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February 2021

MOVIES AND TELEVISION Comments turned off

‘Minari’ Shares One Family’s American Dream Of Yearning To Belong By Josh Shepherd

By on February 27th, 2021

https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/26/minari-shares-one-familys-american-dream-of-yearning-to-belong/

Director Lee Isaac Chung and co-star Yuh-Jung Youn discuss ‘Minari,’ a drama that shows the importance of family ties and faith in the American experience.

After five decades on-screen, 73-year-old actress Yuh-Jung Youn has been winning global accolades this year. In “Minari,” released Friday via on-demand platforms, she co-stars as a no-nonsense grandmother — not unlike herself — in the story of an immigrant family that moves to Arkansas to pursue the American dream.

Youn demurs when asked how the film speaks to current events. “I’m sure everybody has a different opinion,” she told me in an interview. “Always when I have a premiere in [South] Korea, they ask: ‘What message should we get from this movie?’ But I’m not some kind of crusader! If people feel something or are moved by this movie, I’ll be very grateful.”

Writer-director Lee Isaac Chung loosely based the story on his childhood, when English and Korean were spoken interchangeably at home. In the mid-1980s, his father (fictionalized as Jacob in the film) bought a plot of land in Lincoln, Ark. aiming to raise a farm — and a better life for his family.

His wife Monica isn’t so convinced their sacrifices will be successful. Their children, seven-year-old David and older sister Anne, are alternately diverted by and complaining about their unfamiliar new home.

Awards buzz for “Minari” has come in part due to what many consider to be a snub. The Golden Globe Awards, to be telecast on Sunday night, nominated it in their Best Foreign Language Film category. Yet that association did not consider it for Best Film, despite being shot in Oklahoma by an Asian-American filmmaker. Insiders await Oscar nominations on March 15 to see if it fares better with the Academy.

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MOVIES AND TELEVISION Comments turned off

Amazon Strips Clarence Thomas Documentary From Streaming Service During Black History Month By Tristan Justice

By on February 27th, 2021

https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/26/amazon-strips-clarence-thomas-documentary-from-streaming-service-during-black-history-month/

Amazon stripped a documentary on conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, the only black justice currently serving on the Supreme Court, from its streaming service during Black History Month.

“This video is currently unavailable to watch in your location,” the website reads when the title is clicked.

While this article is being written in Denver, the outage appears nationwide, also reported by Breitbart News.

Amazon appeared to drop the PBS title, “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” while still promoting a wide array of feature films under the category of Black History Month such as “All In: The Fight For Democracy,” with Stacey Abrams and two movies on Anita Hill, Thomas’ accuser of sexual misconduct who attempted to derail his confirmation. All come free to stream with a Prime membership.

The Thomas documentary released in January last year remains available to purchase on DVD. A simple search for “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” comes up short for the title however. To find it, users must include “DVD” in the search box, and the documentary will come up as the 10th result. A search for “RBG” on the other hand, will bring three documentaries on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s documentary to the top after promoting a sponsored post of her biography, “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.

The company built by Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, has only escalated its censorship of political dissidents to the progressive world order.

Just this month, the massive online retailer wielding unprecedented power over the digital public square deplatformed conservative scholar Ryan Anderson and his book, “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement.”

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IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

The Border Surge Is Underway, And The Biden Administration Is Unprepared The number of unaccompanied minors in federal custody is already overwhelming border facilities.By John Daniel Davidson

By on February 27th, 2021

https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/26/the-border-surge-is-underway-and-the-biden-administration-is-unprepared/

The border crisis that anyone could have seen coming is finally here, thanks largely to the actions of the Biden administration over the past few months. It turns out that promising to roll back Trump-era immigration restrictions, signing a raft of executive orders to that effect, and then introducing a mass amnesty bill sends the message that if you can get across the U.S.-Mexico border, you can stay.

Plenty of families in Mexico and Central America have gotten the message. According to a recent report in the Washington Post, for the past four months U.S. Border Patrol has taken into custody more than 70,000 illegal immigrants a month—the most for this period in a decade.

A growing number of those are children. Since November, the number of minors in federal custody has tripled to 7,000 after the Biden administration decided it would stop expelling minors and teenagers apprehended at the border without their parents. One official from the Department of Health and Human Services told Axios on Thursday, “We’re seeing the highest February numbers than we’ve ever seen in the history of the [Unaccompanied Alien Child] program.”

To cope with the surge, the administration has had to re-open an emergency shelter in Carrizo Springs, Texas, that was last used during the 2019 border crisis. Back then, the Trump administration was condemned by Democrats and the corporate press for keeping “kids in cages.”

The cages are back, but now they’re being called “facilities.” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tried hard this week to spin the re-opening of the Texas facility as “absolutely not the same” as when the Trump administration used it. The emergency shelter is needed now, she said, because of COVID-19 precautions that require social distancing.

