Rebel News Podcast - Terrorist Omar Khadr visits Parliament Hill — and if you don't like that, you're a bigot

00:00:00.000 Tonight, a convicted terrorist visited Parliament Hill, and if you've got a problem with that,

00:00:05.600 then the media is going to call you a racist Islamophobe.

00:00:09.540 It's August 23rd, I'm David Menzies, and this is the Ezra Levin Show.

00:00:19.500 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?

00:00:23.320 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.

00:00:26.900 You come here once a year with a sign, and you feel morally superior.

00:00:30.380 The only thing I have to say to the government about why I publish it is because it's my bloody right to do so.

00:00:41.120 Convicted terrorist Omar Khadr just can't stay out of the news, it would seem.

00:00:46.040 How odd you'd think our multi-millionaire ex-jihadi would take that public apology and that eight-figure check 0.98

00:00:53.240 and lay low somewhere, perhaps in a regime that shares his value set, such as, oh, I don't know, Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan.

00:01:02.520 But earlier this week, news emerged regarding a little field trip Omar took in late June,

00:01:09.120 specifically to Ottawa and, more specifically, to the Parliament buildings.

00:01:14.780 Now, how does that grab you?

00:01:16.180 Especially given that the last time an Islamist jihadi went to the Parliament buildings, 0.60

00:01:21.980 it resulted in the brutal murder of Nathan Cirillo.

00:01:26.060 Now, I hate to be a worrywart here, but where the hell was security?

00:01:30.500 In any event, what attracted Omar to Ottawa was that his BBF, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

00:01:37.900 was hosting a celebration marking that magnificent Canadian holiday known as Eid al-Fatir.

00:01:44.720 This allotting of this Islamic holiday was taking place within the Sir John A. Macdonald Building,

00:01:51.980 which, incredibly, given the political revisionist climate of 2018,

00:01:57.380 is still called the Sir John A. Macdonald Building.

00:02:01.320 But Omar makes for a fairly recognizable figure,

00:02:05.080 given that his picture has been in the paper on more than one occasion.

00:02:09.640 Being a convicted terrorist tends to bring about that sort of publicity, alas.

00:02:14.720 Yet, here's where the story gets really interesting.

00:02:18.900 Prime Minister Trudeau, who it should be noted is nicknamed a jihadi Justin in certain circles,

00:02:25.020 well, even he realized it would be somewhat toxic to be seen hobnobbing with Canada's most famous jihadi, 0.95

00:02:33.440 especially with an election just a year away.

00:02:36.020 So, apparently, Justin's people went running to their friends in the media party to put a spin on the Qatar visit.

00:02:45.100 And so it was that earlier this week, a remarkable story appeared in the Globe and Mail,

00:02:50.580 headlined, quote,

00:02:52.440 Liberals took steps to block Omar Khadr from celebration near Parliament Hill, end quote.

00:02:59.580 Wow, how the tide has turned, eh?

00:03:03.440 I mean, after all, it was only just last summer in which these same Liberals were giving Omar a groveling public apology and cash for life.

00:03:12.740 And now, suddenly, this fellow is persona non grata, even at an Islamic event, no less? 0.95

00:03:19.580 How do you like them halal apples?

00:03:21.620 Good thing the PR people at the Globe could spin this for the Liberals to make them look squeaky clean, 0.81

00:03:29.260 while making the Conservatives look like, yep, fear-mongers and bigots.

00:03:35.420 For starters, here's the story's lead paragraph.

00:03:38.920 Quote,

00:03:39.940 The Liberal government took steps to bar Omar Khadr from attending a celebration near Parliament Hill in late June,

00:03:47.060 where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the keynote speaker,

00:03:50.960 even though Mr. Khadr was not on the guest list for the invitation-only event, end quote.

00:03:58.220 You see, Omar was merely a wannabe party crasher, according to the unnamed sources the Globe spoke to.

00:04:05.820 Oh, and by the way, whatever happened to the Globe's policy of not quoting unnamed sources?

00:04:11.020 I guess there's a different set of journalistic ethics in place when Canada's national newspaper is doing damage control for the Prime Minister.

00:04:20.140 Now, the story then goes on to note that the government alerted Parliamentary security

00:04:25.580 to make sure that Omar and his wife did not make it into the event.

00:04:30.720 As well, the Prime Minister's office said Omar did not meet with the Prime Minister or any Liberal Cabinet ministers.

00:04:37.540 Now, I will point out here that, as always, the devil is in the details.

00:04:41.040 While this statement notes the PM and Cabinet ministers did not meet Omar,

00:04:47.020 it doesn't say whether or not Omar met any backbench Liberal MPs, and, you know, I guess we'll never know.

