As Russia subverts democracy across Europe, we should remember how the Iron Curtain fellJanuary 7, 2017Source: The Telegraph News / www.telegraph.co.us / By Jan Surotchak / At a time when the establishment is under fire around the world, it’s worth reflecting on a moment when the intellectual elite actually drove democratic change from underground. Today is the 40th anniversary of the Charter 77 Declaration, the foundational …
Ceann Comhairle marks anniversary of Václav HavelDecember 8, 2016Source: House of the Oireachtas / www.oireachtas.ie / Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl, TD marked the anniversary of Václav Havel at a short ceremony in Leinster House today, Wednesday, 7 December 2016 which was attended by the Czech Ambassador, former ambassadors of the Czech Republic, members of the Czech community …
Artistic Identity in the Age of FascismDecember 8, 2016(or: You don’t bring nuance to an iron fistfight) This piece, “Artiscit Identity in the Age of Fascism,” by Abbey Fenbert was originally published on HowlRound www.howlround.com, a knowledge commons by and for the theatre community, on December 3, 2016. Writers don’t like protests. My first (and until November 2016, …
Europe Against RopesNovember 25, 2016THE EUROPEAN BUSINESS DAILY / Handelsblatt Global / Monday, November 21, 2016 / CZECH LEGACY / Europe Against the Ropes / ANA PALACIO / Donald Trump and Vaclav Havel: it is hard to imagine more different figures. It is the vision of the latter of a united, peaceful Europe which …
Strategies for surviving a Trump administrationNovember 23, 2016Source: The Washington Post / www.washingtonpost.com / By Daniel W. Drezner / If you think Donald Trump is an abomination and he wins, what should you do? On Tuesday, both a Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll and the staff at FiveThirtyEight continued to freak out close election-watchers with the ever-increasing chance of …
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 …
As Russia subverts democracy across Europe, we should remember how the Iron Curtain fell January 7, 2017 Source: The Telegraph News / www.telegraph.co.us / By Jan Surotchak / At a time when the establishment is under fire around the world, it’s worth reflecting on a moment when the intellectual elite actually drove democratic change from underground. Today is the 40th anniversary of the Charter 77 Declaration, the foundational …
Ceann Comhairle marks anniversary of Václav Havel December 8, 2016 Source: House of the Oireachtas / www.oireachtas.ie / Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl, TD marked the anniversary of Václav Havel at a short ceremony in Leinster House today, Wednesday, 7 December 2016 which was attended by the Czech Ambassador, former ambassadors of the Czech Republic, members of the Czech community …
Artistic Identity in the Age of Fascism December 8, 2016 (or: You don’t bring nuance to an iron fistfight) This piece, “Artiscit Identity in the Age of Fascism,” by Abbey Fenbert was originally published on HowlRound www.howlround.com, a knowledge commons by and for the theatre community, on December 3, 2016. Writers don’t like protests. My first (and until November 2016, …
Europe Against Ropes November 25, 2016 THE EUROPEAN BUSINESS DAILY / Handelsblatt Global / Monday, November 21, 2016 / CZECH LEGACY / Europe Against the Ropes / ANA PALACIO / Donald Trump and Vaclav Havel: it is hard to imagine more different figures. It is the vision of the latter of a united, peaceful Europe which …
Strategies for surviving a Trump administration November 23, 2016 Source: The Washington Post / www.washingtonpost.com / By Daniel W. Drezner / If you think Donald Trump is an abomination and he wins, what should you do? On Tuesday, both a Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll and the staff at FiveThirtyEight continued to freak out close election-watchers with the ever-increasing chance of …
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 …