Final Word from Monday, May 23, 2016

When Barack Obama proselytized in Prague seven years ago about a world without nuclear weapons, he acknowledged that it might not happen in his lifetime, but he said that we must ignore the voices telling us the world can't change. "We have to insist, 'Yes, we can,'" he said to applause. Application designer Martin Vytrhlík wants a world "without Andrej" and developed an iPhone app to tell users which products are Babiš's and which aren't. It's no laughing matter, given the size of Andrej's arsenal, but the app has nevertheless led to growth in one of the few industries Babiš doesn't yet control - jokes. The app doesn't work on Babiš's campaign doughnuts, Andrej's own newspaper noted. Nor does it work yet on the newspapers themselves, since the app can't be sure if MFD and LN are even telling us the truth about their barcodes. So let's not be naive. The goal of an Andrej-free world will not be reached quickly. Perhaps not in Vytrhlík's lifetime. [Czech Republic bez Andreje donuts]