Category Archives: Eugenics

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished September 19, 2022

Within the first 10 minutes of Ken BurnsThe U.S. and the Holocaust I knew that I was going to learn things I never knew.

Part One starts with the U.S. governments enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first time that admission to the United States was limited for people not born here. It concludes in 1938 just after Germany invades and occupies Austria.

My main takeaway was how U.S. public opinion opposed to immigration in the early 1930s was driven by outright racism and antisemitism, which even included officials inside our government. Denying visas had the effect of denying admission to, among others, Jews in Europe trying to flee the growing Nazi threat.

But the episodes greatest impact on me was the rapid growth during the Great Depression of U.S.-based Nazi supporters and other racist groups and the spread of fake-science claims thatnon-whites were biologically inferior to whites. This became known as the eugenics movement.

Burns throws out big names such as Rockefeller, Carnegie and even Helen Keller as some who supported and funded research into the American eugenics movement, but really focused on one man in particular one man I had never heard of until last night, Madison Grant.

Madison Grant was a key figure in the history of the National Park Service who left behind a troubling legacy. And its this legacy that Burns ties to the eventual rise of Adolf Hitler and his belief system.

While Grant supported environmental conservation and worked to protect plant and animal species like redwood trees and the American bison, he is best remembered for his support of eugenics.

In 1916 he wrote a book entitled The Passing of the Great Race, in which he spread racist ideas that he claimed were scientific.

His philosophies influenced policymakers of the day, who used the ideas of Grant and those who agreed with him to restrict immigration and to control peoples ability to have children.

Many white protestant Americans came to fear they were about to be outnumbered and outbred by the newcomers and their offspring. That they were being replaced, said the filmmakers in a narration by Peter Coyote. They embraced a new pseudo-science born in Great Britain called eugenics.

Connect with your community every morning.

Literally meaning to be well born, eugenicsis the belief that a society should improve itself by controlling peoples reproduction. Eugenicists believed that some groups of people should be prevented from having children.

Madison Grant was among those who invented elaborate systems for classifying people based on their real or perceived disabilities. Further, Grant and other eugenicists argued that certain racial groups were superior to others.

Grant alleged that this supposed Nordic race was in danger of going extinct. He claimed, without evidence, that immigration and racial intermarriage caused crime and political corruption. According to Grants racist hierarchy, any mixing between Nordics and the other groups he saw as inferior could not be tolerated. He believed it would doom the United States.

For Grant and many others, Jews were a distinct race, not considered white, dismissed as uncouth Asiatics, said Burns, via narrator Coyote in Episode 1.

Another powerful moment in Episode 1, came around 17 minutes in when Burns included the following quote from an actual former President of the United States.

I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding. And when the evil nature of these people is sufficiently flagrant, this should be done. Criminals should be sterilized and feeble-minded persons be forbidden from leaving offspring behind them, said Theodore Roosevelt.

The idea was that the bad people need to stop reproducing and the good people need to reproduce more. Negative eugenics says to sterilize the wrong people, snuff them out, and that is the eugenics the Nazis would pick up on, said historian Nell Irwin Painter.

If you missed Episode 1, you can watch it online.

To accommodate this primetime addition to their schedule, the air dates for The U.S. and the Holocaust have been adjusted. Episode two will now premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 pm, followed by episode three on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 pm.

The rest is here:

Takeaways from Episode 1 of The U.S. and the Holocaust - - St. Louis Jewish Light

I would like to understand if any people support Gov. Polis and the Democrats of the Colorado Legislature who passed HB22-1279, which says a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of the state. Passage of that law this April codified into law abortion for any reason through nine months of pregnancy. Here are eight arguments from state leaders supporting this law followed by my responses challenging them. I then provide an e-mail at the end for people to comment and tell me their reasons, if they support this law.

1. A fertilized egg, embryo or fetus is not human life: Have you considered that over 5,200 biologists say that a humans life begins at fertilization?

2. Abortion is a gentle procedure: While this may be partially true for the mother, it is not for the unborn baby. My guest opinion of Aug. 15 in the RH revealed that 40% of abortions in the US are performed by dismembering the unborn child while alive.

3. Abortion is a constitutional right: Did you know that the 14th Amendment forbids states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law?

4. An embryo or fetus is not a person till their brain is fully developed: Neuroscientists say brain development does not end till age 25. Does it not follow that those who claim an embryo is not a person because its brain is not fully developed will have to apply that to all human life less than 25 years old?

5. Religious pro-abortionists have said that God has not breathed personhood into a child before it takes its first breath: Actually, the Bible says, you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb (Psalm 139:13, NIV). Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart (Jeremiah 1:5, NIV).

6. Abortion restrictions have damaging effects on the economy: Janet Yellin (former Federal Reserve head) said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, that eliminating the right of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) pressed her, arguing that framing the issue of abortion around labor force participation feels callous to me. Ill just say that as a guy raised by a Black woman in abject poverty, I am thankful to be here as a United States senator. (https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/10/yellen-banning-abortion-damaging-to-economy-00031339 ). Abortion for such economic reasons is applied eugenics. Eugenics is the theory that society can be improved through planned breeding for desirable traits. In April 2021, Planned Parenthood acknowledged that Margaret Sanger (founder of Planned Parenthood) caused irreparable damage to the health and lives of generations of Black people, Latino people, Indigenous people, immigrants, people with disabilities, people with low incomes. (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/cc/2e/cc2e84f2-126f-41a5-a24b-43e093c47b2c/210414-sanger-opposition-claims-p01.pdf ). How many superlative people with low incomes have been lost to our country through the 62 million abortions performed since 1973? If Tim Scott could become a Senator, how many more like him have we lost?

7. Abortion restrictions are racist: Since the percentage of U.S. abortions for Black women is 3.6 times that of white women, this appears to be another application of eugenics. (https://abcnews.go.com/Health/abortion-restrictions-disproportionately-impact-people-color/story?id=84467809 ). What if we advanced the idea that Black lives matter instead of eugenics? It appears that pushing abortion for any reason through nine months of pregnancy might be the actual racist policy.

8. My body, my choice: Please consider that Charles Cooke reveals that with abortion, were not really talking about the mothers body, but about the other body at stake. And, while there is no doubt that pregnancy can be difficult, it is the other body that is facing certain death during an abortion. (https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2021/11/29/the-secular-case-against-abortion/ )

If you approve of abortion for any reason through nine months of pregnancy, help me understand your reasons by e-mailing me atlloydbenes50@gmail.com.If you disapprove, join me in opposing Gov. Polis and the Democrats of the Colorado Legislature who passed HB22-1279, which codified abortion-on-demand through birth in Colorado. The midterm elections are upon us, so please choose wisely.

Lloyd Benes is a retired mechanical engineer and Loveland resident.

