Celebrate this Cyber Monday by reading about the ways in which countries censor their citizens!

Happening in the World: A surge of protests in China against the country’s zero-COVID policy have erupted after a large apartment fire in Ürümqi, in which firefighters were prevented from reaching the victims because of the specific lockdown restrictions. The fire was a catalyst for the growing tensions, smaller and more-scattered protests, and civilian discomfort over the pandemic. Protests on this large of a scale are a rare occurrence in China with its ever-increasing restrictions and surveillance of its citizens. Response from authorities has been varied, from peaceful resolution to police arresting, dragging, and beating protestors in Shanghai—videos of this have been removed from the Chinese internet by government censors. (CNN)

Happening in the US: A power outage at a water purification plant in Houston, Texas, has caused the city government to issue a boil-water notice—the lack of power at the purification plant has made it necessary for residents to purify water themselves. The notice has also shut down public schools for at least a day. The last time a similar notice was sent out was during the brutal winter storms of early 2021 for the majority of the state had knocked out power. (NY Times)

Happening in NYC: The MTA released plans this weekend to implement an artificial intelligence technology to about a quarter New York City busses in December. But rather than a technology to assist with automated driving, as many automobile and transportation companies are attempting to implement, this technology aims to make the bus system as a whole run smoother by preventing busses from breaking down while in-transit. It’s designed similarly to a car engine light in that it warns the operators when a problem surfaces in a vehicle but isn’t in immediate need of service, all in order to encourage more frequent maintenance and prevent progressive damage. (Gothamist)

Happening in our Community: Today from 4:15 to 5:15 pm, Russian activist and rapper Noize MC will discuss and answer questions about Russian rap, government censorship of artistic media, and political activism through music and transgressive lyrics. The event will be hosted by the Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian, and East European studies, and requires registration.

Censorship via Flickr/BrianJMatis