středa 26. srpna

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Co je nového v České republice:

  • Komentovaný přehled zpráv z ČR Bezpečí v České republice:
  • Hudba bez policistů (Andrew Stroehlein)
  • Music without Cops (Andrew Stroehlein) Clinton, Lewinská a raketové útoky:
  • Irák měl spojení se súdánskou továrnou (Times)
  • Nejnovější zpráva o stavu supervelmocí: Spojené státy udělaly morální bankrot, Rusko, udělalo jen bankrot (Guardian) Život v ČR za komunismu:
  • Poznámky k článku Jiřího Jírovce "Život kolem Pražského jara" (Aleš Zeman)
  • Příčiny zdrženlivosti kolem Pražského jara (Jiří Jírovec) Aréna České televize:
  • Hlasování po telefonu zavádějící a navádějící (Ferdinand) Dopisy Janu Halvovi:
  • Učení nenávisti aneb holubi v prdeli (Jan Mezdříč)
  • Nenávistný přístup Britských listů (Vojtěch Polák)
  • Dopis pana Halvy a pan Bouda z ČT (Pavel Trtík)
  • Poznámka na okraj (JČ)



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  • Music without Cops

    Andrew Stroehlein

    Just by an incredible stroke of exceedingly good luck, we happened to be in a town where one of our favourite bands was playing ot a small rock festival. We had been visiting friends at the weekend, and when we heard that Mnaga a Zdorp would be in town that night, we decided to take the opportunity to see them for the first time.

    The rock festival had already run ten hours, and the ticket takers were long gone by the time we got there. The lesser known bands had already played, and now the nationally known group was up on stage. It was a pretty normal outdoor concert scene: people dancing and bouncing to the music in front of the stage, some people sititing off to the side a bit to relax and listen. There were plenty of people who had had too much to drink or smoke and were passed out in the grass. But one thing was missing. There was no visible security at the concert. There were perhaps 400-500 people all crowded together at a  rock festival, but not one security person could be seen. Not one policeman, not one private security agent. Admittedly, I came late to the festival, and maybe some security had been there earlier. But still, this was a well known band in the Czech Republic, and it was the pinnacle of the festival. There was a good-sized crowd of semi- intoxicated people, and the potential for trouble, one would have thought, was ever-present.

    The interesting thing is that no security actually seemed to be needed. Sure some people were a bit drunk, and some of them were even a bit aggressive, but I didn't see any fights break-out. The lack of official security seemed justified by the peacefulness of the crowd. All of this is simply unimaginable in the US the UK. At a concert with a crowd of this size, the organisers would have to provide private security. Their insurance company would demand it. In addition, the police would maintain a very visible presence throughout the day, and one would expect their services to be required several times in the course of a fourteen-hour festival.

    One often hears the lament these days that Czech society -- especially youth culture -- is somehow more aggressive than a few years ago, and I suppose that, in general (and in comparison to life under a police state) this is true. But it is comforting to see that such agressivity has not reached the chronic stage one sees in the US and UK, where private security (guards and surveillance video-cameras) are such a  major growth industry. It is great to see that 500 people can get together and have a good time without the need for uniformed peace- keepers.

    Andrew Stroehlein



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