MetaFilter

From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, the best of "worldly cinema" according to Reddit users. The individual country threads provide alternate suggestions. The list is as idiosyncratic as can be expected from a Reddit poll: entries on Niger, Nigeria and Palestine had to be deleted because the threads were downvoted to death, Vietnamese cinema does not exist at all and the Best Swedish Movie Ever is [spoiler]. It is, however, a powerful reminder that movies are made everywhere.
comment posted at 8:30 AM on Aug-28-16

Today, the Hillary Clinton campaign launched a new "With Her" podcast, chronicling her historic run for office. Clinton also released her 2015 tax returns while Sen. Tim Kaine released 10 years’ worth of his. With just 87 days until Election Day, 538's "Election Forecast" looks dire for Republican nominee Donald Trump, who continues to rely on wild, desperate claims to capture each news cycle.
comment posted at 10:07 AM on Aug-13-16

Brexit: why Britain left the EU, explained with a simple cartoon [Vox] // UK appeals for calm as markets drop, EU leaders huddle [AP] // David Cameron resigns after UK votes to leave European Union [Guardian], Brexit: David Cameron rules out second EU referendum [Independent] // Brexit: Six key questions after Britain's vote to exit the EU [BBC] // Brexit loophole? MPs must still vote in order for Britain to leave the EU, top lawyers say [Independent] // Brexit: Germany rules out informal negotiations [BBC]
comment posted at 8:09 AM on Jun-28-16

The day is finally here, the UK decides. BBC: "Britain is set to go to the polls in an historic referendum on whether the country should remain a member of the European Union or leave. Polling stations are open between 07:00 BST and 22:00 BST. An estimated 46,499,537 people are entitled to take part in the vote - a record number for a UK election. It is only the third nationwide referendum in UK history and comes after a four-month battle for votes between the Leave and Remain campaigns. In common with other broadcasters, the BBC is limited in what it can report while polls are open but you can follow the results as they come in across the BBC after polls close on Thursday evening."
comment posted at 8:58 AM on Jun-24-16
comment posted at 8:49 PM on Jun-25-16
comment posted at 9:51 AM on Jun-26-16

(((Echoes))), Exposed: The Secret Symbol Neo-Nazis Use to Target Jews Online
comment posted at 7:10 PM on Jun-2-16

How old is your map? A handy guide from xkcd.
comment posted at 8:59 PM on Jun-1-16

For only AUD$750,000 the entire town of Allies Creek, Queensland can be yours - featuring 16 houses, 3 sawmills, a phone depot, a schoolhall, a dam full of fish, and all the freedom to do whatever you want.
comment posted at 10:21 AM on May-14-16

It's on - Australia is going to the polls in its second ever double dissolution election.
comment posted at 12:24 AM on May-9-16

Celebrated Indian recording artist and playback singer Usha Uthup, AKA Usha Iyer, has performed many different musical styles during her 47-year career: smokey jazz and pop on the 1968 album Scotch and Soda, funk and disco on 1978's Usha in Nairobi (song: Fever), disco and new wave for numerous films, and across the spectrum in this scene from the 1972 comedy Bombay to Goa. (Yes, that's Amitabh Bachchan in his first leading role.) Uthup is also not afraid to embrace the unusual, as shown on her weirdly wonderful 1984 album, Blast-Off.
comment posted at 6:41 PM on May-2-16

Nagpur Junction: A Short Tragicomic [via mefi projects]
comment posted at 11:58 PM on Apr-28-16

Nestlé’s Half-Billion-Dollar Noodle Debacle in India
comment posted at 8:23 PM on Apr-26-16

Tushar Lall arranges Indian classical music versions of well-known pop culture soundtracks. The latest release is Star Wars; there's also Harry Potter, Interstellar, Game of Thrones, Pirates of the Caribbean and BBC Sherlock.
comment posted at 9:39 AM on Apr-18-16

Rethinking the Map: How the lower 48 could be realigned into seven mega-regions.
comment posted at 9:15 AM on Apr-17-16

As we enter the last 30 weeks of the election campaign, delegate talk becomes more prevalent. On the Republican side, current Donald (future Donald) did not have a good Saturday in Colorado and South Carolina, with Cruz picking up delegates, and Kasich seeing a path despite lacking delegates. On the Democratic side, Bernie's recent good run has added to his count, although he remains behind Hillary. Voter suppression continues to be a strong issue, while Wikipedia has some interesting data on historical voter turnout. Meanwhile, Paul Ryan may or may not be running, while Kevin Spacey, who plays Frank Underwood in House of Cards series, says some real-life presidential candidates ‘appear to be fictional’.
comment posted at 9:45 PM on Apr-11-16

BBC: "David Cameron has defended a government pro-EU membership campaign, amid criticism that £9m of public money is being spent on "one-sided propaganda". The PM said the government was "not neutral" in the referendum and the cost was "money well spent". The 16-page leaflets will be sent to 27 million UK homes from next week."
comment posted at 2:42 AM on Apr-8-16

