Category Archives: Transhuman News

In July 2001, Sarah Silverman appeared on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien and used the racial slur "c---k" multiple times in a joke during the interview. Her remarks came under fire by the Japanese-American civil-rights activist Guy Aoki, who criticized her for casually using the epithet. The two publicly feuded on episodes of Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher and, in her 2005 stand-up special Jesus Is Magic, she said, There are only two Asian people I have a problem with. One is, uh, Guy Aoki. The other is my friend Steve, who actually went pee-pee in my Coke. Hes all, Me Chinese, me play joke!"

This is just one example of this type of remark from Silverman's often controversial career in which she's been publicly criticized for racism, including a 2007 sketch where she wore blackface as well as a 2010 tweet captioned "I'm having minstrel cramps" with a photo of her donning the same makeup.

With these incidents in mind, the comments she made Monday to the Los Angeles Times about the 2019 climate surrounding comedy didn't come as a huge shock. She told the publication, "I also think its interesting whats happened on the left. Its almost like theres a mutated McCarthy era, where any comic better watch anything they say." She brings up criticism of Dave Chappelle's latest special as an example of this mutated McCarthy era. (During the actual McCarthy era, hundreds were imprisoned and thousands lost their jobs as a result of investigations carried out by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Chappelle is a highly successful comedian with lucrative Netflix specials and sold-out tours, who is receiving the John F. Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in October.)

Silverman continues, "Ive said it before, theres this kind of 'righteousness porn' going on with canceling people over their past, a thing they said or a moment they had, with no earnest hope that they may be changed." (Silverman, who has been at the center of this kind of criticism multiple times throughout her career, has just received an Emmy nomination in the variety sketch category for her recent Hulu series I Love You, America.)

In a 2017 interview with Fast Company, Silverman looked back at her early career and stand-up specials. She said, "Its so from another time, and its interesting to have done comedy through such totally different times." She then goes on to add, "Theres so much in my first special that makes me cringe, but Im not ashamed of it. You have to be accountable. And if you dont look back at your old shit and cringe, youre not growing."

See the original post here:
Sarah Silverman, Who Did Blackface, Doesnt Think You Should Cancel People - VICE

Racial epithets have a space in the classroom

Mahad Olad

Paul Zwier is a law professor at Emory University. Last September, he got in trouble for uttering the word nigger while discussing the facts of a civil rights case. One of his students complained to the administration about feeling shocked and hurt by Zwiers usage of the N-word. After a year-long investigation, Emory will decide Oct. 4 whether or not to terminate Zwierfor racial insensitivity.

Do racial epithets have any place in the classroom? They certainly should. Classes are spaces where no controversial topic is off the table. When non-black professors refer to the N-word with a euphemism, a significant aspect of the words meaning is lost. I would feel a bit patronized if a professor thought I was emotionally incapable of hearing them merely quote iconic writers like James Baldwin who employ this slur in their writings.

How are students supposed to examine the historical facts and layered meanings of this loaded word if it cant be seen, heard or said? Moreover, theres a clear distinction between wielding this slur as a vehicle for racism and referencing it to discuss reading materials that deal with the systemic oppression of African-Americans.

In order for learning to occur, these distinctions need to be acknowledged and appreciated. Id go as far as to argue that professors, regardless of their race, should pronounce the full epithet. That way, students particularly black students can thoroughly absorb the rhetorical power and visceral force this repugnant slur commands. Nonetheless, Id urge instructors to not use nigger outside of academic contexts. That would seem a bit gratuitous and could empower others to negligently throw around this term. Ultimately, professors should teach the N-word in a respectful manner that furthers honest even painful conversations about its cruel history.

When I first heard a white professor say the N-word to discuss the word itself, I felt nauseous. My strategy for dealing with this nausea was to ask myself: What am I gaining from possibly destroying this professors life other than a brief catharsis for my racial trauma? Perhaps, is there more to learn from evoking this trauma than asking to be coddled from it?

I have a hard time wrapping my head around students feeling the need to always flock to the administration when they hear professors say something politically incorrect. Do they not realize that taking the bureaucratic route to address the concerns of marginalized students often ends up transferring more power to the administration? Are students, particularly those who are marginalized and underrepresented, okay with this transfer of power?

If this is what needs to happen so students of color can enjoy their lives on campus, then so be it. But then who is to stop the administration from weaponizing our grievances against us? Just like any other power structure, higher education can validate the experiences of underrepresented students and also suppress them especially if our concerns stand in the way of its economic mission.

Also, diversity bureaucrats cannot conceivably scrub the campus clean of racism and bigotry. Does this mean that colleges shouldnt respond to social justice demands? Of course not. However, this social justice work does not mean that administrators cave into every progressive tantrum particularly when those tantrums call for policing historically ubiquitous words.

Controversies surrounding professors using the N-word cant be reduced to free speech and academic freedom. Whats also at stake here is how black students navigate racial trauma within academic environments. Speaking for myself, I find exposure to triggering materials whether that be hearing the N-word or witnessing lynching photographs more effective in helping me cope with my emotional vulnerabilities and learn about racism in the United States. The enormous violence of racist words and images can only be conveyed through exposure, not censorship.

