New York City has unveiled its first concrete plan to aid drivers, who have been ailing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and before that through predatory loans.
As reported by the NY Times, on Tuesday Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to spend $65 million, from the stimulus funds it is slated to receive from the federal government, to help restructure outstanding loans owned by the drivers. Many drivers have fallen deep in debt from loans that they took out to pay for medallions, or city permits which give them permission to own their own cabs. The city made a lot of money on the medallions, at the expense of the taxi drivers, many of whom became victims to abusive lenders, and exaggerated interest rates. Their businesses were then battered by competition from ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft. The pandemic was the cherry on top, devastating demand and leaving many of the small cab owners close to bankruptcy. As of January 2021, revenue for the taxi industry was still 80 percent lower than in January last year.
City Hall’s plan, named the Taxi Medallion Owner-Driver Relief Fund, will provide up to $29,000 in no-interest loans to each of roughly 3,000 drivers who purchased a medallion for their own cab. “This new plan will be a difference-maker for many, many drivers,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference.
The proposal would not be a full bailout– it would still leave drivers in debt, with large monthly payments. On average, most of the drivers owe roughly $500,000 in loans. Still, the deal would help them negotiate with their lenders, and to lower the debt in exchange for a down payment towards the loans. “This proposal recognizes that taxis are a critical part of New York City’s infrastructure, and provides owner-drivers meaningful relief that will help them restructure their loans — lowering their monthly payments and bolstering their economic prospects, while stabilizing the industry,” said a spokesman for the largest holder of medallion loans, Marblegate Asset Management.
The plan also has its fair share of critics, however, who say it does not go far enough. “The mayor’s proposal is a disgrace and fails to deliver the significant relief drivers deserve,” said City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who had recommended a more generous proposal which could forgive more debt using less city money. “There is no excuse not to address the crisis with a real solution. We have the means — we just need the will to meaningfully act.”
(AP) — One year after the nation was brought to a near-standstill by the coronavirus, President Joe Biden pledged in his first prime-time address Thursday night to make all adults eligible for vaccines by May 1 and raised the possibility of beginning to “mark our independence from this virus” by the Fourth of July. He offered Americans fresh hope and appealed anew for their help.
Speaking in the White House East Room, Biden honored the “collective suffering” of Americans over the past year in his 24-minute address and then offered them a vision for a return to a modicum of normalcy this summer.
“We are bound together by the loss and the pain of the days that have gone by,” he said. “We are also bound together by the hope and the possibilities in the days in front of us.”
He predicted Americans could safely gather at least in small groups for July Fourth to “make this Independence Day truly special.”
But he also cautioned that this was a “goal” and attaining it depends on people’s cooperation in following public health guidelines and rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Only that, he said, can bring about an end to a pandemic that has killed more than 530,000 Americans and disrupted the lives of countless more.
“While it was different for everyone, we all lost something,” Biden said of the sacrifices of the yearlong-and-counting pandemic.
The speech came just hours after Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion relief package that he said will help defeat the virus, nurse the economy back to health and deliver direct aid to Americans struggling to make ends meet.
Some cash distributions could begin arriving in the bank accounts of Americans this weekend.
“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said as he signed the bill in the Oval Office.
Most noticeable to many Americans are provisions providing up to $1,400 in direct payments and extending $300 weekly emergency unemployment benefits into early September. Also included are expanded tax credits over the next year for children, child care and family leave — some of them credits that Democrats have signaled they’d like to make permanent — plus spending for renters, food programs and people’s utility bills.
In his Thursday night address, Biden said that as vaccine supplies continue to increase, he will direct states and territories to make all adults eligible for vaccination by May 1. The U.S. is expecting to have enough doses for those 255 million adults by the end of that month, but Biden warned the process of actually administering those doses would take time, even as his administration looks to instill confidence in the safety of the vaccines to overcome hesitance.
“Let me be clear, that doesn’t mean everyone’s going to have that shot immediately, but it means you’ll be able to get in line beginning May 1,” he said.
Biden announced an expansion of other efforts to speed vaccinations, including deploying an additional 4,000 active-duty troops to support vaccination efforts and allowing more people — such as medical students, veterinarians and dentists — to deliver shots. He is also directing more doses toward some 950 community health centers and up to 20,000 retail pharmacies, to make it easier for people to get vaccinated closer to their homes.
Biden added that his administration is planning to launch a nationwide website to help people find doses, saying it would address frustrations so that there would be “no more searching day and night for an appointment.”
Even as he offered optimism, Biden made clear that the July 4 timetable applied only to smaller gatherings, not larger ones, and requires cooperation from Americans to continue to wear face coverings, maintain social distancing and follow federal guidelines meant to slow the spread of the virus in the near term. He also called on them roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated as soon as they’re eligible.
This is “not the time to not stick with the rules,” Biden said, warning of the potential for backsliding just as the nation is on the cusp of defeating the virus. “I need you, the American people,” he added. “I need you. I need every American to do their part.”
The House gave final congressional approval to the sweeping package by a near party line 220-211 vote on Wednesday, seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill. Republicans in both chambers opposed the legislation unanimously, characterizing it as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and heedless of signs the crises are easing.
Biden had originally planned to sign the bill on Friday, but it arrived at the White House more quickly than anticipated.
“We want to move as fast as possible,” tweeted chief of staff Ron Klain.
Biden’s initial prime-time speech was “a big moment,” said presidential historian and Rice University professor Douglas Brinkley. “He’s got to win over hearts and minds for people to stay masked and get vaccinated, but also recognize that after the last year, the federal government hasn’t forgotten you.”
Biden’s evening remarks were central to a pivotal week for the president as he addresses the defining challenge of his term: shepherding the nation through the twin public health and economic storms brought about by the virus.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released initial guidance for how vaccinated people can resume some normal activities. On Wednesday, Congress approved the president’s $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan,” aimed at easing the economic impact of the virus on tens of millions of people. And the nation was on pace to administer its 100 millionth dose of vaccine as soon as Thursday.
Almost exactly one year ago, President Donald Trump addressed the nation to mark the WHO’s declaration of a global pandemic. He announced travel restrictions and called for Americans to practice good hygiene but displayed little alarm about the forthcoming catastrophe. Trump, it was later revealed, acknowledged that he had been deliberately “playing down” the threat of the virus.
(EDITORS NOTE: This is an AP story, heavily biased against the former president, leaving out vital details. In reality, Trump had followed the advice of Dr. Fauci, who had considered the pandemic only a minuscule risk for the duration of time leading to the shutdowns on March 12, 2020. As USA Today reported(LINK) Dr. Fauci, told Americans COVID risks were “minuscule” and there was no point in wearing a mask, this story ran 3 weeks before the shutdowns occurred, and conveniently, these facts have been long forgotten as mainstream media such as AP blamed the entire pandemic on Trump.)
Biden implicitly criticized his predecessor, opening his remarks by referring to “denials for days, weeks, then months that led to more deaths, more infections, more stress, and more loneliness.”
