Czech politicians meet Dalai Lama in contrast to pro-China policyOctober 19, 2016Souce: REUTERS / www.reuters.com / By Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller / Editing by Tom Heneghan / Czech ministers and senior parliamentarians held a private meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Tuesday, risking upsetting China just as Prague is trying to boost ties with Beijing. By …
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is Given a Rousing Welcome to Prague in Hradcanske SquareOctober 19, 2016Source: EIN NEWSDESK / www.einnews.com / Prague, Czech Republic, 17 October 2016 – The weather was cold and foggy as His Holiness the Dalai Lama left Bratislava this morning. He was delayed briefly at the airport because of fog at Prague, but was then able to complete the flight. He …
Kicking the DoorOctober 11, 2016Source: The New York Review of Books / www.nybooks.com / Václav Havel, translated from the French by Tamar Jacoby Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright, was one of the three principal spokesmen for the Charter 77 group. Since the signing of the Charter he has been arrested three times. First imprisoned …
Sally Painter on the Crisis Facing Europe: We need a new Vaclav HavelOctober 11, 2016Source: European American chamber of commerce / www.eaccny.com / By Sally Painter / At a time when European solidarity is facing challenges both internal (e.g., Brexit) and external (e.g. the refugee crisis), the future of the European Union has never appeared so uncertain. While there is no shortage of European …
How the Communists wished Havel Happy Birthday and elected him President of CzechoslovakiaOctober 11, 2016Source: Radio Praha / www.radio.cz / By Daniela Lazarová / The late Czech president, Václav Havel, who died five years ago, would have turned 80 on Wednesday, October 5. Celebrations of his life and legacy are taking place at home and abroad. In this special program on Radio Prague we …
Vaclav Havel’s spirit of creative dissent lives on in Tibet, MyanmarOctober 1, 2016Source: The Nation / www.nationmultimedia.com / By Carleton Cole / Spoken four years ago, the words now ring with a new and urgent significance: “A better system will not automatically ensure a better life. In fact, the opposite is true. Only by creating a better life can a better system …
Ma Thida Receives ‘Disturbing the Peace’ AwardOctober 1, 2016Source: The Irrawaddy /www.irrawaddy.com / By The Irrawaddy / Prominent Burmese writer Ma Thida was awarded the first annual “Disturbing the Peace” award by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation in New York on September 28. The award is given to an outstanding and courageous writer who shares the humanitarian values …
Francis Wilkinson, Bloomberg View: Public bigotry creeping into our private livesAugust 4, 2016Source: WacoTrib Central Texas News / www.wacotrib.com / By Francis Wilkinson / What’s in a name? It’s a measure of Donald Trump’s insidious reach, and of the potency of the political virus he carries, that I was thinking about this lately. I’m hardly an obvious target of Trump’s demagogy and …
Reflection on taste and these timesJune 28, 2016Source: The Guardian Nigeria / www.guardian.ng / By Debo Adesina / Those who questioned or still question President Muhammadu Buhari’s educational qualifications, especially his secondary school leaving certificate, certainly know a thing or two about jokes. They have never met his classmates or, better still, his students or subordinates in …
A treasure trove of memoriesJune 20, 2016Source: The Manila Times / www.manilatimes.net / By Juanito P. Jarasa / NOW in my retirement, I look back to my 40-year diplomatic career and realize how meeting very important personalities has enriched my life. I was ambassador to Hungary and Czechoslovakia on a concurrent basis, then to India and …
Watson: The character of a presidentJune 16, 2016Source: The Salem News / www.salemnews.com / By Brian T. Watson / It has been nearly five years since Vaclav Havel died. He was the first president of Czechoslovakia after the fall of the communist government there in 1989. This year, I have closely followed the American presidential primary candidates …
New York to mark late president’s 80th birthday with “Václav Havel Day”June 16, 2016Source: Radio Praha / www.radio.cz / By Dominik Jůn / The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, is to declare September 28 to be “Václav Havel Day”, according to the Czech Consulate in the American city. Numerous events are to surround the roughly three-day commemoration, including performances of Havel’s …
Havel’s HumanityApril 29, 2016Source: The Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com / By Salil Tripathi / In 1988, when he was still a dissident playwright, Vaclav Havel began writing a play about the angst of a political leader about to relinquish power. Outwardly, the leader looked supremely confident; inwardly, he had no idea how he …
Peter Jones: Czechs have a lot to teach ScotlandJanuary 13, 2016Source: The Scotsman www.scotsman.com / By Peter Jones / Prague airport is a bit of a shock for those of us who like to think that Scotland, and indeed Britain, are open cosmopolitan nations keen to engage with the world, especially emerging economies such as China and Russia. Prague’s confidence …
The West is losing the battle for the heart of EuropeJanuary 13, 2016Source: Reuters blogs.reuters.com / By John Lloyd / A little over a quarter of a century ago, Europe celebrated the healing of the schism that Communism enforced on it since World War Two, and which produced great tribunes of freedom.Lech Walesa, the Polish shipyard electrician, climbed over his yard wall …
