Czech Update

Czech children not poor, but have emotional problems - UNICEF

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:45:00 +0000

Czech children not poor, but have emotional problems - UNICEF Czech children do not suffer from poverty and they have good health care and education as compared to children from some two tens of developed countries, but they have more problems in relations with parents and peers, according to a study that UNICEF released today.

Czech Republic came 11th in the overall score beating USA, France and UK (all three often featured as role models in socio-economic areas). Czechs were 11th, 10th and 9th in financial position, health and education respectively and it's infant mortality rates are one of the lowest but their overall ranking was brought down by "assessment of relations between children and their peers, and children and their parents." where CR scored 19th (ahead only of UK and US). Here are some other quotes from the article about the report. read more »

Applicants for Czech visas to need fingerprints in 2008

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:00:05 +0000

Applicants for Czech visas to need fingerprints, photographs - Prague Daily Monitor Fingerprints and photographs of applicants for Czech visas coming from countries which do not have visa-free relations with the Czech Republic and other EU countries will start to be gradually taken at diplomatic missions as from August 2008, the Czech Foreign Ministry told CTK today.

The visa empire strikes back. But making it more difficult for people to visit is probably the price Czech Republic has to pay for being in the EU. (Although, the old bureaucratic procedures are easy to resurrect.) read more »

Czechs practice unsafe sex

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:31:40 +0000

Czechs practice unsafe sex - Prague Daily Monitor Young Czechs practice unsafe sex, according to a Mladá fronta Dnes survey. Out of 139 young people questioned, 60 percent indicated that they don't use condoms. Most of them indicated that they are not afraid of contracting HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. There are currently 920 registered HIV cases in the country, but medical experts say that number could be five times higher. They say HIV cases continue to rise each year. There were 93 new cases last year.

Czechs give go-ahead for US 'son of star wars' base

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:06:41 +0000

Czechs give go-ahead for US 'son of star wars' base | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited The Czech government has announced that it wants to host a large US military site for the Pentagon's much-criticised missile shield system, confirming for the first time that Washington had asked Prague for permission to build a radar site for the national missile defence programme.

Not much to say. The long fascination of the Czech Republic with the US continues. Of course, there's also the visa problem...

New property law raises expectations of Brit influx

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 01:31:40 +0000

News - Check out Czech Republic for property investment - Real Estate TV A change in VAT laws in the Czech Republic is set to see an increase in the number of Britons investing in the country, according to a spokesperson for Property Secrets.

The VAT rule alterations, due to come into effect in 2008, coupled with the accelerated growth in the economy are set to drive property investment in the Czech Republic in the next few years.

What more can be said? The number of read more »

Czech sporting heros honored

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 23:28:28 +0000

Neumannová named Czech athlete of the year - International Herald Tribune PRAGUE, Czech Republic: Kateřina Neumannová, who won the women's 30-kilometer cross-country race at the Turin Olympics, was chosen as the Czech Republic's athlete of the year for 2006 on Sunday in a poll of sports journalists. New York Rangers forward Jaromír Jágr, who won the award in 2005, was second. Lukáš Bauer, who took silver in the 15-kilometer cross-country race in Turin, was third. Martina Navratilová, who defected from her Czech homeland in 1975 and became a U.S. citizen in 1981, was named a Czech sports legend on Sunday.

President says EU membership brought little to Czech Republic

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 22:00:14 +0000

Czech president says EU membership brought little to Czech Republic, Slovakia - International Herald Tribune BRATISLAVA, Slovakia: Czech President Václav Klaus said Thursday he believes that the accession of his country and neighboring Slovakia to the European Union has brought little benefits to the two countries.

