Last week 43/2006

With the motto “It has never been better,” Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival 2006 started in the regional capital of the Highlands. The European Union declared a garlic war on China. Meteorologists warned the public that the Indian summer was coming to a close and the harsh part of fall was setting in.

Former Czech president Václav Havel flew to the United States for the winter. Lord Mayor Pavel Bém opened a traveling exhibition of Buddhist relics at Prague’s St. John the Baptist Church.

According to long-term statistics, the suicide rate declined slightly. “Thank you and we’re grateful to you,” Christoph Baubin, head of the Austrian company Austro Control, sent word to all citizens of the Austrian and Bohemian parts of the Šumava who protested his plans last year to build a giant radar monitoring growing air traffic over Upper Austria on the crest of the mountain range; although the same company had originally claimed that a high radar with a huge cupola was the only option, shortly after the massive civic protests another, esthetically inconspicuous alternative was found that also happened to save Austro Control 84 million crowns. Interior Minister Ivan Langer founded a college for budding politicians. A gathering of gardeners was held in Třebič. Domestic dailies launched their regular fall hidden advertising campaign for flu vaccinations. The UN Security Council unanimously approved sanctions against communist North Korea, whose leadership recently conducted nuclear tests despite worldwide protests; North Korea labeled the sanctions a “declaration of war.” At the Institute of Nuclear Reseach in Rez, scientists debated which direction energy should take. “From those poems I’m trying to encourage my people to ponder themselves a bit; my brother laughs at me – why I do it, what for; he’s a great cook, he opens the freezer and says: Here’s the poetry,” Roma writer Emil Cina said in the bi-weekly magazine Romano Hangos (Roma Voice) about the meaning of his poetry. The New York band Phishbacher played in Havlíčkův Brod. The Inspection of the Interior Ministry recommended that Jan Kubice, chief of the police unit for combating organized crime, be prosecuted for releasing a report before the elections last spring on criminal ties within the upper echelon of Social Democratic Party; the newly named head of the Inspection Zdeňek Pelc announced that he opposed his subordinates’ intention to prosecute Kubice. SkyEurope began giving away airline tickets in Europe to its customers with a company charge of ten crowns per ticket. The failing Czech Airlines asked the state for financial support. Using a skull and crossbones logo with the slogan “Films are not free,” the Czech Anti-Piracy Union began a campaign against illegal distribution and copying of films. A blazing foam rubber factory widely contaminated the atmosphere in Southern Moravia. The political organization of the Communist Youth Union was outlawed by the Ministry of the Interior due to its appeals for terrorist acts and the “nationalization” of private property. An EU international economic survey revealed that small, independent businesspeople are the motor behind the Czech economy. In consequence of a nighttime power outage, three Rothschild’s giraffes died in the Hradec Králové Zoo. “They’re very skittish animals, so they were probably startled, dropped to the ground in the pavilion from their height of four meters, suffering fatal injuries in the process – fortunately, they weren’t breeding stock, so the damage isn’t so high,” zoo director Dana Holečková said of the incident. Brno’s anti-monopoly office approved the merger of the brick manufacturers Colorbeton and Wienerberger. The renowned Hadley Centre for weather forecasting announced that if the current global warming trend continues, by the end of this century half the Earth would be affected by long, disastrous droughts causing total social chaos, massive global displacement of refugees, and water supply wars. Underground poet Ivan Martin Jirous was awarded this year’s Jaroslav Seifert Prize for literary achievement. An exhibition of work by Andrej Bělocvětov in Prague’s Critics’ Gallery caused a sensation among art experts. The government decided to stop funding new computer literacy projects. The communal elections were held. In a contest on Germany’s ARD television network for “Europe’s most educated nation,” the Czech team, led by singer Karel Gott, ended last out of ten; the Swiss came in first, the Poles second, and the Dutch third. “There were hard questions that required switching your brain on,” Karel Gott told MF Dnes, explaining the Czech team’s failure. Czech President Václav Klaus ceremoniously opened the nuclear waste repository at Dukovany power plant. The Czech Republic climbed to 20th on the list of countries with the greatest influx of investment. A comics festival started at Prague’s Světozor Cinema.