Bavor V.

Cokoli kdykoli odkudkoli Anything anytime anywhere

[bavorv]

A threat not only to Europe

[bavorv]

At Least Coffee 123, or: Children

We have a generational problem. Too few children are being born. So people are looking for reasons why no one wants to have children. And a whole host of explanations have sprung up. But every single one of these explanations is completely flawed. Why? Well, because we, too, are children; we’ve had children; and our children, too, have children. Without any conditions. So:

Today’s potential parents don’t have enough money to have children. But people have always had little money. There have been harsher situations, and children were still born. Back in our day, we didn’t receive anything for our first child, except for child benefits and a tax deduction. Six months of maternity leave without a single crown. For the second child, maternity leave was longer, but we received only the minimum income. And we survived and raised our children to our satisfaction and to their success. Today they get four hundred thousand for four years, and that’s not enough for them? I know, baby gear is expensive, but it’s never been relatively cheap. Because prices must always be assessed in relation to a family’s actual income. But if even a newborn has to have brand-name onesies, then it really is expensive. Not to mention other necessities.

Today’s prospective parents have nowhere to live. But there were times when two families lived in one apartment and managed just fine. Besides, back when we had our two sons, it wasn’t a problem to find an apartment. You just had to look around for a suitable job and move, say, to the border region. And there were company-provided apartments. Alternatively, there were various housing cooperatives where you could also acquire an apartment—especially if your employer helped out. So let’s say there’s a problem here. But even that can be solved somehow—if you’re willing to try.

I’m certainly not going to bring a child into these times. But children were born during the war, after the Gottwald coup, after August 1968—children were simply born because it was considered an honor to have them. Even if it didn’t bring any special benefits. Just that lower income tax rate. We cared enough about our children’s future to prepare them well for life. The rest is entirely up to them. But today’s young people really are like those snowflakes. I’ve never seen so many mental health issues arising out of nowhere. That’s why they fall apart over every silly article they see online.

The problems aren’t in the points mentioned. Surprisingly, the problems lie with us older folks. We raised our children in such a way that they, in turn, raised their own children to be delicate little flowers who can’t take care of themselves; the best solution for them is “Mom’s hotel,” where they enjoy their freedom. And yet they’re still capable of referring to those who made their luxurious lives possible as a burden. Just like the old communist slogan: “Grandpa and Grandma are taking a bite out of our bread.” And yet it was our generation that built everything they’re simply enjoying. And now I’m going to go beyond all geographical boundaries. Because it was our generation that invented computers, the internet, cell phones, and other conveniences for them—conveniences that today’s kids simply enjoy.

Yes, even among the current young generation, there are individuals who don’t fit into this mold, but so far, these are mostly rare exceptions.

How does this relate to the fact that few children are being born? It’s simple. Today’s potential parents are simply selfish people who just want to enjoy life, and they certainly aren’t going to spoil it with some brats.

People often argue that if there are few children, there will be little money for pensions. I’m not too worried about that—technology can replace many things, and incomes, including tax contributions, will continue to grow. But pensions aren’t what should worry us so much. What will be worse is the loneliness when there’s no one left to take care of you. A paid caregiver will never replace your children—if you’ve raised them well.

I’m at an age now where all I need to do is enjoy a good cup of coffee and hope that young people come to realize a lot of things. Time flies.

[deborah22]

[bavorv]

Czech beauty in Ankara, Mrs. Monika Babišová

[bavorv]

Nothing is older than yesterday's news:

At Least Coffee 122, or Baxism-Pavlism Has Declared War on Parliamentary Democracy.

The incredible speed with which Bax’s unconstitutional court ruled on the travel order for President Comrade Petr Pavel—aka “Pávek”—defies any reasonable explanation. Cyril Svoboda, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs—who is, among other things, a lawyer—expressed surprise that the Constitutional Court did not even attempt in any way to give the other side, namely the government, any opportunity to respond.

In his initial reaction—in fact, almost in shock—Minister Macinka declared that they would re-accredit Comrade President. Comrade President.  He just won’t be going to the dinner he was so looking forward to. This is because an invitation arrived that explicitly listed the name of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. And it arrived on the very same day that Bax-Pavel’s Constitutional Court issued its ruling. But Pavel wasn’t about to accept that and declared that he alone would decide where he would go and what his schedule would be, because he is automatically the head of the delegation.

Meanwhile, the former president of the Constitutional Court, Comrade Rychetský, weighed in on the dispute, stating in an interview with Czech Radio: “The decisive factor, however, will be whether the president and the prime minister agree on an arrangement that will calm the entire situation. If they fail to agree, then it’s very simple: we’ll end up with early elections, because at that point power passes to the people to decide who should govern the country,” he claims. In other words, this is a clear attempt at a constitutional coup. Because the people have already decided in the elections that the government should be led by the current prime minister and his coalition partners. And since all of the president’s decisions on matters of a fundamental nature are subject to the signature of the prime minister or a minister authorized by him, the president is in fact subordinate to the government. Because we have a parliamentary democracy—we are neither France nor the United States.

Prime Minister Babiš offered an amicable solution, stating that it would indeed be appropriate to end the dispute by having Comrade President step aside. But according to the president’s own words, that is out of the question. The exercise of the president’s constitutional powers is not a matter of whim. It is, in essence, his constitutional duty. The president does not have the option to decide which powers he will exercise and which he will not. He would even like to meet with the prime minister to clarify with him what events he will attend—that is, where he will go and where he will allow the prime minister to go.

Many questions arise as to why this “rubber boot” is trying so hard to be present primarily at that informal dinner, which is, of course, far more important than the speeches the next day. One reason is that arms contracts worth seventy billion euros are to be discussed. And, naturally, the arms dealers who control Pavel would like to be represented, at least through him. Another reason may be that annual aid to Ukraine in the same amount is to be discussed, and this warmonger has already agreed to it on behalf of our republic somewhere else. And here, he reportedly wants to confirm it—even though he has absolutely no mandate to make such promises. So once again, a new dispute with the government looms.

The government acted as it should have. After the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Comrade President stated that the government had reduced his entourage and would allow him to sit in the second row during the North Atlantic Council meeting on the second day of the summit. “The delegation consists of 1 plus 4,” Macinka reported. “That means delegation head Andrej Babiš, who sits at the main table, and in the next row, four other delegation members—the president, two ministers, and the ambassador to NATO. The president may thus be present in the hall if he wishes. If he doesn’t want to, someone else can sit there instead—for example, the government representative for fulfilling NATO commitments, Mr. Landovský,” the foreign minister explained to reporters.

Comrade President kept setting all sorts of conditions, but the more he resisted, the more Babiš dug in his heels and, in collaboration with Macinka, laid out increasingly stringent conditions. Pavel wanted to fly with the government delegation, supposedly for budgetary reasons, but I’m convinced that he wanted to show, right from the moment he stepped off the plane, that he was in charge. Of course, this is utter protocol nonsense. For security reasons, the two highest representatives of the state cannot fly on the same plane. You surely recall the case of the Polish delegation, when Poland suddenly lost both its president and its prime minister—not to mention other officials.

The Comrade President’s level of thinking is also evident in the fact that he requested only one security guard as an escort, replacing the others with a photographer and a spokesperson. And the government complied. In the end, the President’s Office begged Turkish President Erdogan for a personal invitation to an informal dinner. In doing so, it stooped to the level of the biggest crybaby in kindergarten. The Turkish side issued a statement saying that Erdogan had received the dinner invitation through the Prague Castle Office. The Office cited strained relations with the current Czech government as the reason, stating: “It is customary for a head of state to represent the country at NATO summits, and since I was not permitted to do so by the cabinet, I hereby request an additional invitation to the informal dinner.”

In the end, however, it’s exactly the opposite of how the president is presenting it.

So exactly what we warned about has happened: thanks to President Pavel’s participation, the summit will be one big embarrassment for the Czech side.

The other outcomes of the talks are, on the one hand, insignificant, and on the other, not everything will have been finalized by the time this piece is published. So keep an eye on foreign and other media outlets. You won’t find out the truth here at home.

I, too, will enjoy a good cup of coffee and continue to follow the unfolding events.

[bavorv]

At Least Coffee #121, or It’s Going to Be Hot, It’s Going to Be Scorching.

I originally wanted to focus on the summit in Ankara, but events are unfolding so quickly that what was true yesterday may not be true today. And so I’ll focus instead on the female Pirate Party lawmakers who’ve been saying that we’re feeling the heat. Their comments reminded me of a variation on a children’s rhyme that you surely know.

