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“It’s Christmas Eve and we are going to go celebrate being young and being alive‚” Miles (Jack Black) declares to Iris (Kate Winslet) in the delightful Christmas romantic comedy The Holiday (2006)‚ which concerns two “unlucky in love” women‚ Iris and Amanda (Cameron Diaz). The two decide to nurse their broken hearts and bruised egos by respectively swapping their Cotswold cottage and LA mansion for the holidays. As the fates would have it‚ Kate and Amanda each find love and a new outlook on life during their Christmas swap. I love this sugar plum saga‚ which I have previously written about in these pages‚ because it reminds us that friendship‚ love‚ and new adventures are always available. We only need to open our eyes to the world around us and celebrate our blessings.  Christmas is a reminder of these blessings‚ as is the tradition of the Christmas movie. Many of these films depict the archetypical portrait of the disappointed‚ cynical person who has an epiphany that transforms his perspective and makes him more appreciative of the bounties that he currently enjoys and more receptive to creating new relationships and new experiences. To achieve this transformation‚ the disappointed individual sometimes has to embark upon a physical journey that ultimately proves to be a metaphorical one. I have selected three Christmas films that involve a pilgrimage of sorts that have touched me and put a smile on my face.  Holiday in the Wild (2019) Holiday in the Wild is the story of Kate (Kristin Davis) a New Yorker who surprises her husband‚ Drew (Colin Moss)‚ with tickets for a second honeymoon in Zambia and receives a surprise of her own when Drew tells her that he is no longer in love with her but that he was waiting for their son Luke (played by Jack Owen Lowe‚ Rob Lowe’s son) to leave for college to ask for a divorce. Shocked and saddened‚ Kate‚ a nonpracticing veterinarian who gave up her career to be a stay-at-home wife and mother‚ decides to go to Zambia on her own. There‚ she meets Derek (Rob Lowe)‚ a pilot who manages the sanctuary and coordinates tours for visitors. Kate and Derek are initially dismissive of each other. He sees her as a superficial big-city person and she sees him as a guy with a chip on his shoulder. They eventually bond when they rescue a baby elephant whose mother was killed by poachers. Kate additionally learns that Derek is also an artist. Kate decides to extend her stay and use her training as a veterinarian to assist with the animals’ care and medical treatment. Although Holiday in the Wild follows the typical plotline of the sophisticated city girl falling for the creative sensitive guy who hides behind a cone of self-protection‚ it has an emotional rawness that elevates it above the standard romantic comedy fare. Filmed on location in Zambia‚ it is visually stunning. Davis and Lowe‚ who have acted together before‚ have amazing chemistry that further enhances the film’s believability and appeal. Christmas As Usual (2023) Christmas As Usual (SÃ¥ Var Det Jul Igjen) is a Norwegian film that tells the story of Thea‚ a Norwegian woman (Ida Ursin-Holm) who is living with her Indian boyfriend‚ Jashan (Kanan Gill)‚ in California. Jashan surprises Thea by proposing to her just before the holidays. Although they have been dating for less than a year‚ she accepts and invites Jashan to spend Christmas with her family in Norway. While her mother‚ Anne-Lise (Marit Andreassen)‚ is aware that Thea has a boyfriend‚ she is very surprised to learn that he is Indian. While Jashan genuinely wants to win the respect of Anne-Lise as well as Thea’s brother Simon (Erik Follestad)‚ sister-in-law Hildegunn (Veslemøy Mørkrid)‚ and niece Ronja (Matilde Hovdegard)‚ he makes one cultural faux pas after another. Most notably‚ he takes it upon himself to prepare a spicy Indian dish for the family on December 22‚ a gesture that upsets everyone because that is the day of the Norwegian holiday “Tiny Tiny Christmas.” The family was looking forward to consuming the traditional Norwegian food associated with the holiday. It also becomes increasingly clear that there are communication problems in Thea and Jashan’s relationship. Thea is not fully forthcoming with Jashan about her family. She neglects to tell him that her father died the previous year. She also does not mention that her ex-boyfriend from a five-year relationship lives nextdoor to her family. Moreover‚ she hides her engagement ring from her family while telling Jashan that she is waiting for the perfect time to share their good news.  