Blinken Doesn’t Answer Question: Why Did It Take Almost 2 Weeks to Condemn Violence Against Peaceful Iranian Protestors?

It took 13 days for the State Department to condemn the Iranian regime’s violent suppression of recent protests, and President Biden has yet to speak publicly on the matter.  Read

Blinken: A Chinese Role in Afghanistan Could Be ‘a Positive Thing’

Deeper Chinese involvement in Afghanistan post the U.S.-troop withdrawal could be “a positive thing,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week, underscoring again his department’s contention that neighboring countries like China, Pakistan, and Iran have shared interests with the U.S. in seeing a stable Afghanistan.  Read

US-China Wrangle Over COVID Origins at UN, After US Complains China Is Not Cooperating

 The politically-charged dispute over the origins of COVID-19 spilled over at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, with the U.S. accusing China trying to “undermine” the investigation and Beijing’s envoy retorting that the U.S. was smearing China in a bid to deflect attention from “its botched response to the pandemic.”  Read

GOP Senators to Biden: Don’t Let Iran’s Mass Killer President onto US Soil

For decades, the U.S. government has allowed a parade of despots to descend on New York each fall for the annual opening of the U.N. General Assembly session, but a group of Republican senators is urging President Biden to draw the line in the case of Iran’s newly-elected president.  Read

Arab Athletes Pull Out to Avoid Facing Israelis, But Iran-Born Champ Dedicates Medal Win to Israel

In a tale of contrasts from the Tokyo Olympics, two Arab judokas (judo practitioners) have withdrawn to avoid facing an Israeli opponent, while a former Iranian judoka who defected several years ago after facing anti-Israel pressure from the regime dedicated his silver medal win to Israel.  Read

Biden Administration Assessing Whether Tunisia Crisis Constitutes a Coup

 As the Biden administration assesses whether the Tunisian president’s assumption of powers constitutes a “coup,” developments in the North African nation that launched the so-called “Arab spring” a decade ago are exposing the fault lines between regional governments that support, and those that oppose, political Islam.  Read

Biden Says Combat Role in Iraq Will End by December, But Will Troop Numbers Drop?

President Biden, appearing with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Monday, confirmed that by the end of the year, the U.S. “combat mission” in Iraq will be over, although there’s no indication as yet that the number of troops there will actually drop.  Read

Taiwan's National Flag Omitted in Official Twitter Posts of Olympic Medal Winners

For more than four decades, the International Olympic Committee has labeled Taiwan “Chinese Taipei” in deference to Beijing’s communist rulers, but the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics have gone a step further, choosing not to include Taiwan’s national flag when highlighting a Taiwanese medal-winner’s achievement on Twitter.  Read

State Department Is 'Closely Following,' but Not Condemning Iran’s Violent Crackdown on Protesters

The United Nations and leading human rights advocacy groups are condemning Iran’s crackdown on protests in the country’s southwest, but reaction from the Biden administration – engaged in attempts to revive the nuclear deal – has been relatively muted.  Read

Chinese Diplomat: Some in US Hope That by Containing China, ‘America Would Become Great Again’

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has begun a two-day visit to China in an atmosphere soured by sanctions and Chinese scoffing at the notion that the U.S. official was approaching the engagement “from a position of strength.”  Read

Ukrainian Lawmakers Urge Congress to Stop Russia Pipeline, As State Dept. Defends Deal

The Biden administration says its arrangements with Germany, allowing completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in return for certain German undertakings, “constitute the best outcome for the circumstances we inherited.”  Read

Pro-Israel Officials in Florida, Texas Take Aim at Ben & Jerry’s Boycott Decision

As pushback continues against Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop sales in the territories disputed between Israel and the Palestinians, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday set in motion a process that could result in the state being prohibited from buying any assets in the ice cream maker’s British-based parent company.  Read

China Rejects WHO Plans to Examine Wuhan Labs in Continuing Probe of Virus Origin

The Chinese government on Thursday rejected World Health Organization plans to include investigations of laboratories in Wuhan in the next phase of the probe into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak.  Read

CAIR and Rep. Omar Pressing Biden Administration to Appoint ‘Islamophobia’ Envoy

 The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says it’s been calling for the government to appoint a special envoy to monitor and combat “Islamophobia” for two decades, but with President Biden in office and lawmakers led by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) promoting the issue, it is hopeful of success.  Read

First Lady’s Tokyo Travel Confirmed as Olympics Wobbles Towards Opening Ceremony

A top Japanese Olympic official has warned that the looming Tokyo games could still be called off if coronavirus infections spike, but the White House confirmed on Tuesday that First Lady Jill Biden will lead the presidential delegation to the opening ceremony on Friday.  Read

Cruz on Reported Pipeline Deal: ‘Biden Is Defying U.S. Law and Has Utterly Surrendered to Putin’

With mounting criticism over reports that the U.S. has struck a deal with Germany to allow the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to go ahead, the State Department on Tuesday continued to maintain that its approach to the issue was better than that of the Trump administration.  Read

WHO Wants Next Phase of Virus-Origin Probe to Include ‘Audits’ of Wuhan Labs

China’s foreign ministry is voicing dissatisfaction about World Health Organization plans for the “second phase” of an ongoing investigation into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak that includes examining laboratories in Wuhan.  Read

Israeli FM Urges US States to Enforce Anti-BDS Laws After Ben & Jerry’s Bars Sales in Disputed Territories

Israel responded frostily to Ben & Jerry’s announcement Monday that it will stop selling its ice cream in the disputed territories, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid appealing to U.S. states that have passed anti-BDS measures to enforce them against the “progressive” Vermont-based company. Read

Ahead of Biden-Abdullah Meeting, Jordan Claims Jews ‘Stormed’ Contested Holy Site

Ahead of Monday’s first meeting between President Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah, the kingdom on Sunday mischaracterized Israeli government-approved visits by Jews to Judaism’s holiest site on a Jewish holy day as the “storming of the holy compound by extremist settlers under Israeli police protection.”  Read

Human Rights Group Calls for Freeze on Spyware After Probe Finds Governments Spied on Journalists

The human rights group Amnesty International is calling for a moratorium on the export, sale, and use of surveillance technology, after a consortium of journalists reported that governments have been using private sector spyware to spy on journalists and human rights activists.  Read

Haley: Rejoining UN’s Council of ‘Genocidal Maniacs,’ Thugs and Dictators Sends ‘Worst Possible Signal’

The U.N. Human Rights Council is “a who’s who of genocidal maniacs, murderous thugs and tinpot dictators,” and the Biden administration was sending “the worst possible signal” by rejoining it, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said on Sunday.  Read

WHO Chief: It Was ‘Premature’ to Rule Out Lab-Leak Theory; ‘Lab Accidents Happen. It’s Common’

More than three months after the World Health Organization released a report that controversially all but ruled out the likelihood the coronavirus could have leaked from a Wuhan lab, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that conclusion was “premature” and reiterated calls for China to provide more data.  Read

Biden, Criticized Over Response to Cuba Protests, Says ‘Communism Is a Failed System’

Four days after making his first public comments about protests that erupted in Cuba on Sunday, President Biden on Thursday said in response to a question on Cuba that “communism is a failed system.”  Read

White House Says 'Focus' of Kerry’s Russia Visit Is Climate

Presidential climate envoy John Kerry this week became the first senior member of the Biden administration to visit Russia, but White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday rejected suggestions that the former secretary of state may be discussing issues other than those related to his current portfolio.  Read

The UN ‘Racism’ Investigators Invited to U.S. by Blinken Have Never Been to China

The U.N. “experts” investigating racism and minority issues whom Secretary of State Antony Blinken has invited to visit the United States have never visited China, despite years of recorded abuses against minorities, including Uyghur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists.  Read

Rally in D.C. Urges Boycott of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

The world said “never again” after the Holocaust, but 80 years later, with genocide determined to be happening in China’s Xinjiang region, the world is preparing to celebrate next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, a rally on the National Mall heard on Tuesday.  Read

Amid Calls to Boycott Beijing 2022 Olympics, State Dept. Still ‘Consulting With Allies and Partners’

The Biden administration is still “consulting with allies and partners” over the question of Beijing’s hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics, State Department spokesman Ned Price told a briefing Tuesday, repeating a point it has been making for the past five months.  Read

Blinken Invites U.N. Human Rights ‘Experts’ to Visit U.S. to Investigate Alleged ‘Systemic Racism’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded Tuesday to criticism by the United Nations’ human rights apparatus of “systemic racism” in the United States by announcing plans to issue a formal, standing invitation to dozens of U.N. rights experts to visit and investigate.  Read

UN Rights Council Silent on Cuban Protests, But Havana Succeeds in Passing an ‘Int’l Solidarity’ Measure

With a delegation of Cuba’s communist regime in its ranks, the U.N. Human Rights Council was silent on Monday about the rare anti-government protests that erupted on the island a day earlier.  Read

UN Rights Chief: Countries That Profited From Slavery, Colonialism Must Make ‘Reparations’

Countries that profited from slavery and colonialism must acknowledge “the truth about these legacies” and make reparations, the United Nations’ top human rights official said Monday.  Read

Rubio on Biden Administration’s Response to Cuba Protests: ‘This Is About Freedom. Say It!’

