Smoking ban in the time of swine flu

(c) Getty Images

People all over the world are sent home to get well or they are hospitalised due to the swine flu. It has been established that the illness is highly contagious so people who think they caught it are encouraged to avoid meeting their colleagues and friends and family members.

At the same time, smokers who are proved to have caused thousands of deaths of people who suffered from second-hand smoke can happily live their lives, unchanged.

But what is the difference between a patient who may spread the swine flu and a smoker whose bad habit will sooner or later get some people sick and seriously ill as well? I don’t see any difference.

Many countries have strict smoking bans, and they work. Other countries’ governments stick to stupid arguments why it is not possible. We have hundreds of thousands of people walking around, slowly killing their fellow citizens.

Let’s say I have lunch in a restaurant.  A group of beer friend enters, they sit down, order beers and start smoking. I approach them, start coughing and tell them I am positive I have the swine flu. They are going to tell me “Are you nuts, walking around making other people sick?”

At which point it would be my turn to say “See my f****** point?”

Fuck off, said the Brno Mayor to his Deputy. Twice.

(c) Denik.cz

Fuck off, Martin. Fuck off, I say…

…said the Mayor of the City of Brno Roman Onderka to his Deputy Martin Ander during a session of the City Council, the iDNES.cz news server wrote…

The two politicians are coalition partners. Onderka is a social democrat and Ander is from the Green Party. Ander sought explanation from the Mayor how come a former municipal police officer who was found guilty of battery works for the MP again – as a civilian. Normally employees of the municipal police must have a clean criminal record. The exchange between the two politicians resulted in the insult… Here is how the Mayor explained himself…

In every relationship, there comes a time when you have to express your feelings in two or three words. A mayor is not made of stone, he has a heart and feelings.

However, according the another Deputy Mayor, Daniel Rychnovsky (Christian Democrats) the city coalition is like “a married couple who fight a lot but decide not to get a divorce for the sake of their children”. The local elections are scheduled to take place in June 2010.

If you ask me, I have nothing against these words in politics, if they are used under similar circumstances (face-to-face exchange). Sticks and stones… Mayors can have secret girlfriends and they can use the F-word from time to time, provided they pay attention to ordinary local issues, as they are required to…

Man who protected his property faces attempted murder charges

(c) isifa.com

Fifteen years in prison. This is what may happen to you in the Czech Republic if you try to protect your humble property with a firearm. Mr. Karel Basta from the town of Ivancice near Brno is charged with attempted murder … for shooting at burglars in his scrap yard, the Brnensky denik daily writes.

According to the prosecuting DA, “the defendant took his rifle and shot twice at a vehicle in which [a man and a woman] were sitting, attempting to drive away. The man was shot in the thigh, and the woman was wounded in the face, which subsequently resulted in her losing one eye”.

As usual, both the Czech Penal Code and the Rules of Criminal Procedure fail to acknowledge one thing: the two had entered the man’s premises with the intention to steal his property. Basta had experienced three previous burglaries.

Basta maintains he wanted to shoot at rear wheels and that the injuries to the occupants of the vehicle were an accident. On the other hand, the DA argues that the injured woman was “calling for help”, which Basta ignored.

It is a huge disadvantage for Czechs who want to defend themselves and their property that the Czech legal system does not acknowledge the Castle Doctrine principle.

Nope, the principle that the Czech police usually stick to is “let them get away and we will find them. MAYBE”. Czech victims of burglaries often hear shocking statements from the police who come to investigate the breaking and entering: “We will document the crime, but let me tell you, there is almost no chance for us to find those who did it”.

This case (and several previous ones) clearly prove that people who grab their guns to protect their property are frustrated with the way their previous burglaries had been handled…

The injured woman testified that she didn’t even want to enter the premises. She said she had been brought to the scrap year by the man who was originally supposed to give her a ride home. Why she remained there without calling the police was not explained.

She was responsible for her actions and she will have to live with the consequences. But Karel Basta should not. If he is sent to jail, all law-abiding citizens will get the feeling that they are not protected, while the bad guys are: by short sentences and stupid court rulings like this one…

Waiting for the swine flu: a matter of weeks, authorities say

(c) Getty Images

According to authorities, it is most likely a matter of weeks. So far there are only a few hundred confirmed cases of the “swine flu” in the Czech Republic, most of them “mild”.