00:04:54.180 Now, here's where things get even more interesting.

00:04:58.020 Omar's presence on Parliament Hill that day prompted Conservative Senator Leo Husokas

00:05:03.900 to demand answers from security officials.

00:05:07.920 Husokas justifiably wanted to know how a convicted terrorist was able to get onto Parliament Hill in the first place, 0.94

00:05:15.820 said he,

00:05:16.440 How could this happen? Why is security so lax on the Hill?

00:05:22.180 How could an individual like that not be on a barred list?

00:05:26.700 If he is allowed to come on Parliament Hill, I assume just about anybody can, end quote.

00:05:32.240 And, well, you can kind of guess what happens next, folks.

00:05:36.520 The Globe, with the Husakos, quote, in hand, decides it's time to demonize Conservatives.

00:05:43.440 For here's what Alex Neve of Amnesty International said, quote,

00:05:47.820 The constant exaggeration that Qatar poses some sort of dire security threat

00:05:53.240 is overstated and, frankly, largely politicized, and it is time to bring it to an end, end quote.

00:06:00.940 Neve said Canadian politicians have to stop demonizing Omar

00:06:05.880 since the evidence shows he's just trying to live a normal and peaceful life

00:06:11.000 since his release from prison.

00:06:13.220 Yeah, come on, everybody.

00:06:14.880 All that murdering and maiming, oh, that's behind little Omar now.

00:06:18.660 He's a retired jihadi, don't you know?

00:06:21.340 Just hoping to settle down as he shops for a mansion and a Ferrari paid for by him.

00:06:26.500 Yeah, you, the Canadian taxpayer.

00:06:28.500 Oh, but the Globe wasn't quite done yet with their spin cycle.

00:06:32.820 They sought comment from Omar's longtime lawyer, Dennis Edney.

00:06:37.560 And par for the course, Edney accused the Conservatives of singling out Omar because of his religion.

00:06:45.320 Quote,

00:06:45.720 Yep, there you have it, folks.

00:07:11.400 So moving forward, let it be said, Omar Khadr is just a regular run-of-the-mill Canadian kid,

00:07:18.380 albeit one with copious quantities of blood on his hands.

00:07:22.680 But surely the time has come to forgive and forget.

00:07:26.560 And if you aren't into forgiveness and forgetfulness,

00:07:30.280 and you take issue with the likes of an Omar Khadr walking the hallways of our federal government,

00:07:35.980 then you're obviously a bigot and a racist and an Islamophobe. 0.55

00:07:42.300 So please, kindly alter your behavior accordingly.

00:07:45.960 Well, Sheila Gunn-Reed is off to cover the Conservative Party of Canada convention in Halifax

00:08:08.700 slated for this weekend.

00:08:09.860 But the question arises, will she actually be allowed in,

00:08:14.200 or will she be deemed persona non grata for reasons that, well, remain evasive, to say the least?

00:08:20.940 Joining me now from Halifax to explain this bizarre scenario

00:08:24.760 is indeed the host of The Gunn Show, Sheila Gunn-Reed.

00:08:28.180 Welcome to the Ezra Levent Show, Sheila.

00:08:31.020 Hey, David. Thanks for having me on.

00:08:33.100 Always a pleasure, my friend.

00:08:34.240 Okay, so earlier this month, Sheila, the rebel exceeded more than 1 million YouTube subscribers.

00:08:41.340 I would presume that most of the subscribers are pro-Conservative Party.

00:08:46.500 And yet, Andrew Scheer doesn't want us to cover the party's annual convention,

00:08:51.280 yet he has plenty of time for the likes of the CBC.

00:08:55.340 Explain, please.

00:08:57.660 You know, David, could you really be,

00:08:59.420 could you imagine being so scared of the likes of Rosie Barton and Wendy Mesley

00:09:07.080 that you would exclude the most pro-Conservative,

00:09:12.920 pro-small government, pro-grassroots network in the entire country

00:09:19.900 from coming to your convention to tell the Conservative side of the story?

00:09:24.840 You know, when you say it out loud, it sounds too crazy to be real,

00:09:29.520 but that is the reality of the rebel on the ground here in Halifax.

00:09:33.060 They are not letting us in,

00:09:34.740 but that doesn't mean that we haven't had a warm reception outside.

00:09:38.540 People are very happy to see us here, they're happy to talk to us,

00:09:41.580 and they're glad that we came.

00:09:43.560 Now, Sheila, so you've already tried to get into the convention, is that correct?

