Opinion

Horehronie Slovak word of the week (VIDEO INCLUDED) “WHEN the sun goes down in Horehronie, I feel like singing, dying, and living.” 8 Mar 2010 Lukáš Fila The Slovak Spectator

Bonfire of vainglorious laws IF ANY Slovak government has in any way been predestined to pass such vainglorious legislation like the Patriotism Act it really is the current Slovak government, chugging along with Ján Slota and his Slovak National Party (SNS) in one of the driver’s seats. 5 Mar 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

Interblue begs for a good conspiracy theory EDITORIAL PRIME Minister Robert Fico knows who is pulling the strings. After Slovakia spent over €7 million on vaccines to shield vulnerable groups of the population from the H1N1 pandemic, Fico uttered a comment which should relieve anyone fearing a wide spread of the virus: vaccinations against swine flu are “just a big game on the part of pharmaceutical firms”. Certainly, if this ‘revelation’ is in any way relevant in public discourse, then it can make many hardworking taxpayers very nervous about this government’s management of public funds. 1 Mar 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

TASR

O šiestej Slovak word of the week SLOVAKIA'S biorhythm changed this week. Hundreds of thousands of people turned on their TV sets at six in the morning to watch the country’s hockey team play at the Olympics. The prestigious match against the Czechs, the shocking win over the Russians, the decisive duel with the Norwegians, as well our historic defeat of Sweden in the quarter-finals, all happened at the same time, o šiestej. 1 Mar 2010 Lukáš Fila The Slovak Spectator

In Slovakia, life imitates hockey GROWING up playing hockey in Canada, I learned that it doesn’t matter if the other guys are bigger or better, have more expensive equipment or wear fancier sweaters: the team that plays with more heart can win. I admit my belief was shaken by our team’s frequent, embarrassing defeats. But on the rare occasions it was confirmed, life was much sweeter and more just. 1 Mar 2010 Tom Nicholson The Slovak Spectator

In Slovakia, life imitates hockey If its hockey team could recover from loss to Norway, Slovakia can do the same Growing up playing hockey in Canada, I learned this: It doesn’t matter if the other guys are bigger or better, have more expensive equipment or wear fancier sweaters. Because the team that plays with more heart can win. I admit that belief was shaken by our team’s frequent and embarrassing defeats. But on the rare occasions it was confirmed, life seemed that much sweeter and more just. As adults we recognise that hockey has become the usual sports thrash of money, advertising and politics. But there are times when it returns to its original narrative. For example, few of us who were living in Slovakia in 2002 will ever forget the country’s run to the gold medal at the World Hockey Championships in Sweden. In homes and pubs across the nation, people witnessed improbable victories over Canada, Sweden and finally Russia. The confidence the Slovak team showed seemed to echo a growing confidence in the country at large, that the experiment of nationhood ten years earlier had been neither a failure nor a mistake. As political scientist Sona Szomolanyi said of the victory party on SNP Square in Bratislava: “I felt I was witnessing the true birth of the modern Slovak nation.” 25 Feb 2010 Tom Nicholson The Slovak Spectator

Decadence in academia? EDITORIAL THE IMAGE of a student running around in a t-shirt with the logo of Trenčín University, which has made it to the yearbook of academic scandals after granting fast-tracked diplomas to several students, would be quite a joke. Students worldwide are wearing shirts and caps with logos of prestigious schools even if they are not personally associated with that particular alma mater. There is an element of pride involved in one’s university education – which is certainly more than just an outcome of a good business model, branding or university PR. 22 Feb 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

TASR

Anastasia Slovak word of the week WHEN Slovakia first participated at the Winter Olympics in 1994 no one would have guessed that the country’s first gold will first be won by someone called Anastasia. Jana, Zuzana, Mária, Anna, Eva, Martina, or Beáta perhaps. But foreign-sounding Anastasia? In a country, which unlike America, Britain, France, or Germany is unaccustomed to welcoming almost any immigrants, the historic feat of Russian-born Anastasia Kuzmina provides two opportunities. 22 Feb 2010 Lukáš Fila The Slovak Spectator

Intoxicating beauty and freedom VANCOUVER used to have a nudist colony called Wreck Beach. At the time I frequented it in the early 1990s (with my girlfriend, OK?) it felt like the freest place on earth. The approach was a steep log staircase descending through a bluff of trees near the university campus. Once down there you could be sure that no police would be patrolling to punish people drinking beer, like they would in the rest of Canada. In fact there was even an old guy there, a regular, who sold drugs, mostly weed and LSD. He didn’t try to disguise himself but wore a baseball cap with fake moose antlers attached, a fanny pack for his merchandise, and nothing else. One of his favourite jokes was to run away from prospective clients. They would be advancing with money in hand, he would start backpedalling, and the chase would be on. Eventually he would stop, choking on his mirth. He was lucky no cops ever came down there – he sagged in places that old men tend to, and if he had been chased in earnest he might have entangled himself. 22 Feb 2010 Tom Nicholson The Slovak Spectator

Powerholics Anonymous EDITORIAL POWER is awfully intoxicating. Very few can resist the damaging but not unexpected deviations that it brings. This is why it often happens that presidents and prime ministers, regardless of the political gardens they come from and the colours they wear, after years of ingesting excessive power start showing some common symptoms. 15 Feb 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

Diskriminačné žaloby Slovak word of the week IMAGINE you’re a Slovak judge. Now imagine you have to pick a group which deserves millions of euros in compensation for its discrimination. Who would you choose? The Roma, the Hungarians, the blind, the poor, gays and lesbians, the physically disabled, and mentally handicapped, those are all good guesses. But the judges’ actual answer defies all imagination – they have picked themselves. 15 Feb 2010 Lukáš Fila The Slovak Spectator

Good timing and bad timing EDITORIAL GOOD timing is everything, especially in politics. A speech or a bold initiative with perfect timing can smash political opponents, germinate new public enthusiasm or even move the masses. Bad timing can spoil the best of intentions and even turn once revolutionary ideas or leaders to pathos. 8 Feb 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

Sme - Vladimír Šimíček

Akože Slovak word of the week THIS HAS been the week of make-believe, of as-ifs, of pretending, in short, of "akože". PM Fico is "akože" appalled by the untransparent financing of the opposition SDKÚ, which two election periods ago used a bamboozling network of Swiss, British, and off-shore companies to pump money into the party and even now has trouble explaining where the cash was coming from. Yet in reality, Fico must be used to much worse since his own coalition can’t explain why hundreds of millions of euros from state contracts are ending up in shady firms with ties to coalition politicians. 8 Feb 2010 Lukáš Fila The Slovak Spectator

Sniffing the foul air of prejudice EDITORIAL THE DWINDLING of prejudices, stereotypes and tensions between minorities and the majority population should be signs of a nation’s society coming of age, say the philosophers among us when making their contributions to post-modern discourse. Over the past couple of years, however, it seems that some nations are relapsing into childhood rather than advancing toward maturity in erasing prejudices, reducing conflicts between groups of citizens, and scouring racism, sexism and homophobia from society. 1 Feb 2010 Beata Balogová The Slovak Spectator

To be continued Slovak word of the week THE TOP Slovak phrase of this week needs no translation, because it’s already in English. “To be continued”, said Prime Minister Fico as he was approaching the end of his press conference, where he provided evidence of shady financing of the opposition SDKÚ party, and warned the party of former prime minister Mikuláš Dzurinda that more damaging revelations are to come. 1 Feb 2010 Lukáš Fila The Slovak Spectator

Page 1 of 8 - Next >>

Spravodajstvo

Váš obsah

Šport

Sekcie

Západ

Východ

Stred

Opinion