A pair of Republican lawmakers took a State Department official to task on Sunday after she tweeted a message about rare street protests in Cuba that made no reference to the anti-government sentiments being expressed.  Read

‘Libertad!’ Cubans Take to the Streets in Protest; Regime Blames US

In an unfolding situation on the streets of Cuba, thousands of people were marching on Sunday in protest against the communist regime and economic shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic.  Read

Biden Disputes Claim That US Intelligence Agencies Foresee Likely Taliban Takeover

 The U.S. intelligence community has not assessed that the Afghan government will collapse after the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces is complete, President Biden said on Thursday.  Read

White House Says Its Use of Taiwan Flag Was 'Honest Mistake'; Nothing Improper, Says Taiwan Lobby

When the White House COVID-19 response team posted a tweet earlier this week highlighting the number of countries that have received vaccines from the U.S., staffers in an “honest mistake” included a flag of Taiwan, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.  Read

Chinese Social Media Users Urge Trump to Join Weibo: ‘We Will Have So Much Fun!’

Relations between the Chinese and United States governments may have deteriorated significantly during the Trump administration, but many users of one of China’s biggest social media platforms want the former president to join the network, state media reported.  Read

Amid Criticism Over Beijing 2022 Olympics, IOC Says It Can’t Change Countries’ Laws

The International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Beijing to host next year’s winter Olympics has drawn criticism around the world, but the body’s head said Wednesday it must remain politically neutral if the games are to retain their “unifying power.”  Read

State Dept: ‘Jury is Still Out’ on Whether Iran Will Play ‘Constructive Role’ in Afghanistan

Iran has longstanding and controversial links with the Taliban and its al-Qaeda ally, but the Biden State Department on Wednesday expressed no explicit concerns about the regime in Tehran hosting talks with Taliban and Afghan officials.  Read

Beijing Warns Japan Over Defense of Taiwan: ‘China Is No Longer What it Was’

China’s foreign ministry has scoffed at a senior Japanese politician’s warning that his country could help the United States to defend Taiwan in the event China invades the island democracy.  Read

State Dept. Challenged Over Claim That the Taliban Cares About International Legitimacy

The notion that the Taliban cares about international legitimacy or support and will temper its conduct accordingly was disputed during a State Department briefing on Tuesday.  Read

China Seeks ‘Closer Cooperation’ With Political Parties From Around the World

Political parties from scores of countries are expected to take part in a mostly-virtual summit on Tuesday arranged by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), an event the party described as the highest-level and largest meeting of global political parties it has ever hosted.  Read

McCaul: Biden Will ‘Own Ugly Images’ the World Will See in Afghanistan

President Biden is going to “own” the negative consequences of a poorly-planned withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan, House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) charged on Sunday.  Read

Critics Urge UN Human Rights Council to Limit Membership to ‘Free’ Nations

Only countries ranked “free” for upholding political rights and civil liberties should be allowed to compete for seats on the U.N. Human Rights Council, and secret ballot elections for the Geneva-based body should end, critics argue in a new report.  Read

Garland’s Execution Ban Comes Days After DOJ Asked SCOTUS to Reinstate Boston Bomber Death Sentence

 Attorney General Merrick Garland’s order Thursday for a suspension of federal executions comes less than three weeks after his Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty against the Boston Marathon bomber.  Read

Chinese President: ‘We Will Never Allow Any Foreign Force to Bully, Oppress or Subjugate Us’

In a sometimes rousing speech marking the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping declared on Thursday that China would never allow itself to be bullied by any foreign force.  Read

Major Allies End Afghanistan Mission; US Withdrawing ‘At a Brisk Pace’ Amid Taliban Gains

Two of the biggest troop contributors to the NATO operation in Afghanistan have declared their missions over, as the U.S. withdrawal moves ahead swiftly amid a stark warning from the top U.S. commander that the country could return to civil war.  Read