00:09:47.240 I'm waiting until the big boss gets on the ground here

00:09:52.380 before we really try to breach the gates.

00:09:56.920 But we're doing our work here from the outside,

00:09:59.780 and, you know, like when the UN tried to ban me,

00:10:02.540 I did a lot of, I think, really strong journalism from outside

00:10:08.040 because there's always a story to tell.

00:10:10.940 Yeah, you know, it's funny.

00:10:13.280 I think this actually makes this into a bigger story

00:10:18.340 than what would have happened if they would have allowed you in.

00:10:21.640 Yeah, maybe there'd be a couple of cranks saying,

00:10:23.820 oh, look, you know, they let the rebel in,

00:10:25.460 but it would have died down.

00:10:26.800 Now this is an ongoing narrative in the 24-hour news cycle,

00:10:31.140 and I'll tell you, Sheila,

00:10:32.640 I think some of the best reporting you've ever done for Rebel

00:10:35.260 was when the UN wouldn't let you into that European conference

00:10:40.260 you tried to cover

00:10:41.160 because you discovered so much hypocrisy outside of the conference,

00:10:45.600 which, let's face it, was a complete snooze fest, right?

00:10:49.820 You know, I'm almost glad the UN banned me

00:10:53.500 because I wouldn't want to sit through all the scoldings

00:10:56.040 and the lecturing and the lectures from people

00:11:00.880 who want me to use less water while they're watering the ground

00:11:06.260 to keep the dust off everybody's shoes.

00:11:09.000 And the same thing is happening here.

00:11:10.520 We're hearing from people who, you know, who are conservatives.

00:11:15.040 They paid the money to come here,

00:11:16.620 and they wanted us to be inside because we speak for them.

00:11:21.100 Now, Andrew Scheer, he may have wanted us to be as compliant with him

00:11:30.760 as the CBC is with Trudeau,

00:11:33.220 but unlike the CBC, we are journalistically independent.

00:11:36.120 We don't answer to any politician.

00:11:38.580 We are accountable to our donors and our grassroots viewers

00:11:41.680 and every single one of those million subscribers on YouTube.

00:11:46.020 That's two million eyeballs that Andrew Scheer could be talking to,

00:11:50.260 and he's just deciding that those aren't the people he wants to appeal to.

00:11:54.040 It is just incredible.

00:11:55.820 And, you know, Sheila, given what happened just earlier today

00:11:59.920 with that bombshell of a news conference that Maxine Bernier delivered,

00:12:04.840 you would think Mr. Scheer wants as few distractions as possible,

00:12:11.140 but this is turning into a real fiasco.

00:12:13.740 By the way, what do you make of Mr. Bernier's announcement, Sheila?

00:12:18.080 You know, I understand every single point that Maxine Bernier made.

00:12:24.860 I absolutely do.

00:12:26.040 I agree with him on this issue of multiculturalism.

00:12:29.560 I agree with him wholeheartedly on supply management.

00:12:32.760 I agree with him that after he goes out on these issues

00:12:36.200 and gets a sense for the grassroots,

00:12:39.420 this CPC, the Conservative Party, comes in

00:12:41.840 and sort of scoops up all the support that he has tested the waters on.

00:12:46.540 I agree with him on everything.

00:12:48.500 I even agree with him when he says the party has become morally corrupt

00:12:52.700 and not a place that actually promotes conservative values all the time.

00:12:57.020 I agree with him 100%.

00:12:58.820 But being an Alberta Conservative who has spent the last decade, to be honest,

00:13:04.820 wandering in the wilderness,

00:13:06.980 I don't think what he's doing is the right thing.

00:13:10.260 I don't think leaving the party is the right thing.

00:13:12.940 For example, if I worked in government, I would go in every single day

00:13:16.800 trying to find a way to burn it all to the ground.

00:13:19.520 And I think that's the approach that Maxine Bernier should have taken

00:13:23.160 is to work from the inside,

00:13:24.840 because he does have the support of 50% of the grassroots.

00:13:29.900 He should have stayed within the party

00:13:31.520 and made a difference for all of us from inside.

00:13:35.180 But instead, he's really handing the next election over to Justin Trudeau.

00:13:40.820 And to be honest, Andrew Scheer's mishandling of this

00:13:46.140 is probably going to spell the end of Andrew Scheer,

00:13:49.040 because when Andrew Scheer loses the next election,

00:13:52.520 he's going to be out on his butt, too,

00:13:55.340 when the party unceremoniously decides to replace him with somebody better

00:14:02.400 and probably someone bolder, just like we saw in Ontario with Doug Ford.

00:14:07.100 You know what, Sheila?

