To cope with China, don’t follow the money — follow the CzechsNovember 5, 2019Source: The Hill / www.thehill.com / By Joseph Bosco / Vaclav Havel, the brilliant playwright, heroic political dissident, and visionary first president of liberated Czechoslovakia, consistently emphasized the moral element in international relations. They were lessons he had learned from his country’s painful history of invasion and occupation first by …
‘Democracy is in Peril,’ warns influential Forum 2000 Conference in PragueOctober 26, 2019Source: Grit Daily / www.gritdaily.com / By Jackie Abramian / In 1989 the Soviet Bloc countries seized Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) policies to put an end to the Soviet Union, maiming its tentacles across the communist Eastern Europe. This resuscitated democracy hopes and promises of fair, free …
From imprisoned dissident to president: Vaclav Havel remembered at Frankfurt Book FairOctober 19, 2019Source: DW /www.dw.com / At the beginning of 1989, Czech dissident Vaclav Havel was in prison. By the end of that year, he became president of his country. The Peace Prize winner’s values and ideas are more relevant than ever. 1989 was a revolutionary year worldwide. But if one …
Atheist China has no say in the reincarnations system of Tibet: Tibetan PresidentOctober 19, 2019Source: The Tibet Post / www.thetibet post.com / By David Thomas / Prague —’Unlike the Vatican, Tibetans never agreed or accepted the Order no. 5 and strongly believe that the Chinese atheist government has no say in the reincarnations system of Tibetan Buddhism,’ President of the Tibetan-government-in-exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay …
Beijing Takes Aim at Prague After ‘One-China’ Dispute DeepensOctober 11, 2019Source: Bloomberg / www.bloomberg.com / By Lenka Ponikelska / China threatened the leadership of Prague, intensifying a dispute after the Czech capital withdrew from a sister-city partnership with Beijing. The conflict has been brewing since the upstart Pirate party took over the Prague mayor’s office and took issue with Beijing’s …
Morality and tribal politicsOctober 4, 2019Source: Barbados Today / www.barbadostoday.bb / By Ralph Jemmott / It would seem that in many Western democracies, politics is becoming increasingly tribal. Adherents to political parties are more intransigent in their commitment to and defence of their particular constituencies. In some cases, the tribalism reflects a genuine conflict of …
How South Africa’s Phoenix Farm served as a nursery for Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of SatyagrahaOctober 4, 2019Source: Times Now News / www.timesnownews.com / By Sidharth Shekhar / From Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan to Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Satyagraha and non-violence continues to shape global opinions. New Delhi: As India gears up to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, it is important to understand …
Czech protesters are trying to defend democracy, 30 years after the Velvet Revolution. Can they succeed?July 22, 2019Source: The Washington Post / www.washingtonpost.com / By Michael Bernhard, Petra Guasti and Lenka Bustikova / Our research shows that, yes, demonstrations can prevent the erosion of democracy. Here’s what’s going on. Last month, on June 23, in Prague’s Letna Park, more than a quarter-million people assembled, this time calling …
FEATURE: Zdenek Hrib: The mayor who defies ChinaJuly 4, 2019Source: Taipei Times / www.taipeitimes.com / By The Guardian / Zdenek Hrib had been Prague’s mayor for little more than a month when he went face-to-face with the Czech capital’s complex entanglement with China. Hosting a meeting with foreign diplomats in the city, Hrib was asked by the Chinese ambassador …
Joan Baez’s iconic 1989 concert which featured Václav Havel as a roadieJune 21, 2019Source: Radio Praha / www.radio.cz / By Tom McEnchroe / Many Czechs remember the concert of American folk musician Joan Baez’s in Bratislava on 10 June 1989 as one of the signs of the approaching fall of communism. During the concert Baez openly expressed her support for Czechoslovak opposition groups …
Meet Slovakia’s New President, the Erin Brockovich of Central EuropeMay 22, 2019Source: Leaders League / www.leadersleague.com / By Pascale D’Amore / Before winning Slovakia’s presidential election in March, Zuzana Caputova won battles for the environment, for her hometown, her country and, even, for Europe. The coronation of this activist lawyer augurs well for equality and transparency at the highest level of …
’Opposition doesn’t have strategy to fight saffronization’April 18, 2019Source: The Times of India / https://timeofindia.com / By TNN / Noted printer-publisher, theatre critic and translator Arun Naik has for long been a sharp observer of Maharashtra’s socio-cultural scene. A fellow of the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, US, and publisher of ‘Pareekshan’, an English monthly, Naik heads ‘Antar Natya’, …
Can Zuzana Caputova Save Slovakia?March 30, 2019Source: Foreign Policy / www.foreignpolicy.com / By Dariusz Kalan / A political newcomer is poised to become president by standing up for liberal democratic values—and seeking to halt the spread of right-wing populism across Central and Eastern Europe. Two months ago, Zuzana Caputova, with a young and highly inexperienced …
The Masculinity of the FutureMarch 28, 2019Source: Counter Punch / www.counterpunch.org / By Monika Zgustova / “I hope you’ve got enough cojones!” George Bush snapped at Tony Blair. The American president then outlined his planned bombardment of Iraq to the British Prime Minister: “I’m gonna kick ass!” Over the last two decades, much of the world …
Slovak liberals cross fingers for election of pro-west Zuzana ČaputováMarch 17, 2019Source: Yahoo News / www.uk.news.yahoo.com / By Robert Tait / Disbelief and a hint of fear flashed across Zuzana Čaputová’s face as the news broke. After explaining to the Guardian how she would bolster the rule of law in Slovakia if elected president, Čaputová, a 45-year-old lawyer and the frontrunner …
