Category: issues

The “culprit” was Aslan Sagutdinov, a blogger in the city of Uralsk. In a video taken of his arrest, he said, “I want to show that the idiocy in our country has gotten so strong that the police will detain me now even though there are no inscriptions, no slogans, without my chanting or saying anything.” (The writer of this report compares Sagutdinov’s action to John Cage’s 4’33”.) – Hyperallergic

“As the conversation of the physical phenomenon under discussion grows more complex, language is revealed to be inadequate to the task of describing abstract thought. At this point, students resort to drawing on the chalkboard to more clearly demonstrate their questions and hypotheses and the process of emendation continues in pictures. What this reveals is that scientific investigation is primarily a matter of imagination since the realities being investigated are frequently invisible and incompletely understood.” – American Enterprise Institute

The obvious explanation would be that the 20th anniversary of the Tienanmen Square massacre is upcoming (June 4). “When Wikipedia’s official account tweeted that the reasons for the total block were ‘unknown to us,’ a Shanghai-based user responded, ‘Don’t be daft.'” – Slate

Following in the footsteps of workers at MoMA and the New Museum, employees of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) have signed a formal petition to join United Auto Workers Local 2110. “While they haven’t yet posed any official demands, several workers [are] alleging worsening working conditions including the reduction of benefits, 401k matching, and healthcare, in addition to transforming full-time jobs to hourly part-time jobs, which render workers ineligible for benefits.” – Hyperallergic

In the past, civilization often declined gradually. Also, sometimes the decline was good for some members of society as their rulers were overthrown. But we live in a much more interconnected world, and our fates are intertwined. – Aeon

The theatre, completed in 1916, was built by British and Parsi businessmen and presented Western and Indian music and spoken theatre until the 1930s, when it became a cinema. The arrival of cable TV and VCRs killed its business, and it shut and went derelict until its owners, a former maharaja and maharani, had it restored in 2017. Once again, it hosts both Indian and Western classical music and dance as well as spoken theatre. – The Hindu BusinessLine (India)

“It’s one thing to own the ugly feelings with which one is understandably and unjustly riddled after years of hanging on by the fingernails while applying for job after job, only to be ghosted by the search committees who pronounce judgment. But it’s quite another to wield those feelings as a weapon against people who are also marginalized.” – Chronicle of Higher Education

Google said it’s reviewing the orders; meanwhile, it’s complying. “The move could hobble Huawei’s smartphone business outside China as the tech giant will immediately lose access to updates to Google’s Android operating system. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services including the Google Play Store and Gmail and YouTube apps.” – Reuters

Last year, the festival kicked off a 50/50 pledge – but there’s much work to be done, and the EU commission will gather Europe-wide data and report on best practices. As for now, a report says of France’s film reviewers who are women, “When they were writing, it was primarily for general interest or women’s magazines rather than publications specialized in cinema or culture, the report found. Men were significantly more likely to review thrillers, documentaries and action films.” – Variety