City of the Mind

    If you saw “Black Widow”, you’ll remember that David Harbour and Rachel Weisz played a pair of Soviet spies who had taken on American identities and functioned as a sleeper cell, waiting to be activated.  Their two children were not really theirs, but had been given to them by the KGB—these would grow up to become Natasha and Yelena, Black Widow and her “sister”.   Just such a couple, posing as Argentinian immigrants to Slovenia—Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer Muñoz—were arrested at the end of 2022, but the story didn’t come into the news until early 2023.  Their real names are Artem Viktorovich Dultsev and Anna Velerevna Dultseva, and unlike the fictional versions in the movie, their two children are actually their own (these are now in foster care in Slovenia).  Since their arrest, numerous such “deep fake” ordinary couples across Europe and even in Brazil have been unmasked or have fled back to Russia.   To create such imposter coupl...

    Today, in many people's minds, there is a strong link between "The Church" (as generic straw man) and the burning of heretics and witches.  In reality, the relationship between the Church/churches and this form of punishment is complex and uneven.  What we have here is the case of an older, pre-Christian practice creeping in via circuitous cultural and historical developments.             First, it must be noted that up until the reign of Justinian I (reigned 527-565; portrayed in the image above), heretics were not executed, only excommunicated, i.e., barred from receiving communion or sometimes from attending public worship.  From the time of Theodosius' Edict of Thessalonica, a century and a half before Justinian, heretics had also been barred from holding public office.  Justinian introduced burning as a punishment for heresy, but it is important to emphasize that he did...