Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Belle Delphine's Trollonomics, Disney Deletion, Halle Bailey, Alabama Reversal, China Spyware

- 'Sup ya beautiful bastards.

Hope you're havin' a fantastic Thursday,

a happy 4th of July.

And a quick note before we jump into everything.

On this most American of holidays,

I'm still giving you a show because

tomorrow we're actually doing something different.

Tomorrow I'm uploading my first official episode

of A Conversation With podcast,

and that conversation in particular

is with my wife Lindsay DeFranco.

And the video in general is kind of a departure

from what you get usually every single day,

but it's a departure I really enjoyed filming.

I think some of you are really going to enjoy, as well.

So, after today's video,

after you hit that like button,

make sure you also have that bell rung

so you get notifications,

'cause we're gonna be uploading it

at a slightly different time than Monday to Thursday.

But with that said,

let's just jump into it.

The first thing we're gonna talk about today

is actually a collection of some quickie news.

A few recommended randoms stories,

as well as an update to a story we covered in the past week.

First up, we saw some Disney news

get some attention this week.

You know Toy Story 4 is currently out in theaters,

and when you have a new addition to a franchise,

at the same time you might get newly released,

or extra special editions of

previous addition to the franchise.

And so it was reported that in the newly released

and downloadable version of Toy Story 2,

they deleted a scene.

And specifically it was this fake blooper

at the end of the movie.

- [Woody] Prospector, how 'bout you?

- [Prospector] And so you two are absolutely identical?

(laughing)

You know, I'm sure I could get you a part in Toy Story 3.

I'm sorry, are we back?

Oh, all right girls,

lovely talking with you.

Yes, anytime you'd like some tips on acting

I'd be glad to chat with you.

All right, off you go then.

- All right, so it's this kind of Hollywood,

predatory behavior joke,

and while this may have been a change

just as a company saying, you know what?

There's new societal awareness around predatory behavior.

As The Hill pointed out,

there may have actually been

a closer to home reason for Disney as they explain,

"The deleted scene depicts a situation similar

to allegations women have made

in recent years about men in Hollywood

abusing power dynamics,

including Toy Story director John Lasseter.

Lasseter announced he'd be leaving Disney last year,

after The Hollywood Reporter published an investigation

revealing accusations from numerous Pixar employees

saying the director was known for grabbing,

kissing, and making comments about physical attributes."

So, there was that.

Then a story that was sent to me far too many times.

Belle Delphine, who I guess at this point,

can be best described as Internet Meme Girl.

Last week we awarded Troll of the Week

for her PornHub troll.

She was all over the internet this week

because her new business venture,

which is Gamer Girl Bathwater,

which I'm not joking,

is $30 per jar bathwater that she sat in.

Some of which also apparently might have been in her mouth.

A product that apparently sold so well

it is now out of stock.

And my main reaction to this is I just feel like

I'm in the wrong business.

She's selling tap water that has come across her body

at a $30 premium, to drinking water.

And I, seemingly like a shmuck,

sell my premium, all natural, cruelty free,

ethically sourced, handmade in the United States

palm-aid for $24.

Although we're having a massive 20% off sale right now

if you use code July fourth,

the beatufifulbastard.com.

That's why I trust it in my hair everyday,

beard oil that beautiful bastard's far more attractive

and follicly gifted than self love.

I guess the main point of this story

is I'm glad that I somehow made it about myself.

Then one of the biggest pieces of entertainment

news in the past 24 hours is that

it was announced that Halle Bailey

will playing Ariel in the new live action

of The Little Mermaid.

But it was also hard to tell why it was such big news.

I mean, one part of it was definitely

that you had fans of Halle Bailey

who were excited fans,

fans of The Little Mermaid, who were excited.

Also as we pretty much always see happen

when you have any sort of shift from the original.

You have both people excited and also

angry about the shift of who is playing Ariel.

And finally it appears that the biggest reaction

to this news, one of the biggest,

reasons it was trending is that people

were confused as to why Halle Berry was

going to be playing Ariel.

And for some reason that just spread like

a virus because once you see Halle Berry,

blah I can't even say it now.

Once you see or hear Halle Berry,

it's hard to then say Halle Bailey.

Ah, I have never felt more like a dumb animal.

Sounds kinda funny, but long story short,

I'm personally excited for this.

And then we had the more serious quickie piece

of news which is an update to the Alabama story

we covered in the past week.

