Christopher Hitchens takes a close read of poet Czeslaw Milosz’s understanding of politics: “The long-term achievement of Milosz was to have scrutinized, not just in between but clean through, and well beyond, the party “lines” that claim for themselves exclusive truth. In doing so he shamed the so-called intellectuals who managed the ugly trick of denying freedom to their own minds, the better to visit the same deprivation upon others.”
Tag: 08.31.04
Israeli Court Overturns Film Ban
“Israel’s film board banned Jenin, Jenin from being shown in the Jewish state last year, saying it presented a distorted version of events in Jenin. But on Monday Israel’s High Court reinstated a ruling which overturned the ban, saying the film board did not have ‘a monopoly over truth’.”
Paid Thesis: Canadian Students Complain
More than 50 Canadian colleges require graduate students who wish to see their thesis published in a national, standardized way to submit the work to an American company “which then gets non-exclusive publishing rights.” Some students protest that the American company ought not to be able to make money off their research.
Leeds’ Grand Gets A Makeover
The Grand Theatre in Leeds is getting a £31.5 million makeover. “By mid 2006, Opera North, whose new production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice opens at the Edinburgh Festival tomorrow, will have the home it deserves in the city which sees more opera performances than any other outside London.”
BBC Going For Quality, Say Director
New BBC chairman Mark Thompson says the BBC is to undego a “significant change of direction”, moving away from reality and lifestyle shows in a drive for excellence. “Excellence is above all what audiences expect the BBC to strive for – and because of the licence fee and because the BBC doesn’t face the same commercial pressures as our competitors, they expect us to strive for it with more conviction and consistency than anyone else.”
Edinburgh’s Record Fringe Year
The edinburgh Fringe has another record year. But is the festival getting too big? “Fringe officials said that for the second time in a row, ticket sales had exceeded £1m and were 13% up on last year. For the first time in its history every one of the 1,695 fringe shows had sold a ticket before the festival began on August 8. Some venues saw ticket sales jump by almost 40%. With 1.25m tickets sold for 25,326 performances, the 2004 fringe exceeded last year’s record takings, but many venues reported business tailing off sharply in the last week.”