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Posted: 10:02 28/05/2008
Well, unfortunately, that's the world we live in right now....and we will just have to accept the way things are! Welcome to the club!

Posted: 15:57 27/05/2008
"the London bus bombings not so long ago, one can hardly blame the Czech police for being extra vigilant."

Eh...so in one country a few bombs go off and four Muslims are framed. And from then on, all dark-skinned people are to be regarded as a possible threat?

It's sad to see how easily people are brainwashed by their governments.

Posted: 09:55 27/05/2008
So, the police were doing their job, and the professor feels victimized? Well, sometimes sacrifices need to be made.
Not that I think necessarily that being detained for 20 minutes is a sacrifice.
The police have a job to do, and their job is to react to what they are told.
If some ignorant (or perhaps not having a great grasp of English) passenger calls the police about a suspected terrorist, the police should not be blamed for doing their jobs...
They did, and then the professor was free to go on his way.
The real problem here is two-fold: general ignorance and fear-mongering of the public coupled with the woe-is-me victimization of adopted citizens tendency towards self-victimization.
There, I said it.

Posted: 09:19 27/05/2008
The cops were doing their jobs. There is nothing wrong with the investigation they initiated.
If something like this would have happened in the United States, the professor would be detained!

Posted: 19:43 25/05/2008
Inefficiency as usual ,
plus a prefect hysteria.
Xenophobia plus ignorance.....
whether the public or the police.............
Shame !! on both

Posted: 12:32 25/05/2008
First, why would an "Islamic terrorist" write in English on a laptop in a public space like this? Was a background check necessary after the situation was explained? After the bus got under way, which would mean that there was no problem, how come no one on the bus talked to him?

I recently read that a huge number of Czechs would have a problem even have Arabs (or perhaps Muslims) as neighbors. (Never mind that a sizable minority of Arabs are Christians). Though most people are against it, I know (seemingly) perfectly intelligent, independent minded people in Prague who want the radar base, because they say Palestinians might attack the country with a missile.

The main problem is that so many people here - and not just here - are ignorant and/or xenophobic, as always.

Posted: 21:46 23/05/2008
Clearly the man on the bus and the police officers involved are simply ignorant. To associate a word with something 'scary' is one thing, but to see that word and assume the professor is a threat simply makes no sense.
The Prague police presumably had a busy time the morning this article was printed!

Posted: 09:34 23/05/2008
Sad times we live in, but after the London bus bombings not so long ago, one can hardly blame the Czech police for being extra vigilant.
The public needs to stay on its guard and be prepared to perhaps look stupid when people get their concerns wrong.
I don't think this incident is surprising - even though it must have been annoying for Mark Tomass at the time

Posted: 04:05 28/05/2008
I knew Mr Polansky in the early 90s, when he opened a Czech genealogy center in Iowa.
He hired some Czech natives to research for it -- mainly people from South Bohemia.
One of the folks I met in Iowa was a carpenter by trade, with no real genealogy training, as far as I know.
That made me wonder a lot about what kind of research was really being done...

Posted: 18:26 27/05/2008
Hello,
I'm going on a study trip to Latvia. Is Latvia in the Schengen group, or how much time will it take to get a visa for a study trip?

Posted: 17:18 27/05/2008
Respected editor,
Given below is the scientific proof that God exists.

Albert Einstein stated "1 gram of any substance consists of a 931 mega electron volt of energy".
Another science law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another.
Any substance you burn on this Planet Earth radiates energy.
After death, the first thing to leave a person is his breath. After death, Christians and Muslims bury the dead body, Hindus burn it.
So, the dead body either decays or reduces to ashes slowly. In the process, it radiates energy and mingles with the atmosphere.
From there, where it goes is a mystery.
In my opinion, it goes to God's secret abode, where each person's soul has to individually answer questions regarding actions (both good and controversial) he has performed in his life.
Sorry, you can't play the blame game there. So, friends, beware of your present and everyday actions every second and apply discretion in whatever you do.
A WORD OF ADVICE
Close your eyes and think for a minute how your daily life would be if your vision was not there for one week.
Thank God for giving you eyesight and avoid misusing it, that is don't watch vulgar stuff or read vulgar literature. Also, think of those people who don't have eyesight since birth.
Everybody (including you and me) is responsible to God after death for his present actions. Everybody has to die sooner or later. So, please be careful of your everyday and present actions and apply discretion in whatever you do.
BIGGEST SHAME FOR WE PEOPLE
Its quite evident from the Holy Bible that Jesus had great spiritual powers. Yet, he died on the Holy Cross just to relieve us of our sins. The harsh truth is that we are still shamelessly sinning in many ways.
name:ramesh kumar
place:mumbai,india.

Posted: 13:29 27/05/2008
So we've come to the point that in the mind of some (many?) Americans, looking at something perceived as "against American policies", warrants and justifies on the spot rigorous investigations of any kind, anywhere in the world and the hell with one's dignity...