The rest is here:

Lloyd Benes: Challenging 8 arguments that support unrestricted abortion - Loveland Reporter-Herald

Naomi: Disabled people are self-advocates in all that they do because they are used to their needs not being considered unless they raise concerns themselves. The best way to address this issue is to ensure that disabled people are being heard and seen in politics, business, and other sectors.

One way to help put more disabled people in leadership positions is to expand voting accessibility. This can come in many forms, from increasing oversight of the accessibility of in-person voting locations to expanding mail-in voting to conducting more outreach to disabled voters. Disabled people consistently have lower rates of voting turnout than nondisabled people, in many cases due to the additional challenges they face when they attempt to vote.

Many changes to make voting more accessible for disabled people will help nondisabled voters as well. Every person, regardless of disability, deserves the chance to participate in our American democracy.

Isabel: The special education system for disabled folk has become a prison pipeline, particularly for disabled students with intersectional marginalized identities. Disabled students are still being segregated in the [special education] system. While 55% of white students with disabilities spend the majority of their time in general education classrooms, only 30% of Black students do. This segregation of disabled students has created a society where only 75% of all disabled students graduate high school. Nationwide this is an epidemic, where around 70% of youth with emotional disabilities who drop out of school are arrested within five years.

Disabled folk are being set up to fail by an education system that doesn't value their future.

Ananya Rao-Middleton, Illustrator and chronic illness & disability activist: The disability rights movement still has a huge issue with whitewashing disability. This is a huge problem, because on average disability effects black, indigenous and ethnic minority communities more than white communities. Whitewashing the disability rights movement not only erases that fact, but also means that issues relating specifically to how racism and ableism work in tandem are not being listened to/heard.

Sandy: Injustice is stitched into the fabric of our institutions, culture, and logic. Unraveling these threads will require profound social transformation. In short, this is long-term work.

Everyone working toward disability justice in government, philanthropy, or at the grassroots level should heed the movements principle: leadership [by] those most impacted. Our communities lived experiences are invaluable, essential, and, frankly, nonnegotiable in this work.

Philanthropy has not fully reconciled with a history that was rooted in charity and funding for cures, and how eugenics was the donor engagement and fundraising strategy when it came to funding for people with disabilities. Those who support the movement should fund, hire, resource, and trust people with disabilities to lead our own liberation.

This movement is unapologetic in celebrating, lifting up, and always choosing disabled wisdom, joy, and ways of being when that is so often the least valued choice in our society.

Teona: It means fighting for affordable universal health care, changing the way we view disability and the eugenics that always hides around the corner when discussing us. It means realizing that disability issues don't just affect disabled people.

Disability isn't some evil, lurking monster to be afraid of. But it's ignorant to move about life as if you will never need the resources or help that we as disabled people rely on. Disability justice means taking action now to fix certain problems rather than allowing them to fall apart, forcing disabled people who already have less income, access, energy, and time to fight to fix them.

Imani: I believe it is imperative to focus on the use of ableism as the tool kit of white supremacy. Every single form of marginalization is meant to disable those at the mercy of this governing system. To build toward equity, we must unpack a history of eugenics, race science, and ableism that seeks to isolate, disenfranchise, and discard those deemed not valuable to society.

Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take

Continued here:

11 Disability Rights Activists on Where the Fight for Justice Stands - Teen Vogue

California has 7 ballot initiatives qualified for the November 2022 General Election ballot.

There is also colossal spending behind the measures. So whats hot, whats not and whats toxic? The Globe checked in with Ballotpedia and the California Secretary of State for the breakdown:

Proposition 1

Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. (PDF)

Proposition 26

Allows In-Person Roulette, Dice Games, Sports Wagering on Tribal Lands. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute. (PDF)

Proposition 27

Allows Online and Mobile Sports Wagering Outside Tribal Lands. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.(PDF)

Proposition 28

Provides Additional Funding for Arts and Music Education in Public Schools. Initiative Statute. (PDF)

Proposition 29

Requires On-Site Licensed Medical Professional at Kidney Dialysis Clinics and Establishes Other State Requirements. Initiative Statute. (PDF)

Proposition 30

Provides Funding for Programs to Reduce Air Pollution and Prevent Wildfires by Increasing Tax on Personal Income Over $2 Million. Initiative Statute. (PDF)

Proposition 31

Referendum On 2020 Law That Would Prohibit the Retail Sale of Certain Flavored Tobacco Products. (PDF)

If the details are a little too dry or unclear because of ballot titles and summaries, we also have detail on the measures from California Congressman Tom McClintock:

Proposition 1 Margaret Sanger Eugenics Act: NO. Prop. 1 would provide an absolute right to abortion in the state constitution under any and all circumstances, including the hideous practice of partial birth abortion. Most people arent absolutists on the subject: they support early abortions but not late term. This proposition would prohibit such distinctions. And before we hear the My Body My Choice refrain, pardon a simple question. Does YOUR choice stop YOUR heart from beating, or suck YOUR brains from your skull? If the answer is no, maybe theres somebody else whose body is affected.

Proposition 26 and Proposition 27- Bet Your Bottom Dollar: YES. Prop. 26 allows in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and race tracks and allows tribes to offer roulette and dice games. Prop. 27 allows internet sports betting conducted by licensed tribes or companies. To be clear, I dont approve of gambling; I think its a waste of time and money. I have the same opinion of stamp collecting. But I have enough trouble running my own life without trying to run everyone elses. This has some odious anti-competitive features, but my bottom line is, if a grown-up wants to bet on a game or obsess over a stamp, thats their right.

Proposition 28 Dont Know Much About History: NO. This would earmark about a billion dollars a year from school funds for music and arts, at a time when Californias math and reading scores are plunging to Gavin Newsom IQ levels. Churchill, as usual, said it best: I would let the clever ones learn Latin as an honour, and Greek as a treat. But the onlything I would whip them for is not knowing English. Or, another idea: give parents the choice of where to send their kids and let the schools compete to meet their needs by offering curricula best suited to them.

Proposition 29 Bringing Venezuelan Health Care to Dialysis Patients: NO. For the third time, the SEIU is trying to screw up kidney dialysis in California. Theyve lost twice and are back again with this measure that imposes onerous and expensive requirements to have physicians or nurses on duty at dialysis clinics and prohibit them from going out of business without state approval. This will help dialysis patients by increasing their costs and will help encourage new clinics to open by forbidding them ever to close. Makes perfect sense.

Proposition 30 Well Leave the Lights Off for You: NO. Heres an idea: add another 1.75 percent to what is already the highest income tax rate in the country for those earning over $2 million. Then spend that money on electric cars, charging stations and firefighting. Just dont use the charging stations because we dont have enough electricity to keep the lights on. And dont worry about the millionaires; theyll be fine. There are nine states that have no income tax at all and 40 with lower tax rates, and these millionaires can take their jobs, business and spending with them. They wont even need to turn off the lights when they leave since theyre already out.

