Category Archives: Transhuman News

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has spoken out about the Fox shows decision in 2020 to stop white actors voicing characters from other ethnic backgrounds.

Days after it was confirmed that Simpsons vet Harry Shearer had been replaced by voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson in the role of Dr. Julius Hibbert, Groening told the BBC: Times change, but I actually didnt have a problem with the way we were doing it. All of our actors play dozens of characters each; it was never designed to exclude anyone.

Its similar in tone to howThe Simpsons initially handled the controversy in 2017, when questions were raised about Hank Azaria playing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.Some months later, an episode featured Lisa breaking the fourth wall to declare: Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?

The Simpsons Voice Actor Hank Azaria Reveals His Journey Away From The Apu Character

Asked if he regretted how it was handled, Groening said: At a certain point it doesnt matter what you say. Youre going to be attacked by whoever, you know? Were not going out of our way to comfort bigots. On the other hand, if you do any kind of gesture and people perceive a weakness, youll be criticized.

The cartoonist, who is currently working on Netflix series Disenchantment, added that hes glad things are changing. Were trying to make it better, he said. Bigotry and racism are still an incredible problem and its good to finally go for more equality and representation.

The Simpsons: The New Voice Of Hank Azarias Carl Is Revealed

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The Simpsons Creator Matt Groening Says He Didnt Have A Problem With White Actors Voicing Non-White Characters - Deadline

Photo: Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump speaking at a 2019 event hosted by Turning Point USA. Credit Gage Skidmore

After more than three decades assaulting airwaves and television screens with his vicious right-wing rhetoric, Rush Limbaugh, the bigoted and imperialist radio personality, died last week from a year-long battle with lung cancer. With his death comes the potential end to the most popular radio show in the United States, which since its debut in 1988 has served as a catalyst for the creation of the far-right media landscape that we see today.

Limbaugh, during a February 2020 broadcast, announced his diagnosis of lung cancer to his 15 million listeners. He then revealed in October, again on his show, that the cancer had become a terminal illness before dying at age 70 to the very disease that he falsely claimed had no link to his decades of cigarette smoking.

Limbaughs denial of the risk of smoking, however, is far from the worst position he has taken over the decades he spent on the air. His presence as a talk show host set the standard for many of the far-right pundits we see today. The strength of personalities like Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck, and even the more ridiculous Alex Jones, owe their success to the framework set forth by The Rush Limbaugh Show. Limbaugh rose to prominence at a time when all of these personalities, and FOX News-adjacent media more generally, did not exist.

Prior to the rise of online radio leading to a more diverse range of programming available to us today, Limbaugh occupied an even more exclusive direct line to millions of people. He permeated the information sphere in a way that you could not simply choose to log off or unplug from. His TV show, which ran from 1992 to 1996, made his perspective even more commonplace.

He joined the stage in the era of the shock-jock radio host, with his popularity second only to that of Howard Stern. The obvious difference between the two, however, was the explicitly political nature of Limbaughs program. Limbaugh spewed vitriol for years most notably by perpetuating racist stereotypes about Black people and immigrants, promoting anti-LGBTQ views, mocking the global AIDS crisis and popularizing the term feminazi.

His bigoted rhetoric was not without political backing either. Limbaugh found himself a supporter of essentially any conservative policy adopted in the United States and took a global imperialist stance to match. He was a vocal supporter of the Iraq War and U.S. military intervention overseas. He rejected science and empirical data when it came to the climate crisis. He was a staunch critic of the Green New Deal.

The late 2000s saw Limbaugh ramp up on conspiracy theories, tying the incoming Obama administration to the rise of ISIS. This trend would continue on throughout President Obamas two terms, sowing distrust in not only the administration but the mainstream media landscape as a whole. While the corporate media deserves to be harshly criticized, Limbaugh sought to organize that opposition around the preposterous claim that it promotes left wing politics. This line of attack can be seen widely today, for instance in cries of fake news and the spread of misinformation online among supporters of Donald Trump. The foundations were set by the right wing conspiracies parroted by Limbaugh.

The reactionary media stars of today including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck, and more recently Tomi Lahren or Candice Owens, all pull pages from Limbaughs playbook. The politically incorrect, bigoted views that galvanizes the far right can be seen, albeit in varied amounts, in these commentators today.

And now, even with the absence of his on-air presence, Limbaugh leaves behind a media landscape in his own image. Right-wing extremism has taken a far more central place in American society. Limbaughs show has ultimately been a success in helping usher forth the Trump era of politics along with the violent and fascist trends that Trump has energized.

