Saturday | August 21, 2021

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Georgia Howe: After a single person tested positive for COVID, New Zealand locked down the entire country this week. New Zealand's borders have been closed for more than 18 months and some 6,000 families have been separated by this policy. We've tried protesting, we've tried media, we've tried reaching out to our Labour government and they ignore us constantly. We'll hear from those speaking out against the government's lockdown orders.

John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Saturday, August 21st, and this is Morning Wire.

Georgia Howe: Earlier this summer, Netflix stock took a steep tumble. What's behind the recent slowdown of on-demand subscriptions? And what will it take for the streaming industry to recover? And many have made the comparison between the evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan and the evacuation of Saigon. We'll examine the parallels between Vietnam in 1975 and the current crisis, as well as discuss the political fallout.

Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by ZipRecruiter. According to a survey, over two-thirds of Americans are planning to travel this summer. This means that airlines, restaurants, and more have been ramping up their hiring. Who do they turn to? ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter's technology finds qualified candidates for your job, and you can easily invite your top choices to apply. And right now, you can try ZipRecruiter for free at ziprecruiter.com slash wire.

Georgia Howe: With New Zealand reimposing lockdowns after its first COVID case in months, some residents are speaking out about the country's stringent policies. The country has had its borders closed for more than 18 months, with no foreseeable end. Some 6,000 families have been separated by this policy with no clear timeline for reuniting. One activist is trying to help bring these families back together.

Georgia Howe: Here to talk about this latest development is New Zealand activist Adam Gibbons. Adam, thanks so much for coming on.

Adam Gibbons: Thanks a lot for having me, guys. Appreciate it.

Adam Gibbons: Okay, so we've been in what we call a level four lockdown since Tuesday. This was imposed over one case, which at the time wasn't confirmed to be Delta until the next day. As of today, we have 22 in the community. What it means for the citizens is everything's shut down. We can't do anything apart from go to essential services such as groceries, pharmacies, gas, doctors and hospitals, for example. Obviously, the borders are still closed. No one can come in here, really. It's essentially, it feels like we're in prison.

Adam Gibbons: So is this like in Australia where you can't visit your neighbours? They describe it as we're allowed to be in a bubble of one other person outside of our household. So for me, that's my daughter, who I share custody of with her mother. But otherwise, you're not really allowed to talk to anybody.

Georgia Howe: Wow.

Adam Gibbons: And how is that enforced? So there have been arrests made for people breaching the lockdown. So they are enforcing it with police. How observant is the average citizen of those rules? Everybody very obedient I never hear about people breaking the rules really apart from the protesters So if I go out for a drive to the groceries for example I do see the odd person walking around or on their bike but they few and far between

Georgia Howe: Wow.

Adam Gibbons: And tell us about the policy that's causing family separations. You said you haven't seen your fiancé since March of 2020? That's correct. This is a very big issue. There's no border exemptions for families to come in here. They aren't processing partnership visas for partners to come in here. So I'm an admin for the New Zealand citizens and permanent residents separated from their partners by the New Zealand Border Closures Group. And I represent over three and a half thousand people. Most were reunited last year because they started processing partnership visas. But what they're not doing is they're not processing what we call general visitor visas on partnership grounds. And this has affected about a thousand citizens who can't get their partners in because of it. But there are more than a thousand families that are currently separated, correct? So 1,000 is just for the partnership-based general visitor visa category. Labor government have estimated there's about 6,500 split families, and that's citizens and migrants combined. And based on MIQ availability, we've had 13,000 rooms empty since the start of the year. This could have been fixed twice over, and they've chosen to do nothing.

Adam Gibbons: When you say MIQ, what is that? That's our managed isolation facilities that we have to go through for two weeks when you enter the country. Okay. Is there any end in sight for this policy, the separating families policy? No. So our government is really going out of their way to completely ignore us. We've tried protesting. We have tried different kinds of events to put some spotlight on this issue. We've tried media. We've tried reaching out to our Labour government and they ignore us constantly. The immigration minister avoids pretty much any and all contact at the moment. And we're actually in the process of taking him to the High Court over this for a breach of human rights.

Georgia Howe: Adam, thanks so much for coming on.

Adam Gibbons: No problem. Thank you for having me.

Georgia Howe: That was Adam Gibbons out of New Zealand. Coming up, the online streaming industry appears to be facing a slowdown. Policy Genius makes it easy to shop for and buy life insurance online. Compare personalized quotes from top companies in minutes to see how much you could save. Get unbiased advice from licensed experts and get life insurance right at policygenius.com today.

Georgia Howe: In mid-July, Netflix stock took a significant tumble due mostly to a drop in subscribers. While the stock has rebounded modestly since that initial drop, there's reason to believe the entire streaming industry is experiencing a slowdown. Here to discuss why several on-demand platforms are suddenly struggling and what it may mean for consumers is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham. Megan, thanks for coming on.

Megan Basham: Always good to be here, Georgia.

Megan Basham: So I think a lot of people are under the impression that the streaming business is just one big success after the other. Is that not true anymore? You know, it's really not. So viewers at home really don't seem to have the appetite for all these subscriptions that they once did. There's a really big sign of that. Nearly half a million people dropped their Netflix subscriptions last quarter. And to put that in perspective, that marked the first time the platform has lost customers in two years. But you can't just talk about Netflix in this discussion. Disney, too, though it has seen some improved growth recently. Its new streaming subscriptions are still tracking pretty far below long-term expectations. Overall, only 3.9% of U.S. homes added a new streaming service in the last quarter. And that's down from 12.9% a year ago. So the biggest drop in several years. But more than just not signing up for new platforms Americans are canceling the ones they already have at a record rate So what the financial outlets are calling subscription fatigue that very real

Megan Basham: And do we have any idea what's causing this? Well, you know, we have some good educated guesses backed by, you know, pretty solid consumer research. First thing, there's, of course, the COVID factor. As lockdowns began to lift, people suddenly weren't as interested in staying home and binge watching TV as they used to be. Yeah, it's pretty easy to sell your product to a captive audience. But you pair that with the price hikes these companies have to make to stay profitable, and that makes it easy for people to walk away. And then there's also the fact that we may simply be hitting a saturation point. There's something like 300 streaming platforms now. Surveys show people are just starting to feel overwhelmed by all of these a la carte choices. Polling also highlights a lack of quality content. Folks pay to get access to these big, buzzy shows, but then when they tune in, they find that they're not as good as they were expecting. That's something that's happened to me a couple of times. Yeah, it's happened to me too. Any other factors? Well, this one is a bit circumstantial, but I do think it's worth exploring. So last year, I'm sure you're going to remember this, Netflix became embroiled in a scandal over this film titled Cuties. Yeah, that movie featured 11-year-old girls performing sexually suggestive dance moves, and it outraged the public. The hashtag canceled Netflix started trending on Twitter, and multiple consumer groups started petitions. Well, to some extent, those campaigns were successful. Netflix cancellations went up 800% immediately following all that backlash. So this led to some news outlets taking a look at the social messaging these platforms are attaching to their highest profile films and series. A couple of months ago, for example, I reported on internal Disney evidence that audiences began turning off that big Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, once the storyline turned overtly political. Investors, too, are noticing. In recent shareholders meetings, Disney CEO Bob Chapik received some questions about the company's decision to fire Mandalorian actress Gina Carano. It's also received some questions about the LGBT content in children's shows. Some other reporting has pointed out Netflix's generally left-leaning PR machine that's pretty heavily promoted deals with people like Barack and Michelle Obama. Now, there doesn't appear to be any polling that specifically asks about streamers' political messaging. I find that a little curious myself. But industry watchers are wondering if that thing we call the get woke, go broke effect couldn't be playing a role here. And maybe that's part of the reason Netflix is the number one platform consumers are canceling. It'll be interesting to see if all this causes these streamers, or Netflix in particular, to change their approach.

Georgia Howe: Yeah, it definitely will. Thanks for coming on, Megan.

Megan Basham: Thanks for having me.

Georgia Howe: Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.

Georgia Howe: During the collapse of Afghanistan under a resurgent Taliban, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was abandoned, with thousands of Americans being evacuated from the city. Many are comparing the events in Afghanistan to the last days of the Vietnam War. Here to explain whether this comparison is fair is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. Hey, Ian. Morning, Georgia.

Ian Howarth: Morning, Georgia.

Ian Howarth: So, Ian, we keep seeing this comparison, especially on social media. Give us some background. Well, after images were released of helicopters being used to evacuate U.S. personnel from the roof of the embassy in Kabul, people immediately likened it to the infamous fall of Saigon, during which communist forces from North Vietnam captured the South Vietnamese capital on April 30th 1975 The United States withdrew its military from South Vietnam two years before and the capture of Saigon which was later renamed Ho Chi Minh City came far faster than the U.S. expected. This forced the U.S. to abandon its embassy in the city, evacuating over 7,000 American citizens and other personnel. You may have seen the iconic photos of people scrambling to board a helicopter waiting on the roof of the CIA station in Saigon. Right. And it's this imagery of helicopters, as well as the pace of the city's capture, which is leading many to make the comparison, posting these pictures side by side on social media, as you said.

Ian Howarth: So with a lot of people making the comparison, has the Biden administration commented on it? They have, but first we should remember that President Biden preempted this comparison before Kabul even fell to the Taliban. Do you see any parallels between this withdrawal and what happened in Vietnam with some people feeling... None whatsoever. Zero. And after these images were released, members of the Biden administration, like National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, tried to downplay the comparisons to Saigon. How do you explain getting this so wrong? Well, first, Savannah, to be fair, the helicopter has been the mode of transport from our embassy to the airport for the last 20 years. But you know the larger point. It's not the helicopter. That is how we move people back and forth. No, no, it's the last minute scramble. You know that. So they're distancing themselves from that comparison, but would you say it's a fair comparison to make? Yeah, it's definitely fair. And in some ways, the events we're witnessing in Kabul are arguably worse. When it comes to the fall of Saigon, the scramble to leave the city occurred two years after U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam and 7,000 people needed to be evacuated. On the other hand, in Afghanistan, the capital city fell just weeks after the U.S. military withdrawal began, while forces hadn't even fully left yet. Then, when we consider the numbers, there are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 American citizens still in Afghanistan. And this number isn't even set in stone. And by the way, there are no existing plans to help Americans outside the city evacuate. And more broadly, we have to consider the political fallout. President Gerald Ford didn't experience a huge amount of long-lasting blowback in 1975, but it's unlikely that the same will be true for President Biden, given the speed of Afghanistan's collapse and the fact that he reportedly ignored the guidance of his military advisors in his decision to withdraw so quickly.

Georgia Howe: Really interesting. Thanks for the insights, Ian.

Ian Howarth: Thanks for having me. Have a great weekend.

Georgia Howe: Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.

Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week. Republican leaders have sent a letter to President Biden seeking a classified intelligence briefing on Afghanistan. Republicans say that it is of, quote, utmost importance to account for all U.S. citizens in Afghanistan and to give them the ability to leave the country. And a coalition of small business owners are suing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city of New York over its new vaccine mandate. The mandate requires people to show evidence they've received at least one vaccine dose to dine indoors, go to gyms, or go to theaters. The group argues that the executive order is, quote, arbitrary, irrational, unscientific, and unlawful.

Georgia Howe: If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back Monday with the news you need to know. Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code morningwire to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.