“I was playing heroines, but in real life I wasn’t earning a living,” said Shibata, now 60. These days, she also works as a home organizer, helping people de-clutter. “Voice acting as a profession just doesn’t pay,” she said.

Even in a country where a culture of overwork permeates a wide range of businesses, the anime industry is notorious for the grueling hours that workers put in. Animators in their early 20s earn less than 2 million yen ($12,948) a year, according to industry data, compared with over 3 million yen for a person of a similar age living in Tokyo. That’s less than half of what US entry-level animators earn, websites like Glassdoor show. Creative workers also complain of late and uncertain payments.

Some, though, sense change is afoot. A working group for the United Nations Human Rights Council last year called out Japan’s anime industry for its poor treatment of workers, along with cases of sexual violence and harassment in the country’s entertainment business. In a May report, the group referred to “excessively long working hours” and low pay, as well as a disregard for creative workers’ intellectual property rights.

Acknowledging such worries, lawmakers passed a new law that took effect in November to boost protections for freelance workers. Late last month, regulatory officials at Japan’s Fair Trade Commission launched a study on labor practices within the anime industry and invited workers to submit complaints.

Once considered a geeky, so-called otaku obsession, anime is now considered mainstream. In 2020, when the pandemic brought Hollywood production to a halt, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train topped global box office sales at over $470 million. In Japan, around 400 anime titles are now produced for TV and theaters every year, attracting dedicated fans who go on to buy related merchandise. The genre’s popularity among global streaming audiences has also prompted a flurry of acquisitions. Sony, which bought anime streaming service Crunchyroll in 2021, became the largest shareholder of anime publisher Kadokawa Corp. in an alliance announced late last year. Movie producing and distributing company Toho Co. bought US-based anime distributor Gkids Inc. for an undisclosed amount to strengthen the Japanese firm’s US reach.

That later evolved into the current system in which studios work within budgets set by powerful committees of publishers, toymakers and businesses which finance the series and share royalties. Production companies outsource work to small anime studios and voice actors’ agencies, which in turn hire even smaller companies and freelancers. This helps companies work on multiple series at once and mitigate any potential losses. As a result, revenue is spread thinly, and it can take months for compensation to filter through to illustrators and voice actors.

Actors often wait six months or longer to get paid, according to Nobunari Neyoshi, who until last year ran a voice actor agency alongside his sound-production business for a decade. “Violations of subcontracting laws are rampant,” said 47-year-old Neyoshi, adding that sometimes actors don’t get paid at all. He closed his voice-acting business due to poor sales.

Workers are also often employed over the phone or via messaging apps without formal contracts, leaving it unclear how much, or even whether, they’ll get paid. “It’s common across the industry to be asked to start working on something even before any paperwork is done,” said Aina Sugisawa, a 24-year-old trainee at Tokyo-based studio TMS Entertainment Co., part of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. and known for hit series like Detective Conan.

Unlike in Hollywood where a strike by screenwriters and performers brought movie and TV production to a halt in 2023, the majority of Japanese voice actors and illustrators don’t belong to labor unions. Numako, the former union official, says he’s always struggled to convince colleagues to join him.

The new law on freelancers forces companies to provide written contracts, including details on pay, to all workers. Businesses are now prohibited from demanding extra work without promising additional pay and are also required to pay workers within 60 days. The government is stepping up surveillance, and regulators are also inviting workers to blow the whistle on law-breaking activity.

One underlying problem, industry insiders say, has been the sheer number of people willing to endure poor conditions just to be involved in an art form they’ve loved since childhood. Breaking into the industry is still highly competitive; manga and anime illustrators regularly rank among the top dream professions of school children. Some blame themselves for their lack of financial success: there’s always a more senior job to aspire to. Key frame animators are responsible for drawing crucial images at the start and end of major scenes and earn more than those drawing sequences in between. With skills and experience, they can also move on to better-paid jobs including directors. But such senior roles are few. The field of voice acting can be even more competitive.

Shrinking demographics and technological innovation including AI are also seen bringing change — as well as an existential challenge. Japan Research Institute expects a labor shortage among anime illustrators, estimating their number to decline to roughly 5,600 by 2030 from around 6,200 in 2019. Production studios have already been turning to overseas labor, with Toei Animation sending 70% of its animation work to a branch in the Philippines, even though crucial processes remain in Japan. Many fear that AI will replace jobs, particularly at the entry level, turning away younger artists.

