Monthly luncheons are generally held on the second Monday of every month, unless advised to the contrary, in Erickson Hall at Point Lookout in Northport, Maine.

Julia E. Sweig, PhD

May 2010

Topic: Cuba

Julia E. Sweig is an American an author and scholar of Latin American studies. The Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies and Director for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, she specializes in Latin America and U.S. Latin America foreign policy.

Sweig is on the editorial board of “Foreign Affairs en Español”. She has written several books, including “Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century”, “Inside the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro and the Urban Underground”, and “U.S.-Cuban Relations in the 21st Century, A Follow-On Chairman’s Report, Report of an Independent Task Force”.

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Past Speakers

2009
  • Katharine Babson, A graduate of Williams College, she earned her Masters in Divinity from Virginia Seminary and her Doctorate in Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C
    December 2009
    Topic: Myanmar: Merchants, Military, and Missionaries:Origins of Struggle and Contemporary Power
  • Andrew Zolotov, Jr
    November 2009
    Topic: Is the Russia-U.S. "Reset" Working? Forging a relationship in a world of Iran, China and Eastern Europe.
  • Tom Andrews, President New Economy Communications
    November 2009
    Topic: Looking forward in Iraq and Afghanistan: A Progressive Critique
  • Nancy Soderberg, Ambassador
    October 2009
    Topic: Reviewing the Obama Administration's foreign policy Initiatives
  • Donald P. Gregg, Former U.S. Ambassador to Korea
    September 2009
    Topic: Where do we go from here on the Korean peninsula
  • Dr. R. Drew Smith, B,S,MDiv,MA,PhD Political Science, Yale University
    August 2009
    Topic: The Faith Sector and U.S. Foreign Assistance to Least Developed Nations
  • Ambassador Teresita C. Schaffer, Retired US Ambassador, Director for S. Asia, CSIS
    July 2009
    Topic: "The U.S. and India: Partners in a Globalizing World."
  • Gary Brewer, PhD Yale University, 1970 MS San Diego State University, 1966 AB University of California at Berkeley, 1963
    June 2009
    Topic: "Solving the Wrong Problem: Nuclear Waste and Risk Perception"
  • Dominique Moïsi
    May 2009
    Topic: "A European view of Obama's America".
  • Alfredo Corchado
    April 2009
    Topic: Covering the Border Without Being Hijacked, Kidnapped or Killed - Mexico through the eyes of a Foreign Correspondent
  • Trita Parsi, Dr. PhD, President and Founder National Iranian American Council
    March 2009
    Topic: Treacherous Alliances: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States
  • S. Fred Starr, Chairman Central-Asia Caucasus Institute
    February 2009
    Topic: Russia Central Asia
  • Ambassador Tom Graham, US ambassador
    January 2009
    Topic: " Zero Nuclear Weapons and the International Nonproliferation Regime"
2008
  • Thomas MacAdams Deford, Mac Deford is President of the Mid-Coast Forum on Foreign Relations
    December 2008
    Topic: Key Foreign Policy Issues for the next President
  • Michael Klare
    November 2008
    Topic: "The New Geopolitics of Energy
  • Shmuel Rosner, Former Ha'aretz Washington Bureau Chief
    October 2008
    Topic: "Will the American election will change American policy in the Middle East?"
  • William Stebbins, Al-Jazeera Washington Bureau Chief
    September 2008
    Topic: “The opinion, and the Other Opinion.”
  • Isobel Coleman, senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and director
    July 2008
    Topic: Paradise Beneath Her Feet: Women and Reform in the Middle East
  • Philip Wheaton, Episcopal priest, Latin American historian &
    June 2008
    Topic: U.S. Immigration Policy: Consequences on Both Sides of the Border