It’s going to be cold, it’s going to freeze

Where will you hide, little bird, where will you hide?

The Pirate Party version would go like this:

It’s going to be hot, it’s going to be sweltering

Let’s go to Bohnice.

(Bohnice is a mental hospital) Because that’s one place where those women could hide. That’s exactly how those posts came across. It’s hot, and the government isn’t doing anything about it. Setting aside the fact that cooling public spaces in cities and towns is a matter for local governments, I don’t know what those women imagine the government should be doing. Command the wind—the rain? We’ve been there before, and the result is well known. The weather always does what it wants. It’s hot in the summer, cold in the winter, foggy in the fall, and there are ground frosts in the spring. Year after year, and not even the fact that the climate is actually changing does anything to alter that.

We know very well from human history that temperatures vary. Historical records tell us of extreme heat waves when rivers dried up, as well as of severe cold snaps when even the Thames in London froze over, of floods and droughts… We’ve seen it all before.

We know the climate is changing, but it will continue to change regardless of what humans can do. What impact does humanity have on this? Well, certainly some, but in my opinion—and I’m not alone in this—not to the extent that today’s algorithmic “Gretists” imagine. Because it is precisely their ideas that threaten us more than they can even fathom. In fact, they don’t even want to fathom it. For them, it’s a business.

The icing on the cake is the finding that the worst spot in Prague—with the highest surface temperature, which in turn affects the surrounding temperature—is Jiřího z Poděbrad Square. Its renovation was commissioned by the city council under the leadership of—would you believe it—Pirate Party member Zdeněk Hřib. The renovated square has no cooling elements whatsoever; it’s just a concrete surface.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of the laws of physics knows that black surfaces reflect the most heat into the atmosphere. And what color are photovoltaic panels? Black, of course. And when they’re arranged in large fields of solar power plants, the amount of heat reflected and generated is significant.

The tall towers of wind turbines, in turn, affect airflow. Not drastically, but with so many of them, the effect is noticeable. So the winds don’t flow where they used to, but are diverted to places where they actually cause harm.

The clearing of large forest areas, especially for wind farms, is another impact of human activity on the climate. Instead of forests retaining moisture in the soil, the exposed areas dry out easily, which in turn heats the air above them. And when you add a wind turbine to the mix, the effect is clear.

People often protest against daylight saving time changes. The reasons for these changes are sometimes quite unclear, but the root cause also lies in what workers have long relied on—their work environment is outdoors.

I’m a builder by trade, so I remember the time before that change, when, starting on a certain date each year, working hours were shifted forward by an hour. I’m sure you understand why. So that construction workers could be home by the time the afternoon heat was at its peak. And when we were “pouring” the facade, we’d start an hour earlier. And in that case, it wasn’t just because of the heat, but also for technical reasons. The heat wasn’t good for the mortar either.

At one point, I worked for a road construction company. There was a certain crew operating the paver, and even during daylight saving time, this crew preferred to get up an hour earlier. Everyone else had to adjust to their schedule. And they were happy to do so, because it was also an advantage for the others—namely, the asphalt plant operators and the drivers of the trucks hauling the packaged mix.

And now it’s going to cool down by ten degrees or more. Will it be cold? Will there be frost? No, this, too, is a weather pattern I remember. Almost without fail, there’s a change in temperatures in early July. Only the duration varies. On the other hand, the people of Prácheň remember that whenever there was a company-wide vacation at the Strakonice arms factory, the weather would react instantly, and cold, rainy days would arrive immediately. So, half of July was usually hot, and the other half was cold. I even remember one year when this vacation was pushed back a week, so it spanned the end of July and the beginning of August, and yet the weather waited for it. And it was cold—too cold for swimming.

The Pirate Party wanted the government to convene a crisis team and start advising people on how to behave. I guess they don’t watch the weather forecast on their Czech Television, where they regularly give this advice—so detailed, in fact, that it’s probably even for the generally clueless, which the Pirate Party members fail to grasp.

And I, since I’m at an age where I remember a lot, will sit down somewhere in the shade and enjoy a good cup of coffee.

