Jan Vávra's notebook: Enslave yourself now!
Oh, the magic of marketing! Imagine not having any (of your own) money and still having the comfort of a reserve. To take on long-term debt, and yet still somehow have total freedom. Orwell would love that. As the slogan from his 1984 goes: Freedom is Slavery!
The self-proclaimed separatist Donetsk People’s Republic now has a supposed “honorary consulate” in the Moravian-Silesian capital city of Ostrava. No matter that no-one, including the Czech Republic, recognises such a state. Meanwhile, “honorary consul” Nela Lisková was revealed as a member of the far-right Czech National Home Guard militia movement. Apparently the PR stunt was designed to annoy Brussels. What some people do for pleasure…
Europe at a Crossroads – such is the title of a recent book by biologist and philosopher Stanislav Komárek. The work offers up an analysis of a particular stereotype of Western Europe. Readers can judge for themselves the degree to which the picture rings true – one in which people take a break from the pursuit of material gain by drinking to the point of unconsciousness, and prefer pets to having their own children. If Europe is attracting asylum seekers, perhaps that’s no bad thing.
