Monthly Archives: March 2021

In an interview that aired Wednesday with ABC News George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America, President Joe Biden stated that it would be tough to withdraw U.S troops currently stationed in Afghanistan by the scheduled deadline of May 1.

Im in the process of making that decision now as to when theyll leave. The fact is, that was not a very solidly negotiated deal that the president, the former president, worked out, Biden said. So were in consultation with our allies as well as the government, and that decisions its in process now.

Last year, then-President Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban to yank U.S. military forces from Afghanistan and Iraq. The Afghan government agreed to release as many as 5,000 Taliban prisoners in a trade for 1,000 Afghan prisoners held hostage by the Taliban. The historic peace deal came after nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan.

Out of the troops that have not yet been withdrawn, 3,500 remain. According to The New York Times, more than 1,000 Special Operations forces remain in Afghanistan, of this number. The peace agreement has not yet been authorized by the Afghan government.

I dont think a lot longer, Biden told Stephanopoulos on the length of sustaining troops in the middle east. [It] could happen, but it is tough, he added on making the May 1 deadline that Trump put in place.

To date, 3,500 troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan is the lowest number since the conflict initiated. Bidens decision comes just a month after he put a freeze on Trumps decision to withdraw troops from Germany in July. About 11,900 troops were relocated to the U.S. or other parts of Europe.

We dont want to be the suckers anymore, Trump said to reporters in July. The United States has been taken advantage of for 25 years, both on trade and on the military. Were protecting Germany, so were reducing the force because theyre not paying the bills. Its very simple. Theyre delinquent. So were reducing the force. Now if they start paying their bills I would think about it.

Bidens interview aired a day prior to a meeting in Moscow between leaders from Russia, China, the United States, Pakistan, top Afghan officials, and opposition leaders, as well as Taliban representatives. The Taliban continues to deny that al-Qaida terrorists are responsible for the attacks on Sep. 11, 2001.

This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to display urgent leadership in talks to craft a peace plan with the Taliban.

In reaction to Bidens indeterminate stance on the withdrawal of troops, a spokesperson for the Taliban said that there would be consequences if Trumps agreement was not abided by. The threat is a warning to resume attacks on U.S forces.

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Biden: It Will Be 'Tough' To Pull US Troops Out Of Middle East By May Deadline - The Federalist

If you are like mehandsome and coolyou love a great action movie. You love the superhero archetype because the character development, if done properly, can reveal what is best about us as a species. You love watching attractive people with amazing physiques do impossible things in impractical clothesunless your name is Martin Scorsese, who famously hates the genre.

People who cant get past the dazzle of science fiction plot devices just dont have the creativity to achieve suspension of disbelief. They have lost their childlike sense of wonder for the wonderful.

If you love your sense of wonder, you likely love Wonder Woman. If you love the supernatural, you love Superman. If you love oceanic, robotic, and fast action, you love Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash. If you love all of these characters and their flaws in one film, you are a true fan and your name might be Zack Snyder.

If you are wondering if this film came out in 2017, you are mostly right. Snyder had a family tragedy that cut short his ability to finish this film, and Joss Whedon was tapped to complete it. Snyder had set up his own vision for the DC cinematic universe in 2013 with Man of Steel, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

This would have been an Avengers-esque team-up to launch more films and a vehicle to introduce new characters to the screen. Whedon basically came in and crapped all over that vision and delivered a disjointed, half-baked CGI, dryly performed, and meandering film that was only mildly enjoyable.

Snyder fixes all of that. The Snydercut was demanded by the fans, who made it happen, and the payoff is worth it. In a way, the fans were Snyders own Justice League who brought him back like Superman to vanquish Whedons evil spawn.

There is character development, beautiful cinematography, better banter, and more emotional sinew in the performances. The score is better, the colorization is better, Snyders desaturated and almost film noir grit really works to cement this fantasy into reality and to blend the CGI with the live action.

Speaking of CGI, it is light years ahead of the 2017 version. The bad guys look better, scarier, and more threatening. Steppenwolf is given a character arc that comics fans will recognize. Even though he seems more threatening (spoilers ahead) he is heralding an even greater evil to comea really well done Darkseid.

Darkseid-Thanos comparisons will be made, and I like the Darkseid CGI treatment better than Thanoss. He seems more tangible and real. For the record, he also came first as a character.

We are treated to battles from time past. A Green Lantern makes an appearance alongside the old Greek gods, Amazonians, Atlanteans, and early men. This backstory was important to set up the struggle to get our heroes to unite.

A fractured Earth led to distrust between the peoples, and that reflects in the main characters. The idea of uniting to defeat a common foe should resonate today. In addition to new and better battles, we also get to see new and revamped characters in Martian Manhunter and Jared Letos Joker, who seems more menacing and developed in this film, although his frames are few.

All of the characters seem more deftly acted. Was that better editing, alternate takes, or reshoots? The world may never know. Superman looks cool in his back in black super-suit and his return seemed even scarier than in the 17 version, even though the scenes seemed very close to the same.

The slow-motion scenes will seem superfluous to some, but to me they really drove home the idea of how fast the action was and how insanely fast The Flash is. In fact, his power is expanded from the first film, as is his heroism.

The score is more epic and tender, and the pop music in the soundtrack gives us well-timed emotional connection. Batman totally fell in love with guns!

This was a great film; not without flaws, but Im comfortable calling it great. It is worth viewing maybe even twice. That brings me to some of the flaws.

