Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Fats Domino’s Infectious Rhythms Set a Nation in Motion
This Rock ’n’ Roll maverick was a true New Orleans original
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Russia Named Top Source of Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cast doubt on the report’s findings
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Who Really Wrote “Merry Christmas, Baby”
The co-author of a classic holiday song still can’t catch a break
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Twitter Drops Advertising From Kremlin-Funded Sites Sputnik and RT
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” Twitter said.
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Lost Time: Wild Photos of Russia’s Punks
Igor Mukhin’s photos capture the colorful personalities that made up Russia’s underground music scene in the 1980s
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Hidden in a Basement for 70 Years, Newly Discovered Documents Shed Light on Jewish Life and Culture Before WWII
The 170,000 pages found might be “the most important collection of Jewish archives since the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
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How Elysian Brewing Company Turns a 1,790-Pound Pumpkin Into a Keg
And is this insane thing really a pumpkin?
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Ksenia Sobchak, Russia’s Star Presidential Candidate, Will Be Heard
Whatever pundits believe about Sobchak, she is among the most recognizable personas in Russia — one that can put on a show
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How Kara Walker Boldly Rewrote Civil War History
The artist gives 150-year-old illustrations a provocative update at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
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How to Eat Like a Local in Vienna, Austria
Instagrammer Sothany Kim dishes on nicotine breakfasts, third-wave coffee houses and enemy bakers in Austria’s capital
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Russia Submits Bid to Host UEFA Euro 2020 Opening Match
Russia has placed a bid to host the opening match of the 2020 European football championship, Deputy prime Minister Vitaly Mutko said Thursday.
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Russian Investigative Newspaper Says ‘No Choice’ But to Arm Staff After Radio Host Was Stabbed
The editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta listed high-profile attacks on journalists working for his publication, including the murders of reporters Anna Politkovskaya and Igor Domnikov.
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Interfax News Back Online After Large-Scale Virus Attack
After suffering a virus attack which spread to other countries, Russia’s largest state news agency is back
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The Die Is Cast
Ksenia Sobchak’s statement of purpose for that new vacancy opening up in the Kremlin.
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Kremlin Blanks ‘Annexation’ From German President’s Speech on Crimea
A Kremlin transcript of a speech by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Crimea edited the text to replace the word “annexation,” in reference to the peninsula.
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Amnesty Says Russian Prison Convoy Conditions ‘Evoke Gulag Era’
Amnesty urged the Russian government not to send prisoners away from their home regions, so they could be closer to their families
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Moscow Authorities Allow Nationalist March
One of the march’s organizers told the independent television channel Dozhd TV on Wednesday that City Hall had approved a march in Moscow’s Lyublino district.
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Ksenia Sobchak, Who Wants to Be President, Reignites Crimea Controversy
“Crimea belongs to Ukraine. Period”
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The Healing Power of Greek Tragedy
Do plays written centuries ago have the power to heal modern day traumas? A new project raises the curtain on a daring new experiment
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Stabbed Russian Radio Host Rapidly Recovering, Doctors Say
The deputy editor of the independent radio station Ekho Moskvy who was hospitalized earlier this week after being stabbed is making a speedy recovery
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U.S. Returns Flags From Seized San Francisco Consulate to Russia
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister repeated Moscow’s warnings that it reserves the right to take retaliatory steps against Washington
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At This Spectral Subway Platform, Trains Approach But Never Arrive
An otherworldly art installation debuts at the Renwick just in time for Halloween
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Russian Wheat Exports Could Lead to Bread Shortages in St. Petersburg
A shortage of wagons for wheat transport is a cause of concern for the governor
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Top Russian Journalists Sue FSB Over Telegram Encryption Demands
“We believe that this affects our right to confidential communication with sources of information,” the journalists said
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Video Glorifying Russian Mercenaries in Syria Trends on Youtube
The Wagner private contractor group is believed to have played central roles in conflicts in Ukraine and Syria
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Russian Opposition Activist Dies After Being Attacked With Iron Rod
Alexei Stroganov fell into a coma after the assault and never regained consciousness
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Investigation Reveals Putin’s Inner Circle Has Amassed $24 Bln Fortune
Estimates of Putin’s private wealth vary, from the officially declared 8.9 million rubles ($133,000) to as high as $200 billion
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Navalny (Really) Can’t Run for President, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office Says
The head of Russia’s Central Elections Commission said in October Navanly could only run in 2028
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First Naturalized Russians Take New Oath of Allegiance
A new law requiring naturalized Russians to recite an oath of allegiance took effect in September
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Exploring Russia’s Rural Airports
Forget your preconceptions of how airports should look.