Proposition 31 Unflavor of the Month: NO. Heres another entry from the well make your decisions for you crowd. The legislature voted to ban sales of flavored tobacco. A NO vote would overturn the ban. Bruce Herschensohn once observed that every pleasure in life involves a risk. With enough laws, we can create a nearly risk-free society. But it will be the most boring, tedious, colorless and flavorless society in the history of human misery. We call it California.

Heres a summary of the campaign contributions of the ballot measures $197,753,455.23 has been spent in support of the sever initiatives, and $222,907111.00 has been spend opposing the measures:

Click on the links to see the detailed explanation of a yes and no vote on each measure.

See the rest here:

What Ballot Initiatives Will Californians Face in the Nov. 8th Election? - California Globe

How can we learn from the past? That is the profound question we face in the new documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, a three-part, six-hour series, directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein, with narration by Peter Coyote. The film explores Americas response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the 20th century. Inspired in part by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museums Americans and the Holocaust exhibition, the film examines the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany in the context of global antisemitism and racism, the eugenics movement in the United States, and race laws in the American South revealing how as the catastrophe of genocide unfolded in Europe, the U.S. took in only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of refugees trying to escape the Holocaust. Read more about the film and learn about free panels to attend, below.

As of September 14, there is a new schedule for broadcasting The U.S. and the Holocaust. It accommodates the Monday, September 19 national primetime special, The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II: Events of the Day (8-9:30 p.m). See all times for The U.S. and the Holocaust on our broadcast Schedule page.

Sunday, September 18, 8 10:15 p.m. and repeat 10:15 p.m. 12:30 a.m.The U.S. and the Holocaust, Episode 1: The Golden Door (Beginnings 1938)Reversing a history of open borders, a xenophobic backlash prompts Congress to restrict immigration. Hitler and the Nazis persecute German Jews, forcing many to seek refuge. FDR is concerned by the growing crisis but unable to coordinate a response. A Ken Burns film. (Part 1 of 3)

Monday, September 19, 9:30 p.m. 11:45 a.m.Repeat of The U.S. and the Holocaust, Episode 1: The Golden Door (Beginnings 1938). See description, above.

Tuesday, September 20, 8 10:22 p.m. and repeat 10:22 p.m. 12:45 a.m.The U.S. and the Holocaust, Episode 2: Yearning to Breathe Free (1938 1942)As World War II begins, Americans are divided over whether to intervene against Nazi Germany. Some individuals and organizations work tirelessly to help refugees escape. Germany invades the USSR and secretly begins the mass murder of European Jews.

Wednesday, September 21, 8 10:15 p.m. and repeat 10:15 p.m. 12:30 a.m. The U.S. and the Holocaust, Episode 3: The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed (1942 )A group of dedicated government officials fights red tape to support rescue operations. As the Allies liberate German camps, the public sees for the first time the sheer scale of the Holocaust and begins to reckon with its reverberations.

Get a roundup of broadcast and digital premieres, special offers, and events with our weekly newsletter.

Former prisoners of Buchenwald concentration camp. Elie Wiesel is in the second row of bunks, 7th from left, next to the vertical beam.Photo: National Archives & Records Administration.

Through riveting firsthand testimony of witnesses and survivors who endured persecution and violence as their families tried to escape Hitler, the series delves deeply into the tragic human consequences of public indifference, bureaucratic red tape, and restrictive quota laws in America. It tackles questions relevant to our society today, including how racism influences policies related to immigration and refugees, and how governments and people respond to the authoritarian states that manipulate history and facts.

Rabbi Stephen Wise addresses a crowd at a rally outside Madison Square Garden in NYC. Photo Library of Congress

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, Dorothy Thompson, Rabbi Stephen Wise, and Henry Ford are among the historical figures in the film, as well as Anne Frank and her family, who applied for but failed to obtain visas to the U.S. before they went into hiding in The Netherlands.

Dr. Joseph Tenenbaum, NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise during a United Jewish War Effort event on W. 42nd Street. Circa, 1943. Photo courtesy US Holocaust Memorial Museum

History cannot be looked at in isolation, Ken Burns says. While we rightly celebrate American ideals of democracy and our history as a nation of immigrants, we must also grapple with the fact that American institutions and policies, like segregation and the brutal treatment of indigenous populations, were influential in Hitlers Germany. And although we accepted more refugees than any other sovereign nation, America could have done so much more to help the millions of desperate people fleeing Nazi persecution.

Virtual online panels related to this series will be presented by THIRTEEN and The WNET Group the week of The U.S. and the Holocaust broadcast.

These free, panel discussions will livestream on YouTube, where attendees can participate in a live chat. They are curated by Brian Tate and Mary Burke, directors, Community Engagement, The WNET Group. Visit pbs.org/exploringhate for more information on the series SOMETIMES WE MUST INTERFERE: Conversations on Confronting Inhumanity, which include these three events:

Tuesday, September 20: WE MUST TAKE SIDES: A Conversation about the U.S. and the HolocaustWednesday, September 21: NO LONGER UNIMAGINABLE: A Conversation with Holocaust SurvivorsThursday, September 22: THE BORDER BETWEEN THEN & NOW: A Conversation with People Threatened with Deportation

The U.S. and the Holocaust

The Holocaust and Refugees, Lessons for Today

WATCH FULL EPISODE

Watch the recorded event.In advance of the September 18 premiere, join a free virtual talk on Thursday, September 8 with two of the filmmakers, Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, in conversation with Madlin Sadler, COO, International Rescue Committee. Jake Tapper moderates the discussion on The Holocaust and Refugees: Lessons for Today.

Marquee advertising a screening of U.S. Army Signal Corps film, Nazi Atrocities. New York City. May 8, 1945.

View original post here:

The U.S. and the Holocaust. Revisiting America's Role | THIRTEEN - New York Public Media - MetroFocus

Dive Brief:

Resistance to Ellis draws focus to what many higher education authorities deem a troubling trend for the sector: politicized selections to public institutions and their governing boards.

Such a case emerged earlier this year when the University System of Georgia's governing board named Sonny Perdue its new chancellor, despite the longtime Republican politician having negligible postsecondary education experience. The governor appoints the boards members.

Such picks erode firewalls between politicians' interests and academe, which values principles of free inquiry, higher ed experts argue.

Youngkins installation of Ellis to the UVA board of visitors fits his modus operandi. The Republican governor championed an extraction of diversity, inclusion and equity practices which he called divisive concepts from public education. That message helped secure him the governorship, pundits argue.