00:14:08.420 I couldn't agree with your analysis anymore.

00:14:11.940 I think you've really nailed it, unfortunately.

00:14:14.960 I mean, even before Bernier's news conference of earlier today,

00:14:18.560 you know, when you look at how Trudeau has just fumbled the ball

00:14:24.940 on just about every file imaginable,

00:14:28.580 Scheer and the Conservative Party should be ahead

00:14:31.080 by at least 10 points in the polls, and they're not.

00:14:35.260 And now you have this, you know,

00:14:38.120 which can only, I see, dividing the party.

00:14:41.360 I think the Trudeau Liberals are going to win this election

00:14:44.500 by default, if anything.

00:14:45.800 Yeah, it really was.

00:14:48.280 It was becoming Andrew Scheer's next election to lose.

00:14:53.320 I know that normally in Canada,

00:14:54.980 we have two back-to-back governments,

00:14:59.380 the same government, and then we sort of switch.

00:15:01.640 But because of the problems with immigration

00:15:04.760 and the problems with debt

00:15:06.320 and this divisive identity politics that Trudeau plays,

00:15:12.520 there's really been a backlash lately,

00:15:15.780 and the Conservatives should be, for all intents and purposes,

00:15:19.500 10 or 20 points ahead.

00:15:21.300 But they really can't get their act together,

00:15:23.480 and Scheer is coming off as petty,

00:15:25.480 both in his treatment of us and of Maxime Bernier.

00:15:28.900 And Maxime Bernier is coming off as divisive now

00:15:33.620 when he last week was talking about uniting the country.

00:15:37.460 It's just a mess.

00:15:39.780 Absolutely, Sheila.

00:15:40.840 And tell me, we, for whatever inexplicable reason,

00:15:44.840 are persona non grata, according to Scheer,

00:15:47.700 at this convention.

00:15:48.660 But you mentioned earlier,

00:15:50.320 you've been speaking to a lot of grassroots people,

00:15:53.480 rebel fans.

00:15:54.240 What are they saying about Bernier's announcement

00:15:58.020 and Scheer's handling of this file right now?

00:16:01.380 You know, I was speaking to a gentleman

00:16:03.900 who is opposed to supply management.

00:16:06.380 He said maybe a new party needs to come of this.

00:16:09.560 I was speaking to some other members,

00:16:11.340 and they said that this just speaks to

00:16:14.620 Andrew Scheer's lack of leadership guilt

00:16:17.740 because it has been his job in the last 15 months

00:16:21.040 to unite the party,

00:16:22.620 and the party has never been more divided.

00:16:25.000 In fact, Stephen Harper's coalition

00:16:27.520 that he built between red Tories and reformers,

00:16:32.060 SOCONs, and more socially liberal conservatives,

00:16:35.760 that's all dissolving,

00:16:37.000 and it has dissolved in the span of two weeks.

00:16:40.580 And, you know, this should have been

00:16:42.880 the convention to bring everybody back together,

00:16:45.860 and they couldn't be more divided.

00:16:47.800 And Sheila, a little crystal ball gazing,

00:16:50.900 is there any way to fix this?

00:16:52.900 Is there any kind of, I don't know,

00:16:55.700 backroom, in-private diplomacy

00:16:58.300 where, you know, Humpty Dumpty

00:17:00.380 can be put back together again, if you will?

00:17:03.740 You know, as far as I understand,

00:17:07.080 although the news is very, very new,

00:17:09.660 Maxime Bernier has not left

00:17:11.740 to start his own party.

00:17:13.340 He's left caucus,

00:17:15.180 which means that there could be a way back.

00:17:17.400 But is Scheer willing to be the bigger man?

00:17:20.760 Is he willing to appeal to those things

00:17:22.840 about Maxime Bernier

00:17:24.740 that appeal to half the party?

00:17:27.160 Is he willing to use Maxime Bernier's skills?

00:17:30.200 I'm not sure.

00:17:31.400 And has Maxime Bernier now gone and burned that bridge?

00:17:35.180 It's, I suppose we're going to know on Saturday,

00:17:39.680 but right now it feels like

00:17:42.600 conservatives are in for a rough road

00:17:45.680 for the next five years

00:17:48.180 instead of the next one year.

00:17:50.480 I agree, Sheila.

00:17:51.720 And it didn't have to be this way.

00:17:53.460 And it's so sad.

00:17:54.720 Listen, we have to wrap it here.

00:17:56.260 Sheila, good luck trying to get in. 0.99

00:17:57.980 Whatever you do,

00:17:58.740 please don't get arrested for trespassing.

