The Prague Post
July 7th, 2008
Reader's SurveyNEW     Endowment Fund     Book of Lists ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Prague accomodation

Home » Archives » Opinion

letters to the editor

Selected from e-mail, Web site comments and mail
Letters | Search restaurants | Archives

December 12th, 2007 issue

Bad budgeting

It’s amazing to see Martin Bursík, the Green Party chairman, of all people, say that it’s impossible to find 3 billion Kč ($167,500) more for education (“Teachers threaten to strike Dec. 4,” News, Nov. 28–Dec. 4).
He, of all people, should know that 3 billion is only the price of building about 5 or 6 kilometers of motorway in the Czech Republic. This country has the most expensive motorways in the European Union, apparently because of corruption, according to Czech TV.
Come on, Bursík! The Czechs are, according to the United Nations, per head of population already the eighth biggest cause of global warming from 40-odd nations. Can we really not survive without 5 kilometers of motorways for another year?
In a country where the air quality is officially “unhealthy,” according to the European Union, and getting worse, and where a few hundred thousand crowns cannot be found to remove the pig farm at Lety to create a decent memorial for the Romany victims of the Holocaust, it is really amazing that so much money can be found to damage the environment, our health and the whole planet.
Mark Johnston
Roudnice nad Labem
Money matters
The reason for the U.S. dollar’s sharp decline is easy to comprehend (“Free fall,” News, Nov. 28–Dec. 4).
The U.S. Federal Reserve has been printing billions of dollars to prop up their stock markets over the past two years. Their almighty Alan Greenspan started the reckless policy … all to protect the wealthy investors. (I am actually one of these investors, and it has paid off well for me).
Tom McCallin
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Explosive fact
It’s probably true that “liquid explosives” may be a red herring in the fight to prevent more airliner attacks (“Airport scanner could cut lines,” News, Nov. 28–Dec. 4).
But let’s not forget that plain old Semtex (RDX/cyclonite plus a “secret” plasticizer) was invented in the Czech Republic, and that bomb-sniffing dogs have a hard time detecting it unless it had an odiferous taggant mixed in when it’s manufactured. None of the tons of missing Semtex from the communist era had that “improvement.” (Now where did you put that? It’s gotta be around there somewhere!)
Phillip David Haskett
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
Visa redux
I am sorry for your experience with the U.S. consul in Prague (“Letters to the editor,” Opinion, Nov. 28–Dec. 4). However, I need to inform you that there are a number of Czech citizens who have overstayed their visas and are in the United States illegally.
Karel Vraný
Prague

 

Comments posted at www.praguepost.com are considered approved for publication. Letters, which should include the writer’s name and location, are subject to editing for length or style. Brief letters are preferred.


survey banner


Other articles in Opinion (12/12/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Book of Lists

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.