Transgender performer wins best actress at Cannes, blasts critics in emotional speech: 'Change, you bast**ds'



Transgender performer Karla Sofia Gascon — a biological male who identifies as female — won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend.

It was the first time that a trans woman won best actress at Cannes, the Telegraph reported.

'To every trans person suffering every f***ing day with hate. With hatred ... they denigrate us ... this is for you.'

Gascon, 52, starred in the Mexican musical comedy "Emily Perez," a critical favorite that's about a man transitioning to escape vengeful criminals, the outlet said.

The Spanish performer gave a lengthy acceptance speech Saturday night on behalf of the film’s female cast, which was awarded best actress as an ensemble, the Telegraph added.

Gascon said, “To every trans person suffering every f***ing day with hate. With hatred ... they denigrate us ... this is for you," the outlet reported, adding that Gascon also preemptively pushed back against "terrible" critics' potential backlash over choosing a trans performer and told them, “Change, you bast**ds."

Gascon added, “We all have the opportunity to change for the better, to be better people. If you have made us suffer, it is time for you also to change," the Telegraph said.

More from the outlet:

The speech was received rapturously by the star-studded audience in Cannes, where the elite of world cinemas had gathered for the 77th iteration of the festival.

The decision to award the “best actresses” a collective prize broke with tradition, and the inclusion of a trans performer in the category was also a first in the storied history of Cannes. ...

Born in Madrid, Gascon has a daughter of 13. Starting her screen career on Spanish television in the Nineties, the actor moved to Mexico and appeared in films there before completing the transition to being a trans woman.

Speaking to the press in Cannes, Gascon said she had wanted to be a girl since she was four years old.

Gascon added that "we’re normal people who can have the careers they want. Being trans is unimportant. A trans person is someone going through a transition. Once they have transitioned, that’s it. They are what they are," the Telegraph reported.

How are observers reacting?

Fewer than 30 comments have appeared so far underneath the Telegraph story that appeared Sunday on Yahoo News, but every single one of them ripped the award winner. To wit:

  • "It's a sorry state of affairs these days ..." one commenter wrote.
  • "Harrison Butker spoke about women and has been lambasted for it. Another dude tries to be a woman and take women's achievements and is praised for it," another commenter noted. "Wow. Just wow."
  • "Pretty soon all the 'best woman' awards will be held by men, just like all the athletic awards for women are being won by males now," another commenter stated.
  • "He can transition all he wants, but his DNA tells the real story," another commenter reasoned.
  • "Fake news. Mr. Gascon is a man and a father. He was born male and will die male," another commenter declared.
  • "I'm glad everyone is finally realizing that the best woman will always be a man," another commenter said. "There is nothing a woman can do better than a man, even when it comes to being a woman."

(H/T: Not the Bee)

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Officials rescind Christian novel's award because it 'romanticizes' horrific treatment of Native Americans. Publisher argues theme of book is anything but.



For a few days, "At Love's Command" — a Christian romance novel — enjoyed its Vivian Award from the Romance Writers of America as the best Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements of 2021, Religion News reported.

But soon readers and other romance authors caught wind of the decision and criticized the RWA for bestowing the award upon Karen Witemeyer's book, claiming the novel romanticizes the killing of Native Americans, the outlet said.

"At Love's Command," this year’s winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Vivian Award for best romance with reli… https://t.co/1xPjmZemir

— Religion News Service (@RNS) 1628011800.0

Religion News said "At Love's Command" opens with the main character, fictional ex-cavalry officer Matthew Hanger, leading the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry against the Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota — the historical event now known as the Wounded Knee massacre.

What happened next?

In the wake of the backlash, the RWA's board held an emergency meeting and promptly decided to rescind the award it had given "At Love's Command," the outlet said.

The Romance Writers of America's board published a statement on its website saying, in part, that while the "RWA is in full support of First Amendment rights," since it's striving "to improve our support of marginalized authors, we cannot in good conscience uphold the decision of the judges in voting to celebrate a book that depicts the inhumane treatment of indigenous people and romanticizes real world tragedies that still affect people to this day."

Publisher defends novel

The Christian novel's publisher Bethany House told Religion News in a statement that it supports author Witemeyer and has heard from many readers who've been moved by the book's themes of redemption and hope.

"In the opening scene of the novel, Witemeyer's hero, a military officer, is at war with the Lakota, weary of war, but fully participating in the battle at Wounded Knee," Bethany House's statement reads, the outlet said. "The death toll, including noncombatant Lakota women and children, sickens him, and he identifies it as the massacre it is and begs God for forgiveness for what he's done. The author makes it clear throughout the book that the protagonist deeply regrets his actions and spends the rest of his life trying to atone for the wrong that he did."

The publisher added that the Wounded Knee massacre was one of "the darkest moments of our nation's history" and a "deplorable" act of violence, Religion News said, adding that Bethany House and Witemeyer intended to "recount this history for the tragedy it was."

Wuhan Institute of Virology up for 2021 prize for ID'ing COVID-19 pathogen. Award comes from China's communist government.



The Wuhan Institute of Virology is a candidate for the 2021 Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Prize after "identifying the COVID-19 pathogen," the Global Times reported.

The Global Times, which is a mouthpiece for the Chinese communist government, said the prize comes from the Chinese Academy of Sciences — which also is under the auspices of the People's Republic of China.

More from the Global Times:

CAS said the WIV quickly carried out pathogen identification after the outbreak of COVID-19, completed the entire virus genome sequencing and virus isolation within a short time, confirmed that the COVID-19 virus shares the same functional receptor as the SARS virus, systematically analyzed the basic biological characteristics of the virus, and revealed that coronavirus carried by bats may be the evolutionary ancestor of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The paper added that the "research group has completed the most comprehensive and systematic pathogenic identification research into COVID-19, which laid an important foundation and technology platform for follow-up research into tracing origins, epidemiology and pathogenic mechanism of the coronavirus, as well as the research and development of medicines and vaccines, and provided key scientific and technological support for epidemic prevention and control, CAS noted."