( EDITORS NOTE, On January 31, while Fauci was still considering COVID a nonfactor, President Trump declared Coronavirus A Public Health Emergency and restricted travel From China. At that time Democrats including President Biden considered this an unnecessary and racist action)
Anti- Police militants quietly have taken control of the street where George Floyd was killed by former police officer Derek Chauvin as tensions continue to grow as jury selection continued for Chauvin’s trial, one which is sure to produce a violent riot if the officer is not handed a stiff sentence.
An activist was murdered recently in the so-called “autonomous zone” otherwise known as George Floyd Square, which was set up by anti-police, black-clad militants on the block where Floyd died after a grocery store called the police when Floyd handed them a counterfeit $20 bill.
The story has drawn next to no media coverage, as the Minneapolis police have surrendered the area to the radicals allowing for a tense scene and a fellow anti-police activist shot to death.
Minneapolis police on Thursday announced two arrests in connection with the shooting death of 30-year-old Imez Wright at George Floyd Square last week, Minneapolis Star reported. The police released very little information regarding the murder.
A preliminary police investigation determined that Wright and a suspect had been arguing when the suspect shot him several times and fled in a light-colored Suburban that had been struck by gunfire. Wright was pronounced dead at an area hospital, The Star reported.
The police have been discussing how to manage the “autonomous zone”. Tensions will continue to rise in Minneapolis as the trial inches closer.
It seems almost surreal to imagine a major city allowing, violent radicals to literally take over an entire intersection and even more surreal to listen to Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, explain away the lack of public safety and civility in the crime-ridden city, where carjackings have increased almost 300% since the BLM insurrectionists have turned the city into a free for all, for anti-police and anti-American communist tinged militants.
“How do we stop and prevent what’s been occurring? We have to stay vigilant,” Arradondo said. “I will say from a public safety [standpoint], we have to open up that intersection. And I know that may be difficult for some people who have been holding space in there since last year, but we have to open up that intersection. And we can do both. We can facilitate the tribute and recognition and honor Mr. Floyd and yet get that intersection back open. We’re having ongoing conversations. There will be more today.”
News 10 in Minneapolis reported on the situation:
Meanwhile an update on the trial :
CNN reported: Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin now faces an additional murder charge in the death of George Floyd after a Hennepin County judge reinstated a count of third-degree murder on Thursday.
Chauvin already faced charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
The added charge provides prosecutors a third potential pathway to conviction in the closely watched case, which began Tuesday with jury selection at the heavily fortified Hennepin County Government Center.
Last night, CNN’s Brian Stelter contacted us about “Newsmax’s ratings declines for my CNN newsletter.”
Stelter contacted Newsmax at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night and said he would give us just one hour to respond, meaning a 10 p.m. deadline.
Without Newsmax’s response, CNN’s Stelter email newsletter, headlined “Newsmax’s rise and fall,” noted that “Newsmax TV gained a lot of attention last fall when disaffected Fox News fans flocked to the channel en masse. … Newsmax’s Nielsen ratings are way off the post-election highs that I wrote about three and four months ago.”
Stelter chalked up his “Newsmax is falling” story to his theory that “Newsmax is no longer getting a pro-Trump Big Lie ratings boost. Biden is a comparatively tame story.”
As it turns out, Biden is also a very tame story for CNN as well, which has seen its own ratings collapse in recent weeks.
Early Wednesday morning Newsmax sent Stelter the following response: “Only CNN would do a story on Newsmax’s drop in ratings when its own Nielsen total day impressions fell by 45% last week compared to the week after the election, and Brian Stelter’s own ‘Reliable Sources’ show fell by 44% over the same period with, more recently, his show having lost nearly 1 million viewers since January of this year.”
CNN’s Stelter was contacted to comment on his network’s ratings decline, but did not offer comment.
So, what’s the real story for the ratings spin from CNN?
CNN and Stelter have been advocates of “deplatforming” the Newsmax channel, in a clear censorship effort to reduce competition, especially as their own ratings have fallen off a cliff.
Here’s what the current Nielsen ratings really do show:
Newsmax remains the #4 cable news channel in the United States.
Newsmax remains a top 25 cable network for Total Day.
Newsmax growth has accelerated over the past three quarters, up 24% in P2+ impression and up 23% in A35-64 viewers, from fourth quarter 2020 to first quarter 2021.
Newsmax has seen double-digit P2+ ratings growth from fourth quarter 2020 to first quarter 2021, led by “Spicer & Co.” (+39%), “Greg Kelly Reports” and “American Agenda” (+35%), “Rob Schmitt Tonight” (+31%), and “Stinchfield” (+24%).
Over the past few months, Newsmax has had a sudden rise, catapulting the independent network as a top cable news player.
This fact has panicked not only CNN but Fox News, which has made dramatic changes in its lineup to counter Newsmax.
Meanwhile, Newsmax continues to take a huge portion of Fox’s audience in the linear cable world as it crushes Fox in the OTT space, streaming as it does to more than 40 million U.S. homes not connected to cable TV.
And, since Election Day, more than 5 million people have downloaded the free Newsmax App on their smartphone.
The bottom line: Newsmax is here to stay. That’s good news for Americans who desperately want fresh, independent voices, but bad news for establishment giants like Fox News and CNN.
For background, here’s CNN’s Nielsen ratings collapse data:
CNN — P2+ Impressions
Week of 11/9 M-F Total Day — 1.654 Million
Week of 3/1 M-F Total Day — 908,000
45% drop in audience
Week of 11/9 M-F Daytime — 1.855 Million
Week of 3/1 M-F Daytime — 1.059 Million
43% drop in audience
Average viewers Jan. ’21 — 2.1 Million
Average viewers Feb. ’21 — 1.1 Million
48% drop in audience
Brian Stelter’s “Reliable Sources” — P2+ Impressions
New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on Thursday authorized the Assembly Judiciary Committee to launch an impeachment investigation into New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over the embattled governor’s alleged cover-up of nursing home deaths and sexual harassment allegations brought forth by multiple women.
“After meeting with the Assembly Majority Conference today, I am authorizing the Assembly Judiciary Committee to begin an impeachment investigation, led by Chair Charles D. Lavine, to examine allegations of misconduct against Governor Cuomo,” Heastie said in a statement.
“The reports of accusations concerning the governor are serious. The committee will have the authority to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and evaluate evidence, as is allowed by the New York State Constitution,” added Heastie. “I have the utmost faith that Assemblymember Lavine and the members of the committee will conduct an expeditious, full and thorough investigation.”
Heastie said the probe will not interfere with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ (D) independent review of the allegations against Cuomo.
In recent week, six women have leveled allegations of sexual harassment and unwanted touching against Cuomo, sparking an independent investigation overseen by James.
Earlier Thursday, the New York Times reported that one of the allegations against Cuomo was referred to Albany law enforcement by a lawyer for the governor. Albany Police Department officials confirmed to the Times that is was given a report regarding an alleged incident at the Executive Mansion involving Cuomo and a female staff member.