Ellis, who earned his bachelors and masters degrees from UVA, has railed against similar diversity initiatives. In an online post in December, he applauded Youngkin clinching the election and contemplated how the new governor would remold schools to stop the brainwashing of students. UVA, he said, faced an onslaught by the entrenched DEI bureaucracy.

Now, Ellis will help direct policy for one of the country's most noteworthy public institutions. UVA, the state flagship of Virginia, has powerhouse health and research enterprises and enrolled more than 27,000 students as of fall 2021.

Ellis was confirmed to the board in July, and his term will expire at the end of June 2026. He was one of four of Youngkins appointments confirmed to the board.

The universitys Student Council executive board late in July said it rejected Ellis and called for his immediate resignation.

In a statement, students concentrated on an episode from September 2020 involving Ellis.

He reportedly discovered a student had plastered a sign to their campus residence door that spelled out "F--- UVA" to protest conditions for disadvantaged students. That month, Ellis visited the campus, knocked on the students door and debated them on using profanity to make a public point.

Ellis reportedly said he was prepared to use a small razor blade" to remove the obscene part of the sign. But he ultimately did not after two officials told him this would constitute damage to university property and a First Amendment violation. They told Ellis to leave.

Whether or not Ellis used his blade, whether or not Ellis threatened the student directly, his conduct is reprehensible," the Student Council said in its statement. "Ellis erratic behavior and blatant disregard for students wellbeing is unbecoming of University leadership and has no place in our University community.

Then last month, the student newspaper reported that Ellis played a pivotal role in bringing a White nationalist, William Shockley, to campus during the 1974-75 academic year. Shockley at the time was known for his pseudoscientific eugenics theories about Black people being genetically inferior to White people.

Ellis was a leader of the student organization that helped secure Shockley for a debate on the correlation between race and intelligence, The Cavalier Daily reported.

Youngkins office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the newspapers report, or the students demand for Ellis expulsion.

However, in an interview with reporters last month, Youngkin said it was unfair to examine the Shockley controversy by todays standards.

Original post:

A new University of Virginia board member once brought a eugenicist to campus. Students are angry. - Higher Ed Dive

When Splatoon burst onto the scene in 2015 with its squids, who are also heavily-armed children, people were instantly drawn to its brightly coloured. The team-based multiplayer shooter, where matches are won by covering the ground with ink, is enjoyed by adults and kids alike. Its primary 4v4 Turf War mode drives Splatoons multiplayer, and thats where youll find most of its players on any given day. A single-player campaign teaches new players the basics and lets them try out different weapons in a safe environment, preparing them to join the multiplayer arena. However, because completing the single-player mode is not a pre-requisite for accessing multiplayer, many Splatoon players havent so much as looked at it. This means they have no real idea of the world these games take place in or how truly dark it is.

To learn about this, its probably best to start at the beginning. What follows is the incredibly bleak story of Splatoon.

Long before the events of the original Splatoon, humans were Earths most dominant species, though we had descended into frequent, pointless wars. Three more World Wars shook the planet, giving way to numerous civil wars. Finally, during the fifth World War, one country (it is no longer remembered which) launched a warhead at Antarctica, intending to melt it. The ultimate if we cant have it, no one can approach. Humans fled into large underground caverns to avoid the coming environmental decimation. It was all in vain. The planet was flooded entirely, and with it, humanity was destroyed.

As disaster loomed, a professor placed his pet cat, Judd, into a cryogenic chamber. Judd, it turned out, was a master tactician and had rendered sound judgment on every major human war. Because Judd had proven himself so tactically important, the professor chose to freeze Judd instead of himself. As a contingency plan, he created an AI, a keeper of all human knowledge; a torch passed to the next sentient species to help them avoid making humanitys mistakes.

This theming of genocidal global conflict and environmental destruction is a throughline in both games.Splatoon makes a very specific point: its characters live in the ecological wreckage of the human race. This, however, is just the beginning, and things are already fairly dire. But wait, it gets worse.

The next ten thousand years are fairly quiet. As the waters finally recede, some ocean-going life forms are forced to move onto land and evolve. Among these are the Inklings, the Octarians and the Jellyfish. At the same moment, Judd awakens from his cryogenic sleep. At first, relations between the species are cordial. They participate in friendly ink-based games with Judd adjudicating. However, over time, the water levels begin to rise once more. Water has become deadly to the evolved sea life now living on the surface. A rising sea level poses an existential threat.

And so, The Great Turf War began.

The Great Turf War tore the world into two groups, the Octarians and the Inklings. Though the lore never clearly explains their reasons for doing so, most other former sea creatures also took the Inklings side in the war. The Octarians, led by the terrible Octavio, are made up of intelligent octopi humanoids, Octolings, and their sentient appendages. The latter is kind of stupid and obedient and is created by any Octoling cutting off one of the tentacles on their head.

The first year of the Great Turf War saw the Inklings on the back foot as the Octarians raced to create weapons of mass destruction called the Great Octoweapons. With their backs to the wall, the Inklings answered in kind, building weapons of their own. Even with new armaments in their pocket, the Inklings were lucky to survive: a Sunken Scroll in the original game mentions that Inklings had a bad habit of sleeping in and missing battles.

In the wars second year, the Squidbeak Splatoon was created by Judd, Capn Cuttlefish, Ammoses Shellendorf and two other Inklings. This would ultimately prove to be the moment that changed the course of the war. The Inklings began to regain ground on the Octarians. However, what sealed an Inkling victory was that a plug powering the Great Octoweapons was accidentally removed. With the weapons non-operational, other species were able to claim the land. As a result, the Octarians moved underground into the humans old dwellings, using kettles as doorways. These underground settlements required a lot of energy to run, as the areas walls are made up of screens, imitating the outside world at all times.

As mentioned earlier, its never explained why or how the Zapfish are allied with the Inklings. Free of any context, the arrangement seems awfully one-sided. The Inklings use the electricity the Zapfish generate, and the Zapfish get freedom, perhaps? At the beginning of the original Splatoon, news reporters Marie and Callie announce that the Great Zapfish is missing. It would later turn out that the Octarians energy crisis was even worse than first thought and that they had kidnapped the Great Zapfish, hoping it could solve all their problems.

Capn Cuttlefish, believing the Octarians were to blame for the Great Zapfishs disappearance, finds an enterprising young squid they dub Agent 3, enlisting them in the brand new Squidbeak Splatoon. On Cuttlefishs orders, Agent 3 explores Octo Valley, now the games underground hub, via kettles to reach and free the Zapfish. Octo Valley is broken into five sections, each containing some of the Octarians Great Octoweapons. Defeating these weapons frees even more Zapfish. Agent 3 is also helped by Agent 1 and Agent 2, who are definitely not Callie and Marie in trenchcoats (it is). During their travels, Agent 3 fights a great number of Octarians. They also occasionally encounter the Octolings, who seem to have goggles as part of their uniform.

