Sec. of State Antony Blinken giving updates to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in March 2023.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked some leading questions by Democrats on the House Foreign Relations Committee, especially Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia.
Watch. The answers are good. Biden inherited a foreign affairs mess from Trump. Biden, and Blincken, have been cleaning up the messes. Connolly and Blinken take down Republican arguments against President Biden’s foreign policies.
2 Comments | 
Afghanistan, foreign affairs, History, Iran, Joe Biden, U.S. Congress | Tagged: Afghanistan, Antony Blinken, foreign affairs, Iran, Rep. Gerry Connolly, U.S. House of Representatives | 
Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Foreign ministers of several nations collaborated in Geneva, Switzerland, to get an agreement to stop proliferation of nuclear weapons to Iran; an agreement to lead to a larger agreement was struck Saturday, November 23, 2013. After the agreement was announced, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry embraced.
Obama, Iran, Kerry, Nuclear, sanctions
More:
Image and caption via CNN: Chief negotiator Catherine Ashton and Iran’s foreign minister announce agreement on Iran’s nuclear program early on Sunday, November 24 in Geneva. From left to right: British Foreign Secretary William Hague, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
Leave a Comment » | foreign affairs, Nuclear Nonproliferation, Nuclear weapons, President Obama | Tagged: foreign affairs, Iran, Nuclear Nonproliferation, Nuclear weapons, President Obama | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Jim Morin of the Miami Herald, via the National Journal. Here’s a near-real-time demonstration of why gasoline prices rise so dramatically.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Leave a Comment » | animation, Cartoons, Energy, Oil, Politics | Tagged: animation, Cartoons, Energy, foreign affairs, Gasoline Prices, Iran, Jim Morin, Miami Herald, National Journal, Politics | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Get the story here, at Accumulating Peripherals, from Matthew Steinglass.
While eyes are on Iran — as best eyes can be on a place where the government has the fog machines turned on high — Vietnam also arrestsed a leading human rights defender, with too few watching.
On Tuesday, according to NPR’s Mark Memmott, Iranian Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi told NPR reporter Davar Iran Ardalan that a prominent human rights lawyer had been arrested by security agents posing as clients.
That lawyer, Abdolfattah Soltani, spoke with Davar just yesterday — telling her that the Iranian government should recount all the votes in last Friday’s disputed presidential election, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner by a 2-1 margin.
“Once they were inside they immediately confiscated his computer and other documents and they arrested Mr. Soltani,” Ebadi said in today’s interview. “As far as we know, they did not have an arrest warrant.”
And in Vietnam:
On the other side of Asia last weekend, Vietnamese plainclothes security agents entered the offices of the Ho Chi Minh City dispute resolution firm PIAC and arrested US-trained lawyer and former Fulbright scholar Le Cong Dinh. As a lawyer at White & Case in 2003, Dinh defended Vietnamese catfish farmers against US anti-dumping tariffs. Then, in 2007, he served as defense counsel for two Hanoi human rights lawyers, Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, who were ultimately sentenced to several years in prison for spreading information “harmful to the State”. While continuing his corporate and civil work, Dinh also defended the well-known political blogger known as Dieu Cay in 2008, when the blogger was arrested on tax charges.
Dinh was arrested Saturday on charges of “colluding with domestic and foreign reactionaries to sabotage the Vietnamese state.”
Resources:
Leave a Comment » | Civil Rights, DBQ sources, Dissent, Human Rights, Iran, Propaganda, Totalitarianism, Vietnam | Tagged: Abdolfattah Soltani, Dissent, Human Rights, Iran, Le Cong Dinh, Rule of Law, Suppression of Rights, Totalitarianism, Vietnam | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
How very, very odd. I had a post up, and it disappeared.
This is a recreation, as much as I can.
If you’re in New York City this week, go see this movie. It’s got a great producer, a fellow I know only through the Louis August Jonas Foundation. It has a good director, and a few very good reviews. And it covers a topic of surpassing importance.
Below, the press release from the producer, Sandi DuBowski, and other resources.
A Jihad For Love Launches U.S. Theatrical Release at IFC Center in New York from May 21st – June 4th – Two Weeks Only!
Buy your ticket online at http://www.ifccenter.com/film?filmid=38472.
Box Office: 212.924.7771 323 Sixth Avenue (at W. 3rd St. )“CRITIC’S PICK! BRAVE…EYE-OPENING!”