Beth Garvey, the governor’s acting counsel, later confirmed that the Cuomo administration filed the report in accordance with state law.
“As a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that they should contact their local police department,” Garvey said. “If they decline, the agency has an obligation to reach out themselves and inform the department of the allegation.”
“In this case, the person is represented by counsel and when counsel confirmed the client did not want to make a report, the state notified the police department and gave them the attorney’s information,” the official added.
The accusation was first revealed by the Times Unionon Wednesday.
Cuomo denied the allegation, telling the Times-Union in a statement: “I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching.”
Meanwhile, Cuomo has repeatedly said that he has no plans to resign.
“[James] is very good, she’s very competent, and that will be due process and then we’ll have the facts. That’s why Sen. Schumer said let the attorney general do her investigation, Sen. Gillibrand said let the attorney general do her investigation, Congressman [Hakeem] Jeffries said let the attorney general do her investigation, the White House spokesperson said let the attorney general do the investigation because that’s democracy. So no, there is no way I resign,” Cuomo said during a Monday press conference.
(AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s grip on power appeared increasingly threatened Thursday as a majority of state legislators called for his resignation, Democrats launched an impeachment investigation and police in the state capital said they stood ready to investigate a groping allegation.
The firestorm around the Democrat grew a day after the Times Union of Albany reported that an unidentified aide had claimed Cuomo reached under her shirt and fondled her at his official residence late last year.
The woman hasn’t filed a criminal complaint, but a lawyer for the governor said Thursday that the state had reported the allegation to the Albany Police Department after the woman involved declined to do so herself.
“In this case the person is represented by counsel and when counsel confirmed the client did not want to make a report, the state notified the police department and gave them the attorney’s information,” said Beth Garvey, the governor’s acting counsel.
An Albany Police Department spokesperson, Steve Smith, didn’t immediately return a message from The Associated Press, but told The New York Times police had reached out to a representative for the woman.
At least 121 members of the state Assembly and Senate have said publicly they believe Cuomo should quit office now, according to a tally by The Associated Press. The count includes 65 Democrats and 56 Republicans.
The top Democrat in the state Assembly, Speaker Carl Heastie, on Thursday backed a plan for its judiciary committee to launch an impeachment investigation.
The committee can interview witnesses and subpoena documents and its inquiry could be wide-ranging: from alleged sexual misconduct to COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes. It won’t interfere with a separate inquiry of sexual harassment allegations being conducted by state Attorney General Letitia James, according to Heastie and James.
“The legislature needs to determine for itself what the facts are,” a member of the committee, Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, said. “For the people who want immediate impeachment, I think we say please be patient. The process is slow. This could be the next step.”
In New York, the Assembly is the legislative house that could move to impeach Cuomo, who faces multiple allegations that he made the workplace an uncomfortable place for young women with sexually suggestive remarks and behavior, including unwanted touching and a kiss. One aide claimed the governor’s aides publicly smeared her after she accused him of sexual harassment.
“All of us are extremely disappointed,” Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, a Democrat representing Orange and Sullivan counties, told The Associated Press. “I think there’s no room in the world right now for that kind of behavior. He should have known better.”
Gunther on Thursday became the ninth Assembly Democrat saying they’d vote for impeachment, alongside at least 37 Republicans.
Cuomo’s support in the state Senate was especially thin. Roughly two-thirds of its members have called for the Democrat’s resignation, including Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
A group of 59 Democrats, including 19 senators and 40 Assembly members said in a letter Thursday that it’s time for Cuomo to go.
“In light of the governor’s admission of inappropriate behavior and the findings of altered data on nursing home COVID-19 deaths he has lost the confidence of the public and the state legislature, rendering him ineffective in this time of most urgent need,” the letter said. “It is time for Gov. Cuomo to resign.”
Cuomo has repeatedly said he won’t resign and urged the public to await the outcome of the attorney general’s investigation.
Asked for comment Thursday, Cuomo’s office referred reporters to previous statements in which the governor denied inappropriately touching anyone, but apologized for some comments he made to female staffers. He’s said he was trying to engage in playful banter and didn’t intend to make people uncomfortable.
In the newest allegation against Cuomo, the Times Union of Albany reported that the governor had summoned the aide to his Albany mansion, saying he needed help with his cellphone. After she arrived, Cuomo closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her, the newspaper reported.
The newspaper’s reporting was based on an unidentified source with knowledge of the woman’s accusation, who said she first told the story to someone on Cuomo’s staff in recent days. The newspaper hadn’t spoken to the woman and didn’t identify her.
“I have never done anything like this,” Cuomo said through a spokesperson Wednesday evening.
According to the Times Union account, one of the woman’s supervisors told an attorney in the governor’s office about her account Monday. The report to Albany police was made Wednesday, after the newspaper had posted its story.
Federal investigators are also scrutinizing how the Cuomo administration has handled data about how many nursing home residents have died of COVID-19. The governor and his aides argued for months that it couldn’t release full figures on deaths because it had yet to verify the data.
The state Assembly has 150 members. It could convene an impeachment trial against Cuomo with a simple majority vote. The state Senate, which would join with members of the state’s top appeals court to hold an impeachment trial, has 63 members.
___
Associated Press writers Mike Hill in Albany, Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and David Klepper in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed reporting.
While the crowd of candidates vying to become New York City’s next mayor keeps growing, one particular candidate stands out from the others for his unwavering commitment and dedication to making the lives of all New Yorkers better in practically every way.
Fernando Mateo, 63, is best known as an advocate for taxi drivers and bodega owners who have worked assiduously for the rights of all people.
As one of the few Republican candidates in the race, Mateo said at the beginning of February when he officially entered the race, “I’m excited. I’m on the road to City Hall.”
Mateo, a native of the Dominican Republic, told the NY Post in an interview, “This is a city of immigrants. This is a city built by immigrants. I want to be their voice.”
On February 26th, the New York Post reported that the Manhattan Republican Party threw their support behind Mateo by giving him their ringing endorsement for mayor of New York City.
The New York County GOP Committee selected Mateo over Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa during a meeting, according to the Post report.
“The city is in desperate need of new leadership bringing the city back to the days of Republican leadership when there was economic prosperity, safe streets and common-sense government in City Hall,” said Manhattan GOP chairwoman Andrea Catsimatidis. She added that, “I am confident with this slate led by Fernando Mateo we will bring our city back to being the greatest city in the world.”
The Post reported that Mateo also secured the endorsements of the Bronx and Queens Republican parties.
“I am so grateful for the leadership and support of Chairwoman Catsimatidis. The Manhattan GOP endorsement put us over the top— without her, I wouldn’t be the presumptive nominee,” Mateo said in a statement. He added that, “Together, we will take the Republican Party into the future and continue to expand our coalition with our historic ticket.”
As a high-performing, civic-minded, serial entrepreneur, Mateo has willed himself into becoming one of the most accomplished and prominent Hispanic citizens in the country, today. He has built a business empire and a remarkable reputation for his achievements.
