“One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli 

 

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ― Aesop 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Notes provided by Allan Penwell)

Adam Wright was introduced as a new member to our club. Adam is a commodity broker with Powerline Group in Savoy. He is married, and his wife teaches in the Urbana Schools. Welcome Adam!

Thanks to Robb and his helper elves for putting together another successful fruit sale.  We sold around 500 cases.  This is really the only time of the year when we replenish our charitable foundation so we depend on Sunrisers to help.  In the past, many of those who did not participate in the fruit sale made generous cash contributions.

Darrell is looking for video testimonials for CUSR to put on Facebook to promote our club.

Have you thought of a new member to join our club?  It is an honor to be a Rotarian, and Rotary stands for “Service Above Self.”  If you are a Rotarian it is a statement about what kind of person you are, and many just need to be asked.

Carrying on with the service theme, check out Lou’s email asking for volunteers for Eastern Illinois Food Bank distribution in January.

So you don’t have a black tie dinner party on New Year’s Eve?  How about attending our social at Destihl on December 29th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.? Should be fun, but mistletoe not included.

 

SPEAKER

Janice Jayes, Ph.D., taught politics and history at Al Akhawayn in Morocco in 2008-2009 before moving to Champaign. She teaches Middle Eastern History at Illinois State University. She earned her Ph.D. in History (with a specialization in U.S. foreign relations) from The American University, and her M.S. in International Relations from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Dr. Jayes discussed the increased role of Islam in politics which took off in 1973 when OPEC was organized so members could use their leverage to set world oil prices and output to stabilize their income.  Middle Eastern countries, and their royal families, became extremely rich due to these oil profits.  These royal families established their own political security through religious control.  Similarly, terrorist organizations have used this tactic to recruit new members.  Dr. Jayes noted events such as the 1979 Iran Revolution, the 1991 Iraq Highway of Death, the 9/11 disaster, the Iraq invasion by the Allies, the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, and the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan have all contributed to strong anti-U.S. attitudes in the Mideast.

Two organizations who have prominently used religion for political ends include Al Qaeda, as personified by Osama Bin Laden, and its successor ISIL which stands for “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” meaning the whole eastern shore of the Mediterranean. These organizations no longer needed a government backer that was an official state because they have expertly used technology.  In the case of Al Qaeda, it flourished through the Internet and the abundance of arms flowing through the Mideast.  It became a centralized organization, but its successor, ISIL, became decentralized and uses cell phones to organize and communicate with its followers as well as to transfer money around the world.  ISIL operates in separate groups which take independent actions and is more difficult to fight.

Unfortunately, the U.S. has developed no winning strategy against ISIL. While we can use drone strikes to kill various players, others readily take their place.  Furthermore, the collateral damage that often results from such strikes results in strong negative sentiments towards the U.S.  Borders in the Middle East are coming apart, and we are now a big, militarized nation that has difficulty to fight this new type of terrorist organization.

 

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  Dec 15th Dec 22nd Dec 29th Jan 5th
Introductions Phyllis Mischo Scott Paceley No AM Robb Patton
Invocation Keith Brandau Reuben Chambers meeting Paul Conforti
Greeters Phyllis Mischo Scott Paceley Instead  Robb Patton
Michelle Barbey Adam Wright go to Michelle Barbey
Song Leader Jen Shelby Lou Simpson Destihl Billy Stull
Notetaker Hodson Lintner at 5:30PM Conforti

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee member responsible listed in parentheses)

December 15th – Isak Griffiths, Executive Director, Courage Connections (Laura)

December 22nd – Mitch Davis, Muscular Dystrophy Association (Mary)

December 29th – No AM meeting; instead, we will gather starting at 5:30pm at Destihl in downtown Champaign (drinks on Keith?)

January 5th – CUSR family meeting – no speaker this week

January 12th – TBD (Tod)

January 19th – TBD (Tom)

January 26th – Josh Whitman, Athletic Director, UIUC (Jeff?)

February 2nd – TBD (Laura)

February 9th – TBD (Mary)

February 16th- Nick Osborne, Director, Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education, UIUC (Phyllis)

February 23rd – Dr. King Li, Dean and Chief Academic Officer, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, will speak about the new Carle Illinois College of Medicine (Tod)