Biden's 'dangerous' disregard of American energy making US 'wholly reliant' on China: Michael Shellenberger

Silent era movie icon Anna May Wong is now a different kind of star. Starting Monday, her image will appear on new quarters, making her the first Asian American to appear on US currency.

EJ Panaligan editor As part of a new initiative, the United States Mint will honor Anna May Wong, star of movies such as “Shanghai Express,” by making her the first Asian American featured on U.S. currency, placing her likeness on quarters with production starting Oct. 18. The printed quarter shows an image of Wong resting on her hand, serving as a tribute to what most consider the first Chinese American movie star. She was born in 1905 in Chinatown, Los Angeles and died in 1961 of a heart attack in her Santa Monica home. Wong started her career in the entertainment business at 14 years old, talking her way into her first movie role. In the following years, she rose to stardom as among the first Asian American stars in Hollywood and appeared in more than 50 films. Though the quarter seeks to pay tribute to her career in the film industry, it also acknowledges the difficulties that came her way trying to land meaningful roles as an Asian American actress during a time where racial discrimination and commonplace practices of putting white actors in “yellowface” to portray Asian characters was prevalent. In addition, Wong’s characters were often killed in the films she acted in, which she once joked about, saying that she had already “died a thousand deaths.”

EXCLUSIVE: Imax has inked a deal with Wanda Films, China’s largest exhibitor, to install six Imax systems in new multiplexes across top Chinese markets including Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. Wanda will also relocate and upgrade three of its existing Imax systems to forthcoming locations.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Homecoming, a patriotic rescue movie, dominated the mainland China box office for the third successive weekend. Overall numbers remained anemic in the first full week after the National Day holiday period, sometimes referred to as a ‘Golden Week’. “Homecoming” garnered $12.1 million (RMB85.6 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy and research firm Artisan Gateway. That gave the film a 64% share of the nationwide weekend aggregate. Accordingly, it was far ahead of second-placed film “Give Me Five,” which released on Sept. 9, 2022. “Give Me Five” earned just $1.9 million over the weekend, for a six-week cumulative of $63.8 million.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. ambassador on Saturday to express their "disappointment and concern" after President Joe Biden called Pakistan "one of the most dangerous nations in the world."  The president made the remark at a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Los Angeles while discussing Chinese President Xi Jinping.  "This is a guy who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems.

U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss' push to cut taxes for her country's highest earners was a "mistake," President Biden stated Saturday. Truss was forced to scrap large portions of her tax plan last week amid market turmoil and disintegrating public confidence.

Oversight is one of Congress’s most important functions. Without robust, regular examinations of government agencies and processes, we run the risk of waste and abuse of taxpayer funding.This is why the House Committee on Natural Resources has an entire subcommittee dedicated to oversight, where we investigate both agencies and organizations at large and specific individuals to ensure above board compliance with federal law.   When Republicans were in the majority in the 116th Congress, I served as the chairman of this subcommittee, and we investigated the National Resources Defense Council and others for their ties to China.The organizations’ deep ties with Chinese officials suggested potential violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act disclosure requirements.The American people have a right to know if these purported "environmental" groups are advocating for and lining their pockets with funding from one of the world’s top polluters.  This is exactly the kind of oversight that will remain a top priority for Republicans as part of our Commitment to America.

ATLANTA – Stacey Abrams is blasting Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for enticing increased Chinese investment in the state despite what she says is the greater threat to national security it could bring, as well as the potential surveillance of Georgians by the Chinese Communist Party.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese filmmaker, Bi Gan, best-known for his single-take feature “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” has seen his “A Short Story” picked up by Kino Lorber for distribution in North America. A fairy tale that follows the relationship between man and cat, the film had its world premiere in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and now has its North American premiere in the Currents section of the New York Film Festival. Kino Lorber plans to qualify “A Short Story” for the 96th Academy Awards, showing it theatrically nationwide in early 2023 in tandem with a theatrical re-release of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” “Kino Lorber rarely acquires short films, but Bi Gan has packed more cinematic delight into the fifteen minutes of ‘A Short Story’ than many feature length films deliver in two hours,” said Kino Lorber SVP Wendy Lidell. The deal was brokered by Les Films du Losange.

A sequel to “The Joy Luck Club” is on its way.

Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters said on "The Faulkner Focus" that Big Tech censorship played a crucial role in the 2020 presidential election.  Masters said "if everyone followed the law" then Donald Trump would "be in the Oval Office," pointing to how the FBI pressured social media and tech companies, including Facebook, to censor "true information" related to Hunter Biden's corrupt dealings. "In the weeks before the election, millions of people didn't get to read about it, and then the media said, 'oh, well, that's okay, that's just Russian disinformation.' No, it was true,"said Masters.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Novelist Amy Tan and Oscar-winning “Rain Man” screenwriter Ron Bass are on board to deliver a sequel to “The Joy Luck Club,” the 1993 movie that broke new ground for Asian American representation. The new film, “Joy Luck Club 2,” is set up at Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group, with Ashok and Priya Amritraj producing alongside Tan, Bass and Jeff Kleeman. A director hasn’t been announced yet. The original “Joy Luck Club,” directed by Wayne Wang, was an epic, multigenerational saga of Chinese and Chinese-American mothers and daughters, whose histories, stories and lives interweave as they navigate life. Club members included characters played by Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu and Kieu Chinh. The ensemble cast also included Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao and Russell Wong.

Fugees member Pras Michel, according to reports.Michel is set to stand trial from November 4 in Washington, DC, accused of illegally lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of the Chinese government and illegally giving contributions to the Obama administration before it.Earlier this year, speculation circled that Fugees cancelled their 25th anniversary tour celebrating second album ‘The Score’ not due to COVID concerns, as originally stated, but Michel’s ongoing legal issues.A story published on August 29 by Puck detailed Michel’s indictment for his alleged role in the claimed criminal conspiracy surrounding Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and the significant jail time Michel may face for his connections with fugitive businessman Jho Low.As Insider report, court filings posted on Sunday (October 9) revealed the list of witnesses for the upcoming trial, including former White House chief of staff John Kelly, former national security advisor H.R. McMaster and DiCaprio.The actor, whose 2013 film The Wolf Of Wall Street received funding that was allegedly stole from the Malaysia-based sovereign wealth fund, has already testified in front of a grand jury in the ongoing 1MDB case.Low is currently wanted by authorities for allegedly masterminding the theft of some $4.5billion US from 1MDB into his own personal accounts.

If President Joe Biden was looking for a gift for former President Jimmy Carter’s 98th birthday, his mishandling of the OPEC situation sure fits the bill. For all the current administration’s shortcomings and failures, they have been remarkably effective at waging war on America’s energy producers.

China's reported overseas police service stations and their operations to persuade citizens to return to the homeland mark a dangerous expansion of the regime’s international reach, according to a human rights advocate.  Safeguard Defenders, a pan-Asian human rights organization, published an investigation last month detailing a Chinese campaign to combat "fraud and telecom fraud" crimes committed by its citizens living abroad.The report indicated that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has established at least 54 police stations across 30 different countries, including the U.S. "I think it shows how brazen the CCP is getting and how little regard they have for other governments," Laura Harth, Safeguard Defenders' campaign manager, told Fox News.

Michaela Zee editor President Joe Biden’s turbulent first year in office is the focus of HBO’s forthcoming documentary, “Year One: A Political Odyssey.” In the trailer, which Variety can exclusively reveal, the documentary chronicles Biden’s first year as president, from his inauguration in 2021 to the State of the Union speech in March. Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker John Maggio, “Year One” explores the dynamics of the President’s inner circle, featuring archival news footage and insider interviews with secretary of state Antony Blinken, national security advisor Jake Sullivan, secretary of defense Lloyd Austin, CIA director William Burns and White House chief of staff Ron Klain, among other members of Biden’s cabinet.

President Joe Biden has taken a number of steps to curb domestic fossil fuel production since taking office but has still turned to foreign dictators for oil as prices have ticked up. The Biden administration has aggressively pushed its climate agenda, which includes a transition from fossil fuels to green energy, over its first 20 months in office. For example, it has taken aim at oil and natural gas pipelines, restrained leasing on federal lands and waters, moved forward with stringent climate disclosure rules for the private sector and introduced burdensome environmental regulations.

President Biden and Democratic lawmakers doubled down on the importance of hostile actors boosting oil output Wednesday after a decision from a Saudi-led group to cut production. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the powerful Middle Eastern oil cartel, and its Russian counterpart announced a massive production cut of 2 million barrels of oil per day, the largest reduction since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong multi-hyphenate Peter Chan Ho-sun is far too intellectual to call himself an “arms dealer,” as Sony Pictures has in casting itself as an unattached supplier to streaming platforms. But politeness and Bob Dylan references aside, Chan’s new company, Changin’ Pictures, aims to become a major independent purveyor of premium Asian TV content for the streamers. The company is using this week’s Busan International Film Festival as its launchpad and will unveil the first five series of its 20-title pan-Asian slate.  Chan’s thesis is that global audiences are hungry for Asian content but have not been able to access it easily under legacy film and TV distribution systems. With streaming making everything accessible everywhere, and audiences no longer balking at subtitles, quality Asian drama can and will travel.