It's downright chilly, and frankly, frightening. But most of all, it's sad how the tragedy of 9/11 and the terrorists behind it have nevertheless succeeded in twisting the mentality of some (how many?) citizens of the greatest democracy in the world toward their own fanatical image...

And please, spare us the insipid "we try to solve the problems of the world" line.
No big power ever did or ever will, except if and only when it promotes its own narrow self interests.
Otherwise, it looks oh so conveniently the other way.

Costas Paximadis
Greece

Posted: 15:41 23/05/2008
Isn't it interesting how Czech emigrants in the United States are so naive about their adopted homeland?

Regardless of the fact that Al Jazeera is not even remotely anti-American...why is it that a professor in the Czech Republic should be doing anything wrong looking at it? U.S. propaganda is everywhere and is legal.

What is so incredible is that this person condemns a very similar experience which he suffered himself under the previous regime.

I can only assume that people in the United States are so brainwashed that they cannot recognize a brick wall in front of their faces.

Posted: 07:36 23/05/2008
Professor Tomass is guilty of an error in judgment, i.e., displaying on his laptop the appearance of Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera is an Arab propaganda station directly opposed to the policies of the United States, and Professor Tomass should have known better.
Also, the Czech Republic (I am the son of Czech immigrants to the United States) does not have the same feelings toward terrorism as the United States does.
The Czech Republic did not experience a 9/11 and so in general (obviously there are exceptions) its citizens undoubtedly do not have the same attitude toward terrorism that the United States has.
In fact, the United States had to take action in the former Yugoslavia because the Europeans failed to act, even though it was in their "back yard".
Also, please note that we were on the side of the Muslims in Kosovo, and that here in America, all ethnic groups, with some imperfection (who is perfect?), live side by side.
Why is it left for the United States (with help principally from Great Britain) to solve the problems of the world? Everyone criticizes us, yet we have to prevent people from crossing our borders, in, not out.
It was the great Winston Churchill who once said that Democracy is the worst form of government except when other forms of government are considered (I paraphrase). My wife and I have been in the Czech Republic many times both during and after the 40 years of communist control (we had the good fortune of being there in 1968 during the era of Dubcek's "Prague Spring".)
On one of our frequent trips (although we were born in America, we are both fluent in colloquial Czech and have family there) we were once interrogated by the Czech authorities when leaving the country when we were "caught" carrying school papers for an escapee from the then repressive government. We were held for hours, and I am a professional person with a high level of education equivalent probably to more than that of Professor Tomass.
Also, considering my age, I undoubtedly have more professional experience than he. We were held for many hours -- not for the inconvenience of 20 minutes. The emotional trauma resulting from that interrogation lies with us to this day. What did we do wrong other than to help a fellow human being? Hopefully this will not happen again with the Czech Republic's current democratic government, a government formed indirectly through the workings, and I oversimplify for the sake of space, of our President Reagan, who in effect bankrupted the Russians and thereby allowed Gorbachev to change the course of history.
In summary, we in the United States are very sensitive with regard to terrorism because we have experienced first hand the workings of an evil conspiracy. And these minor inconveniences are the consequences of such sensitivity, as they rightly should be.

Posted: 21:28 26/05/2008
How do we solve corruption in our country?

Posted: 07:33 26/05/2008
If Mr. Alexander had read my entire comment, he would perhaps had noticed that I am not a Czech emigrant but a native born American of Czech parentage. As far as Al Jazeera is concerned it is apparent that he does not observe it with anything but a myopic view. While on a Nile cruise last year my wife and I had a choice of two English-speaking stations, one not very interesting and the other Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera was indeed interesting but it did not take a brain surgeon to decipher its anti-American message and propaganda. Perhaps a refresher course in English would help Mr. Alexander better understand what is going on in the real world, not in his world of wishful thinking. Also, Mr. Hurta's reference to the "Roman Empire in its final days" is hardly analagous to detaining someone for 20 minutes with no loss of human freedom.

Posted: 17:31 23/05/2008
All I can say is - God help the Czech Republic and its people.
What a new low this has reached. Can you not see the depravity of this? Are we not close to the Roman Empire in its final days?
When my children are in Prague, I will make sure they do not walk down this street. How is one supposed to raise moral children in this Satanic culture?
Is it any wonder that Islamic fanatics hate the West?

Posted: 14:54 25/05/2008
Here's another know-it-all who demonstrates his anti-American prejudice and lack of actual knowledge about America.

Try bribing a cop or any other civil servant in the United States. You'll be in handcuffs faster that you can say "boo".

But politicians on the campaign trail are a different story. Bribing them BEFORE they become civil servants is perfectly acceptable.

Don't ask me why. I just live here.

Posted: 11:18 23/05/2008
Say all you want. The fact is, corruption is a part of business. The truth is, it doesn't matter what part of the world you're in. Any time there's big money involved, the sharks will prowl.
The only thing that sets apart Czechs from Americans, for example, is that Americans make it official.
I think "loopholes" is the term.

Posted: 13:17 24/05/2008
What a great, inspiring story. I look forward to reading more.

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