Not surprising given the strong Thatcherite leanings combined with increasingly strident nationalistic populism of the president (biased view of mine). He is also, tr read more »

Cultural impact of change in Czech TV news schedule

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:32:31 +0000

Change in Czech TV main news time benefits Nova - 10-01-2007 - Radio Prague Many Czechs catch their television news in the early evening, between 7 and 8 o'clock. But which particular news programmes they choose to watch has changed somewhat since the New Year, when Czech Television brought its main evening news forward by 15 minutes. The change also affects hundreds of thousands of Czech children, as a popular animated programme also starts earlier. read more »

It is interesting, if not surprising, how important TV schedules are for the cultural patterns of a nation. For Czech, culturally particularly important time is between 7 and 8 pm which is a transition between children's time and adult time. Children watch their 10-minute evening story - Večerníček, and then adults watch the news (boring for children) and than at 8 pm the main adult (as in not for children, not pornographic) programming starts when children go to bed. So a change of even as little as 15 minutes can have quite an impact on individuals' lives. Particularly when it comes down to the institution of Večerníček (so important it even has its own Wikipedia entry):

New government - at least for a month

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 09:52:01 +0000

Czech bid to end political crisis - CNN.com PRAGUE, Czech Republic (Reuters) -- Czech President Vaclav Klaus named a new government led by rightist Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek on Tuesday as the EU member tries to extract itself from a seven-month crisis sparked by an inconclusive election. Topolanek has formed a three-party coalition with the centrist Christian Democrats, the Green Party and his own rightist Civic Democrats. But the grouping has only 100 seats in the 200-seat parliament, while leftists also control 100 seats, the results of an inconclusive election last June. The constitution calls for a confidence vote to be held within 30 days but Topolánek has said he would move faster.

We'll see how long the government will last but it seems that Czechs have been managing without it quite nicely. As this Independent article points out. The outlook is not particularly rosy:

IOL: New Czech government unlikely to end crisis But analysts said even if Topolanek gets the simple majority needed to survive the vote, the hung parliament will make it difficult for him to push through his programme of tax and spending reforms, welfare cuts and new healthcare user fees.

More Czech beer in the US

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 09:49:08 +0000

KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington - Business - Anheuser-Busch, Czech brewer strike deal Anheuser-Busch Cos. announced a deal Monday to distribute a beer brewed by Budejovicky Budvar. Both companies stand to benefit from the deal. But they also say it won't end their century-old legal fight over the Budweiser trademark. The companies both claim exclusive rights to use the Budweiser name, and their trademark dispute has tied up courts throughout Europe. But even as the lawyers battle it out, the two brewers will share common ground in pushing Budvar's Czechvar Premium Czech Lager to nationwide distribution in the United States.

Czech nuclear power to all households

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 14:31:40 +0000

Proud z Dukovan by letos nasytil všechny domácnosti - iDNES.cz Jaderná elektrárna Dukovany letos vyrobila nejvíc elektřiny ve své jednadvacetileté historii. Produkce ráno poprvé převýšila hranici 14 miliard kilowatthodin. Právě takové množství proudu spotřebují za rok všechny domácnosti v Česku, přiblížil mluvčí elektrárny Petr Spilka.

The 21-year-old Czech nuclear powerplant Dukovany exceeded 14 billion kiloWatt hours this year. Which is enough to supply all Czech households with electricity. read more »

Magor book of 2006

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 02:40:49 +0000

www.lidovky.cz - Kniha roku 2006 Dvacet čtyři hlasů pro Magorovy dopisy je proto úspěch nesporný. Jejich autorovi Ivanu M. Jirousovi můžeme blahopřát i k tomu, že se od obnovení ankety LN v roce 1991 stává prvním, kdo pomyslný titul Kniha roku získává podruhé (v roce 1998 za Magorovu summu).

Magor, an underground generation poet and celebrated crazy man, beat Kundera in the annual Book of the Year poll conducted by Lidové Noviny. His book of letters he wrote from prison in the 70s and 80s gave him a unique second win since 1991. Havel's interview came in fourth place. read more »

New Year brings new logos

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 02:41:25 +0000

V Česku letos mizely lokální značky - iDNES.cz Češi si musejí zvykat na nové názvy firem, nová loga a firemní barvy. Letošní rok byl totiž ve znamení velkých změn, a to především v oblasti telekomunikací. Loga Vodafone vystřídala na billboardech Oskara a Český Telecom s Eurotelem zaplavily bubliny O2