The US Department of Homeland Security created a fake for-profit institution, the University of Northern New Jersey (UNNJ), as part of a sting operation targeting student-visa fraud. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on the demise of UNNJ's Facebook page, which featured photos of a mysterious cup of coffee and condolences for the fictional death of the fictional president's mother.
comment posted at 3:27 AM on Apr-7-16

The 2016 Apocalypse Presidential Election continues: Five states vote in primaries on Tuesday, March 15th. Republican candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump will undoubtedly gain some delegates, while the other two will likely face their last stands: Marco Rubio in Florida, and John Kasich in Ohio. Candidates are taking desperate measures, like recommending each other, to stop Trump, while violence escalates at Trump events. Meanwhile, the Democratic race has tightened between frontrunner Hillary Clinton and her opponent Bernard Sanders as they prepare to split almost 800 delegates Tuesday...
comment posted at 8:27 AM on Mar-15-16

A State Dinner between Canada and the United States is underway in Washington DC.
comment posted at 6:15 PM on Mar-10-16

I was made to recite the story of my greatgrandmother, to the extent that I knew it: Her name was Sujaria, and this was her village. The British took her away in 1903 to work their sugar plantations in a place now known as Guyana. She sailed on a ship called The Clyde. My grandfather was born on that ship.

Gaiutra Bahadur traces the story of her great grandmother's singular journey as indentured labour meant for the sugar plantations of the Caribbean, shedding light on the lives of women in British India over a hundred years ago.
comment posted at 5:49 PM on Feb-23-16
comment posted at 5:53 PM on Feb-23-16
comment posted at 6:04 PM on Feb-24-16

The moment of truth: We must stop Trump "Democrats, your leading candidate is too weak to count on as a firewall. She might be able to pull off a general election victory against Trump, but then again she might not. Too much is uncertain this year. You, too, need to help the Republicans beat Trump; this is no moment for standing by passively. If your deadline for changing your party affiliation has not yet come, re-register and vote for Rubio, even if, like me, you cannot stomach his opposition to marriage equality. I too would prefer Kasich as the Republican nominee, but pursuing that goal will only make it more likely that Trump takes the nomination. The republic cannot afford that."
comment posted at 8:24 PM on Feb-23-16

Blogger suggests that a win For Hillary Clinton's methods on the way to the White House is a loss for participatory democracy. Alongside the quiet rollback of Obama's ban on contributions from federal lobbyists within the DNC comes what appears to be a novel tactic to maintain control of the nomination process by the Democratic establishment or HRC: the formation of fundraising agreements between HRC and state Democratic parties. The implications for participatory democracy do not seem good given that state parties with their success financially tied to HRC's success must oversee very narrow caucuses and primaries.
comment posted at 6:22 PM on Feb-16-16

J.K. Rowling has recently released some information on international wizarding schools. We already knew a fair amount about Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. But she also discusses Mahoutokoro, the Japanese school that actually has day students; Uagadou, the African school carved out of a mountainside; and Castelobruxo, the Brazilian home of Bill Weasley's ear-shrivelling penpal. She gives no information about Ilvermorny, the "North American" school. (There is not even a mention of the Salem Witches' Institute.)
comment posted at 5:08 PM on Jan-31-16

The 6-Pack Band, a collaboration between Bollywood composer Shamir Tandon and Indian tea brand Brooke Bond Red Label, consists of 6 women from the hijra community in India. They have two singles out: Hum Hain Happy, a remix of Pharrel Williams's Happy, and Sab Rab De Bande (with playback singer Sonu Nigam) based on a central Sikhism tenet of "we are all children of God".
comment posted at 5:56 PM on Jan-29-16

On January 20th Medium received a takedown request from the Malaysian Government over a supposedly false report on the Malaysian Prime Minister and corruption by the Sarawak Report, a whistleblowing news organization whose main site was banned in Malaysia. When Medium Legal requested clarification, such as official court documents and proof of the report's falsehoods, instead of providing such documentation, Malaysia blocked Medium.
comment posted at 5:37 PM on Jan-26-16
comment posted at 10:09 PM on Jan-26-16

The Great Race—for what a Western ambassador in Tehran described as “the last gold mine on Earth”—has begun. With eighty million people, Iran is the largest economy to return to the global marketplace since the Soviet Union’s demise, a quarter century ago. It urgently needs to refurbish its crumbling infrastructure. Unlike Eastern Europe, however, Iran is flush with cash, after gaining access to a hundred billion dollars in oil revenues that had been locked in foreign banks during sanctions. [NewYorker]
comment posted at 6:11 PM on Jan-26-16

Code with TrumpScript, and make programming great again.
comment posted at 5:18 PM on Jan-19-16

Vietnam becomes the first South-East Asian country to abolish a ban on same sex marriages.
comment posted at 12:21 AM on Jan-18-16

Saigon Deli Sandwich and Taco Valparaiso offers a lesson in cross-cultural communication. In 2011, Tony Torres, who owned a taqueria, approached Dieu Ngo, who owned the Saigon Deli banh mi shop, with a proposition that they join forces. The result was a classic multi-cultural fusion, and a budding romance.
comment posted at 5:47 AM on Jan-16-16

