Czech Republic To Deport Two Americans

This is the most unique immigration-related issue I have ever heard of.

Two Americans face deportation after being caught by the Immigation Police, iDNES.cz news server writes.

They had stayed longer than their visa had allowed them to. When caught, the two men suggested that they would not leave the country as ordered, so they were put in a custody cell, police source was quoted as saying.

IDIOTS. They have tourist-visa-free regime and they mess up with the system. They stayed three months longer. Extension of their original visa would not take much, though.

Before the Czech Republic joined the Schengen Treaty, all that Americans had to do was cross the border into Schengen and then go back. Let’s say, to Germany and back. Now they would have to travel very far, maybe to the Ukraine, the daily notes.

American Stabbed To Death By A Cop

An American citizen was stabbed to death by an off-duty cop in Prague last night. According to Denik.cz news server the victim was a soldier stationed in Germany.

More to come…

UPDATE: The cop was drunk. The police are now investigating “who started it”. Later a minor investigation proved that the man was NOT a soldier. He was stabbed twice. Another investigation theory is that the American was also armed and the cop was only defending himself…

Hitman Had A Wrong Target. Twice!

A few weeks ago a driver working for the CEO of the Sazka state-run lottery company was killed as he was getting out of the company Bentley in Prague. The police now caught the killer and they found out the Russian hitman picked a wrong person to kill. Coincidentally the real target lived nearby and he TOO had a Bentley. His own.

Talk about bad luck? It gets worse…

The investigation shows that the hitman did the same thing (mistake) once before! Shortly before this murder he stabbed another man in downtown Prague, mistakenly thinking that the victim was a Russian businessman that he had been after.

The killer is in custody for murder one and one attempted murder…

I think he is in a way lucky to be in jail… For two botched jobs I think his clients will go after him…

By the way, the cops caught him on December 23. So if you thought police investigators take a break one day before Christmas from catching criminals….

Czech Man Is “Most Wanted” Number Three

Czech employee of Group4 Securitas agency Frantisek Prochazka who stole 562 million crowns is the third most wanted man in the world, TV Nova evening news broadcast reported tonight. The reward money is two million euros. More money is offered for Osama bin Laden and some Colombian drug lord whose name I did not catch.

Prochazka should watch his back, law enforcement experts say. People and agencies who specialize in hunting criminals and runaway inmates will go after him. And so will the underworld.

Many people who contribute to discussion forums under news articles say “way to go” and “good luck with the money, buddy” etc. Idiots. Would they tell the same to a mass murderer who’d  kill five people? I don’t think so.

Today he was charged with first-degree robbery as a runaway. If convicted he might spend twelve years in prison…

Bad News For Fittipaldi: You Broke The Law

A few weeks ago Emerson Fittipaldi visited the Czech Republic.

He was a VIP passenger on the Pendolino high-speed train.

He sat “behind the wheel” for a few minutes. As did Czech racer Tomas Enge.

Now, the Railroad Safety Board has ruled that the Czech Rail company broke the law by allowing a person who is not properly qualified to drive the train.

After the incident the Czech Rail officials tried to convince everybody that the racers were only sitting in the seat and pretending to drive. “No, we have evidence that they indeed increased the speed and slowed down again,” the board spokesman said on Thursday.

It might sound funny but it sure as hell isn’t. The Czech Rail is surely among the Czech companies with the worst reputation. Any incident or a bummer they have – nothing happens. It is a state-run company. And we know what happens if you let somebody drive [or fly] who has no training at all…

Briton Fired Over A Beer Bash In Prague

A British teacher was fired over a beer bash he took part in with his students in Prague. A group of 16- to 17-year old young people had a party and the educator “watched over them”.

We expect higher standards of behavior from our students and employees, the principal of the Dorset school, Stuart Clark, was quoted as saying.

