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Today, on 28^th of October, Czech citizens will have a chance to see a two-hour parade to celebrate foundation of the independent Czechoslovakia. The parade will take place on Evropska Street in Prague 6 at 1 PM with 2,102 participants with 196 pieces of equipment.

The parade will include participation of the President of the Czech Republic, Czech defense minister, the Castle Guard units, Army of the Czech Republic, the Czech Republic Police, Fire and Rescue Services, Medical Rescue Services, and the City Police.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

The new announcement by the Ministry of Interior identified countries that will be included in the Green Card program. As you remember, we announced this program over a month ago. So far 28 countries will be included but the list is not complete.

The Minister of Interior stated that their decisions were made based on security and health risks. Therefore, foreigners from countries not included in the list (below) won’t be able to apply for green cards but could apply for work permits.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

On October 17, 2008 President George W. Bush announced that the Czech Republic would be among seven nations to be added to the Visa Waiver program. Czech citizens will finally be able to travel to the US without a Visa by simply registering online ahead of their planned trip. The waiver should go into effect within a month (towards the end of November 2008).

The newly admitted members to the program (which previously was available to 27 nations) are:

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

Today, the Slovak republic president, Ivan Gasparovic, and the president of the United States, George Bush, met in Washington in the White House. They discussed the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) as well as the financial crisis and steps that need to be taken in order to overcome it.

The major requirement for eligibility for this program is to reach no more than 10 percent of rejected visa applications, which Slovakia achieved. Also, Slovakia provided fingerprints and DNA profiles of all convicted criminals that won’t be allowed to enter the United States. Bush stated that Slovakia made the major step in order to cancel visas to the US and he declared that the official announcement could be as soon as in the middle of November.

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Our October calendar lists all activities for Czechs and Slovaks around the world. One of them is a concert of a Czech band called Plastic People of the Universe (PPU). We have to admit, at the time we were preparing our calendar of events, we did not know the band or its contribution to the freedom of all Czech and Slovak citizens.

A couple of days ago we decided to find articles about the band and to watch their video clips. What we found was great music and a remarkable life story of their pride and resistance to the Czechoslovakian Communist party.

The band was formed by bassist Milan Hlavsa right after the Soviet invasion on August 21^st, 1968 in attempts to stop the Prague Spring, a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia. The name was taken from Frank Zappa’s song entitled Plastic People. The same year Russians initiated a “normalization” program to reestablish moral and social behavior to make it more appropriate for a Communist country.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

A couple of days ago I introduced to you a new Czech national anthem composed by Varhan O. Bauer. Little did I know there will be more of them created for other official Czech holidays. Why is there so much interest in remaking our anthem? Can we even do that?

The new initiative of the Czech Prime Minister, Miroslav Topolanek, led to four new arrangements of the Czech national anthem. The public airing, according to Mlada Fronta Dnes, will be on Sunday, September 28^th, to celebrate the national holiday of Czech Statehood. Topolanek also declared that these new versions of the national anthem were performed by the orchestra of the National Theatre in Prague conducted by Jiri Belohlavek.

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Between the two world wars, Czechoslovakia was one of the Europe’s most industrialized countries and one of the world’s biggest arms producers. The LT-35 light tank was the most cutting-edge weapon in its category. It was admired by Nazis during World War II and also by Americans after the war. Now, it is coming back to the Czech Republic from the United States thanks to the Czech Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova, who negotiated its transport within the framework of US radar-base talks in the United States in July.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

The national Czech anthem was composed over 170 years ago by Frantisek Skroup as the opening scene of a patriotic opera called Fidlovacka. The opera was written by Josef Kajetan Tyl at a time where Czechs were only a small ethnic minority within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The anthem is known to every Czech living at home or abroad as a festive patriotic piece. But to the Czech conductor and composer Varhan Orchestrovic Bauer it is envisioned as a melancholic and sad folk song that needs a makeover.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

On Friday, Sept 19^th 2008, the Czech Senate approved a bill amendment that would make it easier to attract qualified staff from abroad to the Czech Republic. This movement is expected to bolster the Czech Republic’s supply of skilled workers from outside the European Union. If the amendment is signed by the president, the first green cards could be issued in January 2009. People’s reactions vary, though. Will this movement do any harm to the Czech nation?

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

The Czech government has pledged 10 million crowns (~$630,000) in flood recovery for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In the next month or two, the US Czech and Slovak Museum will be able to use this gift to repair damages to the building and its contents from the floods in June 2008. The total damage to the museum’s five properties in Czech Village is about $9 million but the gift is a wonderful gesture of support and solidarity that proves that Czechs in USA are still connected with their home country.

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On September 19th, 2008, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Czech Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova signed in London the SOFA treaty based on the planned stationing of a U.S. radar base in the Czech Republic.

SOFA stands for Status of Forces Agreement and allows U.S. troops to be present on Czech soil. Under the treaty, the U.S. military and civilian personnel at the planned U.S. base will be within the jurisdiction of Czech courts with two exceptions. The exceptions refer to the criminal acts committed by Americans while on duty and their criminal acts against the security and property of the United States or any other U.S. personnel at the base.

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The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions reports that most of new members of EU, including Czech Republic, work much longer for less vacation.

Based on the report, Bulgarian, Romanian and Czech workers spend at work over 40 hours a week, while average working hours in France, Italy and Denmark are less than 40 per week. Unfortunately, paid holidays don’t reflect the overtime in countries such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia and Romania. Their average paid time off is about 21.9 days per year. Conversely, Sweden workers get 33 days of vacation per year, Norway 26.7 days, and Greece 23 days, increasing the EU average of 25.2 days per year.

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