Curtain rises on World Theater DayMarch 29, 2018Source: DW / www.dw.com / By Suzanne Cords / All the world’s a stage, and the world has stages all over. On March 27th, activities across more than 100 countries celebrate the importance and the power of the dramatic arts. 2018 is also a special anniversary year. The idea came …
What the Soviet bloc and the American South have in commonMarch 23, 2018Source: The Washington Post / www.washingtonpost.com / By Charles Lane / While he was still a dissident playwright living under a Communist system, Vaclav Havel produced possibly the most brilliant essay ever written on political oppression in Eastern Europe: “The Power of the Powerless.” This year marks the 40th anniversary …
How Modi government has trampled over ParliamentMarch 20, 2018Source: Daily O / www.dailyo.in / By Anshuman Tiwari / On March 13, in just 30 minutes, the Lok Sabha marked its stamp on the expenditure of 99 ministries and departments, passed two bills, including the Finance Bill, and approved 218 amendments without any debate. This is the height of …
City of VelvetMarch 15, 2018Source: The Nation / www.nationmultimedia.com / By Carleton Cole / A surreal smoothness infuses the history and heart of Prague with the power to delight, like a fairytale come true ONCE UPON a time – exactly half a century, to be precise – the audacity of hope bloomed in the …
Keeping Dissidents BusyMarch 15, 2018Source: Canada Free Press / www.canadafreepress.com / By Joanna Rosamond / Latif Yahia, Uday Hussein’s former body double reminisced that his imposed “employer” promised him and other torture victims to make them “happy”. No matter the continent or regime, political dissidents remember (and still hear…) an equally sickening threat: “We …
Joan Baez on her paintings of “Mischief Makers”March 13, 2018Source: CBS News / www.cbsnews.com / By Joan Blackstone / Joan Baez has long been recognized for her soulful voice. But at 77, she is also being recognized for another talent: painting. Last fall acrylic portraits by her were shown in an exhibition at the in Mill Valley, Calif. Titled …
Anti-immigration Czech President Milos Zeman attacks press in swearing in speechMarch 12, 2018Source: Deutsche Welle / dw.com / The pro-Russian, pro-Chinese and anti-immigration leader criticized journalists and opponents as he was sworn in for a second and final term. The 73-year-old Zeman may become even more outspoken as his career closes. Czech President Milos Zeman was sworn in at a ceremony …
Vaclav Benda and The Long Night of the WatchmanMarch 9, 2018Source: Ricochet / www.ricochet.com / By Flagg Taylor / I’m the editor of a recently published edition of the essays of Vaclav Benda called The Long Night of the Watchman. Benda, who died in 1999, was a central figure in the Charter 77 movement in the former Czechoslovakia. I met …
Opposition Cuban Graffiti Artist El Sexto Finds Ex-Wife, Daughter in HavanaMarch 8, 2018Source: Latine American Herald Tribune / www.laht.com / HAVANA – Dissident Cuban graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado, known as “El Sexto,” who arrived on Monday in Havana, has found his ex-wife and daughter there after three months of receiving no news from them, he told EFE. El Sexto traveled to the …
2018 European Medal of Tolerance Awarded to Prince Albert II of MonacoMarch 8, 2018Source: PR Newswire / www.prnewswire.com / MONACO, March 6, 2018 Today, the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation’s (ECTR) European Medal of Tolerance for 2018 was awarded to HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco for his commitment to truth, tolerance and historical reconciliation. ECTR President Dr. Moshe Kantor and ECTR …
Russia withholds payments to the Council of EuropeMarch 6, 2018Source: Brinkwire / www.brinkwire.com / By Brinkwire / Russia has decided to stop paying its Council of Europe membership dues after its representatives were denied voting rights. Turkey, too, is holding back ts funding. Is the international body facing a financial crisis? The Council of Europe …
Tapping into Pen’s power to promote, protect writersFebruary 26, 2018Source: The Times of India / www.timesofindia.com / By M T Saju | / CHENNAI:Three years ago, writer Perumal Murugan announced his decision to give up writing after his novel ‘Madhorubhagan’ (One Part Woman), courted controversy. In 2014, various Hindu outfits objected to the portrayal of traditions at the Ardhanareeswarar …
Jeremy Corbyn’s dealings with spies must not be laughed off as a joke, says TIM NEWARKFebruary 23, 2018Source: Express / www.express.co.uk / THE hard-Left has always had a soft spot for the old Soviet Union and it’s no surprise that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his fellow Marxists should have been consorting with just the sort of people that wanted to do this country down during the …
County 101 conflicts with Democracy 101February 23, 2018Source: Cape Cod Times / www.capecodetime.com / By Paula Bacon / The irony of it all. A program sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Cape Cod at the Cape Cod Community Television station was to be broadcast with three county officials: County Commissioner Leo Cakounis, John Ohman, dean …
When Gandhi met SpinozaFebruary 15, 2018Source: India Forbes / www.forbesindia.com / By A.Damodaran / The crypto-currency movement is a Gandhian civil disobedience movement of the 21st century led by peer to peer networks that closely resemble Spinoza’s multitudes A wintery December evening at Prague’s Wenceslas square. The year 1989. Vaclav Havel, Czechoslovakia’s celebrated playwright and …