Radio Free Europe’s Mark Baker interviewed Timothy Garton Ash on regime change, and whether Eastern Europe could be an example. Ash thinks that top leaders should be tried abroad, but that a process of “lustrace” such as that in the Czech Republic should be enough. Under “lustrace” former Communist Party members are banned from holdingContinue reading “Garton Ash: Iraq could learn from Eastern Europe”
Category Archives: Blogroll
Grass
Grass Carl Sandberg Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo. Shovel them under and let me work – I am the grass; I cover all. And pile them high at Gettysberg And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten years, and passengers ask theContinue reading “Grass”
FS Final Word: Regime Change in CR, Iraq
Today’s FS Final word draws an excellent parallel between the “regime change” in Iraq and that of former Czechoslovakia: Today, thirteen years after the “regime change in the CR, almost all the old leaders are walking the streets, and some Czechs still argue that the same people are controlling the ministries, courts, schools and media.Continue reading “FS Final Word: Regime Change in CR, Iraq”
Gas Mask Debacle
Forgive me for stating the obvious here, but… The controversy yesterday (see stories below) about the botched shipment of gas masks to Kuwait points out a few of the problems in doing business with old-line Czech companies. First, you have to remember that the customer is always fscked. It’s pretty common to go through theContinue reading “Gas Mask Debacle”
MF Dnes: Czechs Sent Defective Gas Masks to Kuwait
MF Dnes, 25 Mar 03, Page 1: Prague – The Czech Republic sent Kuwait – as assistance to its threatened population – 5,000 completely unusable gas masks. DuÅ¡an Lupuljev, Commander of the Czech-Slovak anti-chemical battalion said one sentence about the shipment: “I would forbid soldiers to use these.” The supplier, Gumárny ZubřÃ, borrowed the masksContinue reading “MF Dnes: Czechs Sent Defective Gas Masks to Kuwait”