Reflecting on his past, there is no doubt that Mateo not only possesses remarkable business acumen but an unrelenting drive to succeed and to vastly improve the lives of others who have experienced daunting challenges on the trajectory of life. Matteo began his astonishing career in the world of business and public service as a fledgling entrepreneur, Through an extraordinary work ethic along with passionate determination and sacrifice, he received a plethora of awards and accolades from the business community.
While still a teenager, Mateo started a small carpet business in the Lower East Side that blossomed into a multi-million dollar contracting business. He was instrumental in revitalizing the Dyckman Strip in Northern Manhattan and in transforming Uptown Manhattan into a magnet that draws people from all over New York City and beyond.
Since the early 1990s, Mateo has earned a stellar reputation as a highly respected and nationally recognized public figure. In 1990 he founded the Mateo Institute of Training, a job training program for incarcerated first-time, non-violent offenders. The program offered participants training in practical skills and eventually evolved into a full-fledged curriculum for inmates at the correctional facility on Rikers Island.
In 1991, Mateo was awarded the Points of Light award by the late President George H.W. Bush. He also founded the “Toys for Guns” program at Christmas time in 1993 – an exchange program that was eventually rolled out nationwide and helped to get guns out of the hands of criminals. He was then selected as the “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1993 by Ernst and Young. Additionally, in 1994 . Mateo was named “One of the Five Most Influential People in the Country” by the New York Times.
In 1998 Mr. Mateo became President of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers. He secured a $5 million grant for installing bullet-proof partitions in taxis, which contributed to a dramatic decline in the murder rate of taxi drivers. In addition, he is the founder of Hispanics Across America, an umbrella conglomerate encompassing other Hispanic organizations, including the Northern Manhattan Restaurant & Lounge LLC, NYS Federation of Taxi drivers, and the Bodega Association of America. Mr. Mateo has served as a director on the board of the Battery Park City Authority in New York City, Board of Trustees of Mercy College and currently serves on the Westchester County Police Board for public safety, as well as being a Deputy Sheriff in Westchester County.
In 2003 President George W. Bush named Mateo to the White House Presidential Scholars Commission. His work in the political sphere has had an outsized and international impact. In 2005, Mateo served as the Hispanic Director for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s successful re-election campaign. He delivered over 100,000 signed ballots to the Congress and Senate of the Dominican Republic and helped Dominicans secure the right to vote abroad for the first time.
In 2004, Mateo was the leading Hispanic fundraiser for the Republican Party in New York State, raising nearly $1 million in campaign contributions for both Governor George Pataki and President George W. Bush.
His most recent entrepreneurial venture was in 2017. Mr. Mateo and his wife Stella started the construction and build out of Zona de Cuba Restaurant located on top of a Federal Landmark building – the iconic Bronx Post Office on the Grand Concourse and cross street of 149th. Zona de Cuba opened in May 2019 and employs more than 100 people from the SoBro (South Bronx) neighborhood.
Fernando Mateo’s illustrious career is a testament to his extraordinary dedication to excellence in every endeavor he has undertaken. His passion for his career, community, and country makes Mateo an outstanding candidate for becoming New York City’s next Mayor.
The quiet and close knit Sephardic Jewish community in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn was rocked to the core on Thursday afternoon, when it was learned that that a man who had adamantly refused to give his wife a Get (bill of Jewish divorce) for 17 years was arrested. In Jewish law, a woman who does not receive a Get is considered an Agunah (a chained woman) and she is not permitted to get remarried and carry on with her life.
A phalanx of NYPD officers arrived at the home of the man who is known as Dibo (Jeff) Hafif to make the arrest. Community members became aware of the tragic situation and held a demonstration outside of Hafif’s home, where hundreds of people chanted “Give her a Get!!” and proceeded to throw eggs at the home. They returned for several consecutive evenings to ratchet up the pressure on Hafif to adhere to Jewish law. According to Jewish law and rabbinical decrees, it is permissible and even encouraged to persuade a recalcitrant husband to give his estranged wife a Get.
A number of years ago, Hafif married a second woman, (without giving his first wife the get), had several children with her and according to verifiable reports the man began to severely abuse her.
According to a post allegedly sent to Mexican-Pacino on Instagram, the 18-year old daughter of Hafif wrote: “My mother married him after going through a divorce in her 20s and saw someone in the same predicament as her who presented himself as a nice and good person. He manipulated her and abuses her and is not good to me. I hope you can help us because we are in a bad state and need some guidance. My mother does not want a future with him, but he scares her.”
According to a report on Yeshiva World News, a voice note went viral on Thursday morning of the man violently abusing his wife and her children. YWN said that the audio clip was simply too horrifying to publish on their web site. A community member who heard the clip reached out to the wife, and convinced her to press charges, according to the YWN report.
Vois Es Nais reported that what could be heard on the video is Hafif hurling horrific verbal abuse at his wife. After berating her non-stop for almost 5 minutes, he then appears to become violent.
After police arrived at the man’s home, within a few minutes he was taken in to custody. Law enforcement sources told YWN that Hafif is expected to be charged with assaulting his wife in the form of strangulation and for assaulting a minor child.
Sources told YWN that the NYPD’s Domestic Violence Unit interviewed the woman, who detailed the extensive violent abuse allegations to them.
Sources in the Sephardic community told the Jewish Voice that the issue of men who refuse to give their wives a get was something that they had thought they were immune to. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a well placed source in the community said, “For many years now, we thought the problem of men not giving their ex-wives a get only went on in the Ashkenazic community. If you read the Jewish Press, for instance, you will see that each week, without fail, they present a growing list of men who are in direct violation of Jewish law and rabbinic decisions by refusing to give a get. Despite community pressure, they are adamant about making the lives of the women they were married to and had children with a total nightmare.”
The unnamed source added with indignation in his voice, “How dare these men behave is such a despicable manner. How dare they call themselves Jews and participate in the synagogue and in community affairs. They should hang their heads in shame and the community should continue to place enormous pressure on them until they fully comply with Jewish law.”
(Arutz Sheva Staff) Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and BioNTech sas that Israeli data suggests that their vaccine is effective not only at preventing the disease but also against the spread by asymptomatic carriers – a fact that means it could significantly reduce transmission as well as deaths Reuters reported. Clinical and observed data were matched, showing the vaccine’s efficacy to be roughly 95 percent.
The data was provided to Pfizer by the Israeli Health Ministry.
The data also show the vaccine to be over eighty percent effective against the British variant oif the coronavirus, which is more contagious than the common strains. There are not yet enough cases of the South African variant to make final conclusions. The manufacturers’ data shows that unvaccinated individuals are 44 times more likely to contract COVID-19 and 29 times more like to die from the disease.
Israel has fully vaccinated about fifty percent of its total populace, leading the world (by percentage) thanks to an agreement to share data on those vaccinated with the manufacturers. Israel’s data is based mostly on vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna.
There’s a lot of energy around the mayor’s race, which is super important.
We also want to make sure you have the important information you need to participate in other crucial races that will be on the June 22 primary ballot. And some special elections are even sooner — Districts 11 and 15 in The Bronx, looking at you!
