S1 E7: Immigration, Stephen Hawking & Football: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
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FCC Net Neutrality Meeting
- John Oliver criticizes FCC Chair Tom Wheeler's previous role as a lobbyist for the cable industry and compares him to a dingo.
Immigration
US Immigration Issues
- The US immigration system is broken, with high costs and dangerous methods used to enter the country illegally.
- Immigration reform efforts suffer a major setback when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor loses to an unknown economics professor in a Republican primary election, effectively killing immigration reform for the rest of President Obama's term.
- Dan Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins football team, refuses to change the team's name despite criticism and an emotionally powerful advertising campaign highlighting Native American culture.
Global Immigration Resistance
- Oliver discusses the global resistance to immigration, with examples from France, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria.
Immigration Controversies
- Immigration is a controversial topic that evokes strong opinions and prejudices.
- Some argue that immigrants take jobs from American citizens, but studies show no evidence to support this claim.
- Others claim that immigrants are prone to crime, but statistics indicate that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.
- The fear that immigrants will vote for Democrats and harm the Republican party is unfounded, as there is no evidence to suggest this.
Physics and Science
Stephen Hawking's Views
- Professor Stephen Hawking, a renowned physicist, believes that an expanding universe does not require the existence of a creator.
- Imaginary time is a well-defined concept, but most people don't understand it. It's like another direction in space.
Artificial Intelligence and Parallel Universes
- Artificial intelligence could be a real danger in the future as it could design improvements to itself and outsmart humans.
- There could be an infinite number of parallel universes, including ones where the viewer is smarter or funnier than they are in this universe.
Other Scientific Concepts
- Life on other planets and Schwarzschild wormholes are theoretically possible.