Winkin’ a nod to Blinken

NYTimes says this about tony:

Mr. Blinken also has a lighter side that may not be immediately evident when he is seen testifying or meeting foreign diplomats. He plays in a band. He has a tight group of close friends from his days as a student at Harvard and his rise through the Washington foreign policy firmament.

And he is a new father: He and his wife have two very young children at home, and he will be the first secretary of state in modern times to be raising toddlers while serving in office.

Mr. Blinken grew up in New York and in Paris, graduating from Harvard and Columbia Law School. The son of an ambassador to Hungary during the Clinton administration and the stepson of a Holocaust survivor, Mr. Blinken has often spoken of the moral example the United States sets for the rest of the world.

“In times of crisis or calamity, it is the United States that the world turns to first and always,” Mr. Blinken said at a speech at the Center for a New American Security in 2015.

“We are not the leader of first choice because we’re always right, or because we’re universally liked, or because we can dictate outcomes,” he said. “It’s because we strive to the best of our ability to align our actions with our principles, and because American leadership has a unique ability to mobilize others and to make a difference.”

[eat your heart out, current but soon to be EX sos pompous]

from wikiage on his wife evan:

10 Facts on Evan Ryan:

1. Evan Ryan was born in 1971 in the United States of America.
2. Her age as of 2020 is exactly 49 years old however she hasn’t revealed her exact date of birth in public.
3. According to the wiki, she has been in the political matter for more than 7 years starting back in 2013 where she was the assistant secretary for educational and cultural affairs.
4. Evan Ryan is the wife of Antony Blinken and they have been married for almost 18 years as of 2020.
5. Talking about her family Evan and Anthony doesn’t have a child yet and they haven’t even spoken regarding their personal life yet.
6. Evan Ryan is a U.S. public servant and government official who is a member of the Democratic Political Party. 
7. Her net worth as of 2020 is more than 1 million dollars however she hasn’t unfolded her exact earing yet.
8. She is available on her Twitter account @EvanMRyan where she has more than 1.3k followers.
9. She completed her BA at Boston College and later completed her MA from Johns Hopkins University.
10. Even holds an American nationality and follows Christianity religion. 

LP, tell us how you really feel

NYTimes is running a fascinating interview with jane goodall titled Jane Goodall on Chimps, Presidents and Other Alpha Males here’s some of it from the transcript: Kara Swisher When passion moves to anger, because you’re seeing that with a lot of groups, that they’ve had enough. They want the system to change completely and not cooperatively. Jane Goodall Well, I don’t blame them if they have had enough. But I will never, ever believe that the way for change is confrontation and aggression, because people change when you reach the heart. And so, you know, when people ask me, what do you do when you meet somebody who’s behaving in a way that you really dislike or something? Try and find a connection. Maybe they have a dog or a cat or a horse or a child or something. Just for one minute, if you have a short time to talk to them. And then, stories. Tell stories. So when I went into the labs that I accused of treating the chimps badly, which they were, I showed pictures of Gombe and how the chimps are and how they’re lying around and grooming each other and playing. It got to the people’s hearts. And I got this lesson early on, don’t make high up people lose face, because it doesn’t work. Kara Swisher Mhm. When you look at the protests, though, especially environment, do you think that helps, too, or not at all? Jane Goodall Oh, I think it helps. It raises awareness, no question about it. I mean, Greta’s raised awareness in many, many people, without any question about it. Kara Swisher So let me put that to you. If you were standing in front of President Trump, how would you tell him a story? He is one of the more partisan figures, creates a lot of thumping, like chest thumping. What would you say? You have five minutes, or two minutes, or one minute. Jane Goodall Yeah, apparently, the attention span is less than that. But anyway, I would actually refuse this opportunity, because I don’t think he’d… Read more »