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POLITICS Comments turned off

Americans See Both AOC and Pelosi as Wildly Unlikable By Stacey Lennox

By on February 27th, 2021

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/stacey-lennox/2021/02/26/americans-see-both-aoc-and-pelosi-as-wildly-unlikeable-n1428726

When you review the latest congressional favorability poll, it is incredible that Democrats hold the House or the Senate. Rassmussen polled 1,000 likely voters, which means a respondent has voted in the last several elections, and asked them about our congressional leaders, and added Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to see how she compared with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and who voters thought congressional Democrats in Congress should emulate.

The results are mixed. Individually, Ocasio-Cortez is wildly unlikeable, but so are Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. According to Rasmussen:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 54% of Likely U.S. Voters have an unfavorable view of Ocasio-Cortez, including 44% whose view of her is Very Unfavorable. Only 16% view have a Very Favorable view of AOC, and another 18% have a Somewhat Favorable view.

However, when asked which one of these women Democrats should be more like, 31% said Pelosi, and 22% answered Ocasio-Cortez.  A plurality of 46% said they are not sure. Even those who identify as Democrats pick Pelosi with a plurality of 44%, even though 69% report having a somewhat favorable view of Ocasio-Cortez. Unaffiliated voters have a Very Unfavorable opinion of Ocasio-Cortez 50% of the time with Republican voters at a rate of 69%.

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Durham Resigns as U.S. Attorney, But Will Stay as Special Counsel Katie Pavlich

By on February 27th, 2021

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2021/02/26/breaking-john-durham-is-leaving-his-post-as-us-attorney-n2585424

U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham has resigned from his post, but will continue his Special Counsel investigation into the origins of the Russia probe and spying on President Trump’s 2016 campaign. His final day as U.S. Attorney is February 28. 

“My career has been as fulfilling as I could ever have imagined when I graduated from law school way back in 1975,” Durham released in a statement Friday. “Much of that fulfillment has come from all the people with whom I’ve been blessed to share this workplace, and in our partner law enforcement agencies.  My love and respect for this Office and the vitally important work done here have never diminished.  It has been a tremendous honor to serve as U.S. Attorney, and as a career prosecutor before that, and I will sorely miss it.”

Durham was appointed Special Counsel in December 2020 by former Attorney General Bill Barr. President Joe Joe Biden has indicated Durham will be able to complete his work. 

“The Special Counsel is authorized to investigate whether any federal official, employee, or any other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, individuals associated with those campaigns, and individuals associated with the administration of President Donald J. Trump, including but not limited to Crossfire Hurricane and the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller,. III,” Barr said at the time. “If the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from his investigation of these matters.”

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MOVIES AND TELEVISION Comments turned off

Obama’s New Muslim Podcast: Allah’s “Throwing Shade at Jews and Christians” Daniel Greenfield

By on February 27th, 2021

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2021/02/obamas-new-muslim-podcast-allahs-throwing-shade-daniel-greenfield/

Obama’s gotta do something with his time besides serving as the facade for a bunch of white socialists looking to wreck America. Besides that job only pays in the low six figures, so he’s got contracts with Netflix and Spotify through his own production company. 

The Obama podcasting game includes talking about how racist the country is to fellow working-class millionaire hero Bruce Springsteen, and this Muslim podcast.

Barack and Michelle Obama have their Ramadan plans ready.

The couple, who have spent the years since Barack’s US presidency came to an end focusing on developing multi-platform media projects, announced a new season of their Higher Ground podcast called Tell Them, I Am, which will feature a collection of narratives from Muslim voices.

No, Obama’s not actually in it. 

Produced by the Obamas, the pod will be hosted by Misha Euceph, a first-gen Pakistan-American and exclusively available on the platform, launching on the first day of Ramadan.

Euceph also appears to have hosted a Koran book club on Instagram. Here’s the description of one episode.

God is still throwing shade at the Jews and Christians this episode of #quranbookclub 

Meanwhile, social media is purging conservatives. But this sort of thing can help you get a podcast produced by Barry.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

More Than 300 Girls Kidnapped in Latest Nigerian School Abduction Abductions for ransom have become a lucrative industry across Africa’s most populous nation by Joe Parkinson

By on February 27th, 2021

https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-than-100-girls-kidnapped-in-latest-nigerian-school-abduction-11614338957

Gunmen kidnapped 317 girls from a boarding school in northwest Nigeria, police said Friday, the latest in a rising tide of high-school abductions across Africa’s most populous nation, where kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative industry.

Dozens of armed militants broke into the Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Zamfara state at around 1 a.m. Friday and began shooting before packing schoolgirls onto vehicles or walking them toward the nearby Rugu forest, which spreads over three states and hundreds of miles.

