Category Archives: Transhuman News

On his HBO talk show Real Time, host Bill Maher told audiences, "The Clintons--they gotta go away," on Friday night. The political commentator proceeded to tear into Hillary Clinton's place in the spotlight leading up to the 2020 election.

The conversation was sparked when Maher asked guest Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, if she will be attending the Democratic National Convention. Maher was critical of Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Presidential candidate, and her visibility in the 2020 election cycle. He said: "It seems like every few months Hillary Clinton bubbles up again, and people are like, 'Oh, she's thinking about running,' or she says something crazy."

He also referenced Congressman Justin Amash's tweet that called Clinton, "a Donald Trump asset," after Clinton claimed Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard and former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein were both Russian assets.

Maher also called former President Bill Clinton "damaged goods." When marketing expert and TV personality Donny Deutsch tried to compare Clinton's image to that of former President George W. Bush, Maher remarked that Clinton's image would be harder to salvage. He said, "We forgave Clinton, then we un-forgave."

Maher also told his panel, composed of Slotkin, Deutsch, podcaster Dan Carlin and comedian Zach Galifinakis, that he thinks the Clintons should steer clear of the 2020 Democratic National Convention. "I'm saying this now, a year out. They can't be at the convention, maybe on the video, waving or something," he said.

Maher has not been shy about criticizing Democrats or Republicans as the 2020 election approaches. The former Politically Incorrect host recently commented on Joe Biden's presidential campaign and the representatives of the "center-left." He told his audience: "My confidence that he can beat Trump is waning." While he liked Biden, Maher said: "We do need someone in the center left who is younger and female-er."

The outspoken liberal Democrat has also spoken about President Donald Trump's attitude and told audiences that he doesn't believe Trump will relinquish office easily, even if he loses the upcoming election. On the October 18 episode of Real Time, Maher told a panel: "I've been saying for a very long time now that I don't think he's leaving." He also said he didn't believe Trump would leave office even if he lost "by a landslide in 2020."

These comments echo similar analysis that Maher made in 2016. Urging viewers to vote for Clinton, Maher told his audience: "Once fascists get power, they don't give it up. You've got President Trump for life."

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Bill Maher: Hillary and Bill Clinton Need to 'Go Away' Ahead of 2020 Election - Newsweek

From the author of Al Pacino: The Movies Behind The Man, Mark Searby releases Rik Mayall: Comedy Genius.

Delving into the rude, serious, anarchic and hilarious, Searby highlights Mayalls spectrum of work not the rumours or an attempt to uncover the deeply private life he led but the more intricate moments that were twisted into creations to make people laugh and subsequently woven in to the fabric of British culture and comic legacy.

Narrated by Searby, over 30 exclusive interviews have been lovingly, laughingly and carefully sought from those that stood closest to him over his working years including the likes of Alexei Sayle (The Young Ones), Nigel Planer (The Young Ones), Ate de Jong (Drop Dead Fred), Christopher Ryan (Bottom), Helen Lederer (Bottom), Gwyneth Powell (Man Down), Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran (The New Statesman) and many more, providing the inner-most workings of Mayall and all of the emotions that working next to him brought with it, namely laughter.

Rik Mayall: Comedy Genius is a deep dive into everything from his most notable work to his lesser-known, yet equally as fascinating moments.

With a career born from frustrations, opinions and political strains of the working class in the 1980s, Mayall and a motley crew of young fresh talent led the uprising of alternative comedy. Taking a lead from Punk music, they took no prisoners. It was politically incorrect, anarchic and stuck two fingers up to the establishment and furthermore it stood for something. In its new form, Mayall and his compadres had made comedy in to a vessel to speak freely and represent the feelings of a fresh, passionate and raw new generation, something that has since been remixed and reworked over the following three decades. As Mayall evolved over the years, his acting, his intellect, his manic, intriguing character and his genius became a thing of interest, inspiration and celebration.

To be published January 24, 2020. Pre-order here

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News: New Rik Mayall Book due out soon - Beyond The Joke

Sharad Pawar must have been born under a super special star with every astral body in the right place. He is indestructible and unstoppable blessed a million times over by the gods who watch over him. Why, they even sent buckets of rain for him in Satara during the last leg of his hectic campaigning trip. Talk about divine intervention try beating that!

Some say the downpour swung several votes in his partys favour, as voters watched a portly 78-year-old seasoned politician address a mass rally, drenched to the skin. It was an inspired, brilliant decision to not cancel. Its hard to think of a single other politico whod have the shrewdness to carry on with the show, and behave like it was normal to address a gathering with the heavens opening up unexpectedly. That single visual established several things in one go Maharashtras Maratha strongman was back in the game!