00:18:01.840 We don't want to get a criminal record out of this.

00:18:04.480 And thank you so much for going.

00:18:06.460 Thanks so much for going to Halifax to cover this.

00:18:10.960 It's going to be a fascinating conference,

00:18:14.560 needless to say.

00:18:17.520 Thanks, David.

00:18:18.880 Okay, then.

00:18:19.600 And that was Sheila Gunn-Reed

00:18:20.700 reporting from Halifax, folks.

00:18:22.460 Keep it here.

00:18:23.320 More to come after this.

00:18:24.640 For those of you who say

00:18:37.700 they just don't make action-adventure movies

00:18:40.360 like they used to

00:18:41.380 thanks to political correctness,

00:18:43.160 well, you probably haven't seen

00:18:44.840 the surprise hit of the summer,

00:18:47.320 The Meg.

00:18:48.420 For here's a movie that features,

00:18:50.160 wait for it, folks,

00:18:50.960 a masculine He-Man hero

00:18:53.180 actually saving women and children.

00:18:56.320 Wow, makes you kind of wonder

00:18:57.960 how this flick ever saw the light of day

00:18:59.880 in the first place.

00:19:01.260 Joining me now about this retro action yarn

00:19:04.120 is our Hollywood-based rebel, Ben Davies.

00:19:06.600 Welcome to the Ezra Levent Show, Ben.

00:19:09.040 Oh, it's so good to be here.

00:19:10.480 I feel at peace.

00:19:12.140 Now, Ben, full disclosure,

00:19:14.100 I haven't seen The Meg yet,

00:19:16.220 so I don't know if this giant shark movie

00:19:19.160 shares most of its cinematic DNA

00:19:21.440 with the classic Jaws

00:19:22.960 or the cheesy Sharknado,

00:19:25.220 but what is striking,

00:19:27.160 at least according to your review,

00:19:28.420 is that this movie

00:19:30.000 might be the most politically incorrect film

00:19:32.900 of the summer, right?

00:19:34.880 Yeah, it was fascinating.

00:19:36.320 You found these tropes

00:19:37.320 that you remember

00:19:37.900 from these 80s action movies

00:19:39.500 and just this insane stuff

00:19:41.080 and the classic manhood

00:19:42.280 call-to-action moments.

00:19:43.820 I'm like,

00:19:44.000 I haven't seen this in years.

00:19:45.760 And then you see women 0.99

00:19:46.960 fawning over the lead guy

00:19:48.460 because Jason Statham

00:19:49.420 is ripped in this movie

00:19:50.540 and they have him with his shirt off

00:19:51.780 and the women are like, 1.00

00:19:52.560 oh my gosh, he's so cute.

00:19:53.900 I'm like, what is this?

00:19:54.800 And then you realize

00:19:55.600 this is for the international market.

00:19:57.460 This is for the people

00:19:58.680 all around the world

00:19:59.300 that don't care about

00:20:00.040 the ridiculous politics

00:20:01.240 going on right now

00:20:02.060 in the United States

00:20:03.340 where men can be men

00:20:04.760 and women can admire men

00:20:05.900 and we can want these action heroes

00:20:07.220 back the way they were.

00:20:08.760 And that's why it was so different

00:20:10.720 because it was specifically made

00:20:11.800 for the international market

00:20:12.860 and it was mind-blowing

00:20:14.480 to see this back on the screen.

00:20:16.120 You know,

00:20:16.460 I think that's a fascinating element

00:20:18.720 of your review.

00:20:19.500 As you said,

00:20:20.500 especially for the international market

00:20:22.940 this was made for,

00:20:23.780 especially China,

00:20:24.860 as I understand.

00:20:26.320 And is this maybe a new trend

00:20:28.600 that, I mean,

00:20:30.160 there's billions of other filmgoers

00:20:32.780 other than Americans 0.99

00:20:33.720 so we're going to make films

00:20:35.460 the way we want

00:20:36.280 that plays internationally

00:20:37.860 and if we get a piece

00:20:39.180 of the American pie,

00:20:40.880 you know, so be it.

00:20:41.800 Do you see this

00:20:42.900 as the beginning

00:20:43.520 of a trend this way, Ben?

00:20:45.600 It could be.

00:20:46.180 I think it's more

00:20:46.580 of an indictment too

00:20:47.560 on the way America

00:20:48.400 has ruined a lot

00:20:49.680 of their movies

00:20:50.140 and their heroes

00:20:50.740 to try to play identity politics

00:20:52.120 and be progressive

00:20:52.800 and it just doesn't sell

00:20:53.760 with the international markets.

