Entertainment

Facebook has taken down “Ice Cream”, a painting by one of the world’s first pop artists, because it does not comply with the social network’s strict guidelines on nudity and adult content. The painting of a woman enjoying an ice cream is deemed inappropriate for some reason by Facebook. The painting is supposed to represent the freedom of expression of a confident woman gratifying her ice cream cravings on a hot sunny day without a care in the world, with eyes shut in anticipation, while enjoying a lick of a multi-flavored ice cream cone.

Samsung have admitted that its smart TV sets are listening in on customers conversations, and have warned people not to speak about personal information while near their TV sets.  The company have said that the voice activation feature captures all nearby conversations and can share the information it collects with third-party services.

By EconMatters

Actress Meryl Streep has come under fire after telling a jury at the Berlin International Film Festival that she thinks that “we’re all Africans, really”, when asked to comment on racial diversity in the film industry. The response came during a news conference on Thursday where Streep was asked to weigh in on the #OscarsSoWhite debate, and why the Berlin jury had no black members. Washingtonpost.com reports: “I am very committed to equality and inclusion of all genders, races, ethnicities, religions,” Streep said.

Photo of book jacket by Rod Dreher

A rave review for Laurus in the LA Review of Books. Excerpt: