Headlines of the past month
Prague - If you follow the news about the Czech Republic, even if not that regularly, it will be a piece of cake for you to name a few of the topics that have dominated Czech media lately.
If you guessed the Čunek affair, US radar base in the Brdy region and the blob at Letná, you get a 100%!
Let´s start with the latter for now, as we have not heard that much about the blob recently, until last week.
The whole issue seems to have turned into a verbal duel when one side shoots "It will never.." and the other replies "Yes, it will."
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No "blob" will stand on the Letná Plain, Culture Minister Václav Jehlička announced Wednesday. Jehlička said that the new National Library building,designed by world renowned London-based Czech-born architect Jan Kaplický will never be built in Letná park.
"But there will be a library in Letná," Kaplický insists in an interview for Aktuálně.cz. "I just don't know when," added the architect.
And here is another interesting irony - despite the fact that the National Librarywill not be built by the end of this government´s tenure, the London-based architect Jan Kaplický will be reimbursed. In fact, not once but twice. This is guaranteed by the contract of the international architectural competition Kaplický won two years ago. Fair enough.
In the meantime, National Library director Vlastimil Ježek has filed a complaint against an "unknown culprit from Prague´s municipality", expressing his willingness to fight for the blob in Letná.
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Now let's proceed to the latest development in the Čunek case: someone who was once suspected of taking bribes in the past is now angered because his name is mentioned in the audit of Čunek's finances, conducted by Kroll, US-based corporate investigation and risk consulting firm.
Jiří Čunek was allegedly involved in lobbying for an armament company Zbrojovka with Finance Minister Kalousek. Both men (naturally) deny this accusation. Now Kalousek wants Kroll to apologize.
Just to remind you who Mr. Kalousek is: Christian Democrat Miroslav Kalousek was the Defense Minister in 1993 - 1998, during which time the Czech army went through a series of corruption scandals. Many believed Kalousek was involved in bribery. He argued that mistakes were inevitable during the period of army transformation, and denied accusations of corruption. See more about his career profile here.
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And now for the last topic occupying the Czech headlines most frequently, and then we are done for the day: The first part of the radar treaty has been signed by US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice on July 8 but one topic is still hanging in the air - taxes.
According to a source from the Czech Defense Ministry, the US has put forward the following proposal - if the tax issue is dealt with in the same way as in treaties with other countries, the Czech Republic could be offered certain compensations and offset loans.
"This could be acceptable for us, though we are waiting for specific proposals," informed the source.
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Euthanasia has not grabbed the headlines as much as the above mentioned topics, but has certainly sparked heated discussions, even among the public. Called merciful by some and sinful and murderous by others - you make the choice.
Now, the first euthanasia bill in the Czech Republic, drafted by Senator Václava Domšová from the Union of Independents-European Democrats (SNK-ED), has been presented to the Czech government. The bill is to be debated by Czech parliament and lawmakers seem to be pretty evenly divided. As always.
Aktuálně.cz obtained 19 paragraphs of the proposed "law on a dignified death" and you can see some of the conditions set out in Domšová´s proposal here.
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Environmental group Hnutí Duha (The Rainbow Movement) critised last year´s screening of the British film "The Great Global Warming Swindle" in Prague , sponsored by the Czech president and a right-wing think-tank.
Hnutí Duha is now asking President Václav Klaus and the think-tank, Center for Economics and Politics (CEP), to apologize for screening the film in their institute.
We all know it will never happen but an interesting case that the independent British media regulator Ofcom had to deal with. See the details how they decided.
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Environment Minister Martin Bursík visited the village of Nové Heřminovy in the beautiful Jeseníky Region where a new dam is to be built.
In April, the Czech government approved the dam in spite of some Green Party members being against the project. The dam is to help protect surrounding villages against floods, says the government, but we do not really care, say the village dwellers.
And it seems they don't really care about money either. The government promised generous compensation to all of them, but the villagers seem to want just one thing - to stay were they are.
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Two Czech scientists who were arrested in India for what the Indian authorities called illegal bug collection were released today on bail and the first thing they did was to have dinner with the local journalists. Good for them and hopefully we will learn more about their views on the affair than that of Indian authorities.
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If you would like to live in a bigger and cheaper flat, your have good chances to find one in Plzeň, Brno or Pardubice.
According to the figures supplied by the Regional Development Ministry to Aktuálně.cz, landlords in these cities have been lowering rent prices.
Just compare this: While in downtown Prague you would pay CZK 350/sq m, in Plzeň or Brno you would pay around 140/sq. m. Not a bad deal, is it?
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There are certain common features that characterize the entire nation, some believe. Czechs are said to complain a lot - about anything and at any time.
Whether you believe it or not, the results of the latest poll on the state of democracy in the Czech Republic indicates there might be some bits of truth in this generalized belief.
Only one third of Czech citizens see the democratic system working as it should in the Czech Republic. And incredible 70 percent do not believe the Czech political system can be compared to Western standards.
The poll results boil down to one thing - we have higher standards of democracy in mind than what we actually have in reality. What do you say to that?
