Archive of articles - December 2004, page 5

Quote of the Week

Baby kidnapper arrested

Ongoing Christmas markets

In town squares across the country, Christmas markets are great places to taste local delicacies, sip steaming drink specialities and admire handmade products and Christmas decorations.Runs: Bratislava (until Dec 23); Pezinok (Dec 16-18); Prešov (until Dec 23); Košice (until Dec 23); Trnava (until Dec 23); Levoča (Dec 17-18); Banská Bystrica (Dec 13-21); Trenčín (until Dec 24); Žilina (Dec 31).

Winter fun for families

HERE are some winter activities for readers with kids looking for fun during school breaks or on the weekends in Bratislava and surroundingsOutdoorsIce-skatingFor those with their own skates:

NBS to supervise market

Macháč to head Slovak Mission

Around Slovakia

Slovak kickboxers sentenced in ViennaSuspect couple sent to AustriaHockey legend returns homeMobster targeted at restaurantIllegal amphibian discoveryFree diving champRat alert

Reader feedback:

Reader feedback: A super motor idea

The Low Tatras

THIS POSTCARD shows the main crest of the Low Tatras as it was just a few decades ago, with herds of sheep grazing on the mountainside. After declaring the area a National Park, the sheep were forced to retreat to the lower slopes. Today, many tourists hike in these mountains that spread across Central Slovakia. The magnificent views offered by the crest trail, or "hrebeňovka", are unparalleled.

Watch at your own risk

Open WaterStarring: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein, Estelle Lau, Michael E WilliamsonDirected by: Chris KentisRunning time: 79 minRating: 5 out of 10

Roma sterilization case closed

Chmel's culture clash

"The days when intellectuals turned to philosophers to get their political bearings and the public turned to intellectuals are all but over."- Jacques DerridaWHENEVER intellectuals enter politics they risk failing to live up to the ideals that they have been fiercely propagating. They always walk on thin ice. Surface cracks contribute to the devaluation of their intellectual ideals, and sometimes those ideals fall right through the icy waters into darkness.Before taking the post of Culture Minister, literary historian Rudolf Chmel said he never wanted to enter politics and that nothing was more alien to him than administrative work.

Nota bene goes special on Christmas

SLOVAK Nota bene and Czech Nový prostor street magazines created a joint December 2004 issue. Printed in full colour, the magazine also includes a Christmas postcard from Unicef and a CD called Boshonto, with world music.For the whole month, homeless people in Slovakia and the Czech Republic will sell the same issue of the magazine. The copy with the postcard will be on sale for Sk50. The magazine version with the CD, including an English-Czech report on the projects of world street magazines, will cost Sk180.

Care for a cup of bacon fat?

WINTER depresses me. The cold, the delinquent sunshine, and the worn routine of daily life conspire to bore me to death. Aside from the need for consumption, it is this boredom that drags the holiday season on for so long. A tradition of some five years now, the Christmas market in Bratislava's Old Town is a crowded answer to the winter doldrums.The Christmas market is a favourite of busy university students, I am told. They may have other preoccupations, but once a meeting on the main square is proposed, most readily show up and enjoy themselves until totally frozen (úplne zmrznutí), then move on to a pub.

Are we half as rich?

SLOVAKIA is half as rich as European Union countries on average. While analysts say it might take the nation decades to catch up with the wealthiest European countries, some are positive that it will happen.Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, released data on purchasing power parity (PPP) among European countries. According to the December 3 findings, Slovakia took 24th place among 32 nations. Hungary and the Czech Republic took 22nd and 23rd place, respectively.Eurostat reported Slovakia's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at 52 percent of the European Union average.

Ukraine court decrees re-run

A SLOVAK-funded organization will reprise its role as election observer in Ukraine on December 26, when citizens recast their votes for president. The Slovak government hopes that the second round will unfold more democratically than the first, in which its agency reported a carefully planned campaign to disturb free elections in Central Ukraine, and fraud in eastern polling districts.The December 26 presidential re-vote comes on the heels of the Ukranian Supreme Court's decision to annul the contentious results that declared Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich the winner over opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko.

Slovakia faces electricity deficit

Ski Window

RECENT warm weather has degraded natural snow conditions under 1,200 meters. Resorts with snowmaking, however, are still managing to keep some low elevation terrain open. The weather forecast is for hazy conditions in valleys and sunny weather at higher altitudes. Low night-time temperatures will create excellent conditions for snowmaking, and more resorts should be open for the weekend of December 17 and 18.