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Written by Marie Neptune

Published: 25 August 2015

A political protest upset this year's Hugo Awards, Wired reported on Sunday in a lengthy piece.  --  "The mainstream press first started reporting on the gaming of the Hugos’ nomination system back in April, when fan-favorite authors who were women and people of color had been largely edged out of the final ballot," Amy Wallace said.[1]  --  "But few outside the field really cared.  --  They treated it like nerd-on-nerd violence -- unfortunate and ugly, but confined to one of literature’s crummier neighborhoods."  --  One writer, Annie Bellet of Portland, Oregon, refused a Hugo nomination lest it be a pawn in a political struggle.  --  "I love the Hugo Awards," she said.  --  "To be nominated was awesome.  --  But I’m a writer.  --  That’s what I want my public face to be.  --  I don’t want people to think of me as some political figure, or some ball in the political game.”" ...

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Written by Hank Berger

Published: 18 August 2015

In this London Review of Books review, a BBC journalist speculates at length that identity issues are probably the most significant factor that explains those who embrace violent jihadism.  --  But Owen Bennett-Jones then reverses field and concludes on a cautionary note:  "Even if we could reach a more widely shared understanding of the sources of violent jihadism it is not clear that there would then be agreement about the policies needed to deal with it.  --  [British Prime Minister] David Cameron wants people not only to have greater loyalty to liberal values but also to say so in public.  --  But even if you could agree on a definition of British values, you can’t use legislation to make people believe in them.  --  In fact, attempting to use the law to oppose extremist thought is not only illiberal in itself but risks deepening the divisions that need to be bridged."[1] ...

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