Explaining Czech Elves
There is a new hope for internet users: The troops of elves countering the internet trolls have proliferated in yet another country – the regional leader in countering malicious foreign influences: the Czech Republic.
Society
LGBT+ Via Baltica: Travelling through Warsaw-Bialystok-Riga-Tallinn
Poland, Latvia, and Estonia started their rainbow revolutions much later than the West – when Stonewell riots happened in NYC, all three countries were still deep in the communist regime with no hope for emancipation.
INESS Publishes New Index: Health for Money
INESS created a brand new index called Health for Money, which rates healthcare in 26 countries, having also money in focus. The index touches also academia, measuring number of quotable medical papers from the country, or international rankings of faculties of medicine.
Is Hungary Anti-Semitic?
The Hungarian government is not anti-Semitic. It is populist. Playing right into the fears of people is a typical populist strategy. It builds on the same fears as anti-Semitic campaigns do, true, but despite the same foundations, the end results are somewhart different.
Why Support Drug Legalization, Georgian Perspective
People can be divided into two groups: those for whom individual freedom is the most important value and the rest, for whom the freedom is not so important. I do not have any objection to the second group, but their position is simply unacceptable for, probably, the other way around.
Wearing Iron Shoes: Justice Is No Free Lunch
One of the problems with the economic progress in the transition countries from socialism to market economy is the state of property rights. You can improve business environment, trade, or monetary systems but never progress if the property (rights) is not protected well.
Protests in Georgia: Occupants, Go Home!
The street protests that have started in Tbilisi on June 20, 2019, became a direct result of the mistakes of Georgian officials and a brazen behavior of a Russian politician. The majority of Georgian people thinks that, first, Russia is dangerous and, second, we cannot be partners of Russia, and instead need more integration with Europe and NATO.
Alcohol, Cigarettes, Food, Beverages: Poland More Restrictive Than Germany and the Czech Republic
The Nanny State Index 2019 measures the level of restrictive regulations governing the sale and consumption of food, non-alcoholic beverages, alcohol, tobacco, and e-cigarettes. The higher a country’s ranking, the more restrictive the regulations.
Why Do We Need Budapest Pride? Equality and Tolerance as Hungarian Politicians See Them
When the speaker of the National Assembly can call homosexual people secondary citizens without any kind of regret, what message does that deliver? There are people who are afraid to take the hand of their beloved in public because of the fear of being harassed.
Russian Meddling in 2019 EP Elections: Euroskeptics Did Kremlin’s Job
The Kremlin has used massive disinformation efforts, among others, to interfere in democratic processes across the West in the past few years. Consequently, the 2019 EP elections were always treated as potential targets for Russia, which was acknowledged by European institutions well in advance.