N-word has no place in academic settings

John Turner

Necro. Niger. Negro. Nigga. Black. The word nigger has never had a positive connotation. Although the spelling of the word has evolved, the feeling of the whip is still the same.

It is believed that the N-word is derived from the Latin word niger, meaning black. Niger became the noun negro in English, Spanish and Portuguese. In the last two, it means the color black. In English, it means black person.

If you look at early modern French, niger became negre and, later, negress: a word to describe a black woman. Some believe that nigger is a phonetic spelling of the Southern white mispronunciation of Negro or that it comes from the Greek prefix necro, meaning corpse or death.

No matter its origins, the N-word is never appropriate for a white person to say. It is not appropriate while in the privacy of your home, while teaching students in a classroom, while reading a novel or while singing along to a rap song. It is especially not appropriate for a professor to recount a personal experience and recite the words nigger-lover, even if he was the one called the epithet.

Recently, Emory College professor Paul Zwier did just this. Zwier, a white professor, was criticized for using the N-word in an educational context. In the wake of the controversy, he used the N-word more than once to describe his own experiences, such as being the subject of racial epithets from white racists. Despite his intention, he is still in the wrong.

Zwier allegedly used the racial slur as an example again when a student of color visited his office hours to discuss his use of the word in the classroom. He allegedly did this despite being warned.

One of the main reasons that racism and racist slurs exist to this day is the refusal of people to change once their racist behavior is brought to their attention.

This situation is the definition of white privilege. White individuals have the luxury of choosing what language is appropriate and what is not. Black individuals do not have this luxury. Historically, our voices have been continuously disregarded.

White privilege is not being affected by racial slurs in the same way people of color are. That is why the word cracker will never have the same implications as the N-word. White privilege is claiming ignorance of the N-words inappropriate nature because when I, as a black individual, am subjected to this word, I am not only subjected to the history of the word but also its racial implications that are still prevalent today. Black people cannot afford to be ignorant. As numerous news stories on police brutality have shown, ignorance at the hands of racist individuals can cost black people their lives.

With the implications of slavery still lasting today, black bodies being used for profit and black men and women getting murdered by those sworn to protect them, the use of the N-word will never be appropriate when said by a white person even if they are a professor in an academic setting.

As a child, I used to believe that it was acceptable for my teachers to say the word when reading a novel that had the word in it. But as I began to educate myself, I began to recognize the history of the word and that some of my ancestors would rather face death than be subjected to the captivity that would degrade them to being merely a nigger. I realized that the word should never be spoken by those whose ancestors were the perpetrators of this violence.

The usage of the N-word is especially problematic in the classroom because of the normalization of the word. Sometimes professors will not even ask students if they feel comfortable with the use of the word in an academic setting. For some, there is immense trauma attached to even hearing the word, and rightfully so. If the word is not appropriate in a casual setting, then it is especially not appropriate in an academic setting.

In response to my opinion of the word, I often hear, If the N-word is such a bad word, why do black people say it to each other?

If anyone has the right to assume the word, it is black people. Black people have been subjected to years of disenfranchisement and dehumanization, so they have the right to reclaim the language that was meant to defeat and degrade them. Do not mistake this reclamation as an invitation to use the word. If you are not black, the word is not for you. It never will be.

Think about the trauma that these words carry. Post-traumatic slave syndrome is very much real. Trauma within black communities has been passed on from generation to generation; so when I hear the N-word, I think of my father, his fathers father, his fathers wife and his fathers enslavement. I ask myself, How would they feel to know that their pain, their accomplishments, their love, their humanity, their fear and their trauma has been minimized by a word thats origins mean death?

When you have been described as three-fourths of a human, then you can say the N-word. But until then, it should never come out of your mouth.

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Point/Counterpoint: The N-word in educational settings - The Ithacan

Jewher Ilham, the daughter of jailed Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti, is a graduate from Indiana University who has spoken out in support of his peaceful promotion of equal rights and greater autonomy for the Turkic speaking Uyghur ethnic group in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Tohti, currently serving a life jail term for "separatism," won the prestigious Martin Ennals Award 2016 for human rights, the Liberal International Prize for Freedom in 2017, and Freedom Houses Freedom Award in 2019. The jailed professor is also a nominee for the 2019 Sakharov Prize and the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

Ilham spoke to RFA about her fathers case and Beijings policies in the XUAR, where authorities are believed to have held more than 1.5 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities accused of harboring strong religious views and politically incorrect in a vast network of internment camps since April 2017. Ilham referred to the facilities as concentration campsa term also used by U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Randall G. Schriver and the Uyghur exile community.

RFA: How do you envision a path to your fathers release from prison?

Ilham: Unfortunately, I dont think its happening soon, based on the Chinese governments recent actions, such as the concentration camps and other Uyghur scholars like [jailed former head of Xinjiang University] Tashpolat Teyip. I havent seen good signs, especially since I havent heard anything about my father since 2017his condition, or if he has been transferred to another prison. We dont know anything about it. But Im always keeping hope and its very important to be positive. If you lose hope, then you lose everything.

RFA: After speaking with President Trump and other officials about your father and the situation in the XUAR, do you feel confident that the U.S. government will take meaningful action on the issues?