Some names that have become part of the national consciousness recently and others that have been part of the scene for decades will be with us no more next year. Czech Telecom and Eurotel (its mobile branch) have become Telefónica O2, and Oskar, the third mobile operator, was gobbled up by Vodafone. read more »

Czech 'YouTube' to come out of Beta with Gynecology 2

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 12:15:23 +0000

Český „YouTube“ nabízí seriál od Čtvrtníčka - iDNES.cz Na začátku příštího roku se má oficiálně rozjet český server, který nabídne podobné služby jako populární YouTube. Vedle možnosti zveřejnit zde svá videa se případní uživatelé mohou těšit i na původní tvorbu. Svá videa zde mají podle plánu vydávat studenti filmových škol, místo bude i na zprávy či reportáže.

New Year will bring a new online service to the Czech internet to challenge YouTube called Stream.cz. And to draw new audiences it starts with an original show called Gynekologie 2 (Ob-gyn 2) which is a very funny parody of medical dramas with only slightly lascivious content. Stream.cz differs from YouTube in several important respects: it features (at least for now) very professional-looking content created for the site by film students, the quality of transmission is high, live content is planned (mostly transmissions from night clubs), concert footage, news, etc. Not all the videos require Czech, such as this short film on Brutal Ping Pong or this animated gruesome take on What was left out of fairytales. read more »

Jára Cimrman to bring new Czech heaven

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:53:23 +0000

Cimrmanův divadelní kšaft - www.lidovky.cz Zdeněk Svěrák a Ladislav Smoljak chystají patnáctou hru, kterou by chtěli oslavit podzimní čtyřicítku Divadla Járy Cimrmana. Nová hra by se mohla jmenovat České nebe s podtitulem Cimrmanův dramatický kšaft.

It is characteristic of many things in the Czech psyche that the greatest Czech of all time [also here], as measured by Czech TV's remake of BBC's 100 Greatest Brittons, never existed. It was Jára Cimrman who will celebrate 40 years of non-existence next year. And his 'discoverers', now revered Czech cultural icons themselves, have just announced they are planning to uncover the 15th lost play by this intellectual giant. The play may be called 'Czech Heaven' and with any luck will open in the fall of 2007. This is big news! Roughly on the scale of announcing the new Star Wars. Unlike the Star Wars, though, this is unlikely to disappoint. Want know why? Read this account by an American of the Czech hero's appeal who sums it up pretty well: read more »

More immigration, birth + fewer deaths, abortions = population increase

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:33:24 +0000

V Česku žije stále víc lidí, především díky cizincům - iDNES.cz K nárůstu počtu Čechů přispělo i snížení počtu provedených a samovolných potratů. V prvních třech čtvrtletích 2006 lékaři provedli o 815 interrupcí méně než ve stejném období roku 2005. Statistici to mimo jiné vysvětlují trendem posunout plodnost žen do pozdějšího věku.

The title says it all. The preoccupation with population in the Czech press continues although the tone is shifting to cautious optimism. read more »

News: Czech Republic to join Schengen by end of 2007

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:38:43 +0000

The Prague Post Online: News: Czech Republic to join Schengen The Czech Republic will enter the Schengen border-free zone a year from now, following the European Commission's (EC) recent reversal of its earlier decision to postpone entry for new European Union members until well into 2008. "This means that Europe will soon no longer be divided into two parts," Interior Minister Ivan Langer told reporters Dec. 5.

This issue was felt very keenly by many Czechs who felt like "second-class" citizens. read more »

First Czech University to open campuses abroad

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 21:36:22 +0000

Liberec Tech. becomes first Czech University to open campuses abroad - 13-12-2006 - Radio Prague The Technical University of Liberec has announced it is opening two branches in Vietnam. It's thought to be the very first time a Czech University has set up campuses abroad. Petr Louda, dean of the Mechanical Faculty, explained how the plans came about.

