Thomas Paine, the international landscape architect and urban planner, on "Cities With a Heart'' around the world. His beautiful book with that title just came out.
'Merger of the Century'
Diane Francis, a famed Canadian editor, writer and book author, will talk tonight at a Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org) dinner about her book "Merger of the Century,'' which says that the U.S. and Canada should merge. Who would get the better of that deal?
Col. Bacevich to speak on U.S. military actions abroad
Prof. Andrew Bacevich, a distinguished military historian, political scientist and retired Army colonel, will be speaking on American military interventions abroad at the meeting Thursday evening of the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations. With ISIS, Putin's invasion of Ukraine and Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea, it will be an interesting evening. Professor Bacevich is a well known skeptic about the utility of American military actions in such places as the Mideast.
Beyond Charlie Hebdo: Freedom of expression besieged in much of the world
Delphine Halgand, who runs North American operations for the global organization Reporters Without Borders, gave a terrific talk the other night at the Providence Committee on Foreign Relations. She, of course, talked about the terrorist murders in France. But she also reviewed the condition of freedom of expression and information around the world. Her maps expressed the fragility of freedom of expression, upon which many other freedoms depend. That fragility includes the United States in some ways, she said.
The PCFR, created in 1928 under the aegis of the Council on Foreign Relations, but these days completely independent of the council, has monthly dinners with speakers from many walks of life. Past and present political leaders, diplomats, military officers, physicians, historians, theologians and many other fascinating people from around the world have spoken over the years.
Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based organization perhaps better known internationally as Reporters Sans Frontières, promotes and defends freedom of information and freedom of the press. The organization has consultant status at the United Nations. Reporters Without Borders has two major activities: one is focused on censorship, and the other on providing material, financial and psychological assistance to journalists assigned to dangerous areas.
The link to the U.N. is somewhat ironic since so many U.N. members are corrupt dictatorships that enthusiastically suppress freedom of expression, sometimes using imprisonment, torture and murder to do it. Still, we must have something like the U.N. It's perhaps just a reflecti0n 0f human nature so that so many members are so bad, and hypocrisy so entrenched.
The American abolitionist Wendell Phillips said:
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; power is ever stealing from the many to the few. The manna of popular liberty must be gathered each day or it is rotten. The living sap of today outgrows the dead rind of yesterday. The hand entrusted with power becomes, either form human depravity or esprit de corps, the necessary enemy of the people. Only by continued oversight can the democrat in office be prevented from hardening into a despot; only by unintermitted agitation can a people be sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.”
The PCFR (pcfremail@gmail.com), founded in 1928 under the aegis of the Council on Foreign Relations, but these days completely independent of the council, has monthly dinners with speakers from many walks of life. Past and present political leaders, from around the world, diplomats, physicians, historians, theologians and many other fascinating people have spoken over the years.
--- Robert Whitcomb