Ilham: Actually, I have to say that the U.S. is one of the countries that has taken the most action throughout the world. Unfortunately, I havent seen Muslim countries taking any action, so I really appreciate the U.S. for being willing to do so. We cant really say that any action is meaningful or productiveall of this depends on the Chinese government and how they react. Any action is meaningful, any action is considered useful and productive, to me at least.

No one wants to be treated like that

RFA: What would greater autonomy for the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Look like according to what your father has argued for, and how would that solve tensions between Beijing and the Uyghur people?

Ilham: I think thats a question that my father should be answering. Im not him, so I cant speak for him. I would say that his suggestions and what he was trying to do was create better understanding between [people]. Someone once told me, when you dont understand each other, you will always think of the other person as evil. My father wanted to prevent this from happening.

Now what the Chinese government is doing to the Uyghur people is actually making people look more evil to each other. And no one wants to be treated like that[put] in a concentration camp. Im pretty sure no one in the Chinese government would want their family members to be thrown into a camp, even in an education camp, as they call it. They wouldnt want anyone to be in a labor camp. They wouldnt want any of their family members to not be able to go home, not be able to contact their relatives, and not even know if their relatives are alive or not. No one would want that, and if you dont want something to happen to you and your family, why would you do it to others?

For the past many years there have been enough TV shows, movies, even classes at school to educate Uyghurs about Han Chinese culture, but what about the opposite side? There hasnt been anything done for the Uyghurs. And now they are forcing the Uyghurs to adopt the Chinese culture, and this is not fair.

RFA: The plight of the Uyghurs has gotten unprecedented attention in the past two years, with exposures of the internment camp system. Has that meant anything for your father's case?

Ilham: This exactly proves what my father was saying that the Chinese government was doing wrong. Now they are doing the exact opposite of what my father suggested and look at what is happening. China has lost reputation based on their treatment of human rights and I dont see any benefits or good outcomes from its actions.

Original post:
Interview: They Are Doing The Exact Opposite of What my Father Suggested - Radio Free Asia

Joe Albi Stadium has been home to any number of spectacles and oddments in its lifetime of seven decades dirt track racing and Willie Nelson, rodeo and Billy Graham, soccer and marching band festivals. But lets be real: It was built for football mostly high school football and it was football that produced the biggest moments in the joints history. Here are our top 10.

July 9, 2011

The whole point of the Arena Football League was to take the game indoors. So what were the Spokane Shock doing playing Albi? Broadening the brand. A curious audience of 16,233 saw a 76-49 victory over the Utah Blaze, who trotted out 44-year-old geezer Todd Hammel at quarterback. Its kind of like melding a regular football game with the county fair, offered one first-time spectator. Its the same people.

and Rehkow Show

Oct. 18, 2012

Not even 1,000 people were there to see this wild bit of history. Shadle Park quarterback Brett Rypien broke Greater Spokane League records for single-game and season passing with a 577-yard performance. But Austin Rehkow of Central Valley blasted a record 67-yard field goal second longest in national high school history to send the game into overtime, and the Bears pulled out a 62-55 victory when Scott Hilpert intercepted Rypiens last pass.

Nov. 16, 2002

There were other significant steps Eastern Washingtons football program took during its two stays at Albi wins over Idaho in 1984 and 1997 come to mind. But the tenor of the rivalry with Montana was cemented with a 30-21 victory over the defending national champions that snapped a 24-game UM winning streak. Jovan Griffith skittered through the Griz for 199 yards to the delight of about half the EWU-record crowd of 17,142 the other half being Montanas well-traveled fans.

Oct. 29, 1954

Rogers quarterback Don Ellingsen had broken his collarbone in a game against Walla Walla, so backup Ken Eilmes made his first start on the biggest of stages in front of 22,500 Shrine Game fans against Gonzaga Prep. The Pirates accomplished nothing in the first half, but overcame a 10-0 deficit in the final 15 minutes for a 14-10 victory, a 71-yard pass connection between Eilmes and Jack Fanning the game-turning play.

Nov. 9, 1968

Ken Stabler had a Hall of Fame pro career ahead of him, but as an Oakland Raiders rookie he was shipped off to play two games with the Spokane Shockers of the Continental Football League. In a 28-13 loss to the Orange County Ramblers, Stabler completed just 10 of 29 passes for 71 yards with three interceptions, and collected the standard $150 game check. But though the game drew just 3,500, for the next 20 years five times that number of NFL barflies in Spokane insisted theyd seen the Snake light it up at Albi and make last call at every watering hole downtown.

Sept. 19, 1964

His team up a point and having caught a pass for the only first down needed to run out the clock, Stanfords Dick Ragsdale was dumbfounded when defensive back Clancy Williams wrested the ball from him and gave Washington State new life. Quarterback Tom Roth scored from a yard out with 17 seconds left for a 29-23 shocker that made new coach Bert Clark a winner in his debut after his gamble to go for two on a previous point-after-touchdown had failed.

