Politics:
Pakistan is holding a general election this Saturday.
One election is driven by fear, in which liberal-minded candidates and party offices are attacked almost daily by Pakistani Taliban who’ve declared this democracy un-Islamic. In three of four provinces, there has not been much of a campaign. Political space has been narrowed to “corner rallies,” Skype video appearances, ads on TV screens or meetings on social media.
NY Times: Elections in a Time of Taliban, May 10, 2013
President Obama has signed executive orders "directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year".
This should be a thing you remember whenever you're at a clothing store and considering buying a low-prized item made in Bangladesh.
Pop Culture:
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Parks and Recreation has been renewed for a sixth season. Elementary is shooting an episode for its second season in London and has suitably cast an actress who has portrayed Anne Boleyn / is currently portraying Margaery Tyrell as Irene Adler. Orphan Black is an excellent show that relies on its lead actress, Tatiana Maslany, to portray a whole selection of captivating characters.
The Bletchley Circle, one of my favourite shows in 2012, has been renewed for a second (longer) season. It's about former WW2 code breakers solving crimes (so basically the best idea for a crime show ever), and stars Anna Maxwell Martin (brilliant in everything, but especially The Night Watch), Rachael Stirling (Tipping the Velvet, the most recent episode of Doctor Who), Julie Graham and Sophie Rundle.
Also maybe check out Defiance. It's difficult to explain the show without relying on other pop cultural comparisons ("like Deadwood with aliens" comes fairly close), but it comes with the added bonus of being recapped brilliantly at Television Without Pity (and features, apart from Jaime Murray, Julie Benz and Mia Kirshner, Stephanie Leonidas from the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's MirrorMask).
The National are releasing a new record, Trouble Will Find Me, in two weeks, and just performed their song Sorrow for six hours straight at the MoMA.
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