Agent 3 finally finds the Great Zapfish. They are moments from freeing it when its sucked up by DJ Octavio, the same Octavio who led the Octarians in the Great Turf War. Agent 3 struggles to defeat DJ Octavio, and, just as all seems lost, Callie and Marie arrive on the scene, singing Calamari Inkantation. Agent 3 is able to defeat a distracted DJ Octavio, but the music has an added effect: the goggles worn by the Octolings, secretly brainwashing tech created by Octavio, were left scrambled and inert. When Octavio had originally proposed his scheme, the Octolings vetoed the idea, refusing to join him. Instead, hed used the goggles to control the defiant populace. In the crowd of the Octarians is Marina Ida, who, after hearing Calamari Inkantation, defects from the Octarian army and heads to the surface. DJ Octavio is confined in a snow globe with Capn Cuttlefish to watch over him. The Great Zapfish is returned to his place on the antenna of Inkopolis Plaza.

Day-to-day life in Inkling society continues, none the wiser.

After a bruising final Splatfest in which Inkling society was asked if they preferred Callie or Marie from The Squid Sisters, the idol duo took a break to focus on their own things for a while. During this time, Agent 3 and Capn Cuttlefish went off to investigate some rumours theyd heard.

Octoling Marina, now on the surface after her defection, encounters an Inkling named Pearl on Nantai Mountain, practising her singing. Marina later pitches Pearl with a demo of a song she calls Ebb and Flow. The two agree to become a pop duo called Off the Hook. They enjoy a rapid rise to fame, eventually replacing the Squid Sisters as hosts of both the news broadcast and Splatfest.

The subject of one of Pearl and Marinas first broadcasts is a tragedy: Callie and the Great Zapfish, who had moved to Inkopolis square, are both missing. Most Inklings are relatively unconcerned, but Marie knows better. She goes to Octo Valley to confirm a hunch and, sure enough, finds DJ Octavios snow globe broken. Furthermore, there is no sign of Capn Cuttlefish. Keeping a low profile in Inkopolis Square, she approaches an Inkling to help her find out what exactly has happened. The newest member of the Squidbeak Splatoon is dubbed Agent 4 and sent off to explore Octo Canyon, the Octarian settlement near Inkopolis square. Weapons store owner Sheldon joins Agent 4, lending them fire support. Similar to the original game, Agent 4 encounters Octolings, all of them wearing the same suspicious sunglasses. As they progress, Squidbeak Splatoon receives repeated messages telling them to turn back.

The voice in the message sounds suspiciously like Callie.

This is confirmed when the three eventually find the Great Zapfish, Callie and DJ Octavio. Callie talks about how her shades make her look so fresh, and DJ Octavio explains that they are mind-control sunglasses. His latest brainwashing tech, he claims, is so strong that the Calamari Inkantation cant scramble them. Agent 4 must then face the combined might of DJ Octavio and Callie in a remix the duo calls the Spicy Calamari Inkantation. Agent 4 holds their own but is unable to gain any ground either. Thats when Sheldon and Marie show up in a flying truck. Maries uses her E-litre to knock the glasses off Callies face, allowing Agent 4 to attack. Once again, DJ Octavio is defeated, the Great Zapfish is saved, and Octolings can think for themselves. Several start to make their way to the surface, where the Inklings assume they are simply other Inklings following a weird hair trend.

(Editors note: How are the Inklings still alive? They dont seem very bright. David)

An Octoling wakes up in a subway with only the memory of the Calamari Inkantation. Capn Cuttlefish explains that he and Agent 3 were fighting our amnesiac Octoling when all three were knocked out. Unable to find Agent 3, Cuttlefish concedes he is willing to work with the Octoling to ensure their survival. Unfortunately, the only thing at their disposal is a telephone in the middle of the Platform. The phone explains that they are in the deep-sea metro and must find the promised land. The voice on the other end of the line calls the Octoling Test Subject 10,008, and says they must complete a series of challenges, including finding the four thangs. Capn Cuttlefish dubs the Octoling Agent Eight, and the phone, Tartar, gives them a CQ-80 to provide access to the tests. A train pulls in, and Agent 8 and Capn Cuttlefish board, ready to begin.

However, the moment theyre inside the train, two new players named MC.Princess and DJ_hyperfresh accidentally hack the CQ_80, offering to help them escape the facility.

After collecting the four Thangs and bringing them to Tartar, he asks a pair of important questions: is Agent 8 prepared for a higher plane of existence? Are they ready to be something bigger than themselves? It is revealed that the four Thangs fuse together to create a blender, with Tartar intending to turn Agent 8 and Capn Cuttlefish into raw material. If a test subject is smart enough to complete all the challenges and collect the Thangs, they receive the honour of being turned into primordial ooze. Tartar reveals that he is the AI left by Judds scientist friend to pass on the knowledge of humanity. Though Tartar was excited to pass on his knowledge when he saw the Inklings and Octolings evolving into their humanoid forms, he was dismayed to see them come into conflict. When he saw them fighting over what he deemed were trivial matters, Tartar created his own new directive: destroy them all and replace them with sanitised versions.

DJ_hyperfresh, (who is actually Marina in disguise) attempts to hack into the blender to prevent Agent 8 and Cuttlefish from being turned into a cephaloid slushie. Unable to break through, she sends out a distress signal. Agent 3 breaks through the roof, sending Tartar and the blender flying. Capn Cuttlefish decides to stay with the now unconscious Agent 3 but encourages Agent 8 to escape with Pearl (the disguised MC.Princess) and Marinas help.

Travelling through the structure, Agent 8 makes their way through sections of the facility, which are named after sections of the human digestive tract (and its kind of gross considering theyre moving through it backwards). During the Spinal phase, they are stopped by a partially sanitised Agent 3. The two Agents duke it out, with Agent 8 triumphant. Agent 8, Agent 3, and Capn Cuttlefish make their escape, ending up on a small island as Pearl and Marina swoop overhead in their helicopter.

As theyre getting ready to leave, the island begins to shake, rising out of the ocean. A giant human bust slowly rises from the seabed, with Commander Tartar at the controls. He tells the assembled Inklings and Octolings that he is so incensed by their treachery that he will coat Inkopolis in the sanitising liquid. This would destroy the free will of everyone in Inkopolis if it doesnt kill them first.

Marina realises that the statue is drawing solar power to charge itself and devises a plan to cover it in ink. Agent 8 has three minutes until the statue fires its sanitising doom laser. Marina offers Agent 8 prototype hyper bombs to help them ink the whole thing. Succeeding prevents the NILS statue from getting a full charge, but thats not enough to stop Commander Tartar, who decides to fire it anyway. Pearl unleashes a Booyah via a Killer Wail weapon so powerful it destroys the NILS statue and Tartar with it. Defeated, Tartar takes solace in the idea that he can be with his inventor, the professor, again.