  • April 2008
    Topic: The Middle East: Turning the Page on U.S. Foreign Policy
  • Imad Moustapha, Ambassador of Syria to the US, PhD
    April 2008
    Topic: The Middle East Crisis
  • Thomas Powers
    March 2008
    Topic: Geo.W. Bush and The Long War: What to expect in the First Thirty Years
  • Shaheryar Azhar, Pakistani investment banker
    February 2008
    Topic: "Pakistan: What Next?"
  • Fred Hill, Journalist and state department official
    January 2008
    Topic: The Missing Piece in America's Foreign Policy Puzzle?
2007
  • Nancy Sanchez, Colby College Oak Fellow
    December 2007
    Topic: Human Rights in Colombia As Well As on the Effects of Narco-trafficking on the Colombian Economy
  • Andrew Meldrum, Nieman Fellow
    November 2007
    Topic: Recent Events in Southern Africa
  • Amb. Thomas Boyatt,, US ambassador to Colombia and Burkina Faso
    September 2007
    Topic: America’s 100 Years War in the 20th Century
  • Corine Lesnes, Washington Bureau Chief for Le Monde leading French daily newspaper
    September 2007
    Topic: Sarkozy and the World
  • Amb. Clark Randt,, US Ambassador to Peoples' Republic of China
    August 2007
    Topic: Current Affairs and Changes in China
  • Chris Hall,, former Dem. State Senator from Lincoln County, ME and one of the founders of American University in Bosnia
    July 2007
    Topic: Current Situation in the Balkans
  • Milton Bearden,, CIA Station Chief in Afghanistan and Pakistan
    July 2007
    Topic: Where Is Afghanistan Going? What Is the Future of Pakistan
  • Philip Giraldi, former CIA officer, is a partner in Cannistraro Associates, an international security consultancy
    June 2007
    Topic: Slanting of Intelligence by the White House and George Tenet
  • Nieman Weekend
    May 2007
    Topic: Journalists from Namibia, China, Costa Rica, The Gambia, Morocco, Colombia, Malawi, Finland, Germany, UK, Vietnam, South Korea
  • Paul Mayewski, PhD, Professor of Geological Science and Quarternary Studies and Cooperating Professor of Marine Sciences, University of Maine
    April 2007
    Topic: Climate Change and Its Impact on US Foreign Policy
  • Amb. Peter Galbraith, first American ambassador to Croatia, Senior Diplomatic Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and non-proliferation. Author of The End of Iraq
    March 2007
    Topic: American Strategy and the Iraq Civil War
  • Rick McDowell and Mary Trotochaud, Rick McDowell and Mary Trotochaud, Senior Fellows For Iraq at Friends Committee on National Legislation
    January 2007
    Topic: What is happening to Iraqi Civil Society
2006
  • Yossi Alpher
    December 2006
    Topic: The Middle East: One Man’s View
  • Ivan Eland
    November 2006
    Topic: The Emperor Has No Clothes: US Foreign Policy Exposed
  • Larry Birns
    October 2006
    Topic: The Rise of the Left in Latin America
  • Phil Bobbitt
    September 2006
    Topic: Does a War on Terror Make Sense? : Some Lessons from Lebanon
  • Sherif Fam
    August 2006
    Topic: Palestine in the Crosshairs: Oslo to Hamas
  • Christopher Hall
    July 2006
    Topic: Future Prospects for Kosovo: Remaining Hot Spot in the Balkans
  • John Buell
    June 2006
    Topic: Daydreams and Nightmares: Remaking Modern Transportation
  • Nieman Weekend
    May 2006
    Topic: Journalists from Brazil, South Africa, Palestine, Colombia, China, Australia, Japan, Albania, Pakistan, Canada, Cameroon
  • Charles Waterman
    April 2006
    Topic: Jefferson Waterman International
  • Maj. Scott Ritter
    March 2006
    Topic: Iraq: How We Got There and Where We’re Going
  • Brook Larmer
    February 2006
    Topic: Big League Sports And China: A Story of How China Mixes Communism And Capitalism
  • John MacGaffin
    January 2006