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Why Did So Few Novels Tackle the 1918 Pandemic?
Surprisingly few U.S. writers touched by the 1918 pandemic wrote about it. But flu lit appears more popular today than ever
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Russia’s Interfax News Agency Site Down After Hack
The source of the attack has not yet been determined
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Russia’s 2018 World Cup Costs Soar Another $600 Million
A decree signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday did not state the reason for the latest increase
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Russian Police Threaten to Kill Navalny Supporters After They Compare Police Wages to Sweden
The video culminates with the officer calling the video’s author a ‘Swedish homosexual’
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Sobchak Campaign Teams Up With Igor Malashenko, Who Once Helped Yeltsin
“You can laugh at me, but I understand show business”
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A Fresh Look for Smithsonian’s Oldest Art Museum
The Freer’s renovation comes with a new thematic presentation of Asian Art—and the Peacock Room is reopened, as well
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‘Madman’ Attacker Denies Trying to Kill Ekho Journalist Felgenhauer
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday that Felgenhauer was attacked by a “madman.”
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Pussy Riot ‘Slightly Occupies’ Trump Tower
“We came to occupy Trump Tower to call attention to political prisoners,” Pussy Riot wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.
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Moscow Mayor Sobyanin Seeks New Term to ‘Finish Reforms’
Sobyanin’s plans to relocate around 10 percent of Moscow’s population sparked mass demonstrations this summer
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Moscow Gang Accused of ‘Purging’ Homeless People Sentenced
Three of the defendants were found to have psychiatric illnesses
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Radio Station Publishes Security Footage of Man Who Stabbed Russian Radio Host
The man then pepper-sprays the guard and then ducks under a turnstile, running into the building
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Russia Accuses U.S. of Stealing Seized San Francisco Consulate Archives
Another episode in the San Francisco consulate saga
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Ekho Moskvy Editor Felgenhauer Expected to Survive Stabbing Attack
Venediktov told Radio Svoboda that doctors had said she was in a “medium serious” condition and had lost a lot of blood, but that her life was not in danger.
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Russia’s Journalism Union Blames State TV For Stabbing Attack on Editor
Russia’s Union of Journalists added the stabbing to a roster of recent attacks against journalists in Russia
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Ekho Moskvy Radio Station Editor Stabbed in Moscow
Felgenhauer has been hospitalized and her life is reportedly not under threat
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MT Classic: A Foreigner’s Nightmare in Dubrovka
When Svetlana Gubareva woke up in a Moscow hospital, one of the first things she heard was President Vladimir Putin offering condolences to the families of the 129 hostages who died in the Dubrovka theater
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What a Pair of Empty Blackboards Can Teach Us About Art and Social Change
Can art alter the course of history? Should artists even try? Joseph Beuys said yes and yes
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TV Host Tapped for Russia’s New Gender Equality Post
The Duma will reportedly discuss the establishment of the new representative office on Tuesday
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First Snow Falls on Moscow
The white winter’s comfort has arrived
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Russian Actress and CEO Accuses Weinstein of Sexual Harassment
The actress said Weinstein invited her to his hotel in Venice
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Siberian Funeral Homes Deny Moscow Construction Caused Tombstone Shortage
Three funeral homes in the Siberian city of Omsk told RBC on Friday that they are not experiencing difficulties with granite deliveries.
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Coming Unglued in Russian
Want to know the meaning of закон подлости? It’s when you go south to improve your health and come back sicker than when you left.
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Moscow Court Rules Against Gay Uzbek Journalist’s Asylum Claim
Nurmatov’s lawyer said after the decision that a number of violations were committed during the process
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At Valdai, Putin Didn’t Announce His Presidential Bid. This Is What He Did Say
“In our country, anything is possible.”
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Russia’s Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky Keeps PhD, Despite Plagiarism Allegations
Russia’s Higher Attestation Commission has convened behind closed doors to decide whether to rescind Vladimir Medinsky’s doctorate in historical sciences
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RT Refuses U.S. Request to Register as Foreign Agent
Russian senators are reportedly preparing to blacklist U.S. outlets in Russia is response
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Moscow Construction Leads to Tombstone Shortage in Siberia
To compensate for the shortages, granite imports from China and Ukraine have reportedly increased
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Russians Forget Incidents at Home But Remember Those Abroad — Poll
Events in Ukraine, North Korea, and Syria ranked in the top five most mentioned events
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That Was the Moscow That Was
If you lived in Moscow in the 90s, you’ll remember this
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What’s Behind Ksenia Sobchak’s ‘Against All’ Bid for the Presidency?
She is a socialite and former reality TV presenter, turned opposition activist, then opposition journalist and — now — presidential candidate
Got any book recommendations?