By morning, parents and community leaders were tallying the number of people missing. The Zamfara police said security forces, backed by reinforcements, were in pursuit of the abductors.

Samaila Umar was one of the parents who awoke to the sound of gunfire, but by the time he could reach the school campus the militants had abducted his 15-year-old daughter and 14-year-old niece.

“I couldn’t get to there to save her because the kidnappers were shooting everywhere,” he said. “The government must do all in its powers to bring back our daughters.”

Another parent Samaila Ismail, whose first daughter Asiyat was among those kidnapped, said when he reached the school he saw 55 girls emerge from the restroom where they had been hiding. “But I couldn’t find my daughter,” he said.

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The Censorship Party House Democrats use a hearing to target conservative media.

By on February 27th, 2021

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-censorship-party-11614296803?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

Imagine if a pair of Donald Trump’s allies in Congress had sent a letter to cable company CEOs in 2017 blasting CNN and other progressive media outlets and asking why their content is still broadcast. Then imagine that a GOP-run committee in Congress staged a hearing on the societal menace of fake news and the need for government and business to rein in the hostile press.

The media would have treated that as a five-alarm political fire, an existential threat to a free press, the First Amendment and political norms, and a step toward authoritarian rule. “Democracy dies in darkness,” and all that. Yet that’s exactly what Democrats in Congress did this week, targeting conservative media outlets, but the media reaction has been silence or approval.

On Monday Democrats Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney sent letters pressing 12 cable and tech CEOs to drop contracts with right-of-center media outlets including Fox News. Two days later the Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing about “disinformation and extremism” in conservative media. The only notable extremism on display was the majority party’s appetite for regulating and policing the free press.

Rep. Mike Doyle, chair of the subcommittee on communications and technology, declared in opening remarks that “it is the responsibility of this subcommittee to hold these institutions”—meaning press outlets he doesn’t like—“to a higher standard.” He said later that “more free speech just isn’t winning the day over the kind of speech that we’re concerned about.”

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FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

Joe Biden’s Mixed Iran Messages He orders a strike against Iran-backed militias but makes concessions to Tehran.

By on February 27th, 2021

https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-bidens-mixed-iran-messages-11614382234?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

Friday morning’s airstrike against Iran-backed militias in eastern Syria sends a clear message: President Biden will use force to defend American lives. But this welcome development is an exception to the rest of Mr. Biden’s emerging Iran policy.

The President authorized the mission Thursday as a response to deadly rocket attacks against American and allied personnel in Iraq this month. The strikes, meant to target the Iranian proxies Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, destroyed several weapons storage facilities.

The Pentagon didn’t confirm casualty numbers, but media reports suggest well over a dozen pro-Iranian fighters were killed as the U.S. also struck trucks loaded with weapons. The message will be heard in Tehran and by other U.S. adversaries.

On the other hand, there’s Mr. Biden’s seemingly eager desire to return to the flawed 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. After announcing that Washington couldn’t “snap back” United Nations sanctions, the new Administration is consulting with South Korea about releasing at least $1 billion in frozen Iranian assets. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week the U.S. wants to “lengthen and strengthen” the accord—good—but then said President Trump’s sanctions on Iran had failed.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

The Sound of Liberty in Cuba A new challenge to the Marxist regime. James Freeman

By on February 27th, 2021

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-sound-of-liberty-in-cuba-11614366025?mod=opinion_lead_pos10

Thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet military empire, one of the world’s remaining communist dictatorships is facing a fresh challenge to its authority. And it couldn’t sound any sweeter.

Agence France-Presse reports:

In Cuba, where music and revolution are intertwined, a song by rappers boldly denouncing the communist government has found viral appeal online — but angered a regime that keeps close tabs on culture.

The song is called, “Patria y Vida,” or “Homeland and Life,” and has logged more than two million views on Alphabet, Inc.’s YouTube. Sarah Marsh and Rodrigo Gutierrez of Reuters have more on the popular new anticommunist anthem and the Miami-based musicians who helped make it happen:

Gente de Zona, Yotuel of hip-hop band Orishas fame and singer-songwriter Descemer Bueno collaborated on the song with two rappers in Cuba, Maykel Osorbo and El Funky, who are part of a dissident artists’ collective that sparked an unusual protest against repression outside the culture ministry last November.
“Homeland and Life” repurposes the old slogan “Patria o Muerte” (“Homeland or Death”) emblazoned on walls across the Caribbean country ever since Fidel Castro’s 1959 leftist revolution and expresses frustration with being required to make sacrifices in the name of ideology for 62 years.

“It’s over,” says the song’s chorus. What’s most striking is the song’s direct demand for freedom and blunt challenge to the dictatorship and its lies. “Advertising a paradise,” sing the performers, “while mothers cry for their departed children.”

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