Topic Archive Society
Czech signature of ACTA agreement sparks controversy and demonstrations
The signature of ACTA, short for Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, by 22
EU member states has sparked a heated controversy and widespread protests
across Europe. In the Czech Republic, hundreds of internet users took to
the streets in Prague and other cities, while hackers associated with the
group Anonymous have attacked websites of the government, political parties
and copyrights holders associations. In neighboring Poland, the
ratification of the agreement was even put on ice after widespread protests
and attacks on government websites. The controversial agreement aims to
protect intellectual property on the internet, but many fear it will lead
to online surveillance and internet censorship. New media and technology
journalist Petr Kočí speaks about ACTA and how it is perceived in the
Czech Republic. More
Mailbox
This month in Mailbox we read from your letters of condolence on the death
in December of the former president Václav Havel, we read from your
feedback regarding Radio Prague's programmes and we quote from your answers
to January's mystery Czech quiz question. Listeners/readers: Michael
Fanderys, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Stephen Hrebenach, Steve Olear, Hans Verner
Lollike, Mary Lou Krenek, Jaroslaw Jedrzejczak, Charles Konecny, Vladimir
Gudzenko, Colin Law. More
An Englishwoman who has lived in Prague for over six decades – ‘war bride’ Ivy Kovandová
Ivy Kovandová is one of the few remaining so-called war brides in the
Czech Republic. ‘War brides’ are Englishwomen who married Czechoslovak
pilots or soldiers stationed in the UK during WWII – an estimated 10,000
soldiers and about 2,500 pilots from Czechoslovakia fought alongside the
allies, and many of them married local women. Some of those women
accompanied their husbands back to their native land after the war. But
most left Czechoslovakia due to the strain that the arrival of the
communist regime placed on their lives, or simply because they felt lost
and homesick. Ivy Kovandová, however, still lives in her cozy apartment in
Prague’s Vršovice neighborhood and says she has never even considered
leaving. Just a few weeks ago, she celebrated her 90th birthday. I recently
visited Ivy at her home, where she told me all about her adventurous life
over cake and coffee. More
MPs complete legislation aimed at legalizing cannabis for medical purposes
A group of Czech MPs from all of the parties in the Chamber of Deputies has
completed legislation which could legalise the use of cannabis in the Czech
Republic for medical purposes. Currently, thousands of sufferers from
debilitating diseases such as Parkinson’s, Lyme borreliosis and multiple
sclerosis, have been forced to break the law to obtain marijuana to help
ease their pain, a situation which could soon change if the bill passes in
the lower house. According to reports, the medical use of cannabis in the
Czech Republic could be legal within the year. More
Therapist: parental failure behind increasingly aggressive kids
Aggressive behavior in young children and adolescents is on the rise and
there are indications that parents are increasingly unable to deal with it.
Schoolteachers are ringing alarm bells and therapists are warning of the
dire consequences of failing to deal with the problem in time.
More
Wenceslas square’s notorious sausage stands to be removed by end of year
For years, Prague councilors have been announcing the end of the sausage
stands on Wenceslas Square, which for some have become an institution,
albeit a greasy and noisy one. Now, City Hall officials are set to serve
eviction notices to all of the fast-food stands on the city’s main
thoroughfare, ahead of a major makeover next year. In the future, Wenceslas
Square may be sausage-free – but not if Prague 1 mayor Oldřich Lomecký
has his say. More
Scandal-plagued Plzeň law faculty will have to close its doors
The scandal-plagued Plzeň faculty of law appears to have come to the end of
the road. On Wednesday the Czech Accreditation Commission announced that
the West-Bohemian law faculty’s undergraduate programme had failed to
pass muster and its accreditation would not be extended past this autumn.
On Thursday some 300 of the faculty’s 2,000 students gathered outside
their school to protest against the decision and have appealed to Education
Minister Josef Dobeš to intervene. However their chances of success are
meager, since under Czech law the minister is not in a position to question
the verdict of the accreditation commission. We spoke to its chairwoman
prof. Vladimíra Dvořáková to find out what was behind the commission’s
decision. More
Icy temperatures pose threat to Prague homeless, Czech capital opens tent shelter
With temperatures in Prague expected to drop as low as minus 20 degrees in
the coming days, the Czech capital’s homeless are at high risk. Due to
the harsh weather, homeless shelters are already close to operating at full
capacity. To help battle deaths from exposure city hall officials have
arranged for a large heated tent to be put up for those with no roof over
their heads. More
Internet brings major advantages for the blind and visually impaired
Internet banking, online shopping, google searches – the internet has
made our life much more convenient. And despite the fact that it is a
highly visual medium, blind people, too, are increasingly taking advantage
of the internet. But how do they perceive it and what are some of the
difficulties of mastering the World Wide Web for those without eyesight? More
Prague court delivers landmark ruling in home births advocates’ battle with the state
A ruling on Thursday by a Prague court might lead to a breakthrough in the
ongoing Czech debate about home births. While state officials and health
care providers have consistently opposed the practice over safety concerns,
the court decided that mothers indeed have the right to choose the place of
their child’s delivery, and the state has to provide all necessary
assistance. More
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