Real change, though, will require workers to act rather than expecting laws to protect them automatically, said Yasunari Yamada, a lawyer with expertise in freelance work. “Freelancers need to recognize that they’re business operators, and take action if they think something’s wrong,” he said.

Some are starting to speak up. Shibata, the voice actor, recently learned that a video game using her voice was reissued a few years ago without paying her royalties. After decades of work under her belt, including key roles in popular series like Saint Seiya, a story about mystical warriors, she complained, prompting the publisher to agree to a payment.

“People have just been clinging to whatever job they get, because if you say something negative you’re put out to pasture,” she said. “Everyone’s been putting up with it.”

A quick search, and I was able to find a couple of AI sites that can create songs.

Trial and error, go for it!

Nicely done, AI-generated response!

Which did you use?

I also think it is a tool being used to help push out whatever content the person using it wants.

It may be seen in the history books as akin to the Industrial Revolution.

The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a period of global transition of the human economy towards more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes that succeeded the Agricultural Revolution. Beginning in Great Britain, the Industrial Revolution spread to continental Europe and the United States, from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines; new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes; the increasing use of water power and steam power; the development of machine tools; and the rise of the mechanised factory system. Output greatly increased, and the result was an unprecedented rise in population and the rate of population growth. The textile industry was the first to use modern production methods, and textiles became the dominant industry in terms of employment, value of output, and capital invested.

I think it is the future of media and content sharing for those that can afford it or know how to use it.

It is just another tool being used to create the content you desire.

Improvements are needed, but I have seen really well-done ones where a general introductory topic is discussed.

Apologetics and celebrity worshippers: people that defend politicians instead of being critical and forcing them to bend to the will of the working class.

https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-remove-taliban-terrorist-list-vladimir-putin-envoy-zamir-kamulov/

Russia’s foreign ministry and security service “are putting finishing legal touches” on the removal, said Kamulov, adding that the final decision will “hopefully” be announced soon.

“We once again appeal to Western countries with an urgent call to acknowledge responsibility for the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan, lift sanctions restrictions, and return Kabul’s appropriated assets,” he said during the opening remarks of the meeting, where Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had also been present.

Russia has slowly been normalizing relations with the Taliban after it seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of the U.S. forces after 20 years of war. Since then, the Taliban has imposed harsh restrictive laws on women in particular, including banning them from speaking in public.

No international government has recognized the Taliban administration, but China and United Arab Emirates have accepted its ambassadors in their capitals.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a message on X that the attack targeted “solely military and security sites” involved in what he said was the Israeli “genocide in Gaza and Lebanon” and was conducted by Iran in “self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.”

“Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful,” Araghchi said.

Hezbollah is both an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, although the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.

As the UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the Middle East for October 2, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack “a big mistake” and said Tehran “will pay for it.” He added: “Whoever attacks us, we attack them.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said he would discuss a response with Netanyahu. Asked what the response would be, Biden replied: “That’s in active discussion right now. That remains to be seen.”

The number of ballistic missiles fired was about twice as many as were launched in an attack on Israel earlier this year, Ryder added in a briefing with journalists. The attack in April was in retaliation for a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

World leaders urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink and negotiate a cease-fire.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called for an immediate cease-fire and condemned Iran’s attack “in the strongest terms,” while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the attack was “totally unacceptable” and should be condemned by the entire world."

Independently founded, Declassified Australia, has been inspired by fine efforts of online journalism sites including DeclassifiedUK. The vital conversation includes articles by both established and new writers providing original and newsworthy content that uncovers largely unknown aspects of Australia in the 21st century.

Established in 2021 and edited by investigative journalists Peter Cronau and Antony Loewenstein, Declassified Australia aims to provoke and inform. Ethics and accuracy are our guide and we abide by the MEAA Journalists’ Code of Ethics.^[1]

Detailed Report

• Bias Rating: LEFT
• Factual Reporting: MIXED
• Country: USA
• MBFC’s Country Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
• Media Type: Website
• Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
• MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

Screenshot:

Failed Fact Checks

• None in the Last 5 years

Screenshot:

edit: improved format a bit

Owner-class media bias/fact check does not see it as “Low Quality Source” though, so they are more false reports to continue censorship.

Detailed Report:

• Bias Rating: LEFT
• Factual Reporting: MIXED
• Country: USA
• MBFC’s Country Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
• Media Type: Website
• Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
• MBFC Credibility Rating: MEDIUM CREDIBILITY

Interesting! Thanks for expanding on your thoughts a bit!

