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February 2020

MOVIES AND TELEVISION Comments turned off

EMMA- A REVIEWS BY MARILYN PENN

By on February 24th, 2020

http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2020/02/23/emma-a-review/

I haven’t read Jane Austen’s original version of Emma since college, but judging from its latest incarnation, a title that better suits it is Much Ado About Nothing. By now, after so many treatments of the source, everyone must know that Emma is a privileged young woman who fancies herself a do-gooder, particularly vis a vis her friendship with Harriet Smith, a young woman missing everything Emma has – wealth, lineage, social standing and personality. Unfortunately, that last quality is not in evidence in either the screenplay or bland performance by Anya Taylor Joy. But, even if it were, it’s hard to see what the two women would ever have in common except the endless flattery of Emma herself.

The exterior landscapes and interior designs of the various great houses are beautiful, as are the varied musical backgrounds and costumes. The hairstyles couldn’t possibly be less flattering so I will assume that this was the director’s nod to us that these characters were not allowed the freedom to think for themselves. One of the fallacies of many period films is to equate antiquated social customs with primitive thinking – thus none of the women in this film has anything clever to say except the one sentence that Emma utters to humiliate the unfortunate spinster, played by Miranda Hart who was Chummy on Call the Midwife. That may seem extraneous for you to know in this review, but it was a bright note for me to recognize her and smile at the memory of her much better part on that series. I should mention that Bill Nighy, an actor who is normally a scene stealer par excellence, has only one opportunity to do that and mainly functions in this movie as a mannequin of himself.

As you will guess from my suggestion of a better title, by the last scene you will know that All’s Well That Ends Well, so if you’re looking for a chance to take a nap and wake up to a wedding, see Emma.

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ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Fiamma Nirenstein Anti-Semitism can’t be fought with lip service The EU’s message with regard to the settlements grants tacit permission to blame and hate Israel and, by extension, the Jews. To combat this, words are not enough; action is required.

By on February 24th, 2020

https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/anti-semitism-cant-be-fought-with-lip-service/

Anti-Semitism turns truly dangerous when it becomes the organizing principle of society. This occurred during the past century under Nazism and communism, and it is occurring again today.

Unrelenting bias against Israel, Zionism and thereby the Jewish people has become progressively interwoven with institutional power. It has penetrated the mindset of all those living under the “intersectionality” roof, i.e., those who feel oppressed and who harbor social frustration in various forms. Zionism and by extension the Jewish people are cast as oppressors, and this view has been granted political legitimacy by organizations such as the European Union and United Nations.

Ethnicity, gender, culture, etc. – are have become commingled. And all – feminists, university professors, members of the LGBT community, Hollywood directors, child-rights advocates – attack Israel, for reasons that can vary from “pinkwashing” to white supremacy to neo-colonialism. There are seemingly infinite themes available. This commingling not only animates but also strengthens bias. This stream of thought holds the State of Israel to be warmongering, colonial and racist in nature; Judaism, which generated Israel, is held responsible. The simple idea that Judaism includes the entire Jewish people then closes the circle of anti-Semitism.

The most important institutions in the world today push this line of thought, even if not explicitly. The parents of contemporary anti-Semitism are the same ones appearing in conferences, institutions, synagogues and even in Israel to proclaim their campaigns against anti-Semitism.

So what can be done? The generally accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism is a positive step because it ties anti-Semitism and “Israelophobia” together. Yet it is not enough. Only policy action, not blame or promises to teach the history of the Shoah, can combat anti-Semitism. This is why US President Donald Trump’s Executive Order against anti-Semitism is so essential; it is composed of political steps that destroy the paradigm of political anti-Semitism.

There has been some progress in Europe as well. Hungary and the Czech Republic made great strides against anti-Semitism by abstaining from the UN General Assembly’s 2017 vote condemning Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Six EU member states (including, once again, the Visegrád Four) also took a stand against anti-Semitism earlier this month by opposing a resolution by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell calling for a joint European condemnation of Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan. By their action, they opened a real discussion about Israel’s security needs and the legality of the settlements.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

NEVER SANDERS? VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

By on February 24th, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/02/23/neversanders/

In 2020 if Sanders is the Democratic nominee, the NeverSanders movement will be far larger, far wealthier, far more influential—even as it is likely far quieter—than were the vociferous but anemic NeverTrumpers of 2016.

