This year marks the 23rd Annual Iranian Film Festival hosted by the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theater and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, and co-presented by the Smithsonian Freer-Sackler museums of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. The Festival begins in mid-January and lasts through February. These premier foreign films offer an introspective political and cultural commentary of life […]
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Limited cultural freedom, western sanctions In February, Iran is celebrating its 40th anniversary since independence. For Iran, independence has been a mixed success. Between 1953 and 1978, it was effectively ruled by a sovereign monarch. The state is presently dominated by clerics beginning with Ruhollah Khomeini, a radical Muslim cleric, in 1979. While the clerics supported an Islamic Revolution, its […]
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What if the world oil supply were suddenly drastically reduced? What if due to unforseen circumstances such as foreign attack, Arab oil fields such as Ghawar Field were shut down? For Cuba, this was the impact when they were cut off from oil shipments in the 1990s. In the Soviet Union, due to Perestroika, former state companies became worthless and […]
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There is a drought this year in the nation’s capital region. Hard to believe, but true. Most visitors wouldn’t notice since they only stay for a few days, and perhaps even welcome the dry weather. Locals observe that while the mugginess is less than usual, it is tiring all the same. Some elderly and homeless people, you can tell the […]
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The big question foremost on people’s minds with regard to Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of March 11, 2011 is how much radiation has leaked out of the plant into the environment? Unfortunately due to government secrecy and industry-protectionism, the quality of information is often filtered and the details obscured. According to the Greenpeace documentary video “Fukushima: Living with Disaster” much […]
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Partners from 350.org and Rise Up May 1st tell us why more marches and community actions are necessary to build solidarity On a sunny Saturday April 15th, thousands of people gathered at the National Mall for the 2017 April 15th Tax March. The protest began at noon at the U.S. Capitol West Front Fountain. According to TaxMarch.org, the theme this year highlights President Trump’s conflicts […]
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Derrick Jensen is the author of more than 20 books, one of the founders of Deep Green Resistance, and the key note speaker of Earth-at-Risk Conference 2014. The video was recently released by the organization, most likely as a reminder: Earth is at-risk. AGN had the opportunity to listen to the talk. In this hour-and-a-half-long seminar, Jensen explains why our planet […]
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Pope Francis’s speech to the Congress yesterday emphasized the need to work together, to take care of the poor, and the moral imperative of climate change. His text contains much in the way of moral allusions and transcendent perspective and spoken with a heavily accented English was difficult to understand at times. In fact, his speech is so unusual in […]
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