Don't really know what to say about it. It is another example of how being in the EU can be an advantage. Liberec is my hometown but I never thought of the university as particularly important, although it is pretty good in its fields - engineering and textile engineering. read more »

Ruzyně, the Prague airport breaks a passenger record

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 21:17:46 +0000

Letištěm v Ruzyni poprvé prošlo 11 milionů cestujících - iDNES.cz Pražské letiště v Ruzyni přepsalo další rekord. Ve středu dopoledne jím prošel cestující, který završil počet letos odbavených pasažérů na rovných 11 milionů.

The Prague airport has served 11 million passengers already this year. To put it in perspective, it is as if every single Czech (including little babies) has used it at least once!

Dumpling News Weekly - Czechs in America

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:46:46 +0000

Internet newsletter offers Czech-American news, hard-to-find products - 12-12-2006 - Radio Prague Numerous newspapers and magazines serve the Czech community in the United States, from "nationwide" publications such as Americke listy to regional titles like Czech Nebraska. There are also several internet websites and email newsletters, such as the weekly Dumpling News; it is produced by Zora Pergl, a woman of Czech descent based in Florida. I asked her how Dumpling News has been received since its launch in April last year.

Over 300,000 foreigners living in the Czech Republic make up 2.5%

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 22:58:23 +0000

More than 300,000 foreigners live in Czech Republic -- CSU Prague- A total of 310,000 foreigners have lived in the Czech Republic by the end of September, including foreigners who have applied for asylum in the country, Bohdana Hola from the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) told journalists. The number of foreigners in the country has grown by almost 30,000 in the first nine months of this year. Foreigners thus make up about 2.5 percent of the country's population, Hola said.

This is pretty amazing by recent historical standards although negligible by World standards. Neighboring Austria and Germany have much higher populations of "foreigners". The homogeneity of Czech population is hard to imagine for someone used to diverse environments - and it brings both benefits and challenges. read more »

Foreigners to make up for lacking Czech medical staff - minister

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 18:20:16 +0000

Foreigners to make up for lacking Czech medical staff - minister Prague- The Health Ministry is considering inviting foreigners, from new EU countries for instance, to fill vacancies in the Czech Republic's health sector that lacks mainly anaesthesiologists and rescuers, Minister Tomas Julinek (Civic Democrats, ODS) has told Czech Radio.

It will be interesting to see how Czech not used to people from other cultures will react to this. But it will be an important first step to opening the Czech culture. read more »

Theiving devils and burnt hands brought by Mikuláš

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:31:45 +0000

Mikuláš přinesl loupící čerty i popálené ruce - iDNES.cz Během úterního řádění čertů a nadělování dárků dětem hodnými Mikuláši se 59letý muž z Plzně setkal s pekelníky, kteří ho pravděpodobně okradli. Pod záminkou, že ztrestají "nehodného" člověka, mu zřejmě přímo z kapsy odcizili mobilní telefon. V Praze se zase při házení petard popálil školák.

Among all the merriment there were also some less festive happenings to be reported on. A group of 'devils' stole a mobile phone from a man in Plzeň and a boy received burns on his hands when throwing firecrackers in Prague. Nothing too serious, then, but still it made a nice headline. read more »

From Švejk to NATO

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 23:20:14 +0000

Parliament approves Czech foreign missions next year Prague- Foreign missions of Czech troops in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq will continue next year and the Czech Republic will also join the U.N. peace-keeping mission in Lebanon and will contribute to the NATO rapid deployment forces as the Chamber of Deputies passed the plan of military operations abroad for next year today.

The Czech army as a whole is hardly a force to be reckoned with but there are many specialist units that are actually fairly desirable. read more »

Slivovice exhibit in South Korea

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 12:37:14 +0000

The Korea Times : Slivovitz Czech’s Spirit If there is soju for Koreans and whiskey for Scottish people, there is slivovitz for Czechs. The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Seoul last Monday hosted ``Slivovitz and its Soul,’’ an exhibition on the history of the drink, at the new Czech restaurant, Castle Praha, near Hongik University.

This one of the more bizzare exhibits of Czech culture you can think of. But the interesting question is whether it is accurate. I suspect that most Bohemian Czechs think of slivovice (plum brandy) as a Moravian thing. read more »