British Government To Cut Entertainment License Red Tape

“The government has published proposals to scrap many of the licensing regulations that campaigners claim are stifling live entertainment in the UK. … Plans involve cutting regulation on sectors including travelling circuses, small-scale live music performances and even licensing for theatre performance with audiences of less than 5,000.”

What Vaclav Havel Didn’t Bargain For: Central Europe’s Loss Of Interest In Ideas

“The artistic and literary scene that flourished paradoxically under censorship and repression has died off. … The people of Central Europe traded in ideas for groceries and for not being beaten to death by the police. No one could possibly blame them, but at the same time, Havel and the other leaders had no sense of the true cost of democracy.”