prior probability

It’s the first of the month–time to break out an old hip hop classic. On a more serious note, my university courses are scheduled to begin later this month (on August 24, to be exact), but as of today I have still received no official word from “the powers that be” about the format of my courses. Is college football really the reason why some classes (but which ones?) are going to proceed in person in the fall? Given the recent spike in new Coronavirus cases in the State of Florida, why don’t we just play it safe and go fully online, like we did this summer? College football can wait …

Yulier P. is the nom de guerre of the Cuban graffiti artist Yulier Rodriguez Perez (@yuliergraffiticuba). I featured some of his art on this blog last year (see here and here, for example). He was recently interviewed by Diario de Cuba, and the short interview is available here, in Spanish. Also, below is a short video featuring some of his recent work.

 

Following up on my previous post, here are two additional in-depth reports (in Spanish) about the homicide of Hansel Ernesto Hernández Galiano: this entry in Wikipedia and this report by BBC News Mundo. According to these reports, the only reason news of this police killing became public is because a family member was able to post a picture of Hansel’s lifeless body on Facebook on June 25.

Alternative Title: Defund the Cuban Police

One more “data point.” Another cruel indignity. This time at the hands of the Cuban State Police. I just found out that an officer working for Cuba’s National Revolutionary Police shot and killed an unarmed black man in the back, Hansel Ernesto Hernández Galiano (pictured above), and that since this incident, which occurred on June 24, state “security” agents from Cuba’s Interior Ministry have detained or arrested dozens of people for the political crime of protesting Hansel’s untimely death. Here is the Cuban Government’s official version of the story, where they destroy the victim’s character after having murdered him, and here is the truth (via Human Rights Watch). #JusticiaParaHansel #LibertadParaCuba

The two-hour launch window opens on Thursday, July 30 at 7:50am (Eastern).

On the recommendation of my colleague, friend, and fellow Indophile Alex Tabarrok, I finally got around to reading Megha Majumdar’s debut novel “A Burning,” which revolves around a false criminal prosecution for terrorism and sedition. Here is the blog post by Professor Tabarrok that introduced me to this beautiful book, and here is an excerpt from Tabarrok’s post (link in the original): “What impressed me more was the less obvious commentary on social media, which is very relevant to the US. How does the pressure and potential of being seen by many others alter our choices? There are multiple mobs in A Burning; two of the mobs, one virtual, the other not, result in the brutal murders of innocent people, a third mob launches a star.” To the point, I wholeheartedly recommend “A Burning.”

While I am “on vacation” working on sundry scholarly projects and enjoying some R&R with my family, I created this film noir collage of some of the classic noir movies my family and I have seen during the month of July. You’re welcome!