The Rooms Where It HappenedJuly 24, 2021Source: The Wilson Quarterly / www.wilsonquarterly.com / By Richard Byrne / Theatres are physical structures. Creative works – plays, operas, concerts, dance – make their home in them for a brief moment in time. Then they disappear. The building remains, but only memories linger. The spaces in which landmark diplomatic …
Gene Therapy: Immoral and stupid, suppression will failJune 19, 2021Source: Pittsburg Post Gazette / www.post-gazette.com / By Gene Collier / We might not have even the slipperiest handle on it for another 17 months, and we might not get any degree of certainty about it until late 2024, but I’m starting to suspect that the people trying so very …
A dictator’s brazen act against a truth-tellerMay 28, 2021Source: The Christian Science Monitor / www.csmonitor.com / The forced landing of an airliner in Belarus to arrest one journalist shows how much the regime fears its own people – and their acts of “living in the truth.” Four months ago, Pavel Latushka, a dissident fighting a dictatorship in Belarus, …
How the right-wing is fighting back against ‘cancel culture’ in the Czech RepublicMay 17, 2021Source:euronews / www.euronews.com / By David Hutt / While the current trend in Europe appears to be censoring social media content, the Czech Republic is considering the opposite. Czech MPs have passed the first reading of a legal amendment that would criminalise social media firms if they ban content that …
The explosive reset of Czech–Russian relationsMay 5, 2021Source: Australian Strategic Policy Institute / www.aspistrategist.org.au / By Erik Tabery / The Czech Republic has endured one of its most dramatic fortnights since the Velvet Revolution in 1989, following the government’s announcement that two Russian agents were responsible for explosions at a munitions depot in the Moravian village of …
A fledgling democracy cannot flourish without a vibrant civil societyApril 1, 2021Source: The Globe and mail / www.theglobeandmail.com / By Jeremy Kinsman / Jeremy Kinsman is a former Canadian ambassador and a distinguished fellow of the Canadian International Council. According to Freedom House, the non-governmental organization co-founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, the world is in a “prolonged democracy recession” – by far …
Democracy in Myanmar was flawed but its return is a mustFebruary 4, 2021Source: Mint / www.livemint.com / By Salil Tripathi / Aung San Suu Kyi had lost global credibility and goodwill but that does not justify a dictatorship What a difference three decades make. In 1988, when Aung San Suu Kyi confronted the generals of the country then known as Burma, she …
How to be a strong nation: Moral values, dynamic institutionsJanuary 13, 2021Source: Inquirer / www.inquirer.net / By Julius D. Turgano / Each time I travel to Japan and see its beautiful cities and high-rise buildings, I can’t help but ask: “What makes this country strong?” I must admit this question takes away the delight of each trip, because it makes me …
San Francisco and Prague: A Double PortraitJanuary 13, 2021Source: The Globalist / www.theglobalist.com / By Barry Wood / Remembering historic times of magic — in two magical cities. San Francisco and Prague are beautiful cities. In San Francisco, it’s the lucent blue of a vast bay, pastel homes climbing formidable hills — and a magnificent bridge spanning the …
31 years since Václav Havel was first elected Czechoslovak presidentDecember 30, 2020Source: Radio Prague International / https://english.radio.cz / By Tom McEnchroe / It is exactly 31 years since Václav Havel became Czechoslovak president. The dissident was unanimously elected by a Federal Assembly largely thanks to the country’s then Communist prime minister and opinion polls at the time did not suggest that …
Georgia Election Official Joins Long Line of Voices to Call for ‘Living in Truth’December 22, 2020Source: History News Network / https://historynewsnetwork.org / By Jeffrey H. Jackson / Jeffrey H. Jackson is a professor of history at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. An expert on European history and culture, he is the author of Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis, …
Václav Havel’s philosophical legacy remembered on 9th anniversary of his deathDecember 18, 2020Source: Radio Prague International / https://english.radio.cz /By Daniela Lazarova/ The hectic run-up to Christmas is now linked to an anniversary that makes Czechs slow down and reflect on the important values in life – the death of playwright, dissident and president Václav Havel nine years ago, on December 18, 2011. …
So much more than a moustacheDecember 5, 2020Source: Yellow Advertiser / www.yellowad.co.uk / By Mick Ferris / A few months before his death from cancer in 1993, Frank Zappa was asked in an interview how he would like to be remembered. Frank. Not just any composer – an important one “I don’t,” came the direct answer – …
Review: Barack Obama’s memoir is a masterful lament over the fragility of hopeNovember 27, 2020Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette / www.post-gazette.com / By Eli Stokols / Reading Barack Obama’s deeply introspective and at times elegiac new presidential memoir, I thought often about something the writer James Baldwin said in 1970, two years removed from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and despairing about America from …
This is what the dismantling of a democracy looks likeNovember 16, 2020Source: Quartz / https://qz.com / By Mary Hui / It happens in fits and starts, bursts of draconian crackdowns punctuated by periods of deceptive calm. But the direction is clear: The democratic scaffolding of Hong Kong’s civil society is being taken apart at startling speed. Make no mistake: Hong Kong …