Tough luck. He must have known it was illegal. If some of the kids got injured or killed he could go to jail for eight years (here)…

Czech President Klaus Has A Girlfriend, Tabloid Says

The Blesk daily [the most favorite tabloid in the Czech Republic] discovered that president Vaclav Klaus is seeing some mysterious blonde. They have romantic dinners together. The Mystery Girl is a stewardess, the article claims.

This is not the first time that Klaus is caught with a young girl. A while ago he was seeing a girl named Klara Lohniska.

Unlike many Americans I still think a president who is cheating on his wife can still be the best man for the job, i.e. a good president. I would NOT link personal life values to the values of professional slash political life and career. On the contrary, if a man has problems in marriage and he starts dating a secret lover it can actually make him do better in his office.

Speaking of presidents, here is what Dubya said on November 7:

I spoke to President Musharraf right before I came over here to visit with President Sarkozy. And my message was that we believe strongly in elections, and that you ought to have elections soon, and you need to take off your uniform. You can’t be the President and the head of the military at the same time.

Funny, isn’t it? [this quote via DubyaSpeak.com] That is exactly what GWB is. But then again, Vaclav Klaus is talking bullshit, too – for example about the nonexistent global warming.

Security Agency Officer Stole Half A Billion

An employee of Group4Securitas Prague security agency is on the loose. With him he has half a BILLION crowns of stolen money (divide by 18 to get the number in U.S. dollars)!!! Plus he is armed.

How can you possibly exchange and make use of such amount unnoticed? The only way is to contact organized crime friends who have their own methods of handling this kind of cash… The man is said to have escaped to Italy…

So far the biggest robbery during with money was stolen took place on September 16, 2002 near a Citibank branch in Prague when three masked men robbed an armored truck at gunpoint and stole 153 million crowns.

Info from a Czech Television evening news broadcast:

The security agency announced a 52-million reward… the police don’t want to say whether the suspect was alone… the armoured van was found later in Prague… the Group4Securitas agency is insured but the insurance company will repay the damages to the agency’s clients only if the investigation shows there was no default on the agency’s side… if this IS the case the clients will have to sue the agency… and given that 500 million was stolen and if the money is NOT found, it is almost for sure that the agency will not have the money to remunerate the damages…

The Ridiculous Bear-gate

Gillian Gibbons did not come to Sudan to become rich, she did not come as a sex tourist and she did not come to insult Islam. She came to teach children. She was a part of a global outreach program because Africa needs help.  And Africa gets help from Europe.

Naming a teddy bead Muhammed was probably a mistake. But this is what happens when religion and legal system (penal code) interfere. This is not unusual. Even in the United States witnesses at courts take the witness oath that includes “so help you God”.

What is NOT usual and normal are herds of men demanding a woman be shot by a firing squad, after a court had ruled she “deserves” only a 15-day sentence.

I think both sides of this diplomatic conflict should do what the other party demands [even though they don't say it out loud]. The British government should apologize to the people of Sudan and then it should withdraw all its help, charity workers and financial support from Sudan. From what the people in the streets yell, it is obviously exactly what they want.

>>> UPDATE DECEMBER 3: Gibbons was given pardon from the president of Sudan. Applause…

Terrorist Attack In Brno? Not Likely

Three postal workers from Brno had to be taken to the hospital after they had inhaled unidentified substance that leaked from a broken parcel on Thursday evening. So far (9:15 p.m. Thursday, in the original post) no more details are available. The police are investigating whether it was misdemeanor (someone sending something via Czech Post that is forbidden to be mailed) or whether somebody has done it on purpose, knowing the parcel would break and “injure” somebody.

In the Czech Republic in such cases a terrorist attack is ruled out until specified otherwise. In the United States – I am afraid – a terrorist attack is always a huge possibility and people wait in fear and wonder until they are told by the authorities that it is not one. Can’t they turn this principle upside down? Or, inside out?

UPDATE – November 23: According to lab tests it was formaldehyde. Three one-liter glass containers were in the parcel and one broke.