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET President Obama will give his final State of the Union address. (Barring unexpected developments.) He is expected to reflect on his legacy in office and also look towards the future with the same optimistic viewpoint which has always been a signature of his political identity.
comment posted at 8:24 PM on Jan-12-16

French journalist accuses China of intimidating foreign press. by Tom Phillips [The Guardian]

China is facing accusations of attempting to muzzle and intimidate foreign press after it said it would expel a French journalist who refused to apologise for an article criticising government policy. Lu Kang, a spokesperson for China’s ministry of foreign affairs, claimed Ursula Gauthier, the Beijing correspondent for French magazine L’Obs, had offended the Chinese people with a recent column about terrorism and the violence-hit region of Xinjiang. “Gauthier failed to apologise to the Chinese people for her wrong words and it is no longer suitable for her to work in China,” Lu said in a statement, according to Xinhua, Beijing’s official news agency.

comment posted at 7:06 PM on Dec-28-15

World Maps without New Zealand
comment posted at 10:01 PM on Dec-23-15

We've talked about Manhattanhenge — the days, usually around May 2 and August 12, on which the setting sun aligns Stonehenge-style with Manhattan's street grid. But of course, the real Stonehenge doesn't line up with the sun on just any old day: it specifically marks sunrise and sunset on the solstices. So you might wonder, are there any streets that do that? The answer, as it turns out, is "Yes — lots!"
comment posted at 7:56 PM on Dec-21-15

Global supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves. by Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza and Esther Htusan [Associated Press]
comment posted at 5:39 PM on Dec-14-15

Gabriel García Márquez began writing Cien Años de Soledad—One Hundred Years of Solitude—a half-century ago, finishing in late 1966. The novel came off the press in Buenos Aires on May 30, 1967, two days before Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released, and the response among Spanish-language readers was akin to Beatlemania: crowds, cameras, exclamation points, a sense of a new era beginning. In 1970 the book appeared in English, followed by a paperback edition with a burning sun on its cover, which became a totem of the decade. By the time García Márquez was awarded the Nobel Prize, in 1982, the novel was considered the Don Quixote of the Global South, proof of Latin-American literary prowess. [...] How is it that this novel could be sexy, entertaining, experimental, politically radical, and wildly popular all at once? Its success was no sure thing, and the story of how it came about is a crucial and little-known chapter in the literary history of the last half-century.

The Secret History of One Hundred Years of Solitude
comment posted at 7:15 PM on Dec-13-15

The Malaysian Government is rushing through an anti-terrorism bill that has already been likened to a draconian dictatorship - providing the Prime Minister and a group of other Ministers with special powers such as seizing property, curfews with hefty fines, demolishing unoccupied buildings, arresting anyone threatening "national security", and various other emergency measures enacted without safeguards. Many groups have denounced the bill and called for its repeal, including the main Opposition coalition, the Malaysian Bar and other lawmakers, and human rights organizations.
comment posted at 7:13 AM on Dec-3-15

Here's what I learned as my industry died (slVox)
comment posted at 7:43 PM on Dec-2-15

Why is the new name for ISIS so hard to understand? And why it's a really good idea to start exclusively using this new name instead of any of the other ones.
comment posted at 12:39 AM on Nov-17-15

The Stade de France–A History in Fragments

Or did he, and the other players, make the same decision that many are now saying we should: that in the face of horror the only thing to do is to keep playing, moving, living? Watching it now – knowing all that we do about what happened Friday night in Paris – we can perhaps count it as one of the most surreal things to ever take place in this storied stadium, a place built nearly two decades ago specifically to house history.

comment posted at 6:16 PM on Nov-16-15

In Cities: Skylines ... it can be hard to keep tabs on a single person's life for very long, and difficult to find them again later. I thought I'd fix this problem by creating a city in which only a single home could be built. Then I'd see who moved in and keep track of their lives. Here's what happened.

comment posted at 7:03 PM on Nov-16-15

Even though I’ve sold out Madison Square Garden as a standup comedian and have appeared in several films and a TV series, when my phone rings, the roles I’m offered are often defined by ethnicity and often require accents. ~ Aziz Ansari on Acting, Race and Hollywood [SLNYT]
comment posted at 1:33 AM on Nov-11-15
comment posted at 11:51 PM on Nov-11-15

A few days ago, a reddit user posted a thought-experiment about living in Las Vegas and working in San Francisco, commuting four days a week by airplane. Their back-of-the-envelope calculations have them saving about $1100/month. The posting was picked up by CityLab, and is leading to some interesting discussions.
comment posted at 9:15 PM on Oct-17-15

Tonight's Debate debate will be the first time a major news event will be broadcast live in virtual reality. That might not be such a good idea. Here is the When, the Where, the Who and How to Watch.
comment posted at 7:31 AM on Oct-15-15

Mom News Daily has been rated the #1 source of information by woman parents. It's satire.
comment posted at 7:12 PM on Oct-1-15

At first glance there's nothing unusual about the job posting.
comment posted at 8:00 PM on Sep-24-15