00:20:54.840 So they have to like

00:20:55.360 redo new movies

00:20:56.980 specifically for that

00:20:58.020 because we've so isolated ourselves

00:20:59.360 in this insanity

00:21:00.020 in the United States.

00:21:01.340 And yeah,

00:21:02.060 I think we may see more of it

00:21:03.780 but the China box office itself,

00:21:05.660 they only allow

00:21:06.160 about 11 to 14 movies

00:21:07.780 per year there.

00:21:08.840 So it's very specific

00:21:10.020 and it's very big movies

00:21:11.200 that are allowed to be there.

00:21:12.220 So I don't know

00:21:12.540 how much it'll branch off

00:21:14.060 necessarily and be specific

00:21:15.140 for that

00:21:15.680 or if it'll just be

00:21:16.660 a few specific movies themselves.

00:21:19.500 You know, Ben,

00:21:19.960 I think you're onto

00:21:20.660 something here too

00:21:21.460 about people tuning out

00:21:23.180 of the movies

00:21:25.120 because of political correctness

00:21:26.860 and we see so many examples.

00:21:28.560 Heck, earlier this month

00:21:29.940 I had my own little rant

00:21:32.120 about something called

00:21:33.340 the Hurricane Heist

00:21:34.520 where the protagonist,

00:21:36.240 a good old boy

00:21:36.780 from the South,

00:21:38.540 he throws in with deference

00:21:40.040 to Donald Trump,

00:21:41.380 there is indeed

00:21:42.760 man-made climate change

00:21:45.120 happening

00:21:45.840 and suddenly

00:21:47.260 from the most unlikely source

00:21:48.880 we're getting this

00:21:49.740 environmental sermon.

00:21:52.000 And when you read

00:21:52.940 the comments

00:21:54.080 to the commentary,

00:21:55.560 it's so many,

00:21:56.780 so often you see people saying

00:21:58.280 this is the reason

00:21:59.800 why I don't go

00:22:00.620 to the movies anymore.

00:22:01.600 So maybe when you see

00:22:03.640 something like The Meg

00:22:05.220 going retro to the 80s

00:22:07.740 like you mentioned,

00:22:09.260 maybe this is a winning formula

00:22:11.540 to win back

00:22:12.420 some of the domestic market too.

00:22:15.020 Oh, definitely.

00:22:15.720 I mean, movies that stay true

00:22:17.240 to being real

00:22:18.060 and with its values

00:22:18.780 and being conservative

00:22:19.440 and just portraying characters

00:22:20.760 as they would normally be,

00:22:22.360 not activists in every scene.

00:22:23.840 You have a movie

00:22:24.560 that's more believable

00:22:25.420 which is what we all want.

00:22:26.460 We love being thrown

00:22:27.500 into a space opera

00:22:28.500 like Star Wars

00:22:29.340 and it's fine

00:22:29.860 that it's unbelievable

00:22:30.520 as long as we understand

00:22:31.600 the characters.

00:22:32.700 But what happens is

00:22:33.840 when you have a character

00:22:34.400 jump into a scene

00:22:35.200 and they start talking

00:22:36.400 about nonsense

00:22:37.220 for no reason

00:22:37.900 because they're specifically

00:22:38.680 trying to inject

00:22:39.900 some political agenda

00:22:40.980 into it,

00:22:41.520 you immediately check out

00:22:42.340 because you don't believe it.

00:22:42.980 You're like,

00:22:43.140 okay, this is not longer,

00:22:44.400 we're not longer

00:22:44.920 in the space opera.

00:22:45.900 We're in some Twitter feed

00:22:46.980 in 2018.

00:22:48.160 It completely ruins the cinema

00:22:49.440 and what's going on

00:22:50.600 in the movies.

00:22:51.020 And it really hurts,

00:22:51.880 it hurts the writers

00:22:52.800 I think most of all

00:22:53.640 because when you do this,

00:22:55.040 when you have,

00:22:55.580 when you make people

00:22:56.440 insert these politics

00:22:58.100 into art,

00:22:59.000 which movies are so much

00:23:00.420 of art,

00:23:00.700 these stories should be timeless,

00:23:03.060 it ruins it

00:23:03.800 because you're trying

00:23:04.620 to make a story

00:23:05.420 that is so complex

00:23:06.200 and you're forcing

00:23:06.980 in these moments

00:23:07.660 and it takes you

00:23:08.420 completely out of it

00:23:09.060 like talking about

00:23:09.760 man-made climate change

00:23:10.940 in an action movie.

00:23:11.660 It's like,

00:23:11.940 what is this?