To cope with China, don’t follow the money — follow the Czechs November 5, 2019 Source: The Hill / www.thehill.com / By Joseph Bosco / Vaclav Havel, the brilliant playwright, heroic political dissident, and visionary first president of liberated Czechoslovakia, consistently emphasized the moral element in international relations. They were lessons he had learned from his country’s painful history of invasion and occupation first by …
‘Democracy is in Peril,’ warns influential Forum 2000 Conference in Prague October 26, 2019 Source: Grit Daily / www.gritdaily.com / By Jackie Abramian / In 1989 the Soviet Bloc countries seized Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) policies to put an end to the Soviet Union, maiming its tentacles across the communist Eastern Europe. This resuscitated democracy hopes and promises of fair, free …
From imprisoned dissident to president: Vaclav Havel remembered at Frankfurt Book Fair October 19, 2019 Source: DW /www.dw.com / At the beginning of 1989, Czech dissident Vaclav Havel was in prison. By the end of that year, he became president of his country. The Peace Prize winner’s values and ideas are more relevant than ever. 1989 was a revolutionary year worldwide. But if one …
Atheist China has no say in the reincarnations system of Tibet: Tibetan President October 19, 2019 Source: The Tibet Post / www.thetibet post.com / By David Thomas / Prague —’Unlike the Vatican, Tibetans never agreed or accepted the Order no. 5 and strongly believe that the Chinese atheist government has no say in the reincarnations system of Tibetan Buddhism,’ President of the Tibetan-government-in-exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay …
Beijing Takes Aim at Prague After ‘One-China’ Dispute Deepens October 11, 2019 Source: Bloomberg / www.bloomberg.com / By Lenka Ponikelska / China threatened the leadership of Prague, intensifying a dispute after the Czech capital withdrew from a sister-city partnership with Beijing. The conflict has been brewing since the upstart Pirate party took over the Prague mayor’s office and took issue with Beijing’s …
Morality and tribal politics October 4, 2019 Source: Barbados Today / www.barbadostoday.bb / By Ralph Jemmott / It would seem that in many Western democracies, politics is becoming increasingly tribal. Adherents to political parties are more intransigent in their commitment to and defence of their particular constituencies. In some cases, the tribalism reflects a genuine conflict of …
How South Africa’s Phoenix Farm served as a nursery for Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Satyagraha October 4, 2019 Source: Times Now News / www.timesnownews.com / By Sidharth Shekhar / From Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan to Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Satyagraha and non-violence continues to shape global opinions. New Delhi: As India gears up to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, it is important to understand …
Czech protesters are trying to defend democracy, 30 years after the Velvet Revolution. Can they succeed? July 22, 2019 Source: The Washington Post / www.washingtonpost.com / By Michael Bernhard, Petra Guasti and Lenka Bustikova / Our research shows that, yes, demonstrations can prevent the erosion of democracy. Here’s what’s going on. Last month, on June 23, in Prague’s Letna Park, more than a quarter-million people assembled, this time calling …
FEATURE: Zdenek Hrib: The mayor who defies China July 4, 2019 Source: Taipei Times / www.taipeitimes.com / By The Guardian / Zdenek Hrib had been Prague’s mayor for little more than a month when he went face-to-face with the Czech capital’s complex entanglement with China. Hosting a meeting with foreign diplomats in the city, Hrib was asked by the Chinese ambassador …
Joan Baez’s iconic 1989 concert which featured Václav Havel as a roadie June 21, 2019 Source: Radio Praha / www.radio.cz / By Tom McEnchroe / Many Czechs remember the concert of American folk musician Joan Baez’s in Bratislava on 10 June 1989 as one of the signs of the approaching fall of communism. During the concert Baez openly expressed her support for Czechoslovak opposition groups …
Meet Slovakia’s New President, the Erin Brockovich of Central Europe May 22, 2019 Source: Leaders League / www.leadersleague.com / By Pascale D’Amore / Before winning Slovakia’s presidential election in March, Zuzana Caputova won battles for the environment, for her hometown, her country and, even, for Europe. The coronation of this activist lawyer augurs well for equality and transparency at the highest level of …
’Opposition doesn’t have strategy to fight saffronization’ April 18, 2019 Source: The Times of India / https://timeofindia.com / By TNN / Noted printer-publisher, theatre critic and translator Arun Naik has for long been a sharp observer of Maharashtra’s socio-cultural scene. A fellow of the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, US, and publisher of ‘Pareekshan’, an English monthly, Naik heads ‘Antar Natya’, …
Can Zuzana Caputova Save Slovakia? March 30, 2019 Source: Foreign Policy / www.foreignpolicy.com / By Dariusz Kalan / A political newcomer is poised to become president by standing up for liberal democratic values—and seeking to halt the spread of right-wing populism across Central and Eastern Europe. Two months ago, Zuzana Caputova, with a young and highly inexperienced …
The Masculinity of the Future March 28, 2019 Source: Counter Punch / www.counterpunch.org / By Monika Zgustova / “I hope you’ve got enough cojones!” George Bush snapped at Tony Blair. The American president then outlined his planned bombardment of Iraq to the British Prime Minister: “I’m gonna kick ass!” Over the last two decades, much of the world …
Slovak liberals cross fingers for election of pro-west Zuzana Čaputová March 17, 2019 Source: Yahoo News / www.uk.news.yahoo.com / By Robert Tait / Disbelief and a hint of fear flashed across Zuzana Čaputová’s face as the news broke. After explaining to the Guardian how she would bolster the rule of law in Slovakia if elected president, Čaputová, a 45-year-old lawyer and the frontrunner …