Final Word from Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Children of the Earth introduced the Ropák anti-award in 1992 for the worst environmental achievement of the year. It went six times to the environment minister, usually for saying one thing about ecology and doing another, at least in the eyes of the judges. The anti-award ended last year but could be inspiration for a new anti-honor, to be bestowed upon the government official or leader of society who misleads the public the most about his or her anti-Russian credentials. No one wants to admit to choosing money over morality, but it's happening more often as the war in Ukraine drags on. Industry Min. Jozef Síkela (STAN) has been boasting for months about how the CR is "independent" of Russian natural gas, but energy expert Vladimír Štěpán said near the end of K věci on CNN Prima News yesterday that ČEZ and related companies are currently importing up to half of daily Czech gas consumption from Austria and that it is Russian gas. It's being kept secret, Štěpán said. "How is this possible," he asked, "when the government says it doesn't want Russian gas?" Síkela can explain when he picks up his anti-antiPutin award. [ Czech Republic Děti země Vladimir ]