Archive of articles - May 2004, page 5

The beauty that measures time

THE VIRGIN Mary holds the little Jesus and a wand that marks the time. The crown on her head revolves as the hours pass. But unless you knew this, you would probably have a hard time guessing the artwork was a clock."Renaissance clocks do not look much like clocks [as we know them], as they had only one hand. It was not until the baroque period that the minute hand was added," said Katarína Malečková, a historian from the Bojnice Museum and the curator of the exhibition The Clocks.

Kappa posts Sk237.5 million after tax profit

Who pays for low taxes?

SLOVAKIA has rejected allegations by leaders of some "old EU" countries that the Slovak tax system, with its gracious income tax rates, will put another burden on the EU's budget and structural funds.Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder have begun criticising the new EU members for low taxation. The growing critical voices described the tax systems of these new EU members as tax dumping and dishonest competition.

Ignorance has deep roots

"WHAT do these people know?" was the question going through the minds of most who had the chance to watch top country representatives struggle, in some cases unsuccessfully, to remember the lyrics of the national anthem on television. The doubts of Slovaks about the competence of their leaders for holding office are in many cases justified. If voters do not start pressing for quality and qualified individuals to hold high offices soon, Slovakia will be in trouble.

Health reform in pain

JUST DAYS after the Slovak Constitutional Court decided that fees for various health services were not at odds with the constitution, the Slovak parliament started to discuss six laws that are part of the country's major health reform.The fees were introduced in June 2003 as the first step to curing the country's indebted health sector.

Cabinet approves revision to retail chains law

2003 public finance deficit at 3.5 percent

Smer leads voter support poll

An American in Bratislava, 1973

MORE than 30 years ago I arrived in Bratislava to do research on Slovak history for the first time. My wife and I came to a land where hardly any Americans had ever done any scholarly research. We had met him in 1972 at a café at the Hotel Alcron in Prague, notorious for its ubiquitous electronic "bugs", designed so that other people could listen to your conversations. That was where foreign correspondents stayed when they came to Prague.In fact,I think there had only been one.

Events Countrywide

BRATISLAVAWESTERN SLOVAKIACENTRAL SLOVAKIAEASTERN SLOVAKIAPrepared by Kristína Havasová

Reader feedback: Indoctrination is painful

Petrol prices swell

PETROL price lists have been a depressing image for Slovak drivers since the country's major filling station operator, Slovnaft, lifted its prices by Sk1 (€0.02) per litre to a three-year high on April 18.Since March, this is the third hike to hit Slovakia. On May 19, drivers had been paying Sk36.5 (€0.91) for a litre of 91-octane petrol and Sk36.90 (€0.92) a litre for 95-octane.

The poetry of everyday life

ONE of the main forces in Slovak photography after the second world war, Magdaléna Robinsonová survived concentration camps and fought in the national uprising. The horrors of war imprinted on her mind a permanent sense of optimism and desire for peace that she has transferred into her pictures."I went through hell. When I survived it, my soul ached for beauty. I have searched for it in the most ordinary things and I rejoice in what surrounds me," said the photographer, who turned 80 on May 17.

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Slovak architecture stops in Zurich

AN EXHIBITION mapping Slovak architecture from 1900 up to today is on display at the Hönggerberg Polytechnic School in Zurich, Switzerland.Entitled Impulses and Reflections, the show documents the individual developmental phases that Slovak architecture has gone through.

Reader feedback: Does anyone know what the EP does?

Via Bona prizes for philanthropy

THOSE COMPANIES and individuals that, through socially and ecologically motivated acts, have had great impact on their communities received the Via Bona 2003 prize for supporting philanthropy.The Via Bona main prize went to US Steel Košice. Insurer Slovenská sporiteľňa and media agency Mayer McCann Ericson received the prize for their courage in supporting innovative projects, while MTM Obaly from Martin received an honour for supporting public activities in the region.

Battle of the bulge

TroyStarring: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, Brian CoxDirected by:Wolfgang PetersenRunning time: 165 minRating: 5.5 out of 10WHAT comes to mind when we think of the ancient Greeks? Philosophy. Tragedy. Polytheism. Nude bodies, glistening with sweat, running and throwing javelins. Greeks invented the ultimate celebration of human physical prowess, the Olympic Games, which were famously performed in the nude

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