Bernard Cohen

@grok @Thaliman @Metamagician This isn't correct - Thomas Friedman denied that he voluntarily withdrew.

Research shows Randa Abdel-Fattah co-signed a 2024 letter urging Thomas Friedman's removal from Writers' Week; board declined, but he cited timing issues. Some withdrawers' stances: - Zadie Smith: Critiqued identity politics, open to being "cancelled" for writing. - Yanis Varoufakis: Condemned his 2024 Germany ban as censorship. - Helen Garner: Opposes trigger warnings, faced past backlash. - Peter FitzSimons: Criticized for silencing in gender debates. No clear records found on their views on Damore, Stock, etc. Diverse sources confirm event's cancellation amid free speech debates.

Someone with more resources than I have (e.g. an investigative journalist backed by a large media corporation) should look into the records of all the writers who withdrew from Writers' Week to see what evidence there is that they had previously opposed cancel culture ... or conversely who actually had a record of taking part in it. For example, we know that Abdel-Fattah herself tried to get Thomas Friedman cancelled from Writers' Week two years ago (and although the record is murky, it's possible that she succeeded, and the "scheduling" or "timing" conflict was a pretext). I wonder whether any of the writers who supported her took part in that. I also wonder how many of them were involved in various efforts to get Deborah Conway cancelled from writers' festivals. Conversely, how many gave Conway support, given that the attempts to cancel her were well-known? More generally, I wonder how many have spoken up in the past about the various prominent cancellations, or attempted cancellations, of individuals nationally and internationally over the years. How many commented in support of, say, James Damore, Israel Folau, Kathleen Stock, Holly Lawford-Smith, Rebecca Tuvel, or Tim Hunt, to take just a few high-profile examples at random? How many might actually have supported the cancellations of some of these people, or others whose views they disliked? To be clear, perhaps some of the writers concerned have been consistent in opposing cancellations. In that case, it would be good to identify them and give them appropriate praise for being principled. I hope that some of the individuals concerned really do fall into that category. But I'm willing to bet that some have had nothing to say in opposition to cancel culture more generally and that some have even participated in it, or egged it on, in the past.

@KMooreGilbert So horrific. How can we help from Australia, Kylie? @AlboMP please amplify Soheila's voice

More news direct from Soheila Hejab in prison: The prosecutor of Karaj and the supervising judge of Kachui prison came to inspect the female prisoners. They told Soheila, someone who has been in and out of prison since 2018 for her anti-regime activism, that this time they will be sentencing her to death, and that they are waiting to see her corpse.

@Ostrov_A Wish you a speedy recovery

Waking up today to this …

Yes

@FeatherstoneInk @meganblandford Thank you so much - it was a beautiful visit, place and school!

@meganblandford Author Bernard Cohen @entropio made the effort to visit our kids’ tiny rural school years ago to run a creative writing workshop…made a huge impact on the kids and am sure the teachers learned plenty too.

A Book Week thought: Id love to see funding for authors to go out to regional schools. Most regional kids would never have met an author. I remember seeing authors at my (suburban Melbourne) school and thinking, 'That's my future'. I needed to see it to know it was possible.

@slds91 Hi Sally, I made a radio piece on this for Radio National/Triple J when Howard privatised the Jobs Network and created work for the dole. Might this be of interest, or too bloody long ago?

i'm looking for juicy stories about centrelink, job agencies, and anti-centrelink/unemployed worker activism for an audio piece i'm doing. DM me for details <3

@slds91 @terriannwhite That was really fun... apart from the toothache

@terriannwhite @entropio wow i own this but haven't read yet/I didn't realise you were in it!

In a sentimental mood and thinking about this collaborative volume of pretty wild writing from 2002; ‘about war, AIDS, love, sex, untiring capital, cricket, dancing, toothache, border-crossings, books, writing & erasure’ according to back cover…

I reviewed Izumi Suzuki’s short story collection - first time translated into English - for @scmplifestyle scmp.com/magazines/post…

As well as population concerns and youth ennui, Suzuki’s stories reflect on gender relations – both the brutality and comedy. @entropio reviews TERMINAL BOREDOM for @SCMPNews scmp.com/magazines/post…

Super excited! George Saunders has a new book out on the (Russian) art of writing and I interviewed him for @SCMPNews. #georgesaunders #writingprompts #aswiminapondintherain @BloomsburySyd @SaundersSociety scmp.com/magazines/post…

Super excited! George Saunders has a new book out on the (Russian) art of writing and I interviewed him for @SCMPNews. #georgesaunders #writingprompts #aswiminapondintherain @BloomsburySyd scmp.com/magazines/post…

@eileenchongpoet @FelicPlunkett @_DeclanFry @AJ_Whittaker @OmarjSakr @ErikOJensen @slamup And to see and hear you!

@FelicPlunkett @eileenchongpoet @_DeclanFry @AJ_Whittaker @OmarjSakr @ErikOJensen @slamup This was a great session!

@EddyJokovich From the Australian Human Rights Commission website #COVID19India #COVID19Aus

Frydenberg ridiculed Hinduism in Parliament last year. Now it’s a criminal offense to arrive from India, an offense never imposed upon US or Europe, even though their coronavirus rate was higher. This government values people according to their skin colour. #auspol

@googledownunder Is it true that Google can continue to link to ABC and SBS for free?

Family living furthest from Sydney outbreak oddly the ones in lockdown

As a gift to our friends (you) in a time of crisis, we’ll be keeping a thread here of beautiful, obscure, and often quite useless words.

@InsidersABC @David_Speers @PaulFletcherMP If @Facebook refuses to pay for Australian commercial news, and Fletcher excludes ABC from the scheme, the only Oz news on social media will be @abcnews and @SBSNews. Go for this outcome, Minister! #insiders

WATCH: @David_Speers asks @PaulFletcherMP whether he will guarantee that he will not withdraw his support or even sack Ita Buttrose. #auspol #insiders

Did you hear the news? 👏 #DuttonDefeated! Here's our official response to today's decision from the High Court! 👇 justice.org.au/breaking-dutto…

@realDonaldTrump Is this cuckoo or coup-coup talk?

There is tremendous evidence of wide spread voter fraud in that there is irrefutable proof that our Republican poll watchers and observers were not allowed to be present in poll counting rooms. Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and others. Unconstitutional!