And if you don't remember that story,

it involved a woman by the name of

Marshae Jones being charged with manslaughter.

This because when she was reportedly five

months pregnant she got into an altercation

with another woman.

That woman ended up shooting Jones in the stomach.

She ended up losing the baby.

And so then she ended up being charged

with manslaughter.

This because police there said

that Jones instigated the fight and so

she was the one at fault.

A grand jury did not indict the woman

who shot her but they did indict Jones.

Following this news there was massive outrage.

If you want the details I'll link

to that video down below.

But the update today is that the DA has said

that they have dismissed the case

and that no legal action will be taken.

Saying, "The issue before us is whether it's

appropriate to try to hold someone legally

culpable for the actions that led to

the death of the unborn child.

There are no winners, only losers,

in this sad ordeal."

Right and around this story there has been

this big debate around fetal personhood,

which may also be why the DA,

while dismissing the charges saying that no

legal action will be taken,

defended the grand jury's indictement.

Saying, "The citizens took the evidence

presented them by the Pleasant Grove Police

Department and made what they believed to be a

reasonable decision to indict Ms. Jones.

The members of the grand jury took to heart

that the life of an unborn child was violently ended

and believed someone should be held accountable.

But in the interests of all concerned,

we are not prosecuting the case."

So ultimately that is where we are with the story.

And now that we have seen this outcome,

I'd love to pass a question off to you of,

what do you think here?

Do you think the DA made the right move here?

The wrong move? Why? Why not?

Let me and the rest of the nation know

what you're thinking in those comments down below.

And then the last thing that were gonna

talk about today is China.

Is a really cool place and there is

nothing concerning about their

authoritarian government.

Thanks for watching. (jazz music)

Obviously I'm kidding about the government.

We're gonna be talking about China's new

way of spying on people in the country.

There was an investigation by The New York Times,

and other major publications that revealed China

has been using a phone app to spy on tourists.

Now before you freak out if you've been to China

recently, you're likely not affected.

But, future tourists possibly won't be so lucky.

And the reason for that is so far the app called,

Fengcai is only being used on tourists who cross

into Xinjiang from a land border.

Reportedly when you cross that border,

agents insist that you hand over your phone

and they take into another room.

In that room they install Fengcai

on android phones.

Also for the apple fanboys out there,

you would also have your phones taken.

Those were then connected to a held device

via USB, although what the device did,

could not be determined.

But as far as android, Fengcai,

what exactly does the app do,

according to the investigation the app,

downloads nearly all of your phone's data.

Right, so that means text messages,

contacts, call log history, calender entries,

installed apps, photos, everything.

It then sends it unencrypted to a local server

and the Chinese government isn't just collecting

all of your information they're also actually

looking for 73,000 specific things that the country

deems dangerous.

Notably anything that encourages terrorism,

like you've downloaded or viewed Al Qaeda or

Isis publications.

But even things like academic books that talk

about terrorism.

However it even searches for benign things like,

arabic dictionaries or religious expressions

from the Quran.

Also searching for things like if you have a

photo of The Dalai Lama.

And Maya Wang, a China researcher for the

Human Rights Watch described Chinese targeting

of Muslim content like this, saying,

"The Chinese government, both in law and practice

often conflates peaceful religious activities

with terrorism.

You can see in Xinjiang, privacy is a gateway right:

Once you lose your to privacy,

you're going to be afraid of practicing your religion,

speaking what's on your mind or

even thing your thoughts."

But also reportedly it doesn't stop at religion,

the app even looks to see if you have music

from a specific Japanese metal band.

And the reason for that is because they wrote

a song called Taiwan - Another China.

Right, so just about anything that could possibly

be anti-communist China could possibly get you

in trouble.

Now at this point you might be wondering why is

this policy in Xinjiang,

and it's because the region is populated by a

predominantly Muslim minority called the Uighurs.

And if that name sounds familiar,

it's because we've actually talked about them before.

And if you have no idea,

here is a lightening fast recap

that is over simplified.

China as a communist country doesn't want

any other societal structures that could

rival the central government.

So for decades they've had a policy of

repressing religions in the country.

And in addition they repressed ethnic groups

that have a history of wanting their own nation.

Xinjiang has both of these factors

and has been stubborn about getting rid

of it's Muslim and national identity.

And because of that China has been very

controlling of the region.