    Topic: How to improve US Intelligence Capability
2005
2004
  • Philip Brown
    December 2004
    Topic: The Chinese Economy: Domestic Challenges and Global Implications
  • Laurence Pope
    November 2004
    Topic: Iraq: What Next?
  • John Heimann
    October 2004
    Topic: Andes 2020: A New Strategy for the Challenges for Colombia and the Region
  • Bowman Miller
    September 2004
    Topic: US and Europe: Iraq’s Impact and Aftermath
  • Robert Finn
    August 2004
    Topic: Afghanistan: Moving Toward Elections
  • Selig S. Harrison
    July 2004
    Topic: Korean Endgame: Report from North Korea
  • Hadi Semati
    June 2004
    Topic: Iran in Transition: Forward or Backward?
  • Nieman Fellows Weekend
    May 2004
    Topic: Journalists from Indonesia, Tanzania, Russia, China, Colombia, South Africa, Scotland, Finland, Uruguay, Nigeria, Canada
  • Hussain Haqqani
    April 2004
    Topic: Dealing With Pakistan: America’s Difficult Ally
  • Dana Priest
    March 2004
    Topic: The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace With America’s Military
  • Alan Cullison
    February 2004
    Topic: Putin’s Russia
  • Tom Tietenberg
    January 2004
    Topic: World Without End: Managing the Transition to Sustainable Development
2003
  • Thomas MacAdams Deford
    December 2003
    Topic: The Forum and the Middle East: 20 Years Later
  • Amy Hawthorne
    November 2003
    Topic: Democracy by US Fiat: Will It Work in the Middle East?
  • Geoffrey Bindman
    October 2003
    Topic: Enforcing Human Rights in the Modern Context
  • Omar Sheikhmous
    October 2003
    Topic: Where Is Iraq Heading?
  • Murhaf Jouejati
    September 2003
    Topic: Syria and Its Role in the Middle East
  • Matthew Kahane
    August 2003
    Topic: Post Soviet Developments in Central Asia
  • John Buell
    July 2003
    Topic: Terror, Evil, and the New Cold War
  • Kwangchool Lee
    June 2003
    Topic: A View of the Korean Peninsula from a South Korean Perspective
  • Nieman Fellows Weekend
    May 2003
    Topic: Journalists from Bulgaria, China, Israel, Guatemala, Canada, Rwanda, Mexico, Denmark, Zimbabwe, Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka
  • Derk Kinnane-Roelofsma
    April 2003
    Topic: The Kurdish Component in a Changing Middle East
  • Francesco Duina
    March 2003
    Topic: From Economic Union to Political Giant? An Enlarged Europe in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century
  • Patrice Franko
    February 2003
    Topic: The Argentine and Brazilian Crises: Cracks in the International Financial Architecture?
  • Frank Langfitt
    January 2003
    Topic: China: The World’s Next Superpower or its Next Calamity?
2002
  • James Richter
    December 2002
    Topic: Putin and the United States
  • Andrew Finkel
    November 2002
    Topic: The Challenges Turkey Confronts and Confronting Turkey as a Challenge
  • Beth Jones
    September 2002
    Topic: US-European Relations: Where Are We Heading?
  • John Ruggie
    August 2002
    Topic: Global Governance: A Tale of Two Worlds
  • Joe Sills
    July 2002
    Topic: Power and Sovereignty: A Broader View
  • Ayesha Jalal
    June 2002
    Topic: Pakistan
  • Nieman Fellows Weekend
    May 2002
    Topic: Journalists from Pakistan, Thailand, China, Israel, Yugoslavia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Jordan, Burundi, South Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica
  • Moorehead Kennedy
    April 2002
    Topic: Understanding Terrorism
  • Samuel Wyman
    March 2002
    Topic: Saudi Arabia: Time to Think Outside the Sandbox?
  • Lily Alavi
    February 2002
    Topic: A Woman’s View of Iran and Islam
  • Mahmoud A. Faksh
    January 2002
    Topic: Islam and the West : Challenges in the 21st Century