So, this week, we’re diving into City Council contests and revisiting some reporting that our team has done about how important these races will be for New Yorkers and our neighborhoods.
More than two-thirds of the City Council is up for grabs. That’s a lot — so we made a map.
Sara N., Andrea U. and Aubrey C. — all from Queens — and many other readers asked about how to find out who is running for City Council in different districts.
So we made a map where you can see who is running in your district, with links to their campaign websites and social media, so you can learn more.
If there is another bit of information you’d like to see on the map, let us know by emailing: [email protected].
Why are so many City Council seats up for grabs?
City Council members in New York City can only serve two consecutive four-year terms. In 2010, voters approved to put term limits in place so that Council members can’t run for a third term right away. They can take a break for a four-year term and then run again if they want. That means that a seat automatically opens up after the member serves two terms in a row.
Because of these term limits, 35 of the 51 City Council seats are open. And in some districts where the incumbent can run again, challengers have joined the race.
Right now, more than 300 candidates are running for City Council throughout the five boroughs.
To make things a little bit more complicated, these elections are only for two-year terms in the City Council because the city is on tap for redistricting.
So buckle up!
What’s so important about the Council races this year?
With so many seats open and so many candidates, voters have an opportunity to drastically alter the makeup of city government.
Not only are there a ton of candidates (more than 10 in a lot of districts), but the slate of hopefuls is diverse. In some of the districts with the most candidates, there are also higher numbers of newly registered voters. Those factors — new candidates running and new voters registering — means there’s potential to disrupt business as usual.
Monica Klein, a progressive political consultant, said: “We’re at a rare moment where the vast majority of Council members will be replaced all at once… And right now, the field of Council candidates is racially, economically and generationally diverse; there are more women running for office, people are running for office at a younger age, and there are more people of color, immigrants and children of immigrants, and socioeconomic diverse candidates in the field.”
As if more than 300 candidates weren’t enough, the Council races will be the first time New Yorkers will use a new method of voting called Ranked Choice Voting. Instead of choosing just one candidate, you’ll get to rank up to five in order of preference.
This means a voter may need to read up on a few more candidates than usual. We will talk more about Ranked Choice Voting in the coming weeks.
There are also voter engagement meetings set up across the city to help New Yorkers wade through this. We’ll keep you posted on those, too.
Lastly, like most races in a largely blue city like New York, the City Council members will for the most part be determined in the primary, which is early this year on June 22.
Why should you care and what does a City Council member do?
City Council is kind of like Congress, but for the city. It may seem like a small office, but since New York has 8.4 million residents, a local office like the City Council has more influence than you may think.
Klein pointed out that some leaders — Mayor Bill de Blasio and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, to name two — have used the City Council as a stepping stone to higher office.
“City Council is an entry point into politics — and a way to build a bench for more diverse representation in higher offices years down the line,” she said. “One reason many people are disappointed in the mayoral field is because 15 years ago, the city wasn’t building an exciting and diverse bench of new political talent.”
City Council members represent a district that usually includes two to four neighborhoods, and they have four main responsibilities.
They pass laws
Just like Congress or the state Legislature, the City Council proposes and votes on legislation that makes the rules for all sorts of things ranging from public health, education, housing and transportation. You can see all the different City Council committees here.
After a bill is proposed, the Council holds a public hearing to get feedback from the community and potentially make changes. Then, members vote on the bill.
Bills passed by a majority of the Council go to the mayor to be signed into law. The Council can override a veto from the mayor with a vote of at least two-thirds of the members.
The Council negotiates with the mayor to pass the city budget every year. That means members help decide how your taxes and other revenue will be spent to fund different city agencies and programs — ranging from the public schools to policing to a bunch of social services. The most recent budget was more than $88 billion.
Your Council member can advocate for certain programs or projects to be funded in your neighborhood. And each Council member has their own discretionary budget to help local projects and groups.
Council members make sure agencies like the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Preservation, NYCHA and the NYPD are doing their jobs well.
That means where to build, what to preserve and what to close (like Rikers Island). The Council has a major say in real estate deals for city-owned land and votes on all zoning changes or rezoning.
How land is used can affect if housing is affordable, what kind of greenspace is available and how much pollution is likely to affect a neighborhood, among other things.
Most candidates are hosting campaign events on Zoom or offering other ways to be in touch directly with potential constituents.
Klein said: “City Council candidates are extremely accessible in a way that candidates for higher offices aren’t. If you want to get involved in local government, meet with your council candidates, get to know them and ask them questions.”
Have you ever called your Council member? Do you know your Council member? Let us know if you have had any experience engaging with your Council member or their office and why. Email us at [email protected].
A few tools for you
Want all this info in a fun video instead? BRIC made this video a while back explaining what City Council does.
How can I find out what Council district I live in? Look here.
How can I find out who’s running for City Council in my district and what they’re about Check out this map.
If you end up attending any of these events, let us know how they went and what you learned. You can email us at [email protected].
…and don’t forget: Our first round of virtual Civic Newsroom meetings started last week and continue this week. We’d love for you to join us!
Brownsville meeting: Wednesday, March 10, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sign up here.
Flushing meeting: Saturday, March 13, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sign up here.
What are your election questions?
If you have any questions about the election process, the candidates or any other information when it comes to voting in New York, let us know by sending a note to [email protected].
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill expanding background checks on individuals who are seeking to purchase or transfer firearms as top Democrats have vowed to reintroduce gun control measures.
“This bill is a critical step toward preventing gun violence and saving lives,” Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) who sponsored the measure known as H.R. 8, as Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced the companion bill in the upper chamber.
The bill, titled the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, passed 227-203, receiving eight Republican votes and one Democrat vote against. Five Republicans co-sponsored the bill along with several Democrats.
According to a summary of the legislation, it will “utilize the current background checks process in the United States to ensure individuals prohibited from gun possession are not able to obtain firearms.” Currently, any firearm purchased at a retail store or online has to go through a background check and has to involve a licensed firearms dealer with a federal firearms license, known as an FFL. Specifically, H.R.8 would require background checks for private sales.
The House recently passed another control measure, H.R. 1446, which allows for the FBI to indefinitely delay background checks. Currently, there is a three-day default transfer window. That measure was introduced by Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).
It comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday said they would reintroduce other gun control measures. President Joe Biden’s administration also expressed support for such measures in recent days.
“No more hopes and prayers, thoughts and prayers—a vote is what we need,” said Schumer in a news conference as he vowed to bring H.R. 8 out of former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell’s “legislative graveyard” after it stalled in the Senate in 2019.
Republicans have said these measures won’t make Americans safer, with one saying that H.R. 8 would create a possible “national registry of firearms.”
“The idea that this is going to make us safer is laughable,” said Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) on the House floor Thursday. “Criminals looking to get their hands on firearms to use in crimes are not going to submit to background checks. Only law-abiding citizens will follow the law. This is a back door means of setting up a national registry of firearms—something I completely oppose.”