Christmas As Usual‚ which is based on a true story‚ is a highly entertaining and emotionally stirring film. We share Jassan’s desperate attempts to fit in with Thea’s family and we equally experience Thea’s frustration when he fails to do so. As the film progresses‚ we realize that Jashan and Thea do love each other. We also learn that Thea’s family has a far more positive opinion of Jashan than they were able to overtly express. The family isn’t rejecting Jashan or his Indian heritage. Rather‚ they are clinging to their Norwegian Christmas customs as a way to hold on to the memory of the father‚ husband‚ and grandfather who is no longer with them. Christmas As Usual reminds us that love‚ family relationships‚ and friendships are rarely cookie-cutter perfect. Instead‚ they are imperfect molds of happy but complicated memories‚ emotions‚ and hopeful musings about the future. This film is also beautifully shot‚ with many picturesque scenes of Christmas lights set against a snowy background. Love Hard (2021) Love Hard is the story of Natalie (Nina Dobrev)‚ a woman who travels from Los Angeles to Lake Placid‚ New York‚ to surprise Josh (Jimmy O. Yang)‚ a man she has been chatting with online‚ only to arrive and find out that she has been catfished. The film takes its name from the movies Love Actually (2003) and Die Hard (1988) because‚ during Natalie and Josh’s early conversations‚ they exchanged thoughts on the “best Christmas movie‚” with Josh picking Love Actually and Natalie picking Die Hard. Love Hard does an effective job of paying homage to its two namesakes with its dialogue and plot devices. Josh uses his friend Tag’s (Darren Barnet) picture on a dating site because he thought that his friend’s more traditional good looks would result in more matches. And he was right. Natalie‚ who writes a column about dating disasters‚ thought that she had done her due diligence on Josh by asking him to post a photo of himself holding a newspaper with the day of the conversation’s date on it. Oh‚ the wonders of Photoshop. Natalie‚ who has turned her bad dating experiences into a meal ticket‚ is so enraptured by her conversations with Josh that she is ready to believe that her bad dates are behind her and that true love is on the horizon. Natalie is so convinced that Josh could be the one that she suggests to her boss Lee (Matty Finochio) that she shelve her column about dating disasters to write one about true love triumphing. While Lee is at first reticent‚ when he realizes that Natalie has not even met Josh‚ he encourages her to fly to Lake Placid‚ believing that this experience will result in the greatest dating disaster of all. Natalie is naturally very disappointed when she realizes that Josh isn’t who he said he was. But when he offers to help her win over Tag‚ she changes her mind about him. By assuming the Cyrano de Bergerac role‚ Josh reveals that he is a kind and caring person. Natalie also displays her vulnerabilities and her empathetic nature. The plot of course evolves into a complicated love triangle but concludes with the requisite happy ending. I enjoyed this film enormously‚ largely due to the strong performances of the principal actors. Nina Dobrev is a beautiful actress with an engaging screen presence who is willing to take creative risks. However‚ it was comedian Jimmy Yang who steals the show with his sensitive portrayal of Josh. Christmas is a time when we realize that we are all traveling in search of happiness and love. We also acknowledge that we sometimes find ourselves on what appears to be the wrong path and‚ consequently‚ we feel lost and alone. It is during these challenging moments that we must have faith that we will find our way. Christmas movies remind us that “If you look for it…. you’ll find that love‚ actually‚ is all around.”  READ MORE: Three Movies to Watch This Christmas A Christmas Carol’s Lasting Impact on Holiday Movies The post ’Tis the Season for Streaming Christmas Movies appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad By Harrison Salisbury (‎ Da Capo Press‚ 672 pages‚ $23) Eighty-two years ago‚ the Russian city of St. Petersburg — then called Leningrad after the founder of the Soviet Union — was under siege by German armies that had failed to seize and occupy the city (as Adolf Hitler ordered)‚ and instead imposed a land‚ sea‚ and air blockade in the midst of one of the coldest winters in the city’s history. The World War II siege of Leningrad lasted a total of 900 days‚ but the worst of it for Leningrad’s residents was in December 1941 through April 1942. Hundreds of thousands of people — perhaps more than a million — froze to death‚ died of starvation‚ or were killed by German bombs and artillery. Some — the actual number is unknown — were victims of cannibalism. That harrowing‚ horrifying story was most memorably told by Harrison Salisbury in The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad (1969).  