'Slander from Western politicians and media'

Not surprisingly, the Global Times also wrote that the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its scientists "have been attacked in a new round of slander from Western politicians and media" and that China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said they "should be awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine rather than being blamed for being the first to discover the gene sequence of the novel coronavirus."

The paper referred to the lab-leak theory that's been gaining momentum among scientists around the world as a United States "conspiracy" theory.

Anything else?

Not that China has anything to worry about for the moment, since it was revealed this weekend that President Joe Biden won't pressure China to cooperate with investigations into the origins of COVID-19. Amid China's conspiracy theory retort, it was reported earlier this month that a senior Chinese epidemiologist wants the U.S. investigated as the lab-leak source.

What's more, a Harvard scientist recently admitted that her colleagues denied the possibility of a lab-leak coronavirus origin because they were afraid of being associated with former President Donald Trump and becoming a "tool for racists."

The lab-leak theory picked up even more steam this month when a video showed live bats inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2017:

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Footage proves bats were kept in Wuhan labyoutu.be

(H/T: The Post Millennial)

President Trump awards Medal of Freedom to Rep. Devin Nunes, says he uncovered the 'greatest scandal in American history'



President Donald Trump on Monday awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, citing the congressman's work uncovering FISA abuses by the FBI targeting Trump's 2016 campaign.

What are the details?

A statement from the White House announcing the award to Nunes, 47, read:

In 2017, Congressman Nunes launched an investigation into the Obama-Biden administration's misconduct during the 2016 election – and began to unearth the crime of the century. As a result of his work, he discovered that the infamous Steele Dossier was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. He found that a senior Justice Department attorney was married to one of the architects of the document. He learned that the Obama-Biden administration had issued Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants to spy on President Trump's campaign and illegitimately unmasked several innocent spying victims for political gain.

It concluded, "Congressman Devin Nunes is a public servant of unmatched talent, unassailable integrity, and unwavering resolve. He uncovered the greatest scandal in American history."

The Washington Examiner reported that Nunes served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from early 2015 to early 2019. In 2018, the California Republican released a memo raising the FISA abuse concerns. The outlet noted that despite criticism from Democrats over the findings, the December 2019 report by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz "largely vindicated the Nunes memo."

The statement from the White House further declared:

Congressman Nunes pursued the Russia Hoax at great personal risk and never stopped standing up for the truth. He had the fortitude to take on the media, the FBI, the Intelligence Community, the Democrat Party, foreign spies, and the full power of the Deep State. Devin paid a price for his courage. The media smeared him and liberal activists opened a frivolous and unjustified ethics investigation, dragging his name through the mud for eight long months. Two dozen members of his family received threatening phone calls – including his 98 year old grandmother.

Anything else?

According to CBS News, Nunes is not the only Republican congressman who will receive the Medal of Freedom from Trump. Multiple sources told the outlet that Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) is also expected to be graced with the honor in coming days.

CBS pointed out that Jordan "led the team of GOP lawmakers who defended Mr. Trump during the impeachment trial held by the Senate last year, after which he was acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress."

University of Texas names journalism award after Dan Rather



The University of Texas at Austin's School of Journalism and Media announced Wednesday that it has introduced new awards "honoring reporting as well as exceptional content," named after former CBS News anchor Dan Rather.

While the school did not mention the fact that Rather was fired after being caught reporting fake news based on forged documents smearing President George W. Bush in 2004, observers on social media were quick to remind them.

What are the details?

Jay Bernhart, dean of UT's Moody College of Education, tweeted, "Dan Rather is not only a legend -- he's the namesake of new awards honoring his career and the work of today's journalists. We are thrilled to announce the @DanRather Medals for News and Guts."

Dan Rather is not only a legend -- he’s the namesake of new awards honoring his career and the work of today’s jour… https://t.co/xJSkh0shna
— Jay Bernhardt (@Jay Bernhardt)1608134562.0

The dean's post was roundly mocked and criticized, garnering reactions such as, "It's interesting that someone created an award for a man who was forced to resign in disgrace for violating the most basic standards of journalism. A legend, indeed."

Another person joked, "The back has the inscription 'Fake, but accurate," while someone else wrote, "I've got to believe that even Dan finds this embarrassing."

"Irony is dead, buried, and cremated," quipped Daily Telegraph opinion editor James Morrow.

In their promotion of the new awards, UT stated, "The Dan Rather Medals for News and Guts honor the process of journalism as much as the end product. They will be awarded to professional and collegiate journalists who go the extra yard — overcoming obstacles like stonewalling and harassment — to get the story that tells truth to power."

They added, "While journalism and journalists have long been under constant fire from the powerful, recognizing those who show "News and Guts" has never been more important than it is today."

UT did not mention the fact that Rather was fired for reporting false information.

Fox News reported:

Rather, a Texas native, was forced out of the CBS anchor chair in 2005 after using unauthenticated documents in a 2004 report claiming that George W. Bush had gone absent without leave from the Texas Air National Guard. He has enjoyed a recent career renaissance thanks to his folksy, far-left Twitter persona and standing among media correspondents like CNN's Brian Stelter.

According to The Washington Examiner's Becket Adams, "Rather should be a pariah in media, especially because he still maintains he did nothing wrong (he did). But he has enjoyed a renaissance in the news business these past couple of years, thanks, in large part, to his anti-President Trump social media activities."