[bavorv]

[bavorv]

At Least Coffee 120, or How Babiš Imposed Taxes on Us

A new tax will take effect here on July 1. But only for some. Minister Schillerová, along with the other finance ministers of the Errorunion, has approved a tariff on all products imported here from countries outside the Errorunion. Of course, this is aimed at Chinese mail-order companies that import low-quality and hazardous goods here. And with this tariff, low quality will become high quality, and the health hazards will disappear.

It’s hard to estimate what impact this will have on the finances of individual countries. We can expect that people will stop buying all sorts of random and even unnecessary gadgets for their workshops or homes, and will instead order more expensive items in smaller quantities. Still, shopping on Temu will remain cheaper than shopping at Czech e-stores.

As for quality, I have personal experience with this. My dashcam stopped working, so I bought a new one. It was high-quality, with truly high resolution. And as a gift, I got a flash drive with it. When I tried to test it, I realized that something was missing from its USB port. You probably all know what that port looks like. On one side, there’s a solid part covered by the electronic component. And that’s what determines how it’s supposed to plug into the opposite port. Well, with this particular flash drive, there was only the metal part in the middle. So, of course, it was a piece of junk that didn’t work. From a well-established Czech store. Not some Temu or other cheap online shop. And who makes it? The Chinese, of course. But it’s supposedly high-quality merchandise bought right here. So much for that quality.

Retailers are rejoicing that their sales will go up. Maybe, but mostly the money will flow into a black hole called Ukraine, because three-quarters of the revenue will go directly to the EU’s account and only a quarter to the budgets of individual countries. Even so, it’s estimated at forty billion.

Now the only question is how this will work if the product is shipped from Ireland, Poland, Germany, or who knows what other European warehouses. Because in that case, the product will already be within the EU and won’t cross its borders. Besides, many European manufacturers already collaborate with Chinese e-shops, so these are European products—in other words, nothing that would ever have to cross EU borders. Here, you can tell the difference in the place of manufacture by the fact that shipping costs are included. Which, on Temu, isn’t the case above a certain amount.

I also have personal experience with another product purchased from a Czech store but also available on Temu. It’s a wood chipper. I later found one on Temu that was exactly the same as the one I’d bought. Price-wise, it was only slightly cheaper. But it was.

But now it occurred to me: what about customs duties if, for whatever reason, the product has to be returned? You know how it goes. Wrong size, incorrect description, different functionality, or, of course, a defective product. Will anyone refund the customs duties we paid?

Well, we’ll see.

And we’re also looking at some kind of handling fee. So far, there hasn’t been much talk about the amount, but it will certainly be a significant contribution to the EU’s bottomless coffers.

And what about Babiš? Well, that’s obvious. He’s definitely the one who came up with the idea of introducing this duty; his minister approved it at the Council of Ministers, and Babiš will have a passive income flowing into the budget. At least, that’s how some anti-Babiš activists see it. So we have something to look forward to. Starting July 1. I just don’t understand how this duty will be applied to purchases that are already on their way but won’t arrive in the EU until after that date. Because I assume the Chinese will otherwise factor the duty into the product’s price. But here?

I’d like to give it a try, but I just don’t have any extra money left in my budget right now. So I’ll have to wait until next month. And by then, prices will probably be different.

Hopefully, at least the coffee will taste the same as it does today.

[bavorv]

Is 1948 set to repeat itself as soon as possible? A former Secretary of the Interior is threatening the democratically elected government of the Czech Republic.

[bavorv]

At Least Coffee 119, or Where Does the Money Go?

Since the Velvet Revolution, the national budget has run a deficit on numerous occasions. In fact, there have been only two instances to the contrary: under Minister Babiš in 2016 and Minister Schillerová in 2018. To this, we must also add the period under Minister Kočárník from 1993 to 1995. In all other years, the budget was always in deficit. There were three significant factors that had a negative impact on the state budget. The first was the global crisis, from which Minister Kalousek could not extricate the country. Minister Babiš took over after him and, within three years, turned the deficit into a surplus. Another factor was the COVID-19 pandemic, during which, for various reasons, there was a decline in production and an increase in financial aid to businesses, resulting in a deficit unprecedented at the time. And finally, Fiala’s government, which failed to keep either the budget or astronomical inflation under control. So now we are in a situation where it is difficult to arrive at any reasonable figures.