– New York Magazine“REVEALING AND MOVING…A GIFTED FILMMAKER!”
–Wall Street Journal“COURAGEOUS!”
-The Guardian“LIFTS THE VEIL OF SECRECY…FRANKLY BRAVE!”
-NPR Talk of the NationFourteen centuries after the revelation of the holy Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad, Islam today is the world’s second largest and fastest growing religion. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims.
Produced by Sharma and Sandi DuBowski (director of the award-winning Trembling Before G-d), A Jihad for Love was filmed over 5 years in 12 countries and 9 languages and comes from the heart of Islam. Looking beyond a hostile and war-torn present, it reclaims the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad, whose true meaning is akin to ‘an inner struggle’ or ‘to strive in the path of God.’ In doing so the film and its remarkable subjects move beyond the narrow concept of ‘Jihad‘ as holy war.
After Premieres in 15 countries, being banned in Singapore , selling out everywhere including India and Turkey and five international awards, the film comes to the U.S. and NYC.
We need people to show up during our NYC theatrical run in very large numbers. Bookers across the country will be looking at the success of the film at the NYC Box Office to determine its life everywhere else in the country. If you come the first five days, you can significantly impact the film’s theatrical life in the U.S. and other countries.
Joining director/producer Parvez Sharma and producer Sandi DuBowski in the theater are Imam Muhsin Hendricks, the first openly gay imam from Cape Town , South Africa and Mazen from Egypt/France, featured stars of the film and Faisal Alam, the founder of Al-Fatiha.
We will turn the cinema into a town hall – for debate, change and transformation. Visit http://www.ajihadforlove.com/screenings_D.html for our dazzling line-up of Q & A’s and forums on Islam, Human Rights, South Asian Sexualities, Interfaith such as
Thursday, May 22nd, 7 PM & 9.30 PM
Evening with Sholay and A Jihad for Love TeamFriday, May 23rd, 7pm
Dialogue with Progressive Muslims Meet Up GroupSaturday, May 24th, 5:05pm, 7pm, 9:30pm
Human Rights Watch and Scott Long present in association with A Jihad for Love: Before the Crusade Passes By: Trapped in the middle of a “clash of civilizations.”Sunday, May 25th, 7 PM and 9.30 PM
Films for Change… Looking forward to seeing you there!
May 21st – May 29th Show Times: 11:20am, 1:15pm, 3:10pm, 5:05pm, 7:00pm and 9:30pm
Q & A’s and forums with Parvez, Sandi, Muhsin, Mazen, Faisal, and others after 7pm & 9:30pm shows
Get Involved! Here are some ways you can support this film:
Right Now:
* Purchase tickets online for The IFC Center
* Post a link to www.ajihadforlove.com and www.ajihadforlove.blogspot.com on your blogSupport The Cause:
* Donate to our International Muslim Dialogue Project at http://www.ajihadforlove.com/donate.html
Watch A Jihad for Love trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78jUBRio3So
Listen to Parvez Sharma on NPR‘s The Takeaway at http://www.thetakeaway.org/archives/2008/05/19/3
Best,
Sandi DuBowski
Producer, A Jihad for Love
Director/Producer, Trembling Before G-dParvez Sharma
Director/Producer, A Jihad for Love
Other resources:
1 Comment | Civil Rights, Human Rights, Movies | Tagged: Civil Rights, homosexuals, Human Rights, Iran, Media, Movies | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Ed Darrell on Texas's Colorado River
Come on in, the water's fine. Come often: Cleanliness is next to godliness.
 | Ed Darrell on Was Darwin racist? My long ago… |
| Ed Darrell on John Wooden’s favorite p… |
 | Richard K Hardin on Why is the US flag displayed o… |
| Ed Darrell on Blinken takes down Republican… |
 | Ben Gan Ganowicz on Blinken takes down Republican… |
 | topperj15 on Who said it? ‘Better to… |
| Ed Darrell on Who said it? ‘Better to… |
| Spenser Clarke on Who said it? ‘Better to… | |
 | Joseph Ehlers on Who said it? ‘Better to… |
 | The Coastal Crone on Annals of Global Heating: Karm… |
| Ed Darrell on Nate White’s stunning an… |
| Ed Darrell on Nate White’s stunning an… |
| Ed Darrell on Lake Powell drought ended? Don… |
 | caitcasali0 on Who said it? ‘Better to… |
 | John Mohan, RN on Gun nuts twisting the words of… |
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 