Stories

The US Administration Is Now Openly Hostile To Europe’s Digital Services Act

Hm: “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), sent a scathing letter to a number of tech giants, including Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple. The letter's subject: the European Digital Services Act cannot be applied if it jeopardizes freedom of expression and, above all, the safety of US citizens.” - Wired

Is It Even Possible For Meta To Rein In Its AI Chatbots?

Not ideal: “This isn’t some relatively harmless inconvenience that just targets celebrities, either. These bots often insist they’re real people and will even offer physical locations for a user to meet up with them.” - The Verge

Portland Is Looking For Some Help Figuring Out Its Performing Arts Future

Should Portland State build two new performing arts centers to handle Broadway tours while the earthquake-unsafe Keller Auditorium is renovated? Can the city in any way afford this? And what about traffic? - Oregon ArtsWatch

Atlanta Is About To Lose Its Print Newspaper

The Journal-Constitution plans to go all-digital at the end of 2025. - Nieman Lab

Musicians In Utah Protest ICE Detention Of Violinist

“Musicians have been staging ongoing performances in protest at the Utah State Capitol.” - NPR

US Administration Moving To Fire 500 Voice Of America Employees, Despite Court Ruling

“Most of the 1,300 Voice of America journalists had already been fired or remained on paid leave prior to these layoffs. Only 100 journalists and other staff members remain employed by the organization.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)

When Publishers Let ‘Nature Authors’ Get Away With Quackery, We All Suffer

The truth is that "disability is not a choice, but a natural variation of existence. That disability is part of the natural world, and not an anomaly to be corrected. That incurable illnesses exist. That medicine is an inexact science.” - LitHub

CalArts Makes Some Pretty Big Cuts

CalArts had tried to get 50-60 faculty and staff to take “voluntary separation” or early retirement, but when they didn’t get enough takers, they simply laid staff ad faculty off. - Hyperallergic

Pro-Palestine March Makes Its Mark At The Venice Film Fest

One actor, in three movies at the festival, said that “on stage and screen, actors are counted on to speak emphatically. ‘I’m happy to make louder the simple sentence of “Stop killing.”’” - The New York Times

The French Are Getting Very Unhappy With The Bayeux Tapestry’s Planned Visit To England

“What many opponents resent above all is the high-handed way they feel Macron decided to make his gesture to the UK, overriding the advice of specialists who say the vibrations inevitable in a long journey by road could cause irreparable damage.” - BBC

At The Toronto Film Fest, Fans Feel Squeezed Out By Brands

“TIFF, long considered the people's festival because screenings are open to the public, is preparing to host its 50th edition.” But brands are blocking fan access - and the people are not thrilled. - CBC

You’ve Heard Of Walking Meetings

But this is a walking (audio) book club. - Washington Post (Yahoo)

The Weather Gods Have Not Blessed Burning Man This Year

“The desert festival … began Sunday, following a weekend of brutal storms that battered camps, tore down art installations and caused dozens of injuries.” (Worse, they destroyed the Orgy Dome.) “By midweek, vehicles were again entering the site, though muddy conditions forced … delays of up to eight hours each day.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Why I’m Not Reviewing A Fascinating New Collection Of Virginia Woolf Letters (And What This Says About Today’s Publishing Mess)

"It is hard to think that the world once fondly referred to as one “of letters” does not half-deserve its dwindling readerships and shattered finances when a volume of new writing, from a writer who continues to command a vast, maybe exorbitant, level of attention, is listed at such an absurdly inflated price." - Prospect

One Opera Company In Florida Is Thriving Despite All The Federal And State Funding Cuts

“Opera Naples has seen a 71 percent increase in ticket sales over the past two years, and a 310 percent jump in corporate sponsorships.” - WGCU (Fort Myers, FL)

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