Miller added that the United States has “enough gun laws,” but she said that “we need is to make sure the laws we have are enforced.”
“We need better enforcement—not more laws,” Miller added. “Instead of passing terrible legislation like H.R. 8, we need to do a better job of providing law enforcement agencies with the resources they need to enforce existing gun laws.”
The bills and proposed bills come as record numbers of firearms are continuing to be sold in the United States. According to recent figures from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), gun sales in January surged by around 9.5 percent month-over-month and around 60 percent as compared with January 2019.
After H.R. 8 was passed by the House in 2019 as well, it was never taken up by the Republican-controlled Senate. Schumer said Thursday that the legislation will be discussed in the near future.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) in its 2019 analysis, said that the bill, if passed into law, would require that “loans, gifts, and sales of firearms be processed by a gun store. The same fees, paperwork, and permanent record-keeping apply as to buying a new gun from the store.”
“If you loan a gun to a friend without going to the gun store, the penalty is the same as for knowingly selling a gun to a convicted violent felon. Likewise, when the friend returns the gun, another trip to the gun store is necessary, upon pain of felony.”
A stolen bicycle leads a young man into an unpredictable encounter with unintended consequences that raise questions about privilege, bias, and Israel’s treatment of one of its most disadvantaged communities – African migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
This is the premise of “White Eye,” a short fast-moving, hard-hitting film by Israeli director Tomer Shushan that was recently shortlisted for a 2021 Academy Award. The movie, up for live-action short film, is one of 10 finalists out of nearly 200 films that qualified for this category.
The final Oscar nominations will be announced on Monday, March 15, where five films will move on to officially compete for the prestigious trophy at the 93rd Academy Award on April 26. “White Eye” could be one of them.
“White Eye,” is the story of Omer Attias, a Tel Aviv resident who finds his stolen bike on Meretz Street, where an Eritrean asylum seeker claims he bought it from the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station for his daughter. When Omer calls the cops on Yunes — assuming he stole it — the situation becomes more dire than he could have thought.
Shushan tells NoCamels he wrote the film based on a similar situation that happened to him in real life. While the moment ended up better than it did in the movie, he explains, Shushan “felt so bad” that he went home and wrote a script about the incident in 40 minutes.
“It was like I woke up from it,” he says, “I’ve always compared it to that because I used to do it when I was younger. I had lots of crazy dreams and I used to wake up and I had a notebook and I just started to write everything before I forgot it. So it felt like that, to experience something crazy and to write it down before you forget all the details.”
“It affected me really hard,” he adds, “I really wanted to make a film and to solve the issue and also try to bring a message to the audience that if they think and breathe before they react, maybe they can save someone else’s life.”
Shushan shot the entire movie in just one take, which meant the film’s actors had to do many rehearsals and keep shooting the movie in its entirety over and over. The film had support from the Makor Foundation
“I really wanted to reflect and to make the audience feel connected to the main character, which is a person [who is] doing something without thinking and from his instincts, and doesn’t have a moment to stop and breathe,” he tells NoCamels. “And I compared it to cuts in films. When you have a cut, you have a moment to breathe, to understand. And I wanted to be in one breath, in one moment. So I made it in one take and it was super challenging because it’s just to start a camera when the film starts and stop it when the film ends. It’s the whole film.”
The film is made up of a diverse group of Hebrew speakers of different backgrounds that make up Israel’s current social structure. Some are actors, while others are just people that Shushan plucked from interactions. Omer is played by Daniel Gad, an Israeli actor who starred in the popular sitcom “Shababnikim.” The African actors are played by real people that Shushan met on the streets of Tel Aviv.
“I just started to talk to them and tell them the story, and they really wanted to do it because they felt they really connected to the message,” he says. “It doesn’t put them in a position that they’re miserable — just that they are there and we all need to treat each other the same. So they felt like it was good for them to do it and I’m really happy about that.”
Shushan believes that one of the reasons the film got accepted to so many film festivals — over 100 in total — is because the “Black Lives Matters” social movement, against racially motivated police brutality, has become so prominent.
“I think that the topic is something that speaks to a lot of people right now,” he tells NoCamels, “In Israel, a place known for its conflict between Jews and Muslims, this is something kind of new. They want to know about it.”
The film went on to receive much acclaim, including winning the best narrative short film award at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, where it qualified for the Oscars.
Afraid of disappointment, Shushan didn’t want to meet anyone the night that the Oscars shortlist was announced although his team wanted to get together.
“They were choosing 10 out of 174 films,” he says, “I didn’t want to be net to anyone, but then the producer told me he would come over anyway. Then I saw we got a message from our PR company, which said, in capital letters, ‘WE DID IT!’ and I was in shock. I didn’t expect this.”
Shushan has a full-length feature film in the works and is working on the Israeli TV series “Torso.” Meanwhile, he continues to wait and see if “White Eye” will appear on the final Oscars nominations list. He says he’s “very nervous” and “suffering from lack of sleep” but that it’s not about the yes or no, it’s about the unknown.
Even if it’s a no, he says, the experience “has really changed me as a person.”
“It has made me see a community in a different way than I saw before. I didn’t know that they live in such a fear from the authorities. And to know that we can solve things between ourselves if we just talk about things. It’s something that I really believe in, something that I learned. I got a big lesson that day it happened. So I think it was very important for me to make a film about it, because that’s the whole meaning of art and films that you express yourself and show something to the world. And I guess that’s why I did it,” he says.
#BREAKING: I join almost 60 state legislators, including Senators and Assemblymembers who believe it’s time to restore the public’s trust in our leadership.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas (D-NY) and over 55 additional New York legislatures are calling for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation because of ongoing sexual harassment allegations and a cover-up of Covid death data by his administration.
A resolution to impeach Cuomo was introduced earlier this week by Republican members of the Assembly. Minority Leader Will Barclay said that “we believe the time has come” to impeach the New York Gov.
Under the New York Constitution, an impeachment of Cuomo would require a simple majority vote of the 150-member state Assembly, which is currently composed of 106 Democrats, 43 Republicans and one independent.
Associated Press reported:
(AP) — A group of 59 Democratic state legislators demanded New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation Thursday in the wake of an allegation that he groped an aide at the Executive Mansion last year.
The letter released by the group comes as Cuomo’s grip on power in the state appeared increasingly tenuous. The top Democrat in the state Assembly, Speaker Carl Heastie, said he will meet with members in conference today on “potential paths forward” in light of mounting allegations.
In New York, the Assembly is the legislative house that could move to impeach Cuomo, who has faced multiple allegations that he made the workplace an uncomfortable place for young women with sexually suggestive remarks and behavior, including unwanted touching and a kiss.
The Times Union of Albany reported Wednesday that an unidentified aide had claimed Cuomo reached under her shirt and fondled her after summoning her to his official residence.
Nineteen senators and 40 Assembly members said in a letter Thursday that it was time for Cuomo to go.
“In light of the Governor’s admission of inappropriate behavior and the findings of altered data on nursing home COVID-19 deaths he has lost the confidence of the public and the state legislature, rendering him ineffective in this time of most urgent need,” the letter said. “It is time for Governor Cuomo to resign.”