Tartar was so upset with how the Inklings and Octolings had conducted themselves that he decided the answer was eugenics. Do you know who else came to that conclusion? It starts with H and ends with itler.

Now, up to this point, its been a secret that there is third species in the world of Splatoon: the Salmonids. They live in a dam and keep mostly to themselves, living in the water and only emerging every 70 years to spawn. Inklings are forbidden from having any contact with the Salmonids, but a shady corporation called GrizzCo hires Inklings to participate in a competition called the Salmon Run. Their goal is to collect Salmonid power eggs and the ultimate prize, golden eggs.

The Salmonids and the Octarians have a trade agreement. As long as the Octarians provide the Salmonids shields and technology, the Salmonids will supply the Octarians with power eggs. The golden eggs, however, are off-limits. Meanwhile, Salmonid meat is available for sale at Mako Mart, the Inkling supermarket. Salmonids view being eaten as the ultimate honour. Therefore, they are perfectly happy to be consumed. This law of consumption is a two-way street, however: Salmonids arent against eating Inklings either. Salmonids believe in the food chain and that eating (or being eaten) is natures way. While there is no mention of whether the Salmonids will eat each other, inklings can and will eat squids, their non-evolved forms. Is this technically cannibalism?!

So, to recap: the story of Splatoon contains six world wars, a mass extinction, numerous weapons of mass destruction, the despotic oppression of an entire people, eugenics, and kidnapping. With Splatoon 3 set to release with the Return of the Mammalians campaign, it could get even worse. The Octarians appear to be sprouting fur, which the Salmonids can eat. Is it some kind of virus spreading across the world? Possibly! Well find out when the game launches on September 9, exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

Continue reading here:

World Wars, Eugenics, Mass Extinctions: Would You Believe Were Talking About Splatoon? - Kotaku Australia

Tod Browning brought his own adventures as a circus performer to "Freaks"; starting at 16, he was a roustabout, barker, contortionist, and clown. Instead of casting non-disabled actors and using makeup or special effects, Tod Browning wanted to use the kind of persons with disabilities that he knew from his work experience and childhood fascination with carnivals.This comfortability allowed him to establish a good working relationship with the "freaks" ensemble.

However, not everyone at MGM was friendly towards them. When studio president Louis B. Mayer saw the sideshow entertainers, he was reportedly "horrified" and tried to have the picture shut down; producer Irving Thalberg had to convince him otherwise.The studio heads wanted to ease the ableist tensions between the performers on set,so the actors with disabilities were unfairly segregated in a tent when not filming scenes. They also ate in a separate cafeteria so that "people could get to eat in the commissary without throwing up," story editor Samuel Marx harshly stated (via "Hideous Progeny: Disability, Eugenics, and Classic Horror Cinema"by Angela Smith).There was little to no inclusivity on set and the able-bodied cast and crew made the carnival performers feel ashamed of their differences.

The circus performers with disabilities were most likely paid less than the able-bodied stars and only offered a middling amount. Johnny Eck waspaid around $35, the equivalent to $756.91 today. On the other hand, Browning boasted that he was paid around $150,000, but Horror Film History says that may have been a "showman's exaggeration." Nevertheless, there was clearly a hard line drawn between the disabled and able-bodied performers in both professional compensation and accommodations, unjustly dividing them.

Read the rest here:

Freaks Controversy Explained: Was Tod Browning's 1932 Horror Movie Exploitative Or Progressive? - /Film

Multiple realities(covers information from several alternate timelines)

Eugenics Wars

"Superior ability breeds superior ambition."

The Eugenics Wars (or the Great Wars) were a series of conflicts fought on Earth between 1992 and 1996, and during the 21st century (aka as the Eugenic War, Second Civil War and World War III). (SNW: "Strange New Worlds") The result of a scientific attempt to improve the Human race through selective breeding and genetic engineering, the wars devastated parts of Earth, by some estimates officially causing some thirty million deaths, and nearly plunging the planet into a new Dark Age. (TOS: "Space Seed"; ENT: "Borderland")

The script of "Borderland" stated forthrightly, "The Eugenics Wars are a dark subject."

Records from this period are fragmented, but what is known is that the wars' roots lie in a group of Human scientists' ambitious attempt to improve the race through selective breeding and genetic engineering. They created a race of "supermen," popularly known as the Augments, who were mentally and physically superior to ordinary men and women. They were five times stronger than the average person, their lung efficiency was fifty percent better than normal, and their intelligence was double that of normal Humans. They also had enhanced senses, including an ability to hear beyond that of Human capabilities. (TOS: "Space Seed"; ENT: "Borderland", "Cold Station 12")

The Augments were created by the scientists in the 1950s Cold War era in the hopes that they would lead Humanity into an era of peace in a world that had only known war. (Star Trek Into Darkness) One aspect these scientists overlooked was the personality of the Augments. Along with their superior abilities, the Augments were aggressive and arrogant, flaws which the scientists were unable to correct at the time due to the infancy of the science. One of the Augments' creators realized the error, writing that "superior ability breeds superior ambition." That same scientist was ultimately killed by one of his own creations. (TOS: "Space Seed"; ENT: "Cold Station 12", "The Augments")

Khan Noonien Singh in the 1990s

The Augments rose to power and held dominance over a large portion of Humanity, beginning in the early 1990s. Among the most notorious of these superhuman conquerors was Khan Noonien Singh, who in 1992 became the "absolute ruler" of more than a quarter of the planet, from Asia through the Middle East. (TOS: "Space Seed")

The following year, a group of fellow "supermen" followed in Khan's footsteps, and simultaneously seized power in over forty nations. The people of these conquered nations, in most cases, were treated as little more than slaves by the Augments. Khan considered himself "a prince, with power over millions". It was unknown how he viewed or treated those under his rule, although they had very little freedom. Unlike the other Augment despots, however, Khan's reign had enjoyed peace. The people were not massacred, and Khan avoided war until his region was attacked. Khan considered himself a benign dictator or one who led by a form of "gentle authoritarianism", as such he was thus among the most admired of the so-called "tyrants" into the 23rd century, being called the "best of the tyrants" by James T. Kirk. (TOS: "Space Seed"; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; ENT: "Borderland")

Reports as to exactly how the wars began vary; some claim that Humanity rose up against Khan and his fellow "supermen," while others believe the Augments began to fight among themselves. Regardless of their origin, two factors were certain: the Eugenics Wars had a devastating impact on Earth, as entire populations were bombed out of existence, and that humanity had ultimately deposed the Augments. (ENT: "Cold Station 12"; TOS: "Space Seed")