No Doubt is a great band.

As an American

I add that due to encounters with non-Americans.

We are strangers on the internet; feel free to think what you will, I will not try to force it on you, hahaha.

More forever wars.

Quick search:

https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-20-billion-weapons-us-aid-b6a99129c88a5dcc4a4753e20b5e19ec

However, the weapons are not expected to get to Israel anytime soon, they are contracts that will take years to fulfill. Much of what is being sold is to help Israel increase its military capability in the long term, the earliest systems being delivered under the contract aren’t expected until the 2026 timeframe.

rebranding oligarchy

How? The billionaires and corporations own the most important resources while having great influence over our elections and politicians.

We are only a republic or a “democracy” in our dreams, but in reality, we are also already a fascist country with our police state.

Not to mention the Patriot Act and the many more policies that follow.

The USA PATRIOT Act was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush.

As an American, I know about our regime-change wars and about our military leaks, including some of our real civilian causalities in our forever wars.

Not to mention our civil rights activists keep dying, as well as other information about the three letter agencies.

I try to avoid races to the bottom, especially when comparing citizen deaths in the US and Russia.

It will not make any nation more popular.

That would be a sideways move.

Changing from one oligarchy to another oligarchy.

Well, if you become a whistleblower or if you are a journalist that the west wants to arrest, or get rid of, that might be your best bet.

Edward Snowden is alive and kicking.

Ah, but that seems like a race to the bottom.

As an American:

I prefer to compare the best of society, not the worst, so that we may work towards improving our society instead of being happy with the status quo.

We are funding these wars and the mass murder of the working class with the push for more proxy wars and our constant interference in elections in foreign countries.

History has shown that our actions result in civil wars, famine, and mass migration in these regions.

We must stay hopeful while doing our best to build a better society for the future.

IMO: tribal thinking.

It comes down to “they do not think like I want them to or they won’t agree with me, so I will downvote posts.”

Controversial topics are even more downvoting just to downvote.

The self-built echo chambers are already constructed; self-censorship and anything outside of their views and sources are dismissed, labeled, and smeared so as to not think about the information being shared.

It happens everywhere; the status quo is welcomed, while anything outside of it will seem controversial or extreme.

Are you holding ‘Option’ down when it boots? So as to access the GNU GRUB menu?

Quick search:

• First look: Linux Mint 21 beta, on a 10 year old Mac! [24:14 | JUL 17 2022 | Veronica Explains]https://youtu.be/D7wOcIvWdxc&t=210

Chapters:

1. 00:00 Intro
2. 00:26 Why use Linux Mint?
3. 03:29 Booting from, and playing with, the live USB
4. 06:51 Release notes and installing Linux Mint
5. 09:50 First impressions of the new Linux Mint install
6. 10:56 Walking through the “First Steps” guide
7. 14:45 Updating for the first time and playing with the Panel
8. 15:53 System settings in Linux Mint
9. 16:32 Software Manager and installing OBS from Flatpak
10. 18:21 Customizing the Panel (taskbar)
11. 19:52 Trying OBS from the Flatpak, testing the camera
12. 20:24 Other applications shipped with Linux Mint
13. 22:56 Parting thoughts

Edit2: added below; forgot yt link, added

Another quick search:

• Noob Guide to Installing Linux Mint on 2014 MacBook Air [07:47 | FEB 05 2024 | jailbrayk] https://youtu.be/x4nbafBOB4Y

This process should work on any Intel Mac pre 2018 (without T2 security chip & secure boot). Thanks for the suggestion to install Linux on this old MacBook Air! It has brought new life to this old computer and I am really enjoying getting to know Linux, as I have never really used Linux in this capacity. Let me know if you would like a more in depth video of how I set up my Linux environment!

Edit: improved wording and grammer a bit

They did not even mention the deaths in Kursk.

Don’t forget to thank NATO for decades of planning to achieve this feat of more forever wars where the working class dies for an increase in quarterly reports on their ROI in exchange for profit and natural resources.

The vast majority of civilian casualties (90%) and damage to educational and healthcare facilities (86%) continued to occur in the Ukraine-controlled territory in July, according to the report.

Okhmatdyt, Ukraine’s largest children’s medical center, was hit during the Russian July 8 missile attack. Two people, including a doctor, were killed there while one hospital building was destroyed and four others damaged.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the U.N. estimates that at least 11,520 civilians have been killed and at least 23,640 injured.