He owned Satara like a boss. And proved sceptics hopelessly wrong. Every political analyst had written off Pawar, given the tattered state of his party at the most crucial time. Loyalists had jumped ship, brazenly defected, and were all set to start their new innings under a different captain. They had clearly underestimated Pawar and his game plan. Here is one politician capable of decimating any opposition, using his phenomenal brain power, while they foolishly focus on the obvious muscle power. Taunted by Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtras chief minister, on countless occasions, Pawar hit back with stunningly aimed left hooks that flattened the Fadnavis offensive. This is a Pawar speciality that foes should overlook at their own peril. As those who wrote him off will soon discover, when he strikes as he will he chooses his timing with lethal precision.

There is much to learn from these chatur warhorses! And the rather unexpected results of the two state elections (Maharashtra and Haryana) are telling indeed. To state it bluntly: the party bosses handling all things BJP screwed up big time. They now need to wake up and smell the sherbet. Nothing and nobody can be taken for granted, least of all the canny voter. No political party can afford to sit back and relax, regardless of its overall success. Political fortunes are made and unmade in a flash. Politics bites back viciously when no ones looking. Complacency kills. And this is exactly where the BJP faltered, stumbled and fell flat on its face. Could Fadnavis have ever imagined hed lose his tactical advantage and deliver such poor numbers? Ditto for the Haryana chief minister. Pawar as kingmaker and leader of the opposition in the state assembly is a googly nobody anticipated! Team Fadnavis went for a six overnight! Similarly, Dushyant Chautala with 10 seats will be the man pulling all the strings in Haryana. The underdogs are on a roll in both states, and it will be fun to watch who walks away with the bone.

The comatose Congress party provided the other big surprise, with a respectable showing that left political watchers gasping. How did they do it collect 44 seats in Maharashtra and 31 in Haryana when critics were busy looking the other way? After singing bhajans at the funeral of the ridiculously diminished Congress party, given the embarrassing performance during the general election, comes this sudden spike in popularity! How? Any explanations? None! One can keep redoing the math and still not figure out the anomaly. Which has made cynics wonder: if a down and out, and hopelessly demoralised, obviously headless party of losers and non-performers has pulled off this Diwali dhamaka, what would happen if someone actually took charge at this critical stage and gave those lazy party slackers serious grief? This could be Sonia Gandhis big moment to assert herself and seize control directly. Not through a phony proxy. God knows what her inner voice is telling her at this point, but lets hope wise counsel is being provided by that mysterious voice. If she assumes her natural position as the commander-in-chief in a more upfront way, with Priyanka as a trusted lieutenant (forget Rahul he aint cut out for this rough game), the political narrative could change rapidly. Nothing is as impermanent as the game of thrones politicians play around the world. The reality check provided to the BJP this week could lead to two responses the clever one would be to undertake an internal audit, instantly reboot and try to find someone to take over day to day matters from Amit Shah. The other, less clever option would be to go into denial and play the blame game. Either way, the ball is in the BJPs court. Lets not keep saying: Where is the alternative to the BJP? What other option do we have? Heres the good news: there is always an alternative. And the options are under our nose. Jaago, desh waasis we the people are the alternative and the option. The future of India is safe in the voters hands.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

Excerpt from:
TINA factor? Poll results show people are the real alternative - Economic Times

Nearly half of the residents of a village in a Uyghur-majority area of northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have been sent to internment camps amid a policy of mass incarceration targeting minorities in the area, according to an official source.

Authorities in the XUAR are believed to have detained 1.5 million Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities accused of harboring strong religious views and politically incorrect ideas in internment camps since April 2017.

Reports suggest that authorities are detaining as many Uyghurs as possible in internment camps and jails regardless of their age, prior service to the ruling Communist Party, or the severity of the accusations against themas part of a bid to satisfy quotas ordered by the regional government.

Those who fail to meet the detention quotas face official scrutiny and, in some cases, are sent off to the camps themselves.

While investigating the number of people held in camps in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefectures Yengisheher (Shule) county, RFAs Uyghur Service spoke with a police officer from Ermudun (Ai'ermudong) townships No. 1 village, who said that at least 45 percent of the population there had been sent for detention.

There are more than 400 households with 1,336 residents, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

People from more than 300 households [have been detained] If we estimate at least two people from each household [are adults], that means there are more than 600 [detainees].

The officers estimation suggests that 75 percent of households in No. 1 village have had at least two people detained in camps.

