Word: slovakia
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...backed Slota's patriotic act, but now says he prefers to delay its implementation until Sept. 1, a move analysts view as a way of mitigating public outrage before elections scheduled for June. But the legislation already seems to have done enough pre-election harm. "This law makes Slovakia look ridiculous," says Eliska Slavikova, a 57-year-old elementary school teacher. "And it's returning us to the 19th century...
...nationalistic laws go, the one just passed in Slovakia seems rather tame on the surface. Earlier this month, the Slovak parliament approved a "patriotic act" mandating that every school play the Slovak national anthem on Mondays and that each classroom display a set of state symbols: the flag, the coat of arms, the lyrics to the anthem and the constitution's preamble. However innocuous this all may appear to be, though, Slovaks are outraged that the government is forcing them, by law, to be more patriotic...
...Despite the country's recent economic gains, Slovaks do tend to have an astonishingly poor view of their nation. In a 2006 study based on polling by the International Social Survey Program, for example, Slovakia ranked as the fourth least patriotic nation out of 33 countries surveyed -the U.S., not surprisingly, was number one. Slovakia's angst began when Czechoslovakia split up in 1993 and Vladimir Meciar became Prime Minister of the new Slovak nation, ushering in four years of autocratic and isolationist rule. The country was considered such a backwater during those days that then-Secretary of State Madeleine...
...that, among other things, instituted a fine of $6,800 for failing to use the Slovak language in official and public communications -a move that further estranged the country's 500,000-strong Hungarian minority. "Fico wasted the opportunity to build national self-confidence on positives, on what Slovakia has achieved," says Sona Szomolanyi, a political science professor at Comenius University in Bratislava. "He returned to the tradition of inferiority and aggravation." (Read: "Second Thoughts About E.U. Enlargement...
...city has taken smart precautions. For example, liquor stores, which normally stay open until 11 p.m., are required to close at 7 p.m. on the nights the Canadian hockey team plays. Still, if the fans were so boozed for a semifinals win over Slovakia, imagine how they'll behave if Canada clinches a gold medal against the U.S. on Sunday night. Or even worse, imagine if Canada loses. Things could easily get out of hand. Canadian fans in Vancouver need to root hard for their hockey team. Their sanity, and safety, may depend...