Futuristic Skyscraper Planned for St. Petersburg Scrapped

“A twisting, 400m-high skyscraper, to be built overlooking the historical centre of St Petersburg, the building was to house the headquarters of the state gas monopoly, Gazprom. … This week, after months of uncertainty and contradictory statements from high-ranking Russian politicians, the final nail seems to have been hammered into the coffin of the project.”

Are Americans Really As Religious As They Tell Pollsters They Are?

“Rather than ask people how often they attend church, the better studies measure what people actually do. The results are surprising. Americans are hardly more religious than people living in other industrialized countries. Yet they consistently – and more or less uniquely – want others to believe they are more religious than they really are.”

National Gallery Of Canada Seeks Legal Opinion Over Removing Photograph

“The National Gallery of Canada is seeking legal advice over a dispute between Toronto artist AA Bronson and the Washington-based National Portrait Gallery. Bronson, a former member of Toronto’s pioneering General Idea art collective, has asked the National Portrait Gallery to return his photograph from the gay-themed exhibit Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.”