Oct. 26, 1962

Gonzaga Prep quarterback Frank Etter dashed 14 yards to the end zone with 12 seconds remaining barely keeping a foot inbounds as he crossed to give the unbeaten Bullpups a 14-7 victory over Lewis and Clark. A Shrine game crowd of 19,000 peered through the fog to watch the Pups slug it out with Wally Gaskins, Butch Slaughter and the Tigers, whose only previous loss had also been to Prep.

Nov. 18, 1972

Politically incorrect? Depends on whether you vote Cougar or Husky. When Gary Larson performed a knees-pumping jig after a third-quarter sack, it was instantly labeled a war dance and an insult to Washington quarterback Sonny Sixkiller, a Native American. Larson has forever insisted it was mere celebration and the Cougars had much to celebrate, dropping Sixkiller six times and romping 27-10 in the battle between two Top 20 teams in front of 34,100.

Oct. 16, 1970

High school football attendance had already started to ebb as the calendar turned 1970, with TV and other amusements splintering the audience. But that didnt stop 22,000 from coming out to watch Ferris turn back G-Prep in a battle of unbeaten teams. Mike McLaughlin had a 71-yard TD burst and Archie Grant rushed for 115 yards and two scores for the Saxons, who beat Prep for the first time in their six-year history.

Oct. 17, 1970

The score was already 44-8 and a 27-year-old Vietnam vet and Washington State sophomore from Richland named Terry Smith had seen enough. So when Eric Cross swept left and headed toward another Stanford touchdown, Smith vaulted out of the stands in the southeast corner and met him at the 2-yard line, right shoulder lowered. Cross plowed into the end zone anyway just another insult in a 63-16 win and two cops corralled Smith before he could clamber back into the bleachers. But urban legend holds that a hat passed through the crowd of 30,400 raised more than $800 for bail, though it somehow disappeared after Smith forfeited a $50 bond.

Read more:
Joe Albi Top 10: From long kicks to long shots, the stadium has seen it all - The Spokesman-Review

ABC News Democratic debate on Sept. 12, 2019. Photo: Screenshot.

The gloves came off towards Joe Biden in the third Democratic debate, which featured a group of 10 candidates who qualified based on polling and unique donor numbers. Personally, I missed the antics of New Age guru Marianne Williamson and the rational former Congressman John Delaney for different reasons. But with Senator Kamala Harris of California seeming less like the tough prosecutor she did in the first two debates, and Bernie Sanders seeming more muppet-like than ever, I wasnt thoroughly bored.

That said, at moments such as when Beto ORourke blamed President Trump for the actions of a crazed mass murderer, saying the El Paso shooter was inspired to kill by the President, which the shooter himself did not claim, in fact stating in his manifesto that his beliefs pre-dated Trumps election, I found this debate hard to stomach. Ditto for Kamala Harris: He may not have pulled the trigger, but hes Tweetin the ammunition.

There was no mention that the recent Dayton shooter was an extreme leftist and Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren supporter. Should Trump-supporters, or conservatives generally, start blaming him or her for the deaths and injuries of innocent people? No. But doing so would be the equivalent of what Harris and ORourke are doing. The irony is, by refusing to see that the climate of hate in this country is not unique to one side, and by engaging in demagoguery, they are helping to create what they purport to deplore.

In a society where rates of overdose, crime, and general dysfunction are rising, and where violence is normalized and even romanticized in mass media and entertainment, there is a lot of blame to go around. Do politicians truly care about the victims of mass shootings, and about our safety, or do they want to score cheap political points? If its the former, they should cease the knee jerk blaming of other public figures and call for a serious examination of the problem.

September 23, 2019 9:50 am

Despite being upset over ORourkes and Harris demagoguery (and since, as a conservative-leaning Independent, I dont have a dog in this fight), I tried to enjoy the debate as much as I could. It is, after all, a part of our democracy.

In an answer to a question about trade policy, Senator Harris concluded, The bottom line is this: Donald Trump, in office, on trade policy he reminds me of that guy in the Wizard of Oz. Yknow, when you pull back the curtain, its a really small dude. In response, moderator George Stephanopoulos grinned, Im not even going to take the bait, Senator Harris.

If this was a profane reference to the Presidents anatomy, its hypocritical coming from a candidate of the far left, whose members generally insisted the Presidents crude remarks about womens private parts should have disqualified him from winning the presidency.

Reflecting on Harris jab, it struck me that perhaps she, as well as Julian Castro, who later in the debate made repeated, apparently ageist, attacks against Biden, could be auditioning to be the Democrats Donald Trump an outrageous, outspoken figure who can offer a pugnacious antidote to the grasping, plastic, drone-like Hillary Clinton.

What I think theyre missing, though, is that Trump can actually be funny.

Another attempt to be politically incorrect was Andrew Yangs clunky statement: Im Asian, so I know a lot of doctors. Huh?

Trade policy discussion was not the last of Harris antics. Discussing the Constitutionality of trying to ban assault weapons (a subject that anyone on either side of the issue views as gravely serious), Harris, grinning, attempted eye contact with Biden and said in what sounded like a very flirtatious voice, Hey Joe! Instead of sayin No we cant, how bout sayin Yes we can?

A few additional points on the debates substance: Harris struck a moderate tone on trade, describing our relationship with China as complicated, and saying that while we need to sell them our goods, we also need to hold them accountable for stealing our products, including our intellectual property.