When asked how households are able to manage farm labor in the largely agricultural area of Kashgar, the police officer said authorities are providing help, and the village leadership is offering help as well, without providing further details, other than that the families are working hard.

RFA also spoke with the head of a neighborhood committee in Ermudun township who said that No. 1 village is not even the subdistrict of Ermudun with the largest number of detainees per population.

No. 2 village, he said, when asked which of the villages have had most inhabitants sent to the internment camps.

The neighborhood committee chief was unable to provide statistics for the number of inhabitants of No. 2 village.

When asked how many people from Ermudun had been sent to the camps, a township official told RFA that he was unsure, saying he had only started working there a month earlier.

While RFA was unable to obtain details, the number of detainees in Ermuduns No. 1 village seemed to mirror an estimate provided by an official from Misha (Mixia) township, in Kashgars neighboring Peyziwat (Jiashi) county, who also declined to be named.

I dont know the exact number [but] it is approximately 50 percent of the population, the official said.

When asked whether there was any plan to release those held, the official said, No such information has been given to us.

The official acknowledged that families are experiencing difficulties carrying out their farm labor amid the detention of many of the townships household members of working age, but said they cannot complain about the situation.

For those who need assistance, the work group organizes volunteers to help themwe have been helping them in the fields to do things such as harvesting corn or building homes, he said.

[Volunteers] are mainly university students who have returned home for their summer vacations. The work group forms a labor workforce by organizing them into teams, and they support families who lack manpower.

Similar numbers

The numbers from Kashgar are similar to those RFA has reported in other parts of the XUAR, and appear to be linked to directives issued to local authorities by higher-level officials in the region.

In October 2017, officials from two villages in Hotan (Hetian) prefectures Qaraqash (Moyu) county told RFA that they had been given a target quota for sending residents to internment camps.

A police officer in one of the villages said he had been informed during an online conference in mid-June of that year that his department was to detain 40 percent of the local population for exhibiting signs of religious extremism.

While Beijing initially denied the existence of internment camps, China this year changed tack and began describing the facilities as boarding schools that provide vocational training for Uyghurs, discourage radicalization, and help protect the country from terrorism.

Reporting by RFAs Uyghur Service and other media organizations, however, has shown that those in the camps are detained against their will and subjected to political indoctrination, routinely face rough treatment at the hands of their overseers, and endure poor diets and unhygienic conditions in the often overcrowded facilities.

Mass incarcerations in the XUAR, as well as other policies seen to violate the rights of Uyghurs and other Muslims, have led to increasing calls by the international community to hold Beijing accountable for its actions in the region.

In September, at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said that the U.N. had failed to hold China to account over its policies in the XUAR and should demand unfettered access to the region to investigate reports of the mass incarceration and other rights abuses against Uyghurs.

Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Nearly Half of Residents of Uyghur-Majority Village in Xinjiang Held in Internment Camps - Radio Free Asia

Arriving onstage coiled and poised to strike, the auditorium thrilled with anticipation and schadenfreude at the prospect of what Edna might inflict on them. Edna's talent for mockery is legendary, and as several hapless latecomers filed in, you wondered which part of her vast arsenal of delicious putdowns and backhanded compliments she might reach for.

As it happened, she pursed her lips and kept her powder dry, saving the barrage of banter and casual judgment for "non-entities" in the front rows and, after interval, selecting three guests to come up on stage for a taste of talk-show treatment.

That went swimmingly. Edna asked one woman about her husband's most annoying habit, and on discovering he was dead, held a mortified expression for a few moments before replying: "Well, there's nothing more annoying than that!"

Playful audience interaction was the main game, but more traditional jokes, potted reminiscences and occasional bursts of song featured too. Just under the make-up, you could tell Humphries was itching to be politically incorrect, and though nothing too outrageous was said, a gag about Edna's trans stand-up comedian daughter Valmai proved a bit of a clunker.

Not, mind you, because it disrespected trans people. Edna's approach to buzzwords like diversity, inclusivity, gender and ethnicity satirises suburban blindness, or at best lip-service, to them, and if there was any doubt about that, it was removed at the start, when the Dame acknowledged the Pratt family as traditional owners of the land on which we met.

It's more that with Edna's trans daughter the landscape of political correctness isn't assiduously surveyed. And Humphries seems to have poached his punchline from George Bernard Shaw, who used to appear in dressing rooms after shows he did not admire and exclaim, "Marvellous is not the word!"

Dame Edna maintains a terrific rapport with her public, though, and Humphries' enduring comic genius survives the show's loose format and digressive style. Fans should grab, while they still can, the chance to see Edna live.

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Years on, there's still nothing like a Dame - The Age