Cuomo has repeatedly said he won’t resign and urged the public to await the outcome of an investigation of his conduct by state Attorney General Letitia James. Cuomo’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Cuomo has denied inappropriately touching anyone but has said he is sorry if he made anyone uncomfortable and didn’t intend to do so.
In the newest allegation against Cuomo, the Times Union of Albany reported that the governor had summoned the aide to his Albany mansion, saying he needed help with his cellphone. After she arrived, Cuomo closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her, the newspaper reported.
The newspaper’s reporting was based on an unidentified source with knowledge of the woman’s accusation, who said she first told the story to someone on Cuomo’s staff in recent days. The newspaper hadn’t spoken to the woman and didn’t identify her.
“I have never done anything like this,” Cuomo said through a spokesperson Wednesday evening.
“The details of this report are gut-wrenching,” Cuomo said, adding that he would not speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation, given an ongoing investigation overseen by the state attorney general.
Several other women who worked for the governor in Albany or during his time in former President Bill Clinton’s Cabinet, and one who met him briefly at a wedding, have also complained of inappropriate conduct.
The state Assembly has 150 members. It could convene an impeachment trial against Cuomo with a simple majority vote. Until the new allegations surfaced, most of its members appeared to be leaning against trying to convene an impeachment or demanding Cuomo’s resignation until the attorney general’s investigation was complete.
The state Senate, which would join with members of the state’s top appeals court to hold an impeachment trial, has 63 members.
As the New York City mayoral race heats up and the crowd of candidates continues to see exponential growth, it now appears that a group of high powered developers and professional real estate tycoons and jumping into the mix.
Before placing a glaring spotlight on the objectives of these developers, it is noteworthy to examine those on the other side of the race.
A large percentage of candidates that have thrown their proverbial hats in the ring embody the political philosophies of the progressive movement . As such, they have the financial backing provided by left leaning and liberal donators as well as organizations that subscribe to their agenda. The proof in the pudding can be seen in the fact that the PACs that are keeping them afloat are generating unheard of amounts of cash.
In addition, these candidates also have their ground game honed into a science, with highly successful voter outreach and are staffed by grassroots organizers who come with vast experience in creating solid ties with an already sympathetic media.
These candidates want to defund the police, staunchly oppose gentrification of any kind, impose stiff taxes on the middle class, promote the goals of political radicalism through their unyielding support of the Black Lives Matter movement and Antida, keep our schools closed while pandering to the UFT and preventing job growth and economic recovery by preventing businesses such as Amazon from coming to New York.
At this juncture, such pro-business developers as billionaire Stephen Ross, who put his money behind Hudson Yards and other spectacular ventures are now taking the lead in committing tens of millions of dollars in an effort to persuade moderate Democrats to vote in the June primary. In an e-mail sent to like minded colleagues, Ross (who is the chairman and founder of Related Companies), placed a strong emphasis on his belief that the “winner of the Democratic primary for mayor in June will decide if NYC will rebound or languish.”
Of course, Ross wants to convince those in ear shot of his letter that a pro-business mayor would strive to magnify the power of capitalism and thusly, would thwart attempts to keep the woke, cancel culture generation that are wedded to a Bernie Sanders style of economic socialism from destroying what remains of this beleaguered city.
While not supporting a particular candidate so early in this horse race, Ross wrote in his e-mail that, “This is truly the most important election of our lifetime and in NYC’s history. Fortunately, we can do something to change the future course of the city we love.”
Ross remains acutely aware that the future of his Hudson Yards which is the largest private development in American history, on Manhattan’s West Side is inextricably tied to the city’s economic recovery. And so do the people he is writing to in order to solicit generous donations to his PAC.
Yet and still, Ross, who is also a major investor in Equinox and has held a fundraiser for former President Trump in 2019, remains a pariah to the media and the enigmatic Deep State. Anyone is who a white, heterosexual businessman will surely be viciously targeted by the media as the ultimate bogeyman. Anyone who supports the growth of business through real estate or in the financial sector will now become cannon fodder in the current political zeitgeist. An unbreakable bond of support exists between such organizations as the Democratic Socialists of America (who unapologetically threw their full throated support behind AOC and ran a list of candidates who did remarkably well in the last election) and the powers that be in government and the fourth estate.
Even though Wall Street has exhorted their employees to choose a party affiliation in order to counteract the colossal strength of the far left in the Democratic party and to tip the balance in the upcoming election, their road to a possible victory will be an arduous one to say the least.
Ross, however, is not alone. James Dolan, the head of Madison Square Garden, has created his own super PAC in order to provide support to moderate, pro-business Democrat. An effort was recently made by venture capitalist, Lisa Blau to persuade Republicans to switch parties so they could vote in the Democratic primary.
While their motives may be laudable, the fact is that Ross and his acolytes can donate hundreds of millions of dollars into the coffers of their preferred candidates, but it won’t make lick of difference.
What stands as impediments to their objectives? Firstly, these developers have dismissed the power of the media by refusing to connect with local media outlets, be they print or electronic. Let’s just remember that political neophyte, Bob Turner, a cable executive from Queens won a congressional seat as a Republican over a decade ago, thanks to the invaluable help of local media such as the Jewish Voice newspaper who consistently propped up his campaign as he battled a well funded opponent.
Their cavalier attitude towards supporting community and ethnic newspapers will be their tragic demise. Also, it is important to remember that these developers have all but ignored the fact that their community outreach is essentially non-existent.
This translates into a ground game that is totally feckless, unless they enlist cadres of volunteers to register voters, to knock on doors, to engage in daily phone banking, to send out snail mail material and thrice a day e-mails explaining their positions on the issues. They also need to have their representatives play a participatory role in local town halls, at houses of worship, schools and community centers.
Without the essential assistance of local media and intensely engaging the diverse communities that make up this city, then any amount of money will not achieve favorable results.
Wake up, Mr. Ross!! Now is the time to take the bull by the horns, to reorganize your priorities and to speak to the people who will cast their votes and ultimately save this city.
(AP) — Buckingham Palace’s statement on Prince Harry and Meghan’s allegations or racism and mistreatment has failed to quiet the controversy, with some observers criticizing the royal family for failing to forcefully condemn racism and suggesting that the couple’s version of events may not be accurate.
“Too little, too late” was the verdict of royal commentator Peter Hunt, who also criticized the palace’s 61-word statement for saying the issue would be dealt with privately as a family matter.
“This delayed, tame statement went for predictability when unpredictability — stepping out of the Windsor comfort zone — was what was needed,” Hunt wrote on the website of the influential British magazine The Spectator.
The statement, issued on behalf the queen, was released 36 hours after Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey was broadcast in the United States.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” the palace said. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.’’
The comments were the palace’s first word since the interview rocked the royal family — and touched off conversations around the world about racism, mental health and even the relationship between Britain and its former colonies.
