Category: Forums

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How to Get Along in an Election Year

Michael Abramson

11 a.m., July 7, 2024

Join Michael Abramson this Sunday, either in person or online.

If you think about it, it’s not obvious at all that so many people with so different personalities, interests, and ideas can get along and act together. Yet, somehow we can do this … most of the time. There are times, however, when the logic of peace breaks down, leading to social upheavals and wars. Could this election year, when the tensions are so high that many people worry about violence or even another civil war, become one of those times? And if this is a real possibility, what can we do, individually and collectively, to avert this danger?

Michael’s presentation will include a few suggestions about How to Get Along in Election Year, and it will be followed by brainstorming for more ideas.

This could be easily one of the most important discussions in our lives: if we fail to prevent a civil war, nothing else will really matter. Please come with your ideas.

Bio
Michael’s area of expertise is system modeling and simulation. Most of his work was related to technical and engineering applications, ranging from electromagnetics and radiation transfer to air traffic control systems. He also published a few works on modeling social and political dynamics, more closely related to the current topic.

Michael currently works as a contractor for NASA and lives in Mountain View with his wife and close to their children’s families.

This Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. COVID protocols will be followed. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

7/7/2024 Michael Abramson from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

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Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Into the Solar System

Nagin Cox

11 a.m., June 30, 2024

This Sunday we will take a look at some of the problems and inconveniences of our present and future exploration of the Solar system.

In a 14-minute, 2016 video, What Time is it on Mars?, Nagin Cox will discuss the adjustments she and her coworkers had to make to manage the United States rovers on Mars, where a Martian day is 40 minutes longer than on Earth. The rovers are powered by solar panels so their schedule is set by sunrise and sunset on Mars.

Then, in a 13-minute, 2015 video, How Humans Could Evolve to Survive in Space, Lisa Nip describes how we can use synthetic biology to allow us to explore space.

You can pre-watch these videos at https://www.ted.com/talks/nagin_cox_what_time_is_it_on_mars, and at
https://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_nip_how_humans_could_evolve_to_survive_in_space.

No Place to Attend in Person This Week:

For the first time in years, we were not able to find a location to meet in person. (On the first and third Sunday of the month, you can continue to attend our forum at the Mountain View Senior Center.)

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
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Add this event to your Google calendar:

Like us on Facebook:
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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-06-30/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/301914267/

Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:
https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1806541718667575617

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Ali Velshi: a Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy

Ali Velshi

11 a.m., June 23, 2024

This Sunday we will watch and discuss Ali Velshi: a Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy. An interview from the Commonwealth Club of MSNBC’s Ali Velshi by Rana Sarkar, the Consul General of Canada.

The interview covers three generations of Ali’s family’s commitment to public service and social justice from the apartheid regime in South Africa to Kenya to Canada and finally to the USA, describing the relative freedoms and restrictions encountered along the way. The interview is a reminder of the advantages we have living in a democratic and pluralistic society.

Ali Velshi is a Canadian Journalist, a senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News and an anchor for MSNBC.

You can watch this one-hour video at https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/video/msnbcs-ali-velshi-legacy-endurance-and-fight-democracy.

This Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at Maker Nexus, 1330 Orleans Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1135. (On the first and third Sunday of the month, you can continue to attend our forum at the Mountain View Senior Center.) Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. COVID protocols will be followed. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY

Add this event to your Google calendar:

Like us on Facebook:
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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-06-23/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/301788589/

Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:
https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1804312388889702519

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Existence of God

Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Existence of God
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

11 a.m., June 16, 2024

This Sunday we will watch and discuss a 1-hour video, Watch Neil deGrasse Tyson Unleash Annihilation on Religion for an Hour! In the almost 30 interview excerpts, Neil deGrasse Tyson Answers questions and gives his view of religion, atheism and spirituality. He explains away many of the ideas and philosophies that come up when one deals with the existence, or non-existence of God. This video can be stopped at any point to allow comments.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is a well-known American astrophysicist, author, lecturer, and science communicator. He has held numerous positions at institutions including University of Maryland, Princeton University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Hayden Planetarium. Neil is possibly best known as the host of the Cosmos: a Spacetime Odyssey.

This Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. COVID protocols will be followed. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/

Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-06-16/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/301516932/

Save a reminder of this event in your Apple, Google or Outlook calendar by clicking on the ‘Add to Calendar’ link on the right pane of the Meetup event page (next to the date and time).

Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:

https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1801852545754927564

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Project 2025

Paul George

11 a.m., June 9, 2024

This Sunday, Paul George will join us in Los Altos to open the session and to answer any questions afterward. Mr. George, the Executive Director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, will introduce a 37-minute video in which he describes the 2025 Project.

Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, is a collection of right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation and other conservative think tanks, that would reshape the federal government in the event of a Republican victory in the 2024 presidential election. It relies on the unitary executive theory, a disputed interpretation of Article II of the U.S. Constitution that asserts that the president has absolute power over the executive branch upon inauguration. The project is a how-to program that would change the nature of our democracy almost overnight. It would allow the president replace federal employees with project loyalists and institute a “conservative” policy in every department of the federal government.

Peninsula Peace and Justice Center has long been regarded as the leading grassroots activist organization on the San Francisco Peninsula, due in large part to the leadership of Paul George. Paul started work at PPJC in April 1989.

You can watch this video at https://youtu.be/-Ty8mm1Yel0.

This Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists in the Orchard Room at the Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA 94022. (On the first and third Sunday of the month, you can continue to attend our forum at the Mountain View Senior Center.)

Since we can’t bring food into the library, let’s plan on meeting at the small park with picnic tables just adjacent to the library. We did this last time, and it worked out fine.

We could either bring our sandwiches or other lunch edibles or take orders and have folks order their own sandwiches or other edibles and send someone out to pick them up. This would allow us to meet right after the meeting, stay for a bit and connect.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. COVID protocols will be followed. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY

Add this event to your Google calendar:

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/

Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-06-09/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/301516932/

Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:
https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1799255238110818389

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508