Almost everything the Democratic Left said about Donald Trump causing a Republican Party implosion proved untrue—and yet is proving true this year of the Democrats.

Trump’s agenda, for the most part, was Reaganesque, with a few important exceptions—closing the border and enforcing immigration law, getting tough with China’s unfair trade policies, restoring assembly and manufacturing jobs to the hollowed-out interior, avoiding optional wars abroad, and trying to drain the proverbial federal swamp of its careerist bureaucrats and revolving-door apparatchiks.

Those wrinkles from the Republican agenda, in fact, were consistent with traditional conservative values, and thus even among establishment and mainstream Republicans still polled well enough. That reality later was empowered by Trump’s effort to keep his campaign promises, by an economy at near-record employment, and by foreign policy recalibrations that are starting to win grudging, if unspoken, bipartisan support on China, given news coverage of the Hong Kong crackdown, the reeducation camps, the coronavirus debacle, and the Orwellian surveillance state apparat.

Even before Trump’s governance, the NeverTrump Right was emasculated, largely because its pundits and politicians could offer no alternative party agenda superior to Trump’s. Moreover, they had spent much of their lives advocating most of the very policies Trump was advancing, and increasingly was getting results. Nor before or after the election could they ever convince Republicans that Trump’s crassness and uncouth tweets were quite unlike the White House crudity of past presidents (e.g., Kennedy, Johnson, Clinton) rather than in part attributable to the Internet/social media age and the new tabloid media.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

The Fortunate Arabs in the Middle East by Bassam Tawil

By on February 24th, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15602/fortunate-arabs

Meanwhile, there are other Arabs in the region who are more fortunate than the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: the Arab citizens of Israel. These citizens are lucky that they do not live under the rule of the corrupt and incompetent leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. These Arab citizens are fortunate because they live in Israel.

Here is more unwelcome good news regarding the Arab citizens of Israel: The Israeli government announced in 2018 that in the last two years, it has invested 4.5 billion shekels ($1.3 billion) in the Arab regions. The government also announced that it would invest 20 million shekels ($5.6 million) in the Arab high-tech market. Overall, the government has decided to invest 15 billion shekels ($4.3 billion) in the Arab-Israeli sector by the end of 2020….

The $50 billion dollars the Trump plan offered the Palestinians will end up being withheld because Palestinian leaders have something else on their minds: to continue enriching their own bank accounts at the expense of their people. No wonder, then, that when Arabs — including Palestinians — dream of a better life, they often dream of moving to Israel. No wonder, as well, that most Arab Israelis do not want to become part of a Palestinian state, and have been demanding to stay in Israel.

Palestinians living under the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip can only dream about the quality of life their Arab brethren enjoy in Israel.

Thanks to the current leaders in the PA and Hamas, the Palestinian people are sunk in abysmal living conditions. Poverty, unemployment, and repression have been their lot for decade after decade. This is because the PA and Hamas have repeatedly rejected peace plans that offer prosperity to the Palestinians.

Recently, the PA and Hamas rejected US President Donald Trump’s plan for Mideast peace, which includes a $50 billion investment and infrastructure proposal to create at least a million new jobs for Palestinians. The plan calls for projects worth $27.5 billion in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and $9.1 billion for Palestinians in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. Projects “envisioned include those in the health care, education, power, water, high-tech, tourism, and agriculture sectors.”

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

How Should the West Respond to the Iranian Protesters? by Judith Bergman

By on February 24th, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15513/iranian-protesters

“Right now people are mad, not just because of their own government… People are furious about the Western reaction, with the silence of the world. When they see that people are getting killed, but still the Western governments do not dare to openly support human rights and ask the United Nations to make an open investigation into the killings and about the 7,000 people in prison.” — Masih Alinejad, Iranian journalist,

The UN Secretary-General, who declared war on “hate-speech” six months ago, apparently could not bring himself to condemn hateful actions of actual state violence against unarmed, innocent citizens.