In the interview, Meghan, who is biracial, described feeling so isolated and miserable inside the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts, yet when she asked for mental health assistance from the palace’s human resources staff, she was told they couldn’t help because she wasn’t a paid employee. She also said Harry told her there were “concerns and conversations” about the color of her baby’s skin when she was pregnant with her son, Archie.
The interview, seen by some 50 million people worldwide, has divided opinions around the world.
Many people have backed Meghan, saying the allegations demonstrate the need for change inside an institution that hasn’t kept pace with the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements. Others stand behind the royal family, criticizing the couple for making their damning allegations at a time when Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather, Prince Philip, remains hospitalized in London after a heart procedure.
Anna Whitelock, director of the Centre for the Study of Modern Monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the palace’s brief message had “hardened the lines” between people who believe the monarchy is an outdated bastion of inherited white privilege and those who see it as cherished national institution.
Fallout from the interview is likely to only fuel the debate over the future of the monarchy and its role both in Britain and the other countries around the world for which the queen serves as head of state, Whitelock said. The queen remains the head of state for 15 countries, most of which were once part of the British Empire, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and island nations in the Caribbean.
“That’s a debate that’s been held in check, in large part, given the length of the queen’s reign and in respect to her and the role that she’s played,” Whitelock said. “But it’s going to happen, and it’s just a question of when, not if.”
After Harry and Meghan married in May 2018 at Windsor Castle, the royal family seemed to welcome Meghan, a glamorous former TV star, and the couple were seen as providing a fresh young face for the monarchy of an increasingly multicultural nation.
It didn’t take long for the fairytale to unravel. The couple stepped away from royal duties last year and eventually settled in California, saying they wanted to escape racist coverage and unwanted intrusions on their privacy by the British media.
The interview especially struck a chord with many Black people in Britain, some of whom were not satisfied with the palace’s remarks. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a Black member of Parliament from the opposition Labour Party, said Buckingham Palace should have directly condemned racism.
“The monarchy is a public institution that receives public money and any criticism of the institution should really be met with a forceful response from the institution about what they are going to do,’’ Ribeiro-Addy told the BBC. “We expect (that) of any institution. Why not the monarchy, why not the palace?”
About 15 years ago, my younger brother, George, looked over my DVD collection of classic movies, including Gone with the Wind, The Searchers, and Animal House, and said, “You know, pretty soon you won’t need any of these. You’ll be able to download every one of them off the internet.”
George was proved right technologically, but what he couldn’t predict was that cancel culture would target those films. No one could in 2006. Now I, like many other naïve movie lovers, regret having discarded my hard copies of the titles and am racing to replace them before they get erased.
I recalled that moment last Thursday when watching the premiere of Turner Classic Movies’ (TCM) ill-advised March series “Reframed: Classic Films in the Rearview Mirror” featuring Gone with the Wind (1939), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Rope (1948).
With the series, TCM hopes to continue its only raison d’être — presenting screen masterworks — yet protect itself from modern woke vampires bloated with fresh blood — Dr. Seuss’s and Mr. Potato Head’s. Other classics to be deconstructed for anti-wokeness include Woman of the Year (1942), Gunga Din (1939), and The Searchers (1956). TCM declares its intent in a ghastly website statement
“Many of the beloved classics that we enjoy on TCM have stood the test of time in several ways, nevertheless when viewed by contemporary standards, certain aspects of these films can be troubling and problematic. This month, we are looking at a collection of such movies and we’ll explore their history, consider their cultural context and discuss how these movies can be reframed so that future generations will keep their legacy alive.”
That the announcement is typical progressive drivel becomes obvious in the first sentence. Because “the beloved classics” clearly “have stood the test of time,” the phrase “in several ways” signifies nothing. Neither does “when viewed by contemporary standards,” nor the utterly insipid “certain aspects of these films can be troubling.” Hey, welcome to art, snowflakes. The sentence ends with the ultimate vague yet loaded word, “problematic.”
The second sentence is even more offensive to TCM viewers. The last thing they need is liberal movie hosts explaining the “cultural context” and “refram[ing]” these films to “keep their legacy alive.” They tune into TCM instead of modern cable dreck precisely to escape politically correct propaganda and spend a couple of hours with a story, time, and place they can appreciate, and as a break from their day-to-day labors.
They don’t need to be told that slavery was bad to enjoy Gone with the Wind, or that kidnapping women is an improper way to provide Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And they just might enjoy how the lumberjack brothers try to gently romance their abductees with song and dance until the women reciprocate, without feminists blaming Stockholm Syndrome.
Yet TCM felt the need to deprive them of these pleasures by throwing its cinematic treasures under the bus, beginning with the first film on the program, Gone with the Wind.
Reframed co-hostess Jacqueline Stewart explained why TCM’s sister network HBO Max had recruited her to make the perennial favorite acceptable: “HBO Max was concerned, like so many organizations, so many media companies, about what it would look like for them presenting a film that so obviously was supporting a kind of white supremacist view. It’s a film that celebrates the Confederacy as this kind of long-lost world of chivalry associated with a fantasy of what the slave system was like in the pre-bellum South.”
Almost everything Stewart said about the film was wrong. The movie does not support a white supremacist view or “a fantasy of the slave system” but accurately reflects the historic tragedy of one race “owning” members of another. As for “a long lost world of chivalry,” the hero of the story, Rhett Butler, harpoons the Confederacy as a fools’ paradise early on (“All we’ve got is cotton, slaves, and arrogance.”) And the South pays a heavy price for its hubris in the same movie. Again, great art cannot be deconstructed to politically correct bullet points.
Helpful or irritating?
When introducing the second film on the program, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Reframed cohost Dave Karger began with the poor salesmanship of dampening customer enthusiasm for the product: “I don’t feel that we’re here to throw shame on any of these movies, particularly one that’s as fun as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. But I think when you look at a movie through a 2021 point of view, it’s helpful to be just a little bit critical about it and give some context about the time it was made.”
Why it’s helpful instead of irritating, Karger didn’t say. Viewers don’t need him or his colleagues to understand the context about the time this, or any other movie, was made. Karger’s co-hostess, Alicia Malone, unwittingly made that very point.
“When we look at this film, we’re looking at it with a modern lens,” she said. “But we also know that it was created in 1954. During the 1950s, we know there were a lot of messages in movies for women to stay home, to be mothers, to be good wives. And then the film is also set in the 1850s, when of course that was the job of women when men went out to settle the land.” She was right on both counts.
In other words, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers does not need to be reframed. What’s more, a lot of women today agree with that 1950s message about stay-at-home wives and prefer movies that deliver it. For who’s to say the 2021 progressive lens is correct? Maybe years from now, people will look at Reframed and scoff at the hosts’ smug criticism of wiser minds than theirs.
Just maybe John Ford knew what he was doing about racial prejudice when he created Ethan Edwards, an Indian-hating psychopath, and cast John Wayne to play him in The Searchers. And maybe a single scene where Wayne cradles the Comanche-raised Natalie Wood in his arms instead of killing her like he had intended is more powerful than any reframing.