Builder cops $36,000 fine after sign blocked Sydney harbour views
IT’S GOING TO BE UGLY: Chinese scientist who fled to US vows to spill secrets of ‘coronavirus cover-up.’
Yet Again, Milan Kundera Denounced In His Native Land
While the Czech-but-now-French author is known in much of the world for his pointed depictions of how the Communist regimes of Europe twisted the lives of regular people, he’s been viewed ambivalently or worse by many in the Czech Republic — not least because he got out of Czechoslovakia in 1975 and didn’t have to suffer through the final years of the Communist Party’s misrule. Now a new 900-page biography of Kundera has reignited criticism of and debate over the most famous modern writer the country has produced. – Global Voices
Steve Martin Remembers Carl Reiner
When I perform comedy, I can still hear echoes of my influences coming through. Jack Benny, certainly, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Lenny Bruce, Steve Allen, Carl Reiner, too. But it is not Carl’s comedic advice I cherish. Rather, it was how he affected my everyday life, the part that has nothing to do with movies or acting. – The New York Times
India’s China Strategy Is Changing Project Syndicate, Shashi Tharoor.
Why India and China’s latest dispute could cost both sides greatly SCMP
Melbourne Won’t Ease COVID Restrictions, Arts Companies Cancel Plans
“We were going to do two sittings each night and the shows sold out straight away. We knew there was an appetite among audiences to come back. But when restrictions weren’t relaxed, we had to cancel. This is our business now – planning with enough flexibility and contingency so that you can shift or delay if you have to. We’re having to delve deep into our reserves of resilience as well as our creativity.” – The Guardian
Remember the evening when protestors in Washington, D.C., were
pushed back by authorities so President Trump could stand in front of a church?
The Ringer’s Alan Siegel with “One Night in D.C.: The Oral History of June 1, 2020.”
In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Harvard professor Joseph G. Allen gives us six reasons for optimism about the coronavirus.
Vulture’s Craig Jenkins with “Kanye West and the Media Are Once Again Playing a Dangerous Game.”
Markets in everything: Meet the company that sells your lost airplane luggage, recommended, excellent link. It seems to be a natural monopoly as well.
A smart Indian response to China (East Asia Forum 5.7.20)
The Indian government is under massive pressure to retaliate for the deaths of Indian soldiers in a border clash with China. While some bilateral measures may be unavoidable, India’s broader interest is not to reduce its engagement with China.
Moslem MP branded a terrorist. Is there a fair go?
Armed police and a media lynch-mob terrorised Labor Upper House MLC Shaoquett Moselmane, his family, neighbours and friends. His parliamentary rights, civil liberties, privacy and reputation have been trashed. Continue reading
A Swiss Dada Pioneer Finally Gets Her Spotlight
Sophie Taeuber-Arp did it all: Installations, textiles, costumes, abstract art. Nearly 80 years after her death, an online gallery show commemorates her talent (and a major museum exhibition is coming).