Probably everyone knows that in addition to mandatory expenditures—that is, expenditures that are almost impossible to influence—there is still a significant portion of expenditures that could be called black holes. These are certain social benefits. One of them is the rent subsidy. Yes, there are some families who, for various objective reasons, need to receive this benefit. But there is a large portion of those who are truly taking more than is at all understandable. Of course, most of you will understand that this involves excessive, even usurious rents for rooms that can only be called “apartments” with great self-denial. And the owners of these spaces, which often lack even running water, do not hesitate to demand amounts that exceed rents in far more luxurious apartments. Therein lies one of the open financial spigots supporting usury and, at the same time, the marginalization of a segment of the population outside mainstream society.

Another social benefit that no one has monitored so far is aid to refugees from Ukraine. Nothing against aid, but even that has its limits. Especially state-funded aid. In recent days, cases have come to light where some Ukrainians have turned our country into a cash cow by coming here just to collect those benefits, while otherwise living comfortably at home in Ukraine. And until now, no one has addressed this. Only in the last few days.

A large portion of the money is being lost in military contracts. You surely remember a certain Dalík, who was supposed to have pocketed some money for influencing contracts for the army. So he served his time under Topolánek, and no one has heard from him since. But overpriced military contracts continue to flourish. We have military kitchens the likes of which the world has never seen. And it’s not even certain whether anyone will ever see them. And the latest scandal to come to light is 660 million for brokering the purchase of helicopters for the fire department. Instead of buying them directly from the manufacturer at their price, we’ll pay the middleman nearly seven hundred million. Moreover, a middleman who is closely tied to President Pavel.

Another black hole is transportation. The Supreme Audit Office found out how much the price per kilometer of highway has increased from the Havlíček era to the Kupka era. The increase is roughly 80 percent. Yes, there has been some very high inflation here, so in my opinion the difference could be about forty percent; experts from the office claim it should be a maximum of thirty percent. So once again, substantial sums are disappearing somewhere. And no one knows where that money might actually have gone.

We have a large number of non-profit non-governmental organizations. Yes, there are some among them that are truly beneficial. Various care organizations that look after elderly or sick fellow citizens, sports clubs in rural areas, and similar associations deserve attention and financial support. But a large portion of these nonprofits are unnecessary or even harmful. A striking example is the “Children of the Earth” association. People from this association constantly block any development in any area by constantly filing complaints, appeals, and organizing protests. And the state even pays them for it. And they are not the only ones. The so-called charitable organization “People in Need,” which was founded with the aim of helping people wherever they find themselves in a truly difficult life situation, has turned into a political aggressor. Bringing politics into schools, aiding terrorists in foreign countries under the guise of humanitarian aid, and its other activities directly threaten democracy in our country.

So here is just a small list of where our money is going. I only hope that the current government will at least address some of this and put a stop to this waste.

Well, and I’ll just calmly brew myself a good cup of coffee with my own money.

[monamoni]

[caroline1688]

Wow! How cute! What kind of animal is that?

[bavorv]

Berber fennec fox

[bavorv]

At Least Coffee 118, or What Is the Euro and Why We Shouldn’t Want It.

These days, the word “euro” is frequently mentioned, and people list various reasons for adopting it as our currency. But the euro is not only an artificial currency; it is actually a compromise between the mark and the franc. Probably no one in Errorunia would be able to stomach the idea of the mark becoming the European currency, because everyone would be reminded of the Third Reich’s mark, and those connotations would be obvious. And the Germans, in turn, could not bear for the franc to take on this role, because they would consider it an insult. That is why a neutral name was chosen, and that is precisely the euro. There is nothing to object to in this name.

However, the creators of the euro either accidentally or, more likely, intentionally overlooked the fact that even at the time the euro was introduced, different countries had varying levels of economic performance. They optimistically assured them—and later us—that the euro would bring that economic performance up to the same level, namely the German level, which, of course, did not happen. On the contrary, a situation arose that would not have occurred without the euro, namely Greece’s near-bankruptcy. Had Greece still had its drachma, not only would the economic context not have been underestimated, but the Greek government could have responded with its own fiscal policy—for example, by devaluing the drachma. This is not possible when a currency is subject to the European Central Bank.

Sometimes there is also an attempt to compare the euro with the dollar. But that is something entirely different. The dollar was the sole currency within the territories of individual states, and as colonization progressed, so did the dollar. No other currency was in circulation in those territories. So, understandably, the economy revolved around the single dollar.