Biden came across on the whole as reasonable in contrast to the others.

Cory Booker, whose bridge-building efforts with the American Jewish community go way back, came across as earnest and intelligent. He was right to show up at this years AIPAC Policy Conference despite MoveOn.orgs attempt to urge a Democratic boycott. Its unfortunate that Bookers recent voting record regarding Israel has been a huge disappointment. Of particular note was his inexplicable failure to support the Taylor Force Act. Lets hope he soon returns to supporting the Jewish-American community in ways that are more concrete and vital than his occasional use of Hebrew.

Overall, I felt like I was watching the class flirt and various nerds try to imitate the class clown. It was only funny when at times they themselves became the joke.

Advice for the next debate: If it doesnt come naturally, dont force it.

Heather Robinson is a regular contributor to The New York Post. Twitter:@HE_Robinson.

See more here:
Democrats Imitate Donald Trump in Latest Debate - Algemeiner

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I see nothing particularly interesting about the premise behind it. And yet a sequel to Hogans Heroes is apparently in the works.

As reported by our sister site Deadline, the original series co-creator, Al Ruddy, in association with Village Roadshow Entertainment Group and Danny McBrides Rough Pictures, is developing a follow-up to the World War II-set comedy, which aired from September 1965 to April 1971 and starred Bob Crane (as Hogan), Werner Klemperer (Colonel Klink), Richard Dawson (Newkirk) and John Banner (Schultz), among others in a somewhat rotating cast.

But whereas the original series currently one of my go-to MeTV night-enders was set during World War II and followed the titular POWs in a German prison camp, the sequel would take place all the way in the present day thats quite a jump, if I paid attention correctly in history class and follow descendants of the heroes as they team up for a globe-trotting treasure hunt.

Are you champing at the bit to catch up with Hogans, what, great-great-grandson? Or is this the case of an IP being misused?

Read more here:
'Hogan's Heroes' Sequel Series: Descendants' Modern Day Treasure Hunt - TVLine

Fame is a curious thing. In the social media age, we are all trying, in ways big and small, to be famous. Yet, those who are famous will tell you that its more brutal and brittle than it looks. I recently read an interview on vulture.com with American filmmaker Joel Schumacher (St Elmos Fire, Flatliners), in which he talked about working with Julia Roberts on a film called Dying Young. Pretty Woman had just been released and Roberts had become, overnight, one of the biggest stars in the world. She was sobbing in his car because someone had written a story about the boys she had gone out with in high school. She said: I never needed to be this famous.

Joel tells the interviewer that this was profound to him because, until then, he hadnt realised that you cant decide how much fame you get. Its not up to you. You now belong to them.

This belonging is magnified in Indian cinema. Were a movie-mad culture obsessed with stars. Pre-social media, the relationship was reverential, with actors placed on a pedestal. They were literally like gods I remember reading news reports about an Amitabh Bachchan temple in Kolkata.

Post-social media, theyve become intimate strangers (a term American film critic Richard Schickel coined in 1985). We know too much about them. Of course social media presents a highly curated and constructed identity, but it has irrevocably blurred the lines between private and public from Hrithik Roshans bonding vacations with his sons to Farhan Akhtars grand passion for partner Shibani Dandekar, its all out there for public consumption.

Stars are now on 24x7. Is the information overload fraying our relationship with them? I dont know. But the additional followers / subscribers / eyeballs have given them even more clout. Their hold on us is complete. So it becomes even more imperative that they use their power responsibly, which brings me to the Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda.

The star, whose fans are called Rowdies, combines acting chops and charisma with a refreshingly unrehearsed manner. Hes politically incorrect and unpredictable. Hes also generous.

Last year, Vijay launched his own production house, King of the Hill. A few weeks ago, he announced his first production, Meeku Maathrame Chepta (Ill Tell Only You). He posted on Twitter that he would be putting most of his savings on the line. He said: While we were finding it painfully hard to break into the industry and make a film, I decided the day Ill make it, Ill start a production house... I realise how hard it is to do this and how risky, but whats life without a challenge?

At a screening in Mumbai of his latest film, Dear Comrade, Vijay promised that every film he produced would be an open house, that actors would be selected purely on auditions. He said: I promise no one will look at you like youve come to take a loan. Because thats how I was treated.

After the Q&A session, Vijay instructed the many viewers clamouring for photos to keep their phones on selfie mode. Then he went from aisle to aisle taking pictures, affectionately reprimanding the fans who werent ready. He was playing the star but there was no vanity in it he was just trying to keep them happy.

I wish more artists would use their fame like this to put smiles on peoples faces and to discover and empower new voices. Thats real success.

First Published:Sep 21, 2019 22:11 IST

Read more here:
What can stars do, beyond shine? Actually, quite a lot, says Anupama Chopra - Hindustan Times

Armies are designed to bring the enemy to battle and destroy their capacity to fight normally by killing or capturing them or forcing them into untenable positions. Handing over "suspected combatants" to civil courts with a brief of evidence that is probably not substantial enough to meet judicial standards is not the way the military expects to operate, and seeing many of them released to possibly fight again can only be injurious to morale.