Institutions, movie theaters and even schools would remain open to the extent possible, because “healthy” children can not stay at home and ill children for whom their parents don’t  find babysitting would go to daycare centres anyway. “Closing down schools is not a measure to prevent or resolve pandemic,” public hygiene office head says.

People are buying out face masks but they haven’t started wearing them, yet…

Moreover, many people have recently caught the “regular” flu, which is unusual, because the numbers of patients with the regular flu usually increase in February, not November…

TO BE UPDATED…

You Raise Me Up in Czech: monumental song turned into cheesy ballad

Weird. Josh Groban, Westlife or Celtic Woman kicked ass with You Raise Me Up. Czech singer Josef Vagner did not.

Is it a good time for movies about the bird flu? Nova Cinema thinks so…

There were numerous cases in the United States when movie premieres were postponed due to “bad timing”. Political thrillers and “disaster movies” coincided with 9/11 and other such events and the filmmakers decided that the audiences were not ready or in the mood for their movie…

The “swine” flu is spreading. A young girl died in Austria today, being the first victim in this country. The Czech Republic has one confirmed victim (see three posts below). And yet people in charge of programming in Nova Cinema feel it might be a good time for a movie about bird flu pandemic. It is like airing Dante’s Peak or Volcano one day after a major eruption.

In the Czech Republic it is quite common to make last-minute changes to programming. For example, if a well-known actor dies, the Czech Television often replaces the planned primetime movie with one where the deceased had a leading role. TV Nova also makes these changes occasionally.

Yes, it is life and it is fiction but the events surrounding the bird flu and the swine flu are way too “fresh” to be looked at from the “just TV fiction” perspective… And yes, all TV sets do have their remotes… and the best way to show disappointment is to change the channel… but still, there are some professional codes of conduct that regulate broadcasting (sometimes people do not even know the rules exist).

United 93 and World Trade Center premiered in 2006, i.e. five years after 9/11, giving the world (especially the United States) some time to recover. There are 2,993 reasons why nobody made a movie about the events in 2002.

Snow in the suburbs of Brno. In November. Waaay unusual…

This morning in Brno, around 7:00 a.m. CET. I don’t think I have ever seen snow in Brno on the third day of November…

Tesco put up Christmas decorations on October 27. Is anyone out of their mind?

(c) Petr Bokuvka

Some people in Tesco probably think that the first company or store that reminds people of the upcoming Christmas will win the most customers and have them spend money. Tesco in downtown Brno put up Christmas decorations this week, i.e. almost two months before the Christmas Eve and one month “before winter”.

The store even has a TREE in the lobby.

This particular store is an old-fashioned department store. It has aisles with Tupperware next to groceries or underwear. The goods are usually “no name” and the atmosphere is absolutely terrible… Especially the clothes are hideous…

Be it as it may, having a Christmas tree in late October is ridiculous. Of course, it is a business strategy but in terms of holidays and observances it totally destroys the spirit…

Brno Quick Tips: horseback riding

There are two ranches in villages in the northern part of Brno that are in fact Brno boroughs. Both of them are departure points for hiking trails. One of the ranches is in Oresin and one in Sobesice.

(c) Petr Bokuvka

The “CH” Ranch is the one in Oresin. It offers horseback riding lessons and it has its own restaurant. It is located on a hill overlooking Brno and it can easily be reached on foot (a paved road) from the number 70 bus terminus. The fee is CZK 300 per hour (Oct 2009).

Panska licha is the one in Sobesice, or between the boroughs of Sobesice and Lesna. Unlike the CH Ranch, Panska licha is also a club. It is significantly larger and it has huge meadows. Also part of the facility is a three-star hotel and restaurant. It can be reached by the bus number 57.

Unfortunately, it seems like employees of the ranches and horse owners like to use the marked hiking trails for their rides, so people (mostly families, as these trails are very easy even for children) must constantly watch where they are going…

Swine flu in the Czech Republic: first minor epidemic this week, first confirmed victim last week

(c) Getty Images

Twenty junior high school students and some of their relatives have recently been diagnosed with the “swine flu”, which means it is the first minor epidemic in the Czech Republic, as all the cases that have been reported so far are isolated (mostly individuals returning from Canada, Mexico etc.).

According to the Blesk daily eight of the students and one of their teachers caught the flu during a trip to Bavaria, Germany last week. All of them are at home, taking antibiotics. None of them has experienced serious complications that would require hospitalization. There are six more people who are waiting for their test results…

Last week a woman died from complications because she had one of her organs transplanted and her immunity was significantly affected by her “heart condition” as well.