00:23:13.040 And it just ruins the stories

00:23:14.380 and these writers

00:23:14.880 are shackled

00:23:15.580 to this ideology too

00:23:16.820 because they can't get

00:23:17.820 their scripts sold

00:23:18.680 unless they do it.

00:23:19.340 Well, indeed.

00:23:20.840 And Rob Cohen,

00:23:21.620 the director of Hurricane Heist,

00:23:22.920 this is someone

00:23:23.400 who has publicly said,

00:23:25.080 Ben,

00:23:25.820 that he has fantasies

00:23:27.400 of torturing Donald Trump

00:23:29.500 because of his environmental record

00:23:31.280 if you can believe it.

00:23:32.520 But you know,

00:23:33.340 it's funny too,

00:23:34.380 you made mention

00:23:35.540 that the hero,

00:23:37.960 the protagonist in the Meg

00:23:39.560 is the classic male action hero

00:23:43.560 and it's almost as though

00:23:45.820 so many films

00:23:46.480 have gotten away from that.

00:23:47.320 I remember, Ben,

00:23:48.300 1979 Alien came out

00:23:50.240 and it was completely

00:23:51.680 against type

00:23:52.620 that the Sigourney Weaver

00:23:54.240 character,

00:23:54.780 the female, 0.99

00:23:55.740 ends up being the hero

00:23:56.800 and saving the day.

00:23:57.820 But now,

00:23:58.660 these days,

00:23:59.580 that is so due rigueur

00:24:01.240 of having weak male characters

00:24:04.020 and a strong female lead

00:24:05.460 that something like the Meg

00:24:07.260 is kind of like

00:24:08.440 1979's Alien.

00:24:10.140 It's an actual strong man

00:24:11.860 that saves the day.

00:24:13.620 Yeah,

00:24:14.220 that is really interesting.

00:24:15.360 I never thought about that

00:24:16.340 and it's something

00:24:16.760 that's talked about so much

00:24:17.820 how there were no strong women 0.95

00:24:18.920 or whatever.

00:24:19.440 It's like, no,

00:24:19.760 they were great,

00:24:20.420 strong female characters

00:24:21.340 for decades,

00:24:22.600 decades,

00:24:23.060 but they just weren't

00:24:23.600 completely masculine,

00:24:25.360 anti-men feminists 1.00

00:24:26.820 in movies.

00:24:27.280 That's the only difference.

00:24:27.980 It's like,

00:24:28.240 that's what's been going on.

00:24:29.420 Yeah,

00:24:29.560 this is,

00:24:29.980 it definitely,

00:24:31.000 it took me a moment

00:24:31.960 to process the fact

00:24:33.100 that I'm sure

00:24:33.620 it stood out

00:24:34.440 just like Sigourney Weaver

00:24:35.360 did back in the 70s,

00:24:36.600 but to see Jason Statham's

00:24:37.760 character be introduced,

00:24:39.060 whereas a group of people

00:24:39.880 that were desperate,

00:24:40.840 no one could save these people

00:24:41.980 at the bottom of the ocean,

00:24:42.780 they're like,

00:24:43.080 there is one man

00:24:44.380 who can save us

00:24:45.100 and they're like,

00:24:45.460 duh,

00:24:45.840 no,

00:24:46.100 there's no way,

00:24:46.720 he's washed up,

00:24:47.300 he'll never come back

00:24:48.020 and they bring Jason Statham in

00:24:49.420 and literally just talk about

00:24:50.240 how he's in perfect

00:24:50.960 physical condition.

00:24:52.000 He's the only one

00:24:52.480 that can save us

00:24:53.140 and he's like,

00:24:53.800 it's just,

00:24:54.460 it's so classic,

00:24:55.620 like this just masculine here

00:24:57.400 going to save the day

00:24:58.320 and save these women

00:24:59.040 at the bottom of the ocean.

00:25:00.020 It was really,

00:25:00.800 it was refreshing

00:25:01.480 and shocking to watch

00:25:02.560 and it,

00:25:03.060 even though the movie

00:25:03.500 was terrible,

00:25:04.320 there was just,

00:25:05.100 it was just a fun

00:25:06.180 roller coaster.

00:25:07.380 It was hilarious.

00:25:07.780 And you made mention too

00:25:09.660 in terms of the political

00:25:10.700 correctness element,

00:25:12.380 Ben,

00:25:12.560 that there's a scene

00:25:13.700 where a female character

00:25:15.260 catches the male character

00:25:18.260 in the buff

00:25:19.400 and leers at him

00:25:20.700 for a little while,

00:25:21.560 which I guess

00:25:22.400 in this post Me Too era,

00:25:24.220 you're not supposed

00:25:25.000 to do films like that

00:25:26.020 anymore,

00:25:26.300 right?