Salisbury was a New York Times foreign correspondent and editor‚ Pulitzer Prize winner‚ and historian of Russia. He also wrote books on China under Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. He reported from Russia  for an eight-month time period beginning in 1944. He was the Times’ Moscow bureau chief from 1949 to 1954. He covered the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960s‚ controversially reported on the Vietnam War from Hanoi in 1966‚ and later served as the op-ed page editor‚ assistant managing editor‚ and associate editor of the Times. He died in 1993 at the age of 84. His book Black Night‚ White Snow (1978) is a riveting history of the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917. The 900 Days is not riveting; it is dark‚ somber‚ and morbid. It is less about armies and strategy and more about the dreadful human experience of civilians trapped in a city under siege in wartime with little food‚ little warmth‚ and little hope.  Leningrad was one of three main targets of Hitler’s Operation Barbarossa‚ which began on June 22‚ 1941. The other targets were Moscow and the Caucasus. General William von Leeb’s Army Group North attacked from East Prussia‚ and‚ with both a technological edge and the element of surprise‚ swiftly overran Soviet positions in the Baltic states. Despite numerous warnings from the Americans‚ the British‚ and his own spies‚ Stalin refused to believe that Hitler would break their nonaggression pact in 1941.  Meanwhile‚ Finnish forces — who had been attacked by the Soviet Union in 1940 — joined in the German advance toward Leningrad. By late September to early October 1941‚ Leningrad was cut off from the rest of the Soviet Union‚ except for Lake Ladoga to the north and east. “The iron ring of Hitler‚” Salisbury wrote‚ “had closed.” It was then‚ Salisbury wrote‚ that “Leningrad‚ a city of three million people‚ a city of cowards and of patriots‚ of sleazy sharpers and men and women of endless dedication‚ of blundering military men and feuding Party leaders‚ moved toward the time of trial.”  The Germans launched air attacks on the city and surrounding areas‚ setting buildings and homes ablaze. One resident recalled that “the whole horizon over Leningrad was colored deep blood-red. The sky was crisscrossed by searchlights‚ and the flames of the fires‚ reflected from the smoke clouds‚ filled the streets and squares with a strange light.” But there was no determined German effort to cross the Neva River and enter the city. Salisbury called this a missed opportunity. Had German forces launched such an effort in early September‚ he explained‚ it likely would have succeeded because “[t]here were not enough Soviet forces on the north bank of the Neva to offer more than light opposition. The guns were not in place. There was no ammunition. There were no tanks.”  Later that month‚ von Leeb concentrated 11 divisions for the final drive on Leningrad. In Moscow‚ the Stavka dispatched Marshal Georgy Zhukov to save the city. Zhukov‚ Salisbury wrote‚ “demanded attacks‚ counterattacks‚ counteroffensives‚ from all armies under his command.” He shot some commanders who failed to follow his orders. He threatened others with the same fate if they failed to achieve his objectives. Zhukov succeeded in halting the German offensive‚ then was ordered back to Moscow. “Now‚” Salisbury wrote‚ “the real struggle would begin in Leningrad — the struggle with the allies whom the Germans had called to their side: Generals Hunger‚ Cold‚ and Terror.”  When winter set in‚ the condition and mood of the city “grew more grim‚” according to Salisbury‚ who interviewed survivors in 1944 and many years later. Food was strictly rationed‚ and supplies were very low. “People grew thinner‚” he noted‚ “and they grew more like beasts.” There was no electricity. Clean water was scarce. The citizens of Leningrad were cold and hungry. German artillery shells pounded the city. “All around were war and death and suffering‚” writes Salisbury. In every house‚ there were hunger‚ cold and darkness. And this went on for months. “Everyone in Leningrad was hungry all the time now.” People did anything for food. Women sold their bodies. Desperate people ate wallpaper. Others ate cats‚ dogs‚ and rats. Some resorted to murder and cannibalism. Diseases such as dystrophy and scurvy spread. And people died — by the thousands‚ daily. They starved‚ froze‚ or were killed by German shells or other Leningraders.  Dead bodies were everywhere in Leningrad. Some lay dead in their homes — frozen by the harsh cold. Others lay dead on the streets or in heaps of corpses where bodies were deposited daily. Some were covered with snow. Some were wrapped in rugs‚ curtains‚ or sheets. Children’s sleds were used by family members to transport their dead loved ones to makeshift morgues. It was a common sight that winter to see people pulling sleds with dead bodies on them. Salisbury noted that a “mountain of corpses” could be seen on the banks of the Karpovka Canal. One correspondent for a Soviet newspaper wrote that the city was dying.  