Among the areas affected by the wars was North Africa. One conflict that occurred there involved a battalion of soldiers that included the future great-grandfather of Starfleet Captain Jonathan Archer. In this encounter, Archer's great-grandfather was able to convince the Augment commander of his enemy's forces to hold their fire long enough to evacuate a school that was directly between them. Some or all parts of that account may be non-factual as Archer was evidently in an altered state of mind around the time he disclosed it. (ENT: "Hatchery")

The Augments were eventually defeated by Humans who were not genetically enhanced. Khan was the last of the tyrants to be overthrown, in 1996. Khan and over eighty of the "supermen" were condemned to die as war criminals. They however went unaccounted for, a fact the governments of the time did not disclose to the public in order to prevent panic. Rumors were later confirmed in the 23rd century that Khan and 84 of his followers had managed to flee the planet aboard an early sleeper ship, the SS Botany Bay. (TOS: "Space Seed"; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek Into Darkness)

The official number of casualties from the wars was placed at 30 million, although some historians believed it to be closer to 35 million, with another figure established as being 37 million. Although the wars may have ended, Humanity's fear of genetically-engineered beings remained well into the 24th century. (ENT: "Cold Station 12"; TOS: "Bread and Circuses"; DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")

Following the wars, controversial debates ensued between Earth's governments regarding the fate of thousands of Augment embryos. Uncertain of how to handle the issue, the governments opted to have the embryos placed into cold storage. This fact was also kept from public knowledge. The issue of genetic manipulation and Human genome enhancement continued to plague Earth well into the 21st century. In 2024, Doctor Adam Soong began examining an old file from 1996, which was called "Project Khan." This was no doubt a project masterminded by scientists who had the intention of making augments similar to Khan, who disappeared in 1996. Presumably, Adam Soong went forward with that project sometime after 2024. this would have been around the time of the Second Civil War, which eventually became another Eugenics War that in time escalated into what was known as the Third World War. (ENT: "Borderland", "Cold Station 12", "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" historical archive; TOS: "Space Seed"; PIC: "Farewell"; SNW: "Strange New Worlds")

As both conflicts were fought over the issue of genetic manipulation, this suggests the Eugenics Wars were regarded as the initial cause and prelude for the Third World War, much like how the Second World War is often seen as a result of the First.

Doctor Keniclius

Soong and the Augment embryos

Genetic engineering of Humans was ultimately banned on Earth, as the concept was considered anti-Humanistic by Earth leaders. As a result of this, Doctor Stavos Keniclius was exiled from his community, which eventually led him to depart Earth permanently. The ban was placed primarily as an attempt to prevent another event like the Eugenics Wars, and to ensure that Humanity did not endure the wrath of another Khan Noonien Singh-type tyrant. (TAS: "The Infinite Vulcan"; DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume", "Statistical Probabilities")

The ban on genetic engineering was challenged by the geneticist Arik Soong in the 2130s, when he stole some of the Augment embryos left over from the wars which were being stored at Cold Station 12. Soong believed that genetic engineering was the key to improving Humankind and preventing illness, and that it should be given another chance. By raising the Augments himself, Soong believed he could prevent them from behaving like their brethren from the Eugenics Wars. His plan failed as the aggressive nature of the Augments dominated, and they threatened to incite war and cause mass murder. Starfleet's mission to hunt down and capture the renegade "supermen" ultimately led to the destruction of the Augments, as well as most of the embryos. (ENT: "Borderland", "Cold Station 12", "The Augments")

Not all of the embryos were destroyed, though. Some found their way into the hands of Klingons who, believing Humans were improving themselves in order to conquer the Klingon Empire, attempted to use the DNA from the embryos to enhance themselves. The end result was a mutation of a highly-contagious virus that caused massive changes in physical appearance, biological structure, and even basic personality traits of large portions of the Klingon race. (ENT: "Affliction", "Divergence")

The continued banning of genetic engineering ultimately became a point of contention between the Federation and the Illyrian race. Since the Illyrians were known for using genetic modification within its members, Illyrians were usually barred from entering service into Starfleet and even use of their medical technology became banned within the Federation. The mixing of Human and Illyrian blood was similarly banned. (SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria")

In the 2260s, after the Enterprise encountered a spaceship from the 1990s, Spock described the mid-1990s as the era of the Human crew's "last so-called world war", which was affirmed by Doctor Leonard McCoy to be the Eugenics Wars. (TOS: "Space Seed")

In "Space Seed" the "supermen" of the Eugenics Wars were said to be the products of selective breeding; this was later retconned into genetic engineering.

Both "Space Seed" and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan give the dating of the Eugenics Wars as the 1990s. At one point during that decade in reality, Ronald D. Moore and Ren Echevarria had a discussion in which they observed it as odd that the Eugenics Wars seemed to basically be the only evidence of genetic engineering in Star Trek. "It's virtually never discussed, aside from the fact that there was this thing called the Eugenics Wars at some point, and Khan came out of it," stated Moore. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion(p. 431)) Consequently, while writing DS9 Season 5 installment "Doctor Bashir, I Presume", Moore focused on the idea that the Eugenics Wars had motivated the Federation into deciding not to meddle with genetic engineering. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 29, Nos. 6/7, p. 49)

In contrast to the Eugenics Wars having previously been established as taking place in the 1990s, "Doctor Bashir, I Presume", set in 2373, references the Eugenics Wars as having occurred two centuries prior to the episode, placing the Wars in the late 22nd century. As Ronald D. Moore later admitted, this statement was a production error, a line he had taken from The Wrath of Khan, but he had accidentally forgotten to account for the episode being set a century later than the film. (AOL chat, 1997) Confessed Moore, "It was simply a mistake. The date of the Eugenics Wars is something that we have been studiously trying not to pin ourselves down about, because obviously they aren't happening around as we speak [....] What looked like the distant future in 1967 is not so distant any more. I don't blame them for not having the foresight to see that in 30 years this would become important in the series." A production staffer from Star Trek: Voyager suggested the date had deliberately been changed on DS9 to account for the Eugenics Wars having not been mentioned in the "Future's End" two-parter. Moore flatly rejected that theory and responded, "We never talked to Voyager about it." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 29, Nos. 6/7, p. 50)

The original dating of the Eugenics Wars was reaffirmed by Phlox stating in "Borderland" that Arik Soong's Augments were pretty sophisticated for 20th century genetics. Phlox later mentions to the Klingons that genetic engineering on Earth was "banned decades ago," suggesting that the ban was not necessarily adopted by Humans immediately after the Eugenics Wars.

