31.05.17  There surely is the "Other Ukraine":

"It is not Russian propaganda, but the government’s continuing assaults on their cultural, religious and ethnic identity that sustain the belief, still held by the majority of people in eastern and southern Ukraine, that the 2014 Maidan revolt was an “illegal military coup d’état.” For these Ukrainians, therefore, these are not sanctions against Russia. They are sanctions against them—the “Other Ukraine”, which does not agree with the current policy of severing all ties with Russia and rewriting the country’s history." 29.05.17 Zbigniew Brzezinski's legacy might be controvercial, but no one can strip him of his most outstanding feature: "Quick of wit and with words and unwilling to back away from a fight of any dimension, Dr. Brze­zinski was a captivating lecturer at Harvard and then at Columbia ... driven by a lifelong determination to bend leaders and events to his fierce will." 

27.05.17 "In most languages, whistles are used for little more than calling attention; they seem too simple to carry much meaning. But Meyer has now identified more than 70 groups across the world who can use whistles to express themselves with all the flexibility of normal speech.These mysterious languages demonstrate the brain’s astonishing capacity to decode information from new signals – with insights that are causing some neuroscientists to rethink the fundamental organisation of the brain. The research may even shed light on the emergence of language itself. According to one hypothesis, our first words may have sounded something like the Hmong’s courtship songs."

23.05.17 In 1942 the American Supreme Court ruled that there were 5 classes of words unprotected by the First Amendment to the Constitution:
"... certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or "fighting" words — those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace" (the case of Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire). Some of these are evaluative epithets that turned out to be a real headache for translators.

17.05.17 "Political correctness" in action: As demonstrated by his words, deeds and political agenda, Donald Trump is a plutocratic authoritarian and a fascist. Trump is also an ignorant buffoon, a racist, a nativist and a bigot. He is also a misogynist who has bragged about sexually assaulting women. (He denies having actually done so, but nobody believes him.) In addition, Donald Trump is a con artist and a habitual liar whose mental stability and emotional maturity are extremely suspect.

13.05.17   The most British "sport of snobs" came from ... India:

Polo is the archetypal sport of snobs. But in Manipur, where the British learned of the game before introducing it to the world — or at least the aristocracy — polo is still a commoner’s game. And the exalted status of the Manipuri pony, the only breed used at the Manipur tournament, is one reason why. The indigenous semi-feral pony is a sacred figure for residents of Manipur, featuring prominently in the ritual life of the Meitei people, the area’s majority ethnic group. The ponies are treated as regal mounts, never put to labor, and trace their origin in local lore to the Pegasus-like Samadon Ayangba, the “swift first among beasts.”

10.05.17 Прочтите знаменитую монографию Гая Дойтшера на русском здесь:   

7.05.17 Eurovision-2017 begins today under the slogan "Celebrate Diversity". Its translation by organizers as "Уважаем разнообразие" seems to be asking for alternative variants: "Прославим разнообразие", "Гимн разнообразию", or, taking into account a controversial record of diversity in the host-country, "Защитим разнообразие" or "Отстоим разнообразие" will more be in conformity with the cultural context.

5.05.17 Guess what is going to happen in the Russian culture if the buyers should discover that alcohol in the bottle is much stronger than the label promises? These strange Canadians instead of being happy about it are making a mess of it:

"Canadian liquor authorities are recalling bottles of Bombay Sapphire sold in the country after it was revealed they contained nearly double the amount of alcohol".