The Rooms Where It Happened July 24, 2021 Source: The Wilson Quarterly / www.wilsonquarterly.com / By Richard Byrne / Theatres are physical structures. Creative works – plays, operas, concerts, dance – make their home in them for a brief moment in time. Then they disappear. The building remains, but only memories linger. The spaces in which landmark diplomatic …
Gene Therapy: Immoral and stupid, suppression will fail June 19, 2021 Source: Pittsburg Post Gazette / www.post-gazette.com / By Gene Collier / We might not have even the slipperiest handle on it for another 17 months, and we might not get any degree of certainty about it until late 2024, but I’m starting to suspect that the people trying so very …
A dictator’s brazen act against a truth-teller May 28, 2021 Source: The Christian Science Monitor / www.csmonitor.com / The forced landing of an airliner in Belarus to arrest one journalist shows how much the regime fears its own people – and their acts of “living in the truth.” Four months ago, Pavel Latushka, a dissident fighting a dictatorship in Belarus, …
How the right-wing is fighting back against ‘cancel culture’ in the Czech Republic May 17, 2021 Source:euronews / www.euronews.com / By David Hutt / While the current trend in Europe appears to be censoring social media content, the Czech Republic is considering the opposite. Czech MPs have passed the first reading of a legal amendment that would criminalise social media firms if they ban content that …
The explosive reset of Czech–Russian relations May 5, 2021 Source: Australian Strategic Policy Institute / www.aspistrategist.org.au / By Erik Tabery / The Czech Republic has endured one of its most dramatic fortnights since the Velvet Revolution in 1989, following the government’s announcement that two Russian agents were responsible for explosions at a munitions depot in the Moravian village of …
A fledgling democracy cannot flourish without a vibrant civil society April 1, 2021 Source: The Globe and mail / www.theglobeandmail.com / By Jeremy Kinsman / Jeremy Kinsman is a former Canadian ambassador and a distinguished fellow of the Canadian International Council. According to Freedom House, the non-governmental organization co-founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, the world is in a “prolonged democracy recession” – by far …
Democracy in Myanmar was flawed but its return is a must February 4, 2021 Source: Mint / www.livemint.com / By Salil Tripathi / Aung San Suu Kyi had lost global credibility and goodwill but that does not justify a dictatorship What a difference three decades make. In 1988, when Aung San Suu Kyi confronted the generals of the country then known as Burma, she …
How to be a strong nation: Moral values, dynamic institutions January 13, 2021 Source: Inquirer / www.inquirer.net / By Julius D. Turgano / Each time I travel to Japan and see its beautiful cities and high-rise buildings, I can’t help but ask: “What makes this country strong?” I must admit this question takes away the delight of each trip, because it makes me …
San Francisco and Prague: A Double Portrait January 13, 2021 Source: The Globalist / www.theglobalist.com / By Barry Wood / Remembering historic times of magic — in two magical cities. San Francisco and Prague are beautiful cities. In San Francisco, it’s the lucent blue of a vast bay, pastel homes climbing formidable hills — and a magnificent bridge spanning the …
31 years since Václav Havel was first elected Czechoslovak president December 30, 2020 Source: Radio Prague International / https://english.radio.cz / By Tom McEnchroe / It is exactly 31 years since Václav Havel became Czechoslovak president. The dissident was unanimously elected by a Federal Assembly largely thanks to the country’s then Communist prime minister and opinion polls at the time did not suggest that …
Georgia Election Official Joins Long Line of Voices to Call for ‘Living in Truth’ December 22, 2020 Source: History News Network / https://historynewsnetwork.org / By Jeffrey H. Jackson / Jeffrey H. Jackson is a professor of history at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. An expert on European history and culture, he is the author of Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis, …
Václav Havel’s philosophical legacy remembered on 9th anniversary of his death December 18, 2020 Source: Radio Prague International / https://english.radio.cz /By Daniela Lazarova/ The hectic run-up to Christmas is now linked to an anniversary that makes Czechs slow down and reflect on the important values in life – the death of playwright, dissident and president Václav Havel nine years ago, on December 18, 2011. …
So much more than a moustache December 5, 2020 Source: Yellow Advertiser / www.yellowad.co.uk / By Mick Ferris / A few months before his death from cancer in 1993, Frank Zappa was asked in an interview how he would like to be remembered. Frank. Not just any composer – an important one “I don’t,” came the direct answer – …
Review: Barack Obama’s memoir is a masterful lament over the fragility of hope November 27, 2020 Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette / www.post-gazette.com / By Eli Stokols / Reading Barack Obama’s deeply introspective and at times elegiac new presidential memoir, I thought often about something the writer James Baldwin said in 1970, two years removed from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and despairing about America from …
This is what the dismantling of a democracy looks like November 16, 2020 Source: Quartz / https://qz.com / By Mary Hui / It happens in fits and starts, bursts of draconian crackdowns punctuated by periods of deceptive calm. But the direction is clear: The democratic scaffolding of Hong Kong’s civil society is being taken apart at startling speed. Make no mistake: Hong Kong …