People often argue that when traveling abroad, we have to exchange korunas for euros and how inconvenient that is. Which, especially nowadays, when cashless payments are promoted everywhere, is a rather lame excuse. Anyone traveling anywhere outside our country’s borders can use their debit or credit card for any payment. And banks even advise on the best way to use their card for payments. In addition, there is an account specifically for international payments. I don’t know, I’m not familiar with it, and I can’t judge, but even here, the feedback from people who already use it is entirely positive.

Recently, a certain calculation has surfaced claiming that every family loses 10,400 crowns a year because we don’t have the euro. It’s a nice round number—almost 900 crowns a month—but those bandying this figure about haven’t yet explained how they arrived at it. Especially at a time when the koruna is strengthening and the euro is weakening. Unlike the national debt of one trillion two hundred billion crowns, which was left behind by a government of precisely such “experts” led by a certain Stanjura.

So it is clear that the euro is an unfortunate choice both for those who believed that the common currency would help them achieve better economic results, and for those who thought they would be able to use the weaker countries as a consistently cheap source of their profits.

And if we realize that the euro is currently becoming an increasingly indebted currency—one that, however, lacks the strength of the indebted dollar—the best choice for our country’s sound monetary policy is to steer well clear of the euro. And to remain among those countries that still maintain their national currencies. The Polish zloty, the Danish krone, the Romanian leu, the Hungarian forint…

And I’d rather buy a good cup of coffee with my Czech koruna.

[bavorv]

Do you know it?

[bavorv]

At least coffee 117 or Not all viruses are the same.

Not so long ago, we were hit by the coronavirus epidemic called covid-19. And all the magic and dancing around this virus ended up with only one result. Bad. Yes, it was neutralized, but what was happening around it has caused people to be quite skeptical about any other viruses. Which is wrong in that there can really be a variant that will be really dangerous and can cause a global pandemic. The biggest blame falls on Pfizer, which has made quite a lot of money from covid. Especially by being able to impose its vaccine on the world. And in more than small amounts. This was joined by the World Health Organization, which over time began to look like a branch of Pfizer. Well, the crown was put on by the media, which were unable to inform about the true origin of this virus. And when the origin was finally proven, it was too late to fix anything.

In our country, the so-called democratic opposition took care of the distrust of the infection. The attitude of its representatives towards the frightened and at the same time responsible Babiš government has marked the thinking of many people. In fact, no matter what measure the government wanted, it was always either bad or inconsistent, or too harsh, too late, or too early. And it was similar with the support of disabled people and companies. Too much was given, but at the same time little. This was reflected by doctors, who described any death at the time as a result of the coronavirus. In fact, it was not the thirty thousand attributed to the Babiš government. It was significantly less. People were dying of their common diseases, in which covid only managed to weaken the body so that it could no longer resist the disease.

Currently, another dangerous virus has appeared, i.e. hantavirus. And the media is also starting to revolve around it like around covid. I'm not a virologist, so I can't assess its danger, but so far it doesn't look like it has any major significance. But a lot of people are afraid of it. But not because of its effects, but because of possible attacks on vaccination coercion by virologists and their superior pharmaceutical companies.

As far as covid is concerned, I have the required three doses in me. But after my experience with propaganda, I don't see a single reason to plan any further doses. And this despite the fact that I had no consequences after vaccination, and on the contrary, from that last "dot" I began to avoid even the dangerous disease of all men, i.e. a cold. On the other hand, I was vaccinated against the flu for the last time about forty years ago and it took me two weeks. I haven't had the flu since then.

So these results tell me that I have some natural immunity in me that doesn't need to be compromised by any vaccine. That's why I reject any vaccine that isn't really properly tested. I don't trust quick sourdough from Pfizer or similar others anymore.

I'm just somehow subconsciously afraid of the situation where there would be a real enemy in any biological form. Perhaps my experience could prevent me from effective treatment.

But what. So I'd rather have my good coffee in peace.

[trainer0084]

[bavorv]

At Least Coffee 116, or Marches of Death with a Hint of Difference.

So we’ve just weathered a period of Sudeten provocations. Posselt’s Landmannschaft held its rally in Brno. Supposedly in memory of the Brno Death March and, at the same time, as a march of reconciliation.