Four hours. Four hours in 4:3 aspect ratio! If you have an older plasma widescreen or even LED, it could burn black bars into the sides of your screen (just kidding, but if it happens I want to hear about it). To me, this was the worst choice Snyder made. It made the film seem less expansive.

I mostly ignored it once the film was going for a bit, but I have the good fortune of viewing on a 120-inch 4K Dolby Atmos projection system with audio to match. I imagine this film was envisioned for IMAX screens, which are giant 4:3. The sidebars would have annoyed me more had I been watching on the 75-inch downstairs.

Some of the pacing seemed slownot painfully slow, just slowenough to make you think a 3.5-hour version might be just as good. Thats all I have for flaws, but those may prove too massive for some to overcome. Now, back to the good.

The fact that this film was available to stream and to view in theaters was really great. I think this COVID model will stay long after we have burned our masks.

I cant think of another filmmaker who was ever given a chance to recover his or her vision. It is an extraordinary occasion and well worth the effort. As I mentioned earlier, the fandom that made this happenthey demanded it and thus ensured a return on the investment. It gave them some ownership, and the fandom should take a bow.

This film is an example of what movie-making should and can be when producers and execs arent given too much control over content. When you have a master visual storyteller like Snyder, you turn him loose.

One cant help but wonder if the results would have been better had they just shelved it until he had gotten past his tragedy in the first place. We wouldnt be watching this film with the bad taste of the first still in our mouths. Still, I am thankful for this palate-cleanser.

Watch this film, make lots of popcorn, and plan to pause for bathroom breaks at the chapter slates. Oh, and if you talk about this movie with your fanboy friends, make sure you know the names of all the characters, no matter how small, or prepare to be nerdured.

If you are friends with Mr. Scorsese, just pretend you hated it.

Chris Loesch is the owner of creative concept company Intuation Studios.

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'Justice League' Is Zack Snyder's Trimphant Return To Big Heroes - The Federalist

More than 2 million signatures were submitted to California state election officials Wednesday on the final day to reach the 1,495,709 needed to secure a recall for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on the calendar this year.

The state will now conduct a monthlong review to validate the signatures. If valid, a recall election expected to be scheduled for sometime between August and December.

Were gonna take this extremely seriously were gonna get ready and fight like hell, Newsom senior strategist Sean Clegg told Politico Wednesday, labeling the referendum on Newsoms leadership a partisan Republican recall with a capital R.

Anne Dunsmore, however, who runs the recall committee, RescueCalifornia.org, told The Federalist that more than a third of the signatures are independent and Democratic voters. Dunsmore emphazied the bipartisan nature of the movement triggered in large part by the governors aggressive and hypocritical lockdowns. Fifty-eight percent of those who signed the petition were women, Dunsmore said.

On Tuesday, Newsom complained the recall effort was motivated by racism, a routine accusation foisted by Democrats on any criticism from political opponents.

Look at the petition, look at the actual reasons they themselves listed. It has to do with immigration. The browning of California, Newsom told reporters.

Dunsmore called Newsoms comments an insult to the two million people who signed the petition with a very strong showing from people that were no party preference and Democrats.

Newsom said on the ABCs The View Tuesday that he is worried about the effort to remove him from office.

Of course Im worried about it, Newsom told the daytime panel. The nature of these things, the up or down question, the zero-sum nature of the question is challenging so were taking it seriously.

The recall ballot gives voters a yes-or-not vote on whether Newsom stays in office, followed by a list of candidates competing for Newsoms replacement if Californians vote in favor of removal.

While five recall attempts on Newsom failed in the past, the sixth effort picked up momentum in December, about a month after the governor was caught enjoying indoor dining at a three-star Michelin restaurant in Napa Valleys wine country. Photos of the scene showed Newsom, who had just prohibited gatherings of more than three households before the Thanksgiving holiday, at a dinner party with a dozen others with no masks, and no social distancing.

Newsom tightened statewide restrictions after he apologized for getting caught.

Californians have been subject to some of the harshest lockdowns in the country provoking an exodus to business-friendlier states such as Texas and Arizona. Families have also fled the state in search of better education for their children as many California schools remain closed despite overwhelming evidence that in-person instruction is safe.

A new poll out Monday shows more than 58 percent of California voters believe its time for someone new in the 2022 election. Only 42 percent said they would vote to keep Newsom in office in an upcoming recall.

While Newsoms lockdowns, implemented with little transparency, have fueled the governors recall movement, California Republican Congressman Darrell Issa told The Federalist Newsoms problems stem far beyond aggressive COVID-19 restrictions.

Rolling blackouts caused by insensitivity to the transition from fuel, Issa said, gripped the state last year with an energy crisis which has left Californians relying on imported power from other states at peak periods.

Issa, the wealthiest member in Congress who bankrolled the states last recall in 2003 when voters replaced incumbent Democrat Gray Davis with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, told The Federalist the stakes are higher in this years contest than they were nearly 20 years ago.

Weve got to turn around the direction of the state in a much more meaningful way, Issa said, who cited the states fleeing population putting California on track to lose a congressional seat for the first time in its history.

Issa said he is committed to supporting the effort however he can, though he wont be running as a candidate himself.

While no prominent Democrats have come forward to challenge Newsom in the recall, several Republicans have already declared their candidacies including former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and former Republican Congressman Doug Ose.

Former President Donald Trumps former Director of National Intelligence, Ric Grenell, has also hinted at a run but has not yet announced any decision.

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Californians Gather More Than 2 Million Signatures To Recall Gavin Newsom - The Federalist