00:25:27.520 No,

00:25:27.900 yeah,

00:25:28.080 she completely violated him 0.99

00:25:29.480 with her eyes

00:25:30.060 and took away his dignity

00:25:30.960 because she saw him

00:25:31.880 with his shirt off

00:25:32.840 and if this was reversed,

00:25:34.660 even if this movie

00:25:36.080 just played in the United States

00:25:36.960 mainly,

00:25:37.360 like if it wasn't just

00:25:37.820 pandered to the Chinese market,

00:25:39.620 like it would still be crazy

00:25:41.120 but if it was reversed

00:25:42.380 and it was a guy

00:25:43.140 leaning back to catch a peek

00:25:44.400 when the girl was changing,

00:25:45.660 this would be front page news

00:25:47.160 in the New York Times.

00:25:48.400 Like it was,

00:25:49.160 I couldn't believe,

00:25:49.940 in the theater I was looking around

00:25:50.820 just to see if anyone noticed,

00:25:51.780 like did you see what she just did?

00:25:53.100 Like this is 2018,

00:25:54.220 you can't do that

00:25:54.840 but no one cared obviously.

00:25:56.740 It's just,

00:25:57.180 oh it's hilarious

00:25:58.060 to sit there and watch it.

00:25:59.280 Well you know,

00:25:59.900 Ben,

00:26:00.260 we'll wrap it here.

00:26:01.380 You said it's not really

00:26:02.640 a good film.

00:26:03.180 I think you gave it

00:26:03.900 two out of five stars

00:26:05.080 but would you still suggest

00:26:06.940 that people see it

00:26:08.380 to get,

00:26:09.500 I don't know,

00:26:10.920 rediscover that

00:26:12.380 retro action vibe

00:26:15.180 that has gone missing

00:26:16.460 in the last couple of decades?

00:26:19.360 I don't know, man.

00:26:22.240 It's got a giant shark,

00:26:23.800 what could be bad about it?

00:26:25.920 Yeah,

00:26:26.440 the giant shark

00:26:27.460 who makes no sense either

00:26:29.000 but I would see

00:26:30.080 Mile 22

00:26:30.620 if you want to see

00:26:31.260 a more masculine film

00:26:32.340 or a movie like that

00:26:33.180 but it is at least

00:26:34.600 fun to watch

00:26:36.340 in some ways.

00:26:37.540 Okay then,

00:26:38.220 well I guess

00:26:38.860 the innuendo

00:26:40.340 I'm getting from you Ben

00:26:41.320 is wait for the DVD release

00:26:43.400 so maybe that's

00:26:44.360 what I shall do.

00:26:45.520 Thank you so much

00:26:46.340 for weighing in

00:26:46.900 on this film then Ben.

00:26:48.940 Absolutely.

00:26:49.880 And that was Ben Davies

00:26:51.180 from Hollywood

00:26:51.960 and keep it here folks,

00:26:53.360 more to come

00:26:54.420 right after this.

00:26:55.240 Well folks,

00:27:07.880 that's our show

00:27:08.440 for tonight.

00:27:09.300 Ezra and Sheila

00:27:10.060 are at the

00:27:10.840 Conservative Convention

00:27:11.980 reporting from the

00:27:13.160 outside of course

00:27:14.220 because they won't

00:27:15.620 let us in.

00:27:16.700 They will have a show

00:27:18.060 from the convention

00:27:18.900 tomorrow.

00:27:19.800 It's exciting times

00:27:21.040 with Bernier leaving

00:27:21.960 the Conservative Party

00:27:22.980 and Scheer not

00:27:24.600 backing down.

00:27:25.940 Let us know

00:27:26.500 what you think.

00:27:27.500 Do you think

00:27:28.100 Bernier is in the

00:27:29.380 right or in the

00:27:29.980 wrong or did

00:27:30.780 Scheer push him

00:27:31.820 out of the party

00:27:32.620 prematurely?

00:27:33.920 We would love to

00:27:34.760 know your thoughts.

00:27:36.040 Email Ezra

00:27:37.000 at therebel.media

00:27:38.900 or comment below.

00:27:40.880 Until next time,

00:27:42.040 good night and

00:27:42.880 don't miss tomorrow's

00:27:43.900 episode with

00:27:44.640 Ezra and Sheila

00:27:45.500 from Halifax.

Rebel News Podcast - August 24, 2018

Terrorist Omar Khadr visits Parliament Hill — and if you don't like that, you're a bigot

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