The only hole in the blockade was Lake Ladoga. As early as October‚ officials in Leningrad planned to use an “ice road” when Ladoga froze. The lake is 125 miles long and 80 miles across at its widest point. The “ice road‚” Salisbury explained‚ was 20 to 30 miles long. Some 19‚000 Russians worked on completing and servicing the road. It was linked to the city at a railroad depot and crossed several villages from Novaya Ladoga to Zaboyre. It became Leningrad’s only lifeline‚ but was far from perfect. Some trucks transporting food and supplies fell through the ice. German planes frequently strafed the ice road. The temperature on the ice reached 40 degrees below zero‚ causing some workers to freeze to death and some trucks to stop running. But it was Leningrad’s only hope — in December 1941‚ the death toll in the city exceeded 50‚000 persons. Even with the “ice road‚” by the end of December‚ Leningrad was “close to starvation.”  Things improved a bit by mid-January. The ice road expanded and more supplies reached the starving‚ freezing people in the city. Some Leningraders were moved out of the city. But the coming of spring meant the end of the ice road. The blockade continued and so did the suffering and dying. But Leningrad was saved. The fortunes of war gradually shifted against the Nazi war machine. The cost was immense. “More people had died in the Leningrad blockade‚” wrote Salisbury‚ “than had ever died in a modern city — anywhere — anytime: more than ten times the number who died in Hiroshima.” Salisbury estimated that at least 1.1 million Russians died in the siege‚ and the figure could be as high as 1.5 million.  And throughout the siege‚ Stalin’s internal security forces continued their arrests for “anti-Soviet” activities. Some Leningraders‚ instead of dying of starvation and cold in the city‚ died of beatings and forced labor in the Gulag. Indeed‚ Stalin‚ Salisbury noted‚ used the horrors of the siege to purge Leningrad party officials because for Stalin “[m]urderous‚ suicidal politics came first‚ before everything else.” In postwar Soviet Russia‚ he explained‚ “the death of a man was nothing‚ the death of a million men little more than a problem in the mechanics of propaganda‚ the destruction of a great city a complicated but conceivable gambit in the unceasing game of power.” READ MORE: Claim: Cold War History Shows Containing China Won’t Work Revolutionary Communists Lie and Burn at Jason Aldean Concert The Great Lesson: Statue of Stalin Consecrated in Russia The post Leningrad’s Winter of 1941–1942 and Its Unfathomable Horrors appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Well‚ good for Rudy Giuliani. In an interview with Newsmax’s Greg Kelly (and full disclosure‚ I am a Newsmax contributor)‚ the former New York mayor said this after he was ordered to pay $148 million to election workers: “How can you not be so sad for the country?” Giuliani continued‚ saying: Here I am in the District of Columbia: The first time I came here I got goose bumps; I’m going to leave here thinking that this District of Columbia court is a fascist court…. I knew when she was assigned to the case‚ I knew we were dead…. I didn’t realize we were that dead. … Do you realize that I never got a chance to put in a single bit of evidence in defense? My liability was based on the fact that I didn’t completely comply with discovery‚ and I turned over thousands of documents‚ and I sat for a deposition and did not take the Fifth Amendment. Newsmax reported: Judge Howell had an ethics complaint filed against her by Rep. Elise Stefanik‚ R-N.Y.‚ for a “highly inappropriate political speech” in November. Giuliani said of this: I didn’t know she had given this speech in which he talked about the Jan. 6 defendants‚ and really about Donald Trump‚ his big lies…. And she’s also the one who got very upset when the Jan. 6 defendants weren’t getting enough sentences as far as she was concerned‚ and she abraded the prosecutors and said the sentences should be heavier. That is not a role for a judge. Well‚ bravo for Rudy. It is nothing short of astonishing to witness the unraveling of the American judicial system for no other reason than an irrational hatred of former President Donald Trump. The judge Giuliani is referring to in this case is Obama-appointed Judge Beryl Howell. Stefanik‚ a decided rising star in the House GOP‚ did the research. And she uncovered this‚ as she reported on X‚ with the publication of her complaint. The complaint reads‚ in part‚ as follows‚ with bold print for emphasis supplied: Judicial Council of the District of Columbia Circuit c/o Office of the Circuit Executive United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse 333 Constitution Avenue‚ NW Washington‚ D.C. 20001 Re: Complaint of Judicial Misconduct Against Judge Beryl Howell Dear Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan: I write today to express my serious concerns about‚ and request an ethics investigation of‚ DC U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell for her highly inappropriate political speech she gave last month‚ at which she suggested reelecting President Trump will lead to fascism in America. As outlined in detail below‚ Judge Howell’s partisan speech is obviously highly inappropriate election interference by a federal judge that undermines the public’s trust in our courts. Moreover‚ the public display of the cozy personal relationships between Judge Howell and her partisan friends who appear before her undermines public trust in judicial independence‚ in violation of Canon 2B.[1]. …. On November 27‚ 2023‚ Judge Howell and current Biden Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco‚ the Biden Justice Department official who ultimately supervises federal prosecutors across America including their January 6 cases‚ together received the “champion award” at the Women’s White Collar Defense Association awards gala in Washington‚ D.C. Former Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch‚ the master of ceremonies‚ and former Obama White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler‚ introduced both Judge Howell and Monaco. … And Judge Howell’s 16 minutes of substantive remarks had little to do with women representing white-collar criminal defendants–and they were hardly apolitical‚ let alone politically neutral.[10] According to Politico‚ “[a]s the federal court in Washington that Judge Beryl Howell once oversaw prepares for a historic trial of former President Donald Trump on charges of attempting to fraudulently overturn the results of the 2020 election‚” Judge Howell “used a rare public speech Tuesday to lament that many of those convicted for their actions on Jan. 6 fell under the sway of falsehoods.”[11] And the purpose of Judge Howell’s speech was not lost on anyone‚ including Politico: “The judge who spearheaded the judiciary’s response to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6‚ 2021‚ blamed that event on ‘big lies’ and warned that the country is in danger of turning toward authoritarianism.”[12] … Judge Howell’s fuller quote is this: “This historian Heather Cox Richardson‚ whose book I’ve been reading . . . cautions in her book’s opening line . . . “America is at a crossroads teetering on the brink of authoritarianism” and she echoes this thought in her closing line‚ that we are at a time of testing and how it comes out . . . is in our own hands.”  … If one reads the book‚ they would know it is an anti-Trump‚ anti-Republican Party screed. Throughout the book‚ Richardson attacks Republicans for “flooding the media system with propaganda‚” attacks President Trump’s judicial nominees as “extremist‚” accuses President Trump of trying to “rig” the election‚ and says that President Trump pushed “an authoritarian agenda.”[15] Judge Howell’s speech is plainly inappropriate‚ consisting of partisan statements‚ election interference‚ and improper extrajudicial statements while criminal cases are pending–all barred by Canon 2B. Judge Howell promoted the Democrat political campaign theme that the re-election of Donald Trump equates to America choosing authoritarianism. This is conduct unbecoming of a federal judge.” Long story short‚ this is not only “conduct unbecoming of a federal judge.” This is‚ just as former Mayor Giuliani has charged‚ out and out fascism. In this case‚ with Rudy Giuliani the target. The question now is: what to do about all of this? The answer‚ it would seem‚ is impeaching Judge Howell. History reveals that 15 federal judges have been impeached over the decades. One‚ Judge George Washington English‚ a Woodrow Wilson appointee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois‚ was targeted for impeachment for “abuse of power.” Before the impeachment was finalized‚ the judge resigned. Make no mistake‚ what Judge Howell is about is silencing “America’s mayor” in a decidedly authoritarian fashion because she disagrees with his politics and those of former President Trump. Which is to say‚ Rudy Giuliani is exactly correct when he says he has been “thinking that this District of Columbia court is a fascist court.” It is. And it is time that the House of Representatives starts investigating that Court — starting with Judge Beryl Howell. READ MORE: Pelosi Gets Biden an Impeachment Inquiry The Left’s Systemic Anti-Semitism: It Isn’t Just the UPenn President The post Time to Impeach D.C. Judge Beryl Howell? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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