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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260113T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260113T190000
DTSTAMP:20260428T165107
CREATED:20251219T204142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251220T205814Z
UID:14757-1768325400-1768330800@wacaustin.org
SUMMARY:America’s Changing Strategic Assumptions about China: Implications for the Bilateral Relationship
DESCRIPTION:In his talk\, David Firestein will examine how key U.S. assumptions about China and strategic aspirations and intentions have changed over the last ten to fifteen years and analyze and assess the impact of these shifts on U.S. policy choices and policy performance. \nThis event is by invitation-only. Please notify us of your interest to receive an invitation by providing your contact information in the form below. Priority registration is available for World Affairs Council of Austin members. Bring your invitation to the event.  Invitations are non-transferable. \n  \nREQUEST YOUR INVITATION HERE\n  \nDavid J. Firestein is the inaugural president and CEO of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations (Bush China Foundation) and a founding and current member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. \nBefore joining the Bush China Foundation\, Mr. Firestein was the founding executive director of The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) China Public Policy Center (CPPC) and a clinical professor at UT’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. \nA decorated career U.S. diplomat from 1992–2010\, Mr. Firestein specialized primarily in U.S.-China relations\, posted in both Beijing\, China\, and Moscow\, Russia. Mr. Firestein is the author or co-author of three books on China\, including two China-published Chinese-language best-sellers\, as well as numerous China-focused monographs\, policy reports\, and articles. 
URL:http://wacaustin.org/event/americas-changing-strategic-assumptions-about-china-implications-for-the-bilateral-relationship/
CATEGORIES:Asia,Business,Geopolitics
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260114T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260114T190000
DTSTAMP:20260428T165107
CREATED:20251219T210328Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251220T203357Z
UID:14768-1768413600-1768417200@wacaustin.org
SUMMARY:WorldNow: The Architect of Espionage - The Man Who Built Israel’s Mossad
DESCRIPTION:How did Mossad\, Israel’s intelligence service\, come to be one of the world’s most notorious and prominent players in global intelligence? Just look to Meir Dagan\, the Mossad’s former director who transformed the service into the leading force in counterterrorism and espionage it is today. \nSamuel Katz\, bestselling author of The Architect of Espionage: The Man Who Built Israel’s Mossad in to the World’s Boldest Intelligence Force\, joins WorldNow to introduce us to the former Mossad director. \nKatz will give us an inside look at Dagan’s leadership and the operations carried out during his tenure\, including counterterrorism efforts\, covert missions related to Iran’s nuclear program\, and expanded intelligence cooperation with international partners – and how he transformed modern espionage and the Middle East. \nREGISTER HERE\n  \n\nMeet the Author\n \nSamuel M. Katz is a New York Times bestselling author who has written over twenty books on the Arab Israeli conflict\, military and law enforcement special operations\, espionage\, and counterterrorism. He has written hundreds of articles for magazines and journals around the world\, as well as documentaries for television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of Special Operations Report\, a trade publication for the world’s commando and counterterrorist community. Katz lectures police agencies and military commands around the world on the history of terrorism\, and he is a frequent guest on television and radio networks. \n\nMeet the Host\n\nJim Falk is President Emeritus of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. Now residing in Santa Fe\, NM\, he is Vice Chairman of the Board of Global Santa Fe. In addition to hosting WorldNow with Jim Falk\, Jim produces and hosts The Forum\, a weekly talk show on KSFR-FM\, Santa Fe Public Radio. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. \n  \n  \n\nAbout the Book\nThe Architect of Espionage: The Man Who Built Israel’s Mossad into the World’s Boldest Intelligence Force by Samuel M. Katz \nFrom a New York Times bestselling author and an expert on Middle Eastern conflict comes a riveting biography of Meir Dagan\, the legendary Mossad director who transformed Israel’s intelligence service into a global powerhouse of espionage and counterterrorism.