I have nothing against Germans as such. They’ve been coming here for years; the descendants of those who were expelled tend to their ancestors’ graves, organize pilgrimages to border churches, and contribute to their preservation. And they don’t offend anyone by doing so. On the contrary, they are at least tolerated, if not directly welcomed. Because caring for the graves of loved ones and holding traditional services in border churches are examples of how we can get along well. Because these people do not shout false slogans about injustice and violence. These people know full well what has happened here since the year a certain Austrian painter named Adolf came to power in Germany.

But holding a Landsmannschaft rally here—an organization founded by the very people who participated in the atrocities committed in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia—is an inappropriate provocation and a denial of all the tolerance and friendship we have built so far. And to portray some incident in Brno as a terrible catastrophe is a contempt for the victims of the actual transports and death marches. And there were plenty of them here. There is hardly a place through which such a transport or march did not pass.

The most famous place is, of course, Terezín. Jews destined for extermination were herded here. From there, trains of death were organized to Auschwitz, where their lives ended in the gas chambers.

But the greatest number of such marches and transports took place in the final year of the war. Here, the Germans’ fanatical hatred toward anyone they disliked even slightly was on full display. Among the worst was the transport from Grünberg to Volary. It ended in Volary on May 6, 1945. It was thus brought to an end by the liberation of the area by the U.S. Army. The march began with about 1,200 mostly Jewish women. About 118 severely exhausted women reached Volary. The rest are buried in various mass graves along the route, and over ninety victims are buried directly in Volary. Anyone who finds this hard to believe can see for themselves at the Volary Museum.

In the opposite direction, a transport of mostly Russian prisoners of war was dispatched, bound for the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. The train was attacked by American dive bombers in Katovice in the Strakonice region. The guards scattered to take cover, and František Gál, a railway worker from nearby Dražejov, took advantage of this. He opened the train cars and allowed the prisoners to escape. The prisoners, pursued by SS members, scattered throughout the surrounding area. According to historical sources, seven of them were shot near Novosedly, and another four near Katovice. The rest managed to escape thanks to the help of the brave residents of Katovice and the surrounding villages. They hid in the attics of houses and in the forests until the area was liberated by the U.S. Army. At the cemetery in Katovice, there is a grave with a memorial plaque commemorating this event. In the forest behind Střelské Hoštice, at a place called Dominka, there is a memorial to three Russian soldiers who were also shot by German soldiers.

When one mentions Postoloprty, the deaths of German civilians in June 1945 come to mind. Yet this event, too, had its own cause. Marches of death of concentration camp prisoners: Toward the end of the war, transports of Jewish prisoners passed through Postoloprty and the surrounding areas (e.g., the route toward Lenešice and Terezín). Exhausted people died right on the road or were mercilessly killed along the way by SS officers and local Nazi sympathizers.

Surely many of you could add your own experiences from your local areas. The following list is certainly incomplete:

Western Bohemia (Pilsen and Karlovy Vary Regions): – Tachov (~600 victims) – Žihle near Pilsen (~273) – Stod (~240) – Nýrsko (108 in several graves) – Other stops near Domažlice, Přeštice, etc. South and Southwest Bohemia: – Volary (95+) – Kaplice (117) – České Velenice (512) Northwestern and Northern Bohemia: – Bohosudov (311) – Březno near Chomutov (286) – Blatno near Jesenice (52) – Marches through the Chomutov, Louny, Nový Bor, and Varnsdorf regions (e.g., from Schwarzheide). Eastern Bohemia and Moravia:

Marches in January–February 1945 through the Svitavy, Litomyšl, Olomouc, and Šumperk regions (prisoners from eastern camps).

I would like to see events like gatherings of Sudeten vultures and Nazis never take place again in the territory where their ancestors committed the worst atrocities imaginable.

I’d be happy to have a good cup of coffee with any individual German.

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21 young students — mostly girls training to be teachers, slaughtered in their dormitory in Starobilsk, Luhansk. Ukraine waited for the kids to run out after the first strike, then hit them again. Pure terror by a cowardly puppet regime. 48 hours later Russia answers with strikes on military factories and command centers in Kiev. The BBC and every Western client outlet screamed condemnations the second Moscow responds, yet dead silence on the massacre of those students. Your tax money is funding this. Zelensky and his European handlers don’t lose sleep over dead Ukrainian or Russian kids — only over bad headlines for their proxy war. The odios hypocrisy is mind boggling.