In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the fight against the far right has taken on even greater significance. Rush Limbaugh spent his life spreading ideas that have now coalesced in a major political current that menaces the rights of all working class and oppressed people. All those who oppose it need to wage the battle of ideas just as fiercely to defeat his vile ideology.

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Rush Limbaugh and the rise of the far right - Liberation

In the second episode of The Politically Incorrect Guide, Tom Woods and Michael Malice demolish widespread myths about the Great Depression and the New Deal. Tom and Michael explain how the New Deal worsened the very problems it aimed to solve, that capitalism didnt cause the Great Depression (the Federal Reserve did), and that World War II prolonged rather than ended the Great Depression.

The first season of The Politically Incorrect Guide includes ten episodes and will release throughout 2021. Each covers the undiscussed facts and stories about history, culture, and social movements, purged from todays mainstream education system. Tom Woods penned the very first book in the series, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, which was a New York Times bestseller.

Episode website

Learn more about Tom Woods at https://tomwoods.com/.Learn more about Michael Malice at https://michaelmalice.com/.

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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal - Capital Research Center

Is the State a strict, bad-tempered parent who always wants to have things his or her way, simply to prove that it knows what is best for its children? Or should the State be an understanding and indulgent parent who allows its wards to grow up with freedom, and yes, make the occasional mistake, face the consequences, and learn from it? This is a choice every State has to make. And we citizens have no option but to fall in line with that choice, since we have given the State, as indeed we give our parents, that power over our lives.The ban on cryptocurrency has once again raised concerns about curbs on free choice. According to a recent news report, over one crore Indians hold digital assets worth Rs 10,000 crore, and they will make losses as a black market for cryptocurrency emerges. This has happened in the past as well, whenever we have banned anything.Take alcohol, for instance. All that bans have encouraged is bootlegging. And more deaths from illicit hooch. Take the ban on lotteries. Or casinos. Or, for that matter, betting on cricket. All illegal. All banned in many states. Yet today we are flooded by internet lotteries. Casinos have moved offshore. And betting on cricket is currently estimated at Rs 4 lakh crore - marginally less than our Defence budget.

Also, funnily, whats banned today may well be deemed perfectly legitimate tomorrow. Governments change. Ideas change. Notions of right and wrong also change. The mysterious Satoshi Nakamotos wondrous 2009 invention, the Bitcoin, may - bolstered by Elon Musks $1.5 billion buy a fortnight ago, and his announcement that Tesla car dealers will soon accept payment in this form - well emerge as a global currency. Its trading at Rs 35 lakh per bitcoin today. Does anyone want a RBI-backed cryptocurrency? Not really. It defeats the purpose for which it was invented: To celebrate the anonymity of blockchains mining it.Alcohol, on the other hand, is an old enemy of the State. Taxes and excise income from alcohol are huge (Rs 1.75 trillion in 2020), but it is still politically incorrect to acknowledge that. Bihars putative chief minister Nitish Kumar announced last week that prohibition remains a government policy and any employee caught drinking will be instantly sacked. Similarly, the gutkha and pan masala bans are farcical. Both remain freely available. The shops that sell them also sell loose cigarettes, another banned item.Censorship is not much different. But, luckily, nothing ever stays censored for long. Everything finds its way into the net. There was a time when censorship was worse than a ban. Take the Emergency years. Newspapers were published with missing headlines and empty spaces. Cartoons were dropped. (Governments have no sense of humour. Cartoonists are often arrested and we have just seen a stand-up comic, Munawar Faruqui, arrested before he even cracked a joke.) During the Emergency, the Censor Board wanted 51 cuts in a B-grade film called Kissa Kursi Ka. But that was not enough for Indira Gandhi, who got the master print picked up and burnt in the Maruti factory in Gurgaon. It was a silly decision because the film instantly acquired cult status and Amrit Nahata, its maker, became a hero.

