<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-e8200237-7fff-cc56-5e2e-70ca0ccab508"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:18pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Today's Issues group meets at 9:30 on Sunday mornings in person in the parlor of the Religious Education buildings next to the church and on Zoom  at:  </span><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8583258484?pwd=RFdJUGZOZkU4THArWFpnVkllZzh1dz09" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8583258484?pwd=RFdJUGZOZkU4THArWFpnVkllZzh1dz0</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">    </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:18pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">This Sunday,  September 18, our discussion will be on recent developments in the Ukraine/Russia war.  </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:18pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">This article looks to the future given recent developments:  </span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/ukraine-victory-russia-putin/671405/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">It’s Time to Prepare for a Ukrainian Victory - The Atlantic</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">   </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VSUTyGWP0BKe3aFnY6Q8jBtHZz6bRvYTkVhxDkvYdaw/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Printable File</span></a></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:18pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">These give more background:</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:18pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">This article details the military factors in the recent Ukrainian successful offensive: </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/us/politics/ukraine-russia-pentagon.html" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Critical Moment Behind Ukraine’s Rapid Advance - The New York Times (nytimes.com)</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">    </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cZI2W7U3dQAWDi5lxvmvmNnPqgpDaoVUc48sAzQozMo/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Printable Google Docs File</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">.  </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:18pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">This article looks at the political implications: </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/opinion/ukraine-deflates-maga-macho-myths.html" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Opinion | Ukraine Deflates MAGA Macho Myths - The New York Times (nytimes.com)</span></a></p><br><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:18pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Georgia;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">This more scholarly article places recent events in a historical context of the rise and fall of empires:  </span><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/20/russia-ukraine-war-putin-empire-imperialism-colonialism-conquest-collapse/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Garamond,serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">What the Fall of Empires Tells Us About Russia's War in Ukraine (foreignpolicy.com)</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Garamond,serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">   </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oeMz1D1BramqW7kQV6tXnCFD9D6lfiadFP3LmUc0vwA/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Garamond,serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Printable File</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Garamond,serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">.  </span></p></span><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></div></div>