Topic Archive Society
Survey shows drinking among 16-year-olds on rise
The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) has
found that the number of 16-year-olds in the Czech Republic who drink beer
or hard liquor on a regular basis has gone up. Back in 1995, 14 percent of
the country’s sixteen-year-olds drank at least three times a month, but
last year the percentage moved up to 20. By contrast, marijuana use
dropped, if only slightly. More
Corruption joins Czech landmarks in satirical tourist campaign
Critics may say that the Czech government is doing practically nothing to
address the country’s high levels of corruption – the Czech Republic
rates 57th out of 182 in Transparency International’s 2011 Corruption
Perceptions Index, four places lower than 2010’s 53rd place – but that
hasn’t stopped other entrepreneurial figures from stepping in to fill the
vacuum. Interested in seeing the top spots for “tunneling”, murky,
hidden centres of power or finding some of the buildings that have resulted
from alleged shady deals? Then Corrupt Tour may be what you’re after!
They are promising to show “The Best of the Worst” as their motto puts
it, their website adding that they are striving to open up an entirely new
field of tourism. Or is it just all a new way to shame the country’s
politicians?
More
Government moves to give crime victims more support and greater protection
Being a crime victim can be a shattering experience and many who have
personally experienced it say that reporting the incident and the
investigation that follows can be equally agonizing. At the present time
there is no code of conduct specifying how the police or state attorneys
should treat crime victims and critics say their conduct often leaves much
to be desired. The Czech government has now moved to correct that approving
an amendment to the law which would give crime victims more support and
greater protection. More
Police crack down on women’s branch of Czech neo-Nazi movement
The Czech police have cracked down on a group called Resistance Women
Unity, a women´s branch of the Czech neo-Nazi movement National
Resistance. Fifteen women were arrested and charged with promoting and
supporting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms. I
spoke to Miroslav Mareš of Masaryk University in Brno, one of the Czech
Republic’s leading experts on far-right extremism, to find out more about
the role of women in neo-Nazi groups in the present day Czech Republic. More
Baroque Bohemian Carnevale recreating centuries-old tradition long lost
The annual Bohemian Carnevale got underway this week, and for the next
seven days carnival-lovers will have a chance to forget the freezing
temperatures in Prague with masked balls, parades and acrobatic
performances. The event is an attempt to revive what was a major social
event in days gone by – one that attracted big-name celebrities such as
Mozart and Casanova. More
World Radio Day with prize-winning journalist Jan Bednář
The fortunes of journalist Jan Bednář were only beginning to unfold when
he was kicked out of the School of Economics after signing the
anti-communist Charter 77 and compelled to work as a night watchman for
several years. The son of a dissident imprisoned for publishing samizdat
literature, the regime was glad to be rid of him when he applied to leave
the country in the early 80s. He went to England and was able to complete
his studies in politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University,
from where he proceeded to join the Czechoslovak service of the BBC in
1985. Today he produces a foreign politics programme for Czech Radio 6.
Last week, Jan Bednář was awarded the Ferdinand Peroutka prize, the
highest journalistic accolade in the Czech Republic. On the occasion of
the
very first World Radio Day we met with Mr Bednář in the studio and asked
him first to recall how he came to be involved in radio journalism in
exile. More
Roma kids from special schools put Czech education system to shame in Great Britain
Thousands of teachers around the country are up in arms. They are unhappy
about the government’s plans to gradually phase out special schools –
or schools for children with a mental or physical handicap – and
integrate as many of these children as possible into the education
mainstream. More
Czechs and the Internet
Computers and the internet have become an integral part of our lives to
such an extent that it is hard to imagine how we ever managed without them.
However a recent survey conducted by the Czech Statistical Office shows
that Czechs are still lagging behind many EU states when it comes to
computer literacy and internet access. More
Nuclear Faith: Documentary explores Czechs’ trust in nuclear energy
Two-thirds of Czechs are in favor of expanding the country’s nuclear
power sources and nearly half of them trust this source of energy: that was
the result of a SANEP poll published briefly after the Fukushima nuclear
disaster. The Czech’s attitude towards nuclear power remains strikingly
positive compared to other European countries, such as neighboring Germany.
A fresh documentary – titled Nuclear Faith – explores the country’s
perception of nuclear energy. Its director Ivo Bystřičan speaks about the
film. More
Legislators approve changes covering denial of fatherhood
Czech lawmakers have approved changes to legislation covering the denial of
fatherhood, overriding an earlier Senate veto. The amendment will extend a
previous six month period for denying fatherhood (upon learning the
biological parent was someone else) to three years. Experts have argued the
earlier time frame was too short; at stake, of course, are not just the
rights of the parent, but also of the child. More
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