CzechFolks.com

Clanek v CESTINE dole.

Not even a month ago we talked about the Prague Stock Exchange mentioning its loss of 4.92 percent. Today the situation even worsened creating a new record loss of 8.46 percent. This has been the biggest fall in one day since 1993. The PX index fell to the lowest level (1,102.9 points) in the last three years, generating the overall decrease of 41.38 percent in one year.

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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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As our site and audience grows, we need to make necessary changes to accommodate your needs. Currently we are working on evaluating new options for our site. We plan to improve personal advertisement submissions and we will also include forums for use by our members. We are trying to avoid spam or unrelated and derogatory messages on our site; thus, only members would be able to use our forums to post their messages.

We may occasionally ask you to fill out a questionnaire or give us your feedback to help us to make right choices for this site. We are here for you and only your feedback will help us to tailor the site to your needs.

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Christmas time is always special in the Czech Republic. You can watch many great Czech comedies, family movies, or fairy tales. Many new fairy tales are purposely premiered on Christmas Eves. This year, Czechs will have a chance to see a new fairy tale musical, this time on New Year’s Eve, which is also featuring one unforgettable celebrity of American fables - Tami Stronach.

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After a long battle with lung cancer, Paul Leonard Newman, has died at age 83 on Friday (September 26^th, 2008). Even though he was born in Cleveland, Ohio (January 26^th, 1925), his roots were partially in Slovakia. Paul Newman was an actor, film director, but also entrepreneur. He also loved auto racing and was a supporter of liberal activities. He will be missed for his philanthropy and deeds during his life.

Newman’s mother Theresa (Terezia Feckova) came from a small village in Humenne District of today’s Slovakia. She was catholic and his father, Arthur, was Jewish but Newman had described himself as Jewish as well. His mother worked in his father’s sporting goods store while taking care of Paul and his brother Arthur.

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Did we miss your event? Please, let us know.

We update our Events regularly; thus, for more recent updates, go to our page “Events (Akce)” or CLICK HERE.

Pro informace v CESTINE, kontaktujte CzechFolks (e-mail nebo komentar dole).

NOTE: Our Meetup Schedules are listed below. For more details about Czech Meetups CLICK HERE.

Concerts:

Jaromir Nohavica - details in October Schedule below

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During the communist regime, many great Czechoslovak movies were isolated from the rest of the world or were destroyed. Today, Czech filmmakers have freedom to create their work of art without being afraid of censorship. Czech movies are viewed around the world receiving admirations and prizes. The new movie, called The Karamazovs, was selected by the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) for the best non-English speaking film.

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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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