\nIn The Architect of Espionage\, Samuel M. Katz masterfully chronicles the life of Meir Dagan\, a visionary covert warfare veteran who revolutionized the art of intelligence and espionage. Born in the shadows of the Holocaust\, his life personified the modern history of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Dagan’s journey embodies decisive action\, innovative thought\, and bold leadership under fire. His tenure as the head of the Mossad marked a transformative era in Israel’s history\, reshaping the agency into a formidable global force. \nDagan spent thirty-two years in uniform\, and under his eight-year leadership\, Mossad orchestrated a series of high-stakes missions\, including targeted assassinations\, clandestine attempts to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power\, and the covert expansion of Israel’s strategic collaborations with members of the global intelligence fraternity\, notably with the CIA. These operations not only bolstered Israel’s security but also altered the geopolitical dynamics of the Middle East. \nKatz brings to life the portrait of a spymaster whose influence extended far beyond Israel’s borders\, shaping intelligence relationships across the Middle East and worldwide. \nFor anyone captivated by espionage thrillers or historical biographies\, this is an essential and timely read\, providing an insightful glimpse into the mind of one of the most influential spymasters of our era. \nGet yourself a copy of The Architect of Espionage on Bookshop.org and support your local bookstore.
URL:http://wacaustin.org/event/worldnow-the-architect-of-espionage-the-man-who-built-israels-mossad/
LOCATION:ONLINE
CATEGORIES:author,Geopolitics,peace and conflict
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260121T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260121T190000
DTSTAMP:20260428T165108
CREATED:20251220T194953Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251220T204722Z
UID:14784-1769018400-1769022000@wacaustin.org
SUMMARY:WorldNow: Trillion Dollar War Machine with Bill Hartung
DESCRIPTION:The U.S. spends nearly a trillion dollars on its military each year\, more than any other nation. Is it really keeping us safe?\n\n\n\nBill Hartung\, author and senior fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft\, argues that not only is America’s high military spending not keeping America safe\, but it is endangering both the U.S. and the world at large. \nOn January 21st\, Hartung joins WorldNow with Jim Falk to reveal how the American military industrial complex operates\, its key players – from Hollywood and Silicon Valley to lobbyists and the Pentagon’s top contractors – and how we can secure America’s future and prosperity by re-envisioning America’s trillion-dollar war machine. \n  \nREGISTER HERE\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home by William D. Hartung and Ben Freeman\nA hard-hitting investigation into how the Pentagon’s runaway spending embroils America in foreign wars\, squanders its wealth\, and enriches a privileged elite \n“A damning indictment of the conflicts of interest running rampant in the defense establishment.”―Publishers Weekly \nAmerica spends nearly a trillion dollars a year on its military. This extraordinary spending not only detracts from our ability to address pressing social problems but compels us into foreign wars to justify our vast arsenal. Sold to us in the name of “security\,” our military industrial complex actually makes us far less safe. \nTop policy experts William D. Hartung and Ben Freeman follow the profits of militarism from traditional Pentagon contractors\, which receive more than half of the Pentagon’s budget\, to the upstart high-tech firms that shamelessly promote unproven and destabilizing technologies. They unmask the enablers of the war machine—politicians\, lobbyists\, the media\, Hollywood\, think tanks\, and so many more—whose work enriches a wealthy elite at the expense of everybody else\, spreading conflict around the world and embroiling America in endless wars. \nA damning tour de force\, The Trillion Dollar War Machine shows who is pulling the strings and pushing for war\, and offers a blueprint for how we can shut down the war machine and restore American security and prosperity. \nGet yourself a copy of The Trillion Dollar War Machine on Bookshop.org and support your local bookstore.
URL:http://wacaustin.org/event/the-worldnow-trillion-dollar-war-machine-with-bill-hartung/
LOCATION:ONLINE
CATEGORIES:Geopolitics,peace and conflict
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://wacaustin.org/wp2015/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/WorldNow-WarMachine.jpg
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