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Along with the opprobrium, a degree of sympathy and understanding must be extended to military personnel who have been given an almost unwinnable conflict to engage in. - Lance Rainey, Lanitza

While I am not always an admirer of MP Andrew Hastie's views, he should be admired for taking on the culture that blindly celebrates "heroics" and refuses to be held accountable. It is a sad reflection that so many current and past politicians have not just stood behind these "heroes" but have openly erected and supported the barriers to any accountability (including attacking the messengers) for their actions. - Bernie de Vries, Bolwarra

An SAS officer who is being investigated for alleged war crimes still wears the label of hero. This reminds me of what Bertolt Brecht said: unhappy is the land that needs heroes. - Paul Hardage, Leura

To all the war hawks, the "tough on terror" rah-rahs, the vicious "appeaser!" white feather tossers, the unanimous Murdoch keyboard warriors, the sickly sentimental Anzac Day boozers and "our brave Diggers" fetishists, the lazy, the ignorant and the cynical, who together sent our soldiers to war in Iraq and Afghanistan without thinking it properly through: this is now we civilians time to stand up and get behind our soldiers.

Whatever crimes theyve committed, the moral burden is ours to own. So, Australia, are we going to own it? Or abandon our Diggers exactly when they need us to do some heavy lifting on their behalf? My suggestion is that, as then, its up to John Howard to lead the way in assuming collective national responsibility. Happy with that, John? - Jack Robertson, Birchgrove

NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes is to be congratulated when he says that Nor should we use population growth as a lazy proxy for economic growth (Numbers game needs right answers, September 23).He is right in that control of population policy, such as it is, should not be just within the realm of treasurers but also those who can really see and understand the entirety of the problem and wrangle it back under control.It is terrifying that this continents population looks set to double within 30 years. Were not now properly handling the consequences of our current numbers, let alone a doubling in a generation. - Peter Neufeld, Mosman

Stokes commendably rejects the notion of growing the population for its own sake. Why then does he use the pejorative term stagnant population when he actually means stable population? Stabilising population has to be a viable alternative to accommodating endless growth when considering a national settlement strategy. - Jenny Goldie, Cooma

Current population strategy is a thumbs up to everyone who wants to come here with money to prop up the economy and a middle finger to anyone who dares to question this because they think the land and water cannot support the current population, much less an extra million every five years (Plea for national population strategy, September 23). - David Neilson, Invergowrie

I believe the summit is underpinned by the premise that we need population growth. On the plus side, there is economic growth and profits for the big end of town.But on the negative side is more environmental destruction, massive infrastructure expense for the taxpayer, more gridlock on our roads, increased pollution and waste management problems, a future of water restrictions and struggling education and hospital systems. The list goes on. Does the positive outweigh all the negatives? - Shane Nunan, Finley

Anthony Albanese is right when he says Cuts and delays to urban rail projects have had an ongoing negative impact (Absence of planning bound to cost Australia dearly in future, September 23). But there is also a major negative impact in Sydney as the state government insists on investing in only so-called metro rail that can be privatised.The best and quickest investment would be upgrading the existing double deck system, particularly the outdated signalling, to improve train speed and headways. - Geoff Wannan, Dawes Point

The smiling, bitter, vengeful assassin (Artless and angry after all these years, September 21-22). An appalling and inappropriate choice for such an important role. What can Scott Morrison be thinking! - Elizabeth Kroon, Randwick

Pauline Hanson may well be wrong (Statistics contradict Hansons claim that Family Court is anti-men'', September 21-22). So too, the protection of women from the prevalence of violence in domestic life is a paramount concern. Yet what do you say to the men who make up the small percentage who have been dudded by the family law system?As a rural solicitor for over 25 years, I have direct experience (albeit a small number) where it was the man that was the victim of violence. It was the man who was shut out from his childrens lives. It was the man who got worked over by the cost of attempting to get a fair go.In the hands of the family law specialists, artfully directing their clients affidavit exaggerated claims or even fabricated stories are not that uncommon, sadly. Unless the case goes to trial say goodbye to probably $50,000 at least such affidavits are never tested.Some mechanism to check the veracity of claims at an early stage of the process is certainly required. Dads and their children often end up way short of where they ought to be because the cost and the scale of the mountain ahead of them is too much. There is no help when minority means you. They just end up consenting. - John Gibson, Kyogle

I have been caught up in a domestic violence case for nearly two years now since my daughter and her two-year-old son left an abusive situation and came to live with us. It has been a shocking eye-opener for me. We have attended local court four times often the hearing was postponed and what an inefficient and hopeless system it is. Indeed, the system gives the benefit of the doubt to men. My daughter was grilled and made out to look like a liar for about an hour. Her partner did not receive the same treatment and all the charges were subsequently dropped. He lied through his teeth.I am terrified of what may happen in a custody battle next year when the AVO is finally lifted. This man is indeed dangerous and manipulative, but I fear the courts will override this and put a small boy in his custody for some of the time. It beggars belief. - Name withheld, NSW

Surely the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission must find that strip-searches are a disproportionate response to drug use (Police to face questions over strip-search of teenager, September 23). If taken out of context, strip-searching would be rightly seen as extreme sexual assault. Cavity searches would be seen as rape. The idea that society is condoning sexual assault as a measure to prevent drug abuse is disproportionate and should be stopped. - Peter Olive, Marrickville