Frequent internet shutdowns, be it in Kashmir or on the outskirts of New Delhi where the farmers are agitating, have brought no glory to India, only unwanted global attention. The State, of course, may not see it in that light. No State does. It is not about democracy or fascism; its about power. The wielding of power. If you allow the State to wield that much power over you, it will. You can do nothing about it till you decide to make that complete break, as children often do with their parents. Not because their parents are bad people but because their need for freedom becomes, at some point, more important.In India, we tend to mostly believe that children are always wrong. And that parents are the epitome of all virtue. Bollywood has stereotyped the mother as a long-suffering parent beavering away on the sewing machine, and the father as this struggling bread-earner, always misunderstood. Our myths and fables perpetuate this notion as well. And reluctant parents have no option but to live up to this absurdly noble image of what they should be-- instead of living their lives as they want to. Children, too, are expected to abandon all their freedoms to be the ideal offspring.The result? More broken families. More psychoses.The truth is, freedom is not dangerous. It liberates us. It does not draw us away from each other. Freedom is when parents and children live together with mutual love and respect. Where they support each other to take risks, make mistakes and discover life together.Its the same with the State and its citizens. They must learn to live with each others follies. Repression is not the answer. Bans and censorship are not the only way to exercise authority or teach people the difference between right and wrong.Many banned books are classics today. Salman Rushdies Satanic Verses is a must read. Gucciones Caligula is cult. Stanley Kubricks Clockwork Orange is included among the 10 great films of all time. James Joyces Ulysses is syllabus for students of literature. No one considers Anais Nins The Winter of Artifice as pornography any more. The use of marijuana is being increasingly legitimised across the world. New generations are discovering new virtues in stuff we were once forced to shun.The world is opening up. Its time we did as well.Pritish Nandy writes an incisive fortnightly diagnosis of the state of our imperfect democracy(Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author's own)From the same author:

Continued here:
Why India should stop being a nanny state and ban the ban - Times of India

VICTORIA -- A Vancouver Island senior is six figures richer after parting with a rare Rolex wristwatch that was once instrumental in his brief but successful career as an octopus wrestler.

The Rolex Explorer, circa 1953, sold at a New York auction house last month for US$126,000 ($158,000 Canadian).

The man who sold it is Bill Hook, 89, of Qualicum Beach, B.C.

After dropping out of high school at 15, Hook became one of the first scuba divers in British Columbia.

He would later wear the Rolex while competing in spearfishing and octopus-wrestling competitions in Victoria and Seattle.

A January 1966 issue of Vue magazine featuring Bill Hook and his octopus-wrestling adventures in Victoria, B.C.

When it comes to catching and wrestling a giant Pacific octopus, accurate timing and team co-ordination is everything.

"You go out and dive down and look at the rocks and if you could see some crab shells out in front, you had an octopus den," Hook told CTV News on Monday.

"When it came out, the one who found it gets first chance at catching it. Then when you catch it, you can get your arms around it and it will have its arms around you, and you swim to the surface, he explained. "They did that in Victoria for years. Its politically incorrect today. But people dont realize we have the largest octopus in the world here."

The watch was a gift from Hooks first wife, who bought it for him in Switzerland.

Appropriate to its name, the Explorer timepiece accompanied Hook on several adventures through Europe, Australia and Africa, including to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Bill Hook (right) and his brother Allan after a spearfishing competition.

In 1980, Hooks wife "walked out" on him and the watch became a crucial accessory in his dating life. "I mostly wore it out tomcatting," he says.

Forty years later, with his "tomcatting" days behind him, Hook told a friend about the Rolex Explorer over coffee.

"He nearly jumped out of his chair," Hook recalled.

The friend told the owner of a Victoria watch shop about Hooks timepiece.

"Its a very rare Rolex Explorer from right at the beginning of when they made them," said Jonathan Mossop, owner of Meticulous Watches.

Rolex released the Explorer watch shortly after climbers Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary achieved global renown for summiting Mount Everest, sparking sudden interest in high-performance sports watches.

"Rolex was taking advantage of that interest in the market for explorers," Mossop said. "And since Bill was the original owner of this watch, that gives the watch legitimacy to collectors."

Mossop facilitated the sale at Phillips auction house in New York, which described the watch as "truly breathtaking"and one of the finest Explorers ever to come on the market.

While the identity of the buyer is kept confidential, Mossop said it was bought by a man in the United States.

Hook said he plans to pass along the money he earned in the sale to his daughters family.

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Rolex watch owned by former Vancouver Island octopus wrestler nets over $150K at auction - CTV News VI

Superstore is beloved for many reasons and the biggest might be that it features some wonderful characters who audiences adore.

The announcedcancellation of NBC's Superstore came as a shock tothe cast and fans alike. Despite its popularity, the series will be coming to a permanent end at the conclusion of its sixth season. This came shortly after the departure of America Ferrera, who hopes to return for the series finale.

RELATED: Superstore: 10 Things We Want To Happen Before The Finale

Still, sixseasons is asolid run, and it gave viewers time to grow attached to the Cloud 9 employees. They all bring somethingunique to the big-box store,which differentiatesit from other workplace comedies. No matter how funny the entire ensemble can be, some characters are more popular among fans than others.

Carol isn't technically part of the main cast, but she causes so much chaos both in and outside the store that it's surprising she was never added. She constantly manipulates the other employees and even stole Sandra's boyfriendafter winning a coin toss.