Manny Coto was a fan of this series of conflicts. "I was always fascinated by this idea of this Eugenics Wars," he commented. "I love the backstory of that story. I just found that just compelling, the idea that it was instigated by these genetically superior individuals." ("Inside the Roddenberry Vault, Part I", Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault special features)

In "Space Seed", Spock describes the mid-1990s as "the era of your last so-called world war," with Leonard McCoy directly referencing the Eugenics Wars in response, suggesting this conflict could be World War III. In TOS: "Bread and Circuses", Spock states that thirty-seven million people died in World War III consistent with Phlox's assertion that over thirty million died in the Eugenics Wars (again connecting World War III and the Eugenics Wars) but not Riker's claim that six hundred million died in the nuclear conflict in Star Trek: First Contact, and again repeated by Burnham in "New Eden". As Spock was speaking in the context of despotism, and what constitutes despotic "responsibility" is open to interpretation, his statement may not give the total death count.

In TNG: "Up The Long Ladder", Data states that Humans were still recovering from the effects of World War III in the early 22nd century. This statement makes more sense within the context of a mid 21st century war than that of a late 20th century war, suggesting that World War III and the Eugenics Wars are not the same conflict, as confirmed in Star Trek: First Contact.

According to show runners, Spock was wrong and that Eugenics Wars happened much later during 21st century. Terry Matalas: "We discussed endlessly. We came to the conclusion that in WW3 there were several EMP bursts that kicked everyone back decades. Records of that 75 year period, the 90s on were sketchy. Maybe Spock was wrong?" In response Khan's own references to the 1996 date, that they simply have be ignored to make the series more relatable to the present; "No easy way to do it if you want the past to look and feel like today. Maybe because in 1967 they didn't anticipate the show still going for another 6 decades." Aaron J. Waltke added: "There's also the ripples of the Temporal Cold War shifting the Prime Timeline in Enterprise at least until the Temporal Accords put an end to that wibbly wobbliness." [1]

The Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars books portray a different view on the Eugenics Wars as being a more covert hidden battle between the genetically engineered "supermen" rather than an overt one in an attempt to marry the original dates of the Eugenics Wars with the events of the present day. This explains why the United States of America is seen as relatively unaffected in the episode "Future's End" and also raises the quite logical hypothesis that Gary Seven, who was present on Earth at the time of Khan's birth and would have known of the eugenics movement, was involved in the overthrow of Khan and the other tyrants. Numerous 20th century Trek characters appear in the story, including Rain Robinson (who at the end of the second book becomes Roberta Lincoln's assistant), Ralph Offenhouse (an early financial backer of the genetic engineering program), Clare Raymond (her death is not an embolism but collateral damage from a nerve gas attack, Khan's assassination of Vasily Hunyadi, the fellow Augment secretly behind the Balkan conflicts of the early 1990s), Gillian Taylor, Flint (as "Wilson Evergreen"), and Jeff, who designed the Botany Bay with Shannon O'Donnel and Walter Nichols involved in the project primarily with technology reverse-engineered from Quark's Treasure.

In the Star Trek: Khan comic book series associated with the alternate reality, the creative team went with a portrayal of the wars as being an open conflict that outright affected the whole planet. The depiction of the wars however was filtered through the lens of Khan telling his own version of the events to a Federation court. As such, the series frequently cast doubt on how much of the events he depicted were actually true to his memory and how much of it was perhaps Khan simply spinning a fanciful version that would garner him sympathy with those present to hear his words.

In "The Rules of War", a short story from the anthology Strange New Worlds 9, the enemy commander whom Archer's great-grandfather Nathan Archer negotiated with in North Africa is Stavos Keniclius.

Read the original post:

Eugenics Wars | Memory Alpha | Fandom

The new three-part documentary The U.S. and the Holocaustdirected by Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein and written by Geoffrey C. Wardsheds light on how the American people grappled with one of the greatest atrocities of the 20th century and the humanitarian crisis that followed and how this struggle tested the principles of our democracy. The U.S. and the Holocaust airs Sunday (9/18), Monday (9/19) and Tuesday (9/20) at 8pm on GBH 2.

The idea about making a film specifically about the Holocaust started to take shape after Burns, Novick and Botstein produced The War, a seven-part PBS miniseries released in 2007. Also written by Ward, that film recounted life during World War II as told by residents from four communities across America.

After The War came out, people came up to us and asked us questions that were familiar and recurring, Burns said, including why more than 900 Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis were denied entry to the U.S. in 1939 and why the Allies didnt bomb Auschwitz. It made us want to delve into it more deeply, he said.

And then, very coincidentally, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., approached us. They were just launching an exhibition called Americans and the Holocaust filtered through the eyes of the United States, he said.

The filmmakers worked in cooperation with the museum and scholars to refine the story. Combining the first-person accounts of Holocaust witnesses and survivors and interviews with leading historians and writers, the film dispels competing myths that Americans either were ignorant of the unspeakable persecution that Jews and other targeted minorities faced in Europe or that they looked on with callous indifference.

It also explores the historical record of Charles Lindbergh and Henry FordAmerican heroes at the time but among the most vocal antisemites. Also noted was Madison Grant, a well-known conservationist who helped save the Redwoods in California but was a major proponent of eugenics, a pseudoscience that promoted the propagation of a superior White race through genetics.

Other prominent historical figures include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dorothy Thompson, Rabbi Stephen Wise, as well as Anne Frank and her family, who applied for but failed to obtain visas to the U.S. before they went into hiding. This unexpected aspect of the Franks story underscores an American connection to the Holocaust that will be new to many viewers.

Although 200,000 Jews eventually found refuge in the United States, many more were rejected. I realized that this is a story of all the missing human beingswho mostly do not have names, who do not have relatives to save their memories because, in many cases, entire families were wiped out, Burns said.

I can tell you that I have never cried once when I have read narration. But reading narration for The U.S. and the Holocaust was different for the Academy Award-winning executive producer. I broke down at all these unusual places, he said.

We plowed ahead for a long time, not really realizing how much it would affect us all, Burns said. The way I would describe this is that I will never work on a more important film than this one.

And while many Americans remained detached from the genocide that was taking place a world away, others responded by denouncing the Nazis, marching in protest and boycotting German goods. Some Americans even performed heroic acts to save individual Jews and stood up to Nazism at home and abroad.

We have told a very complicated and dark story punctuated by hopeful bits of light and heroism, he said.

And the story is still relevant today. The U.S. and the Holocaust tackles a range of issues that remain essential to our society, including how racism influences policies related to immigration and refugees as well as how governments and people respond to the rise of authoritarian states that manipulate history and facts to consolidate power.

This film is usall of usat our worst, Burns said. We have an obligation as human beings to be better.

See a preview and learn more here.

Read the original post:

Behind the Scenes: The U.S. and the Holocaust - GBH News