Czech politicians meet Dalai Lama in contrast to pro-China policy October 19, 2016 Souce: REUTERS / www.reuters.com / By Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller / Editing by Tom Heneghan / Czech ministers and senior parliamentarians held a private meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Tuesday, risking upsetting China just as Prague is trying to boost ties with Beijing. By …
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is Given a Rousing Welcome to Prague in Hradcanske Square October 19, 2016 Source: EIN NEWSDESK / www.einnews.com / Prague, Czech Republic, 17 October 2016 – The weather was cold and foggy as His Holiness the Dalai Lama left Bratislava this morning. He was delayed briefly at the airport because of fog at Prague, but was then able to complete the flight. He …
Kicking the Door October 11, 2016 Source: The New York Review of Books / www.nybooks.com / Václav Havel, translated from the French by Tamar Jacoby Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright, was one of the three principal spokesmen for the Charter 77 group. Since the signing of the Charter he has been arrested three times. First imprisoned …
Sally Painter on the Crisis Facing Europe: We need a new Vaclav Havel October 11, 2016 Source: European American chamber of commerce / www.eaccny.com / By Sally Painter / At a time when European solidarity is facing challenges both internal (e.g., Brexit) and external (e.g. the refugee crisis), the future of the European Union has never appeared so uncertain. While there is no shortage of European …
How the Communists wished Havel Happy Birthday and elected him President of Czechoslovakia October 11, 2016 Source: Radio Praha / www.radio.cz / By Daniela Lazarová / The late Czech president, Václav Havel, who died five years ago, would have turned 80 on Wednesday, October 5. Celebrations of his life and legacy are taking place at home and abroad. In this special program on Radio Prague we …
Vaclav Havel’s spirit of creative dissent lives on in Tibet, Myanmar October 1, 2016 Source: The Nation / www.nationmultimedia.com / By Carleton Cole / Spoken four years ago, the words now ring with a new and urgent significance: “A better system will not automatically ensure a better life. In fact, the opposite is true. Only by creating a better life can a better system …
Ma Thida Receives ‘Disturbing the Peace’ Award October 1, 2016 Source: The Irrawaddy /www.irrawaddy.com / By The Irrawaddy / Prominent Burmese writer Ma Thida was awarded the first annual “Disturbing the Peace” award by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation in New York on September 28. The award is given to an outstanding and courageous writer who shares the humanitarian values …
Francis Wilkinson, Bloomberg View: Public bigotry creeping into our private lives August 4, 2016 Source: WacoTrib Central Texas News / www.wacotrib.com / By Francis Wilkinson / What’s in a name? It’s a measure of Donald Trump’s insidious reach, and of the potency of the political virus he carries, that I was thinking about this lately. I’m hardly an obvious target of Trump’s demagogy and …
Reflection on taste and these times June 28, 2016 Source: The Guardian Nigeria / www.guardian.ng / By Debo Adesina / Those who questioned or still question President Muhammadu Buhari’s educational qualifications, especially his secondary school leaving certificate, certainly know a thing or two about jokes. They have never met his classmates or, better still, his students or subordinates in …
A treasure trove of memories June 20, 2016 Source: The Manila Times / www.manilatimes.net / By Juanito P. Jarasa / NOW in my retirement, I look back to my 40-year diplomatic career and realize how meeting very important personalities has enriched my life. I was ambassador to Hungary and Czechoslovakia on a concurrent basis, then to India and …
Watson: The character of a president June 16, 2016 Source: The Salem News / www.salemnews.com / By Brian T. Watson / It has been nearly five years since Vaclav Havel died. He was the first president of Czechoslovakia after the fall of the communist government there in 1989. This year, I have closely followed the American presidential primary candidates …
New York to mark late president’s 80th birthday with “Václav Havel Day” June 16, 2016 Source: Radio Praha / www.radio.cz / By Dominik Jůn / The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, is to declare September 28 to be “Václav Havel Day”, according to the Czech Consulate in the American city. Numerous events are to surround the roughly three-day commemoration, including performances of Havel’s …
Havel’s Humanity April 29, 2016 Source: The Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com / By Salil Tripathi / In 1988, when he was still a dissident playwright, Vaclav Havel began writing a play about the angst of a political leader about to relinquish power. Outwardly, the leader looked supremely confident; inwardly, he had no idea how he …
Peter Jones: Czechs have a lot to teach Scotland January 13, 2016 Source: The Scotsman www.scotsman.com / By Peter Jones / Prague airport is a bit of a shock for those of us who like to think that Scotland, and indeed Britain, are open cosmopolitan nations keen to engage with the world, especially emerging economies such as China and Russia. Prague’s confidence …
The West is losing the battle for the heart of Europe January 13, 2016 Source: Reuters blogs.reuters.com / By John Lloyd / A little over a quarter of a century ago, Europe celebrated the healing of the schism that Communism enforced on it since World War Two, and which produced great tribunes of freedom.Lech Walesa, the Polish shipyard electrician, climbed over his yard wall …