How should the West respond to the Iranian protests that erupted after the Iranian regime admitted to unintentionally downing the Ukrainian jetliner? US President Donald J. Trump publicly supported the protesters:

“To the leaders of Iran – DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!”

By contrast, on January 14, Democrats blocked a House resolution that supported the anti-regime protesters in Iran. On January 28, however, House Resolution 752, was passed, “Supporting the rights of the people of Iran to free expression, condemning the Iranian regime for its crackdown on legitimate protests, and for other purposes”. The resolution had already been introduced in December 2019 as a response to the protests in Iran in November.

The House Resolution further “urges the Administration to work to convene emergency sessions of the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Human Rights Council to condemn the ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by the Iranian regime and establish a mechanism by which the Security Council can monitor such violations”.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

‘Christians Face Hatred and Discrimination Even after Their Death!’ The Muslim persecution of Christians that occurred in just one month. Raymond Ibrahim 1

By on February 24th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/christians-face-hatred-and-discrimination-even-raymond-ibrahim/

The following are some of the abuses that Muslims inflicted on Christians throughout the month of November, 2019; they are categorized by theme:

Slaughter of Christians

Syria:  On November 11, Islamic gunmen opened fire on a vehicle known to be carrying Christian leaders.  Two Armenian priests, a father and son, were killed; a deacon was seriously wounded.  ISIS claimed the murders of Father Abrahim Petoyan and Father Hovsep Petoyan.  The Armenians were going to inspect repairs on an Armenian Catholic church that had been earlier damaged in Deir ez-Zor. “We continue to feel the presence of ISIS,” responded the Armenian Catholic Archbishop Boutros Marayati of Aleppo, adding that Deir ex-Zor “is a very important town for us, because it is there that many of our martyrs were killed as they fled the Turkish genocide of 1915. Today there are no Armenian Catholics left there. Undoubtedly, the Turks don’t want us to return, because our presence would be a reminder of the Armenian genocide.”

Turkey: On November 19, in the streets of the city of Diyarbakir, Korean evangelist Jinwook Kim, 41, was stabbed and later died from his injuries. A 16-year-old Muslim was later arrested.  According to the report,

Kim had arrived in Diyarbakir with his family earlier this year and was pastoring a small community of Christians. The assailant stabbed Kim three times: twice in the heart, once in the back. Officials, however, claim that the incident occurred in an effort to steal Kim’s phone. Local believers urge the authorities to investigate the incident as an assassination, rather than an attempt at extortion. Kim was married and had one child, although his second is expected to be born in the coming days….  He had lived in Turkey for five years.

“This wasn’t just a robbery; they came to kill him,” insists another local Christian, who received a death threat the day after this incident:

“We always get threats. A brother prophesied a few days ago that they (the government) are going to kick out these foreigners, and probably kill a few Turkish brothers. They are going to cause chaos. They know that I am trying to spread the Gospel, so they may target me too. This may be a sign.”

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Wilders Calls Out The Islam-Fueled Western European Jew-Hatred Speaking the truth about anti-Semitism’s cozy relationship with Islam’s defining text. Andrew Bostom

By on February 24th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/wilders-calls-out-islam-fueled-western-european-andrew-bostom/

The Dutch CIDI (Centrum Informatie En Documentatie Israel) annual report for 2019 just released Monday 2/17/20, recorded 182 anti-Semitic incidents, its highest number ever registered since 1982, when monitoring began. This figure represented a 35% increase from 2018.

Even the CIDI’s full 99 page Dutch language report, however, provided only limited anecdotal information about a select sample of the perpetrators, rendering a quantitative determination of major (and/or relative) group responsibility impossible to assess. This glaring lacuna was “enlarged” by the report’s absence of background discussion of previously published comparative findings revealing disproportionate rates of extreme anti-Semitism, and anti-Semitic violence, or violent threats, among Western European Muslims, including confirmatory data on anti-Semitic attitudes within the Netherlands itself.

Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders—the Netherland’s most informed and intellectually courageous politician on the subject of Islam—inveighed against the denial of what the report’s findings actually substantiated, during a floor debate, Tuesday 2/18/20. Eschewing the craven, vacuous platitudes of his colleagues, Wilders thundered,

[I]t is almost nauseating. We’ve been talking about anti-Semitism, here in the Lower House (of the Dutch Parliament) for ten minutes now. And nobody, really nobody has discussed the biggest cause of anti-Semitism, which is of course Islam, and Islamization. 

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Philip Haney: Whistleblower and Happy Warrior A tragic loss. Col. Joe Martin

By on February 24th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/philip-haney-whistleblower-and-happy-warrior-frontpagemagcom/

Joe Martin is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel, a graduate of the National Defense University, and served with 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and as a Military Congressional Fellow to the United States Senate Majority Leader. His operational experience includes deployments to Afghanistan, Qatar, Kuwait, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Venezuela.

We met at a conference here in Washington DC several years ago, and I knew him from his reputation based on the national reporting after he had been a whistleblower to Congress about malfeasance in the Department of Homeland Security under the Obama Administration. He struck an appearance like Dr. Emmett Brown and his delivery was not unlike Ben Stein’s economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. His appearance, delivery, dry sense of humor and gaiety were disarming, making it deceptively easy to underestimate him. ­­­

An etymologist and self-proclaimed nerd, Phil was relentless in his pursuit of those who were infesting our country and attacking our way of life. Among the enemies this quirky bug hunter pursued were Osama Bin Laden, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, the Holy Land Foundation and their offspring – the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) as well as the subversive operatives in the Obama administration… many of whom are still working for the Department of Homeland Security.

 The leaders of those [Muslim Brotherhood] organizations were deliberately and intentionally brought into the [Obama] Administration to help promote and create both domestic and foreign policy and this status continues to this very day.

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EDUCATION Comments turned off

Terror-Linked Islamic Activists Renew Protests against Free Speech at U.S. Army War College By Raymond Ibrahim

By on February 24th, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/02/terrorlinked_islamic_activists_renew_protests_against_free_speech_at_us_army_war_college.html

True to form, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (“CAIR”) — also known as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the largest terrorist funding case in U.S. history, and a designated “terrorist organization” for nations allied to America — is again protesting my forthcoming appearance to the U.S. Army War College, urging the latter to “reconsider its decision and disinvite Ibrahim,” since my presentation will no doubt be “hypocritical, ahistorical and hateful.”
This, of course, is all déjà vu — a repeat of events from eight months ago. As CAIR itself notes in it new press release, which came out on Feb. 21, 2020:
.Last summer, CAIR and its allies launched an online campaign highlighting Ibrahim’s Islamophobic views and their negative impact.

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POLITICS Comments turned off

Even Anderson Cooper’s polite interview with Bernie reveals Bernie’s extremism By Andrea Widburg

By on February 24th, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/02/even_anderson_coopers_polite_interview_with_bernie_reveals_bernies_extremism.html

Anderson Cooper did a decent-ish job challenging some of Bernie’s more extreme positions on Sunday’s 60 Minutes. Despite Cooper’s delicacy, Bernie gave away the fact that he dislikes America and dreams of Marxist socialism.

With Bernie now the frontrunner in the Democrat Party, it was natural that 60 Minutes would interview him. In terms of real journalism, the interview is inadequate. You’ll get more information about Bernie’s lifelong Marxism and love for dictators from the videos at the bottom of this post. Still, there were illuminating moments.

Cooper’s narrative reiterates that Sanders is now claiming Denmark, not Cuba or Venezuela, as his model. It doesn’t matter. Denmark’s reality is strikingly different from the myth.

Sanders, without evidence, calls Trump is a “pathological liar.” Untrue. Trump is an exaggerator; Biden is a fabulist; and Bernie is the pathological liar. Anyone who sells communism, as he has for decades, despite the 100 million dead bodies left behind in the 20th century alone, is lying at an almost incomprehensible scale.

Cooper did note that, in the 1980s, Sanders was a fan of the Soviet Union and the Sandinistas. A brief video from the 1980s, interrupted by Cooper’s voiceovers, has Bernie decrying the “authoritarian nature of Cuba” while lauding its “massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing?” Only a Marxist could value literacy over food and freedom.

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