Carol is condescending, rude, and the workers fearfor their lives when she's around. No one wants to be scheduled with her because of her tendency toturn ona person at the slightest inconvenience. Even if she's trying to be nice, Carol comes off as creepy.

Many viewers find Glenn's eternal optimism annoying.He ignores the company policy when it comes to religion, and he continually tries to push his faith and his old-world views on his co-workers.Once Glenn found out the store sold Plan-B, he bought all the pills to prevent a couple from using them.

Despite his incompetence, he manages all of the employees, which is part of the joke. At the end of the day, Glenn does have a good heart and he cares deeply about everyone. He's not unlikeable as much as he's exasperating.

Mateo's the rudest character of the ensemble. He's selfish, manipulative, and downright hostile when he wants to be. Mateo has no problem using his friends for his own personal gain. But his quips are often some of the funniest lines in the series, and that's worth a lot in a comedy.

RELATED: MBTI Of Superstore Characters

The plotlinewherehe wasdetainedby ICE for being undocumented was one of the most emotional moments of the show.He's not a pleasant presence in the store, butSuperstorewouldn't be the same without him around.

Originallya background character, Sandra was moved into the spotlight during the show's fifth season. She's thekind ofperson you never see coming as she starts off quiet and timid. She never goes after what she wants and she often lets others walk all over her.

It was difficult not to feel bad for her when she was onscreen. As the show went on, Sandra started to grow a backbone and she learned how to stand on her two feet. She's also the number one fan of Amy and Jonah's romance,and every great couple needs a cheerleader.

Garrett is one of the few people in the store with common sense. Heindulges the employees in their crazy schemesbecause he enjoys watching it blow up in their faces. Garrett is the character who most represents everyday retail workers and says the type of things people are thinking in real life.

He doesn't enjoy his job at Cloud 9, but he does enough to get by. Garrett doesn't let anyone take advantage of him, and he often calls out rude customers in the store.

Like Carol, Marcus isn't officially a part of the main cast. He started off as anunderdogbut quickly becomes one of, if not the, funniest characters in Superstore. He says everything with complete confidence, no matter how politically incorrect he may be.

RELATED: Superstore: The Store Employees, Ranked By Intelligence

Marcus' ignorance mixed with the actor's delivery,createsthe best one-liners in the show. His obsession with Jonah is particularly amusing to fans because he treatshim like his significant other rather thana fellow co-worker.

Most fans have somewhat turned against Amy and are up in arms abouther decision to go to California and leave Jonah behind.This plotwas a resultof America Ferrera's choice to depart the series,which forcedthe fan-favorite romance to come to a painful end.

Pushing the anger of their breakup aside, Amy Sosa is a phenomenal protagonist with several different layers to her character. While she wasn't the funniest inthe group, she could be completely unhinged when she wanted to be. Amy Sosa's arc and her quest to find her purpose add a level of depth to an otherwiselight-hearted show.

It'shard to dislike Cheyenne. In the pilot, she's portrayedas an uneducated high school student who doesn't understand how the world works. Her growth throughout the series is incredible, and while she's still the sweetest character of the group, she refuses to let anyone take advantage of her.

Cheyenne works hard to provide for her daughter, even if she doesn't openly acknowledge it. She's become strong, independent, and she even earned the floor supervisor position because of her innovative ideas.

Out of all the characters, Dina is the most unique. She's strict, bossy,and she puts walls up to avoid getting hurt. Her co-workersbreak her down alittle more each episode, and viewers get a better picture of who Dina is at her core.Still, she has no problem being blunt.

If she doesn't like someone, she'll let them know. Dina even used her power as assistant manager to exert control overthe employees and ignite fear.But she's also the best friend anyone could ask for, and her loyalty to Amy is admirable.

It's no surprise that Jonah is the fan-favorite character. He hasenlightened views, he cares deeply about the people around him, and he's an all-around dork. The employees oftenspend their time poking fun at him, but Jonahtakes it like a champ. Despite his privileged upbringing, Jonahis passionate aboutworkers' rights.

He attends protests for"Raise the Wage," and inspires the mistreated employees of Cloud 9 to form a union. No matter how many times he's knocked down, Jonah always manages to get back up. If anyone deserves a happy ending, it's him.

NEXT: Superstore Characters Sorted Into Their Game Of Thrones Houses

Next How I Met Your Mother: 10 Times Robin Said Everything Fans Were Thinking

Rachel Foertsch is an aspiring screenwriter and lover of all things television. Previously a social media manager, Rachel is a current TV critic at TV Fanatic and a List Writer at ScreenRant.

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Superstore: The Main Characters, Ranked By Likability - Screen Rant