A new report indicates climate warming is happening faster than anticipated (Defining time for efforts to save climate is now: UN report, September 23). While Merkel, Modi and Johnson prepare to talk global warming at a UN conference, Morrison and Trump are talking up cardboard. Maybe Trump was right to call our man titanium man, not because hes strong, but because hes incredibly light. - Brian Waldron, Woolloomooloo

I read that our PM opened a factory in Ohio owned by Australian businessman Richard Pratt. Perhaps we can have a new slogan: If you have a go, youll get a go, make your way to Ohio. - Paul Tocchini, Manly

When Tin Man returns to the Emerald City, will he find a heart? - Vicky Marquis, Glebe

Am I the only one who thinks Morrison has gifted NASA $150 million for their venture to Mars because that is where he intends to send those on Newstart, asylum seekers and those pesky climate kids? (Australia aims for the moon with sliver of $12b NASA pie, September 23). Remember in space, no one can hear you scream. - Craig Jory, Glenroy

So as not to break promises to an esteemed US leader, could Morrison rename the Carmichael Basin the moon and the Liverpool Plains Mars? Then his $150 million could support Australian industries to grasp the opportunity for large solar power installations. The 300,000 or so Australians who were among millions around the world protesting in support of protecting Earth would be led to believe that you, Mr Morrison, like us, live on this little blue sphere and care about its future. - Ken Rubeli, Bandon Grove

Nobody younger than 80 would have any recollection of what took place on December 7, 1941, nor what followed in the ensuing four years, when friendship between America and Australia hardened into mateship, and it was encouraging to hear our prime minister refer to it in discussion with the US president. It was embarrassing, however, to hear ingrates from his own country denigrating him for doing so. They obviously have no concept of what it implies. - Ron Elphick, Buff Point

Its very clear that Trump wants something, be it support for military intervention in Iraq or agreement on trade sanctions with China. Morrison is an ad man in a past life and would be easily impressed by Trump and the accompanying pomp and ceremony as part of a more sinister pitch from a consummate salesman. Previous PMs have been easily seduced by similar ceremony, almost always with poor consequences. Remember Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq: we should be concerned. -Max Redmayne, Russell Lea

From the climate change rally in The Domain, I went to the art gallery to look again at WC Piguenits landscape The Flood in the Darling 1890. It should be compulsory viewing for those who are making decisions on the Murray Darling Basin. The contrast between his vision of the Darling and the appalling state of our inland rivers today could not be starker. How could we have come to this? - Margaret McDonald, Northbridge

Richard Murnane asks what was an appropriate costume for an Arabian Nights party (Letters, September 21-22). Twenty-five years ago, I convinced my boyfriend to wear a gold vest, purple satin baggy pants and a feathered turban, his pale skin au naturel but with lashings of baby oil. I assured him everyone would be in costume. The women were. The men wrapped tea towels around their heads. He has refused to wear fancy dress ever since. Nevertheless, we did marry, in civilian clothes. - Eva Elbourne, Normanhurst

OK, I am sorry. It was me parading as Bob Marley at a rock-star fancy dress party circa 83 in Brisbane. The bad accent, the dreadlocks and face paint: all fake. The many joints: well they were real. - Paul Taylor, Murwillumbah

Last Saturday I drove 80 kilometres to see Hair at Wyongs Art House theatre. Wow! It was even better when I saw it at the Metro Theatre, Kings Cross 50 years ago (for my 21st). Top-notch actors, singers, dancers and musicians. But why so few performances? Only five at Wyong and just six at the Opera House opening Thursday. Is it too politically incorrect for this less liberated age? - Pamela Mawbey, Brookvale

To submit a letter to The Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.

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Lest we forget who sent the soldiers - Sydney Morning Herald

Tina Fey featured in a video on behalf of her old university, UVA (Instagram/@uva)

Actress and screenwriter Tina Fey has told University of Virginia students to stop singing a homophobic song at college football games.

The 30 Rock star is one of the universitys most famous alumni, having graduated in 1992 with a BA in drama. She took part in a video urging people to stop adding a homophobic line to the schools fight song, The Good Old Song.

Set to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, the song includes the line: We come from old Virginia where all is bright and gay, which is typically followed by the shout: Not gay!

Fey had a simple message for those who continue to sing the outdated lyrics. I just had an amazing idea: stop doing that.

She appeared alongside university students and staff in a video as they explain why the songs extra line is harmful and unnecessary.

That, obviously, is not only not politically incorrect, its heinous and pretty divisive, one student says.

The not gay line is sometimes substituted with f**k Tech, referring to Virginia Tech, UVAs rival, but students agree this isnt ideal either.

Saying f**k Tech, especially during games in public settings, is just not really the right place and time for it, says one. Another notes: Thats not Virginia. Virginias one of those places that competes and wins with class.

The universitys LGBT+ Union has long raised issue with the song, with one 2003 article referencing an unsuccessful petition to get the offensive line banned.

When I first brought the petition to my teammates, they thought it was a joke. They just laughed, said Kyle Singer, who at the time was a UVA sophomore.