And that control escalated dramatically

after 2009 when Uighur protest against

discrimination by Han Chinese ended with

over 200 dead and hundreds more wounded.

And of this is used for justification

for major surveillance.

Right, and this app to search phones at the

border is just the tip of the iceberg,

the major cities there are filled with

surveillance cameras and systems that can

identify people walking on the streets by name,

address, family ties, education and

other metrics.

And all, reportedly in real-time.

But in Xinjiang those aren't even the most

notorious security and surveillance programs.

China is also know for detaining upwards

of 1 million Uighurs in interment camps.

And these camps are known as de-extremification,

re-education centers.

And the Chinese claim it's to help give

Uighurs job training and education skills,

saying that it's a non-lethal way to combat

terrorism.

But meanwhile, around the world we have other

countries claiming and calling this a

mass incarceration system against the Uighurs

and a massive human rights violation.

And if you want more detailed videos

on this specific aspect,

I'm gonna link to some resources down below.

But all that brings us back to why the Chinese

are checking the phones of tourists at the borders.

Chinese likely fear what they deem

extremist content entering the country

from their Muslim neighbors.

Now at this point, some of you may still be wondering,

well this seems very specific, right,

it's very localized.

Well unlike Vegas, what happens in Xinjiang,

doesn't stay in Xinjiang.

Also it should be noted, what happens in Vegas,

doesn't not stay in Vegas. It's a lie.

It sounds good but it's false.

But I mean, here's what Timothy Grose,

an expert on China at The Rose Hulman Institute

of Technology had to say,

"Xinjiang provides a testing ground from which

they can then try it in larger places."

Right, you could think of this as the beta

before a launch.

And the thing is, it doesn't even always

stay in China itself.

Some of the surveillance technology tested

there has been reported to have been implemented

in other countries like Malaysia, Pakistan,

and in Zimbabwe.

And this is also a big deal because

it is targeting foreigners which is

something China has avoided doing in the past.

And so now there are fears that China might use

this at all national borders, including airports.

Meaning traveling to China in the future might

come with the requirement that you will also

need to be willing to have your phone searched.

But the last thing that I'll point out

with this story is you can maybe call it

a silver lining by the lusist of definitions.

If you didn't delete Fengcai after

it was installed on your phone.

It reportedly does not continuously monitoring.

So the potential lightness to this situation

is that it only scans and records every single

thing on your phone once.

But I would say, personally, I wouldn't even trust

that it actually only does that.

And when you're saying it only records everything,

you realize how ridiculous the situation is.

But of course with all that said,

it brings us to the part of the story where I

pass the question off to you,

What are your thoughts on this?

Do you think that this is scary?

Would you be less likely to got to a country

that forces you to hand over your phone?

Also what would you say I said that

this story wasn't super far from home?

Right, how would you react if I told you,

US border agents have come under fire in the past

for asking to search phones at the airport,

although without invasive software?

Also, I will say if this is just a one time check

I really do wonder how effective it can be?

Because it feels like this story is just

and advertisement for you to buy a burner phone.

Right, because then you wouldn't have to

deal with an invasive situation if you lost or

someone stole your phone,

you still have your actual phone at home.

Right, but I also think that the availibility

of you being able to take that action

shouldn't change how serious this situation is.

But, hey, that's the story,

and of course I'd love to hear from you

in those comments down below.

But yeah, that's where we're gonna end today's show.

Its a little shorter which is kinda of crazy

to consider a 10 minute show shorter these days.

When we first started the shows were around three minutes.

Yeah, I'm gonna go enjoy some July fourth activities.

I hope you get to do so as well.

Also, kind of a random sidenote,

there was an earthquake as I was filming today's show.

So just in case I'm gonna get away from

all these heavy railings and lights

above above my head.

Super chill and not scary reminder,

earthquakes happen in clusters.

But yeah, that's where were gonna end today's show.

Also, if you're not 100% filled in,

not only can you check out yesterday's Philip

Defranco show which you might've missed.

We posted a brand new video on the brand new

Rogue Rocket channel.

There we take a fascinating look at how

NASA's planning to stop killer asteroids

from colliding with the earth.

But also hey, before you leave if you liked

today's video let us know.

Hit that like button.

Also, if you're new here, you want more,

be sure to hit that subscribe button,

definitely ring that bell to turn on notifications.

But, with that said, of course as always,

my name is Philip Defranco,

you've just been filled in,

I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.