Archive of articles - November 2002, page 10

Ano party wants Roma in kibbutzes

Trnava still gunning for Peugeot factory

Review: Pleasant and traditional but without sparkle

WHEN it comes to cooking, you can definitely tell that Slovaks and Hungarians are neighbours because there are many similarities between their national specialities. Both cuisines feature hearty meat dishes with creamy and/or spicy sauces and many potato side dishes - potato dumplings (halušky), potato pancakes (zemiaková placka) or regular fried potatoes. Fresh vegetables usually appear as decoration only.Gazdovský dvor, the new Hungarian restaurant in Bratislava's old town, offers all the traditional dishes one would expect. Choosing from its menu, which lists many additional dishes, is not an easy task. Among the soups (halászlé), the typical Hungarian fish soup is a must-try and that will not disappoint. It has just the right amount of paprika and delicious pieces of fish and is served in a very original way; in a small kettle with a candle to keep the soup warm. The garlic soup, served in a hollowed-out loaf of bread, is creamy and full of flavour.

Letter to the editor

PM presents cabinet manifesto

PRIME MINISTER Mikuláš Dzurinda presented his cabinet's programme to parliament, stressing its four main goals of joining the European Union (EU) and Nato, trimming and improving the civil service, fighting corruption and integrating the Roma minority into society.Dzurinda's wish to have "at least one" opposition member of parliament (MP) support his cabinet programme seemed unlikely, as the opposition described it as the "worst ever" manifesto and a "way to hell".Apart from a pledge to take the country into the EU and Nato, Dzurinda's 45-page cabinet programme presented in parliament November 5 promised a number of reforms in social and economic spheres, including cutting down costs in the public sector, reforming the pension and health care systems, and introducing fees for university education (see Select goals of cabinet).

Chief Justice not likely to go quietly

JUDGING from his weekend television encounter with the new Justice Minister, Supreme Court chief justice Štefan Harabin, 45, isn't growing any mellower with age."The minister is grossly misleading [the public] and lying," said Harabin, after Justice Minister Daniel Lipšic accused him of ignoring a law on how cases are assigned.But neither is the Justice Ministry giving ground in its ongoing showdown with Harabin, whom it regards as a throwback to the communist era.

Introducing candidates for mayor: Košice and Prešov

ON December 6 and 7, Slovak voters will go to the polls to elect mayors and local council members in 136 cities and more than 2,700 villages.The following men are the most prominent mayoral candidates in the eastern cities of Košice and Prešov.Košice:

Reader feedback: Tolerance applauded

Reader feedback: Right on, Slovakia

Working out the travel puzzle

LAST Friday, when I went to visit my grandparents in a nearby town, I came home furious and frozen to death. Next morning I woke up with a terrible cold.The reason was that I had to wait for a bus (autobus) for one and a half hours in this cold weather. Some of the people who were waiting with me lost their patience and left. I did not give up, though, and went to double check the bus schedule (cestovný poriadok), carefully reading the tiny instructions (značky) accompanying the departure times (čas odchodu).One of the instructions, indicated by the lower case letter "d", read: The bus goes on Fridays, October 31, 2001 and March 28, July 4, October 31, 2002; and does not go on July 6, November 2, December 28, 2001 and January 4, March 29, July 5, August 30, November 1, 2002.

Last phase of EU talks begins

EC: Programme "encouraging" but serious questions remain

ONNO Simons, advisor to the European Commission (EC) delegation in Bratislava told The Slovak Spectator that although the EC found the cabinet programme "encouraging, particularly in the economic sphere and the judiciary", several questions remain unanswered."The cabinet should be clearer about how the Roma issue is going to be tackled and who is going to be in charge," Simons said.When The Slovak Spectator went to press, the cabinet had not agreed who would be responsible for dealing with this issue. Although the preliminary cabinet agreement suggested Roma issues would fall under the Culture Ministry, minister Rudolf Chmel seemed unwilling to take on that responsibility, claiming that he wanted to be responsible "only for that which belongs in the cultural agenda".

Professor fired for graft

Countrywide Events

BRATISLAVAWESTERN SLOVAKIACENTRAL SLOVAKIAEASTERN SLOVAKIA

Crown hits new record strength

FNM to smooth SAD privatisation wrinkles

Books: The best cultural ambassadors

AFTER the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the need to correct prejudices and provide the world with reliable information about Slovakia - an unknown country trying to find its position in the world - became of utmost importance to some people.At that time, the Encyclopaedia Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) had almost finished compiling its Concise Encyclopaedia: Slovakia and the Slovaks. As the book was intended for English-speaking markets, from the moment work started on the book in 1990 the institute had been in contact with an American publisher with Slovak roots, Ladislaus Bolchazy.Welcoming the opportunity to co-publish a book about his homeland, Bolchazy visited Slovakia several times over the following years to negotiate the contract. At the Slovak World Congress in May 1993, he proposed the formation of the Publication Subsidy Committee. The job of this committee was to identify books whose "universal availability would enhance the image of Slovakia in the world". He also promised to assist Slovakia's book publishing efforts in any way he could.

Customs Office scraps changes

SLOVAKIA'S Customs Office has reversed a decision to decentralise its operations, after the system changes caused chaos for movers and their clients.The regulation changes implemented at the beginning of October were intended to improve the Customs Office's flexibility. Instead they created a chaotic and unmanageable system for people trying to import personal items to Bratislava, say shipping companies."[October] was catastrophic. Our foreign clients were shouting and were absolutely not satisfied," said Magda Hodossyová, general manager of the Corstjens international moving company.

New board takes helm of troubled shipper

WITH THE financial circus around the privatisation of Slovakia's port and shipping authority SPaP apparently settled, the company has installed a new supervisory board and board of directors and is looking ahead to restructuring the troubled shipper.Among the shareholders represented on the boards, installed in mid-October, are British shipping company Budamar Transport (BDL), the Slovak municipalities of Bratislava and Komárno and the Istrokapitál financial group."The new shareholder structure reflects the results of negotiations between Istrokapitál and potential partners, who after the general meeting acquired positions in the management of the company," said SPaP officials in a statement.