Last week 44/09

The snow melted and it warmed up. Pedestrians found a plastic bag containing a healthy newborn girl, alive and wrapped in a bloody towel, on Prague's Karlovo náměstí square. Lawyer and Charter 77 (Charta 77) signatory Vladimír Klokočka died. The band Psí vojáci celebrated their 30th anniversary at Prague's Palác Akropolis. Around a hundred demonstrators protested against President Václav Klaus's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty outside Prague Castle (Pražský hrad).
"His conduct is detrimental to the Czech Republic, irresponsible and dangerous," said former Czech President Václav Havel, assessing Klaus's efforts to sink the treaty, without which Havel and some other commentators believe the enlarged European Union could turn into an ungovernable society whose individual member-states could succumb to pre-war economic and political nationalism instead of the partnership they have today. Air Force Colonel Otakar Černý, World War II hero and master of bold escapes, who managed to flee both Nazi and Communist concentration camps, died in Cambridge at the age of 90. Managers of Prague's state-owned airport took the reins of collapsing state-owned carrier Czech Airlines. US Vice President Joe Biden visited the Czech Republic. The new leadership at the law faculty in Plzeň launched a review of degrees bestowed upon scores of politicians, policemen, athletes and models after just a few weeks or months of study.
"Maybe smoke will only rise from your chimneys after that, but the soot in the chimney could also catch fire and in turn your whole house," said Společenstvo kominíků ČR ("Czech Chimney Sweepers' Association") President Emil Morávek, commenting on the government's proposal to permit citizens to clean their own chimneys. Miloš Zeman became the head of the Přátelé Miloše Zemana ("Friends of Miloš Zeman") association. Westinghouse expressed interest in vying for the contract to complete the construction of Temelín nuclear power plant. Unidentified vandals desecrated graves at a cemetery in Hostín, near Mělnik. Because of impending insolvency, the state had to borrow 33 billion crowns to cover December pension payments. The Defense Ministry announced that poorly made and malfunctioning Czech military pistols - specifically design number 82 - are endangering the lives of Czech soldiers serving in Afghanistan. House prices increased. A CVVM survey found that, if elections were held by the original October deadline, the Social Democrats (ČSSD) would win (32%), followed by the Civic Democrats (ODS; 26%), the Communists (KSČM; 15%) and TOP 09 (14%). Milan Šťastný celebrated his 50th birthday.
"He does not appreciate the fact that the West has enemies and that enemies of freedom are determined to do anything they can to win - steal, cheat…; Senator [Henry M.] Jackson said that the Russians are like hotel thieves: They come to the door, knock, try the knob, and when no one answers, they just go inside. And they keep trying," replied American philosopher Michael Novak when asked by Hospodářské noviny if President Barack Obama isn't naïve in his friendly attitude toward Russia. Škoda Auto started manufacturing in Kaluga, Russia. Ice hockey's Extraliga announced record attendances. The Státní cena za literaturu ("State Prize for Literature") was awarded to Zdeněk Rotrekl, a poet and former political prisoner who was sentenced to life in prison by the Communists. Reuters reported that 154,000 political prisoners are being held in six giant concentration camps in Communist North Korea. Pine needles yellowed in the woods atop Javořice. A fight broke out among Czech publishing houses over the copyright to works by this year's Nobel literature prize winner, German author Herta Müller. Retailers informed the public that this Christmas would be super cheap thanks to planned discounts.
"Because in our society, work is the key measure of social recognition, and one's position in society derives from it; everyone's perception of failure on the labor market is quite negative and it can be a stigma," replied sociologist Martin Zaplatílek when asked by Hospodářské noviny, "What do you think the biggest problem is with job loss?" In an effort to teach children that there are no exclusively masculine or feminine professions, the European Contact Group distributed copies of the cut-out book Adame, dneska už neva, že letadlo řídí Eva ("Adam, It Doesn't Matter Anymore that Eva Flies Planes") to Czech nursery schools. The Opava company Motoscoot announced plans to revive the Velorex. Saturnin won the nationwide Kniha mého srdce ("The Book of My Heart") poll, ahead of Babička (Granny) and Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince). Meteorologists reported that the mild weather would last until the end of October and then the cold would return.