John Fetterman votes most of the time with Democrats, but he is a Democrat who is a patriotic American. He fully supports ICE’s deployments nationwide. “The border, and it was sky skyrocketing, you know, and it’s like, that’s unsustainable. When you reach almost 300,000 people, that’s unsustainable. And we need to, you know, as a […] The post John Fetterman Wants Illegal Alien Criminals Out of the Country appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

When a significant coral bleaching event swept across the reefs of Mauritius last summer, one small group of corals remained as vibrant as ever. While neighboring wild reefs experienced bleaching rates as high as 80%, Dr. Nadeem Nazurally’s reefs experienced just as much, and often more, in survival rates Nazurally is naturally breeding heat-resistant corals […] The post Mauritius Advances Science of Heat-Resistant Coral for Restoring Reefs with 98% Survival Rates appeared first on Good News Network.

Movies & TV Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Star Trek: Starfleet Academy: Robert Picardo Talks Opera and Hand Props “I have to be honest, I wish I had more hand props.” By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on January 16, 2026 Photo Credit: Miller Mobley/Paramount+ Comment 0 Share New Share Photo Credit: Miller Mobley/Paramount+ “I love Voyager. I was so excited to meet Robert Picardo. I was embarrassed with how excited I was. It was embarrassing. So I’ve been in lifelong fan [of Star Trek and also Robert Picardo].” That quote comes from award-winning actor Paul Giamatti when asked at the press conference for members of the Television Critics Association (TCA) what his relationship was to Star Trek. Giamatti isn’t alone: Many a Trek fan adore Voyager’s Doctor, an AI manifesting as a holographic projection who adores opera and is still his cantankerous self after being alive for centuries, as we see in the first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. I had the chance to talk with Picardo in the lead up to the show’s series premiere and asked the actor what he thought The Doctor was up to for all those centuries since Voyager: “I think he was waiting for the San Francisco Opera to ask him to be a guest performer. And it never happened, right? Hundreds of years of disappointment there, he probably took some voice classes, he certainly taught at the old Starfleet Academy as well. He probably was on a few other spaceships, and annoyed the captain too much they asked him to leave. So I think teaching was a natural way for him, a natural conclusion to his brilliant career, although, in theory, his brilliant career will never end.” Picardo is, of course, correct in how The Doctor would likely have faced the 900 or so years since Voyager. He also said, that he, the actor, missed the “very cool props” on his first Trek show. “There were an amazing variety of blinking devices that I could select from in order to cure whatever the problem was,” he said. “Now we just sort of have one device that you program, but I miss some of the other props… I have to be honest, I wish I had more hand props.” Photo Credit: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+ If you’ve seen the second episode of Starfleet Academy, you’ve seen The Doctor get his opera on. Trekkies know that The Doctor has sung opera since his Voyager days, something that Picardo said in the TCA press conference initially stemmed from a miscommunication. “The producers of Voyager misunderstood my suggestion that I listen to opera in sickbay while I was working, because I thought it was funny that a character with no emotion would choose incredibly emotional human art to listen to. And then they wrote a show where I’m singing and I went, ‘No, guys. No, you misunderstood me.’ But it was too late.” Picardo, however, was “was shocked and delighted” to sing in Starfleet’s second episode. “It was fun,” he added. “And our music director, Mark Russo [was] incredibly patient with me. And we really did it. I mean, I’ve heard it and I am delighted with how I sound.” In my interview with him, Picardo also gave a pitch to why Starfleet Academy is worth a watch. “[The show has] the most spectacular sets I’ve ever worked on, in anything, Star Trek or otherwise,” he said. “The atrium set for Starfleet Academy is the biggest set ever built for anything Star Trek. It’s on the largest sound stage in all of North America. It is just visually stunning to be in it, and then when you see it on film, it looks even more amazing because of the way it’s lit. “So I encourage anyone, even if you’ve never liked science fiction, just tune in to the pilot. And if you don’t like Star Trek, watch the set! You will still love this show—it’s unbelievably cool and futuristic. And I think that some of our performances, maybe even all of them, will captivate you once you’ve tuned in for the set. All right, is that fair?” New episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premiere on Paramount+ on Thursdays.[end-mark] The post <i>Star Trek: Starfleet Academy</i>: Robert Picardo Talks Opera and Hand Props appeared first on Reactor.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. A German appeals court has overturned the conviction of Deutschland-Kurier editor-in-chief David Bendels, ruling that his online satire aimed at Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was protected expression rather than criminal defamation. The dispute arose from a meme Bendels shared in February 2024. The image showed Faeser holding a sign that read, “I hate freedom of expression.” It was based on an authentic photograph taken at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, where Faeser’s placard had originally said, “We Remember.” Prosecutors charged Bendels under Section 188 of the German Criminal Code, a clause that allows penalties for defamation of public figures. The Bamberg District Court accepted the government’s argument that the meme could be mistaken for a real photograph and might damage the minister’s reputation. It classified the post as a false factual statement rather than political humor, sentencing Bendels to seven months of probation and requiring him to issue a written apology to Faeser. The Bamberg Regional Court has now thankfully overturned that decision. The panel found that the meme, when interpreted in its full context, was clearly satirical and fell within the boundaries of constitutionally protected speech. Both the presiding judge and the public prosecutor supported the acquittal. The image that prosecutors said was criminal. Bendels welcomed the outcome as an “important fundamental judgment” and stated that he would continue to stand for freedom of the press and expression in Germany. His defense team, led by constitutional law professor Ulrich Vosgerau, described the proceedings as a “litmus test for freedom of expression in Germany.” The earlier conviction had alarmed lawyers and commentators across the political spectrum, many of whom regarded it as politically motivated. Figures outside Bendels’ ideological circle, including former Federal Minister Rupert Scholz of the CDU and media lawyer Joachim Steinhöfel, both said the meme was “unproblematic.” Bendels, who had no previous criminal record, received a suspended sentence lasting two years before the appeal. He and his publication refused to accept that verdict, and his legal representatives immediately challenged it. More: Politicians vs Memes Sparks Free Speech Crisis in Germany The prosecution’s case rested on Paragraph 188, a law introduced during Angela Merkel’s tenure. The measure was intended to protect public officials from malicious defamation, yet it has long been criticized for its potential to suppress satire and dissent. Legal analysts have warned that it could be used not to prevent reputational harm but to restrain ridicule of political authority. The acquittal reaffirms a basic democratic principle: political satire, even when harsh, remains a legitimate form of public debate. Hopefully prosecutors will remember that. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post German Court Rules Satirical Meme Protected by Free Expression appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

How Transparent Can Propaganda Get and Succeed?