Its hoped that the latest push with Feys backing will have more of an effect.

The move was praised by one former student, who commented on Instagram: As an alumna who was coming to terms with my mother being gay while I was an undergrad in the early 90s, I appreciate this so, so much. I didnt want to hear people screaming that when my mom sat with me in the stands at Scott Stadium in the Pep Band. Thank you.

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Tina Fey has a really amazing idea: Stop insulting gay people at football games - PinkNews

There's more gray than black and white in the scintillating new play THE PURISTS written by Dan McCabe and directed by Billy Porter. Receiving its rollicking world premiere at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, this rap versus Broadway battle for musical purity between an ex-rapper, a hip-hop DJ and a showtunes aficionado finds common ground among this disparate group of stoop dwellers and thus throws staunchly held beliefs about music, self, and others into serious question.

Mr. Bugz (J. Bernard Calloway) and Gerry Brinsler (John Scurti) live in the same Queens tenement brownstone and spend much of their time commiserating with Lamont Born Cipher (Morocco Omari) about the cultural changes that make them feel as if life is passing them by. Bugz and Lamont are legendary artists who are no longer commercial. Bugz is also dealing with the agonizing mental decline of his mother's dementia while Lamont is trying to regain his relevance by promoting his talented nephew.

Gerry is an aging Broadway telesales director, a gay man who has sadly outlived his friends. Given his age and melancholy, most presumably have died of AIDS. When the trio's mutual friend (and drug dealer), the young Puerto Rican woman Val Kano (Analisa Velez), squares off with Gerry's spirited sales protg Nancy Reinstein (Izzie Steele) in an impromptu norm-busting rap smackdown, they are forced to acknowledge that new ways aren't necessarily bad.

THE PURISTS crackles with politically incorrect humor that illuminates the complexities of well entrenched stereotypes. Through outrageous, at times even shocking, jabs, the joke is often turned back on the perpetrator. When Gerry gripes about a rude "thug" on the subway, for example, Lamont assumes he means a young black man. When Gerry and even Bugz merely hint at the topic of homosexuality in their conversations, Lamont immediately begins doing pull-ups on the sidewalk scaffolding in an effort to assert his black alpha masculinity.

Despite their very real differences, though, the men, for better or worse, have chosen to be friends. Lonely (and angry) in their own ways, they nevertheless risk sharing their truths. In so doing, they find that they have more in common than they imagined. Lamont may never go to a Broadway musical, and Gerry may never learn to like rap. But all three have grappled with fear and loss in their own ways. And they have all survived.

To navigate the sudden shifts between THE PURISTS' raucous laughter and barbed verbal attacks, Billy Porter has directed his nimble cast as if conducting a symphony. Timing is split-second, and both the rap music and showtunes add unexpected vitality.

When Bugz and Lamont go into action, the clock rewinds to their musical heyday. When Gerry plays his Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein, he becomes Patti LuPone and Gertrude Lawrence. It's not coincidental that two of the songs Gerry plays are "Anything Goes" and "Getting to Know You." Then, when Bugz and Val mash-up hip-hop and "Annie," it's a not so subtle nod to the joy of bridging differences.

Omari, Calloway, Scurti, Velez and Steele are all simply exquisite in their roles. Omari blends long-standing frustrations with a poet's soul. Calloway is a gentle giant whose pain in coming to terms with his own identity as he faces his mother's mortality is tempered by his unbridled joy in making music. Scurti balances the weight of unspeakable grief with a biting sarcasm that evokes shocked guffaws followed by a knowing empathy. Velez and Steele are defiantly, and goofily, optimistic, the former in spite of the obstacles in front of her, the latter because of her as yet unscathed naivete.

Set designer Clint Ramos' multi-story tenement pinpoints the Queens neighborhood that is home to a diverse community of working-class generations. The stoop outside of the secured entrance is a natural summertime gathering place, while the scaffolding that blocks a portion of the sidewalk suggests that the brownstone has seen better days. Above the street on the first floor is a cutaway that exposes Gerry's apartment, an untidy studio that seems an apt metaphor for his disheveled and circumscribed life.

THE PURISTS is a delightful and at times breathtaking new play that is anything but pure and simple. With a team of Broadway pros at the helm both onstage and off, one can only hopefully speculate about its future.

(PHOTOS Courtesy of Huntington Theatre)

Written by Dan McCabe; directed by Billy Porter; scenic design, Clint Ramos; costume design, Kara Harmon; lighting design, Driscoll Otto; sound design, Leon Rothenberg; original music, Michael Sandlofer; production stage manager, Kevin Schlagle

Cast in Order of Appearance:

Lamont Born Cipher, Morocco Omari; Mr. Bugz, J. Bernard Calloway; Gerry Brinsler, John Scurti; Val Kano, Analisa Velez; Nancy Reinstein, Izzie Steele

Performances and Tickets:

Now through October 6, Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston, MA; tickets start at $25 and are available online at http://www.huntingtontheatre.org, by calling 617-266-0800, or at the Box Offices at 264 Huntington Avenue and 527 Tremont St.

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BWW Review: THE PURISTS at Huntington Theatre Company In Boston - Broadway World