Due to COVID-19 there weren't Pride parades in Bratislava or Prague this year. So definitely no dancing on a float in a toga like last year.
So instead we decided to have a picnic at Kraví hora.
We grilled out, played music, and appreciated being able to get together without having to wear masks.
For sure the most laid back, calm Pride event that I've been to. But great fun hanging out in the park all day.
I'm still registered in the Smart Traveler Enrolment Program (STEP) with the U.S. State Department so they know that I've living in Brno. Yesterday the U.S. State Department sent me a travel warning for the Czech Republic. Basically that due to COVID-19 the government thinks that I should reconsider travel to Czechland.
The rub is that I think the COVID-19 situation is better here than it is in the USA right now. In addition I don't need the government to book me on a repatriation flight and have my passport cancelled until the bill is sorted.
What annoyed me was that the the webpage of the U.S. Embassy in Prague hasn't been updated since 7 April 2020.
I shared on Instagram that the webpage was out of date.
Obdržel jsem cestovní varování COVID-19 pro Česko. Velvyslanectví Prahy webovou stránku neaktualizovalo od 7.4. Yesterday I received a #covid19 @statedept travel warning for #czechrepublic but the @usembassyprague hasn't updated it's webpage since 7 April. 😷🇺🇸🇨🇿🇪🇺
The Embassy did respond to me with the following: "Yes, this is a page from April 7. You can see all updates of this page here: https://cz.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/security-and-travel-information/ "
While this link is updated, I don't understand what's the point of still having out of date information online? I asked them this and showed that this link is still valid. https://cz.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
Let's see what the reply will be.
Update: December 2020, the Embassy never responded back. One page on the embassy website is up to date. But the outdated 7 April page is still up and online.
The Masaryk Cancer Centre recently got some new high-tech turnstiles. When you approach the turnstiles they automatically check if you have fever or whether or not you're wearing a mask.
If you have a fever, and/or don't wear a mask then you don't get it.
Due to COVID-19, there aren't many flights right now between the USA and Europe which means that mail between the two takes longer.
Today I received three birthday cards, two from California and one from Arizona. The cards were mailed over seven weeks ago.
I hope that the mail gets sorted before the U.S. elections. I'm not going to be happy if I don't get my absentee ballot in time to vote for a new American president.
Update: My absentee ballot didn't arrive until 4 November.
Update: It took about three months to receive a Christmas card from New Zealand.
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, flights were cancelled and people were stranded trying to get back home. Many countries chartered repatriation flights to bring their citizens home from around the world. Some countries provided free flights to get their citizens home and some countries billed the travellers.
The U.S. State Department arranged flights for about 100,000 Americans who were stranded at a cost of $196 million. This was just to get people back to the USA. People then still had to secure commercial travel to actually get home.
Now people need to pay the money back. The problem is that it could have been handled better. Some flights were quoted an "up to amount" and passengers had to sign promissory notes agreeing to pay whatever the final cost would be. Some people have been waiting three months and they still don't know the final amount they need to pay.
While people are waiting to be informed of the final amounts they owe, the government has cancelled their passports. New passports can not be issued until the debts are cleared.
Czech.Global is a new social network sponsored by the Foreign Ministry. The purpose is to reach out to the roughly 2,5 million people throughout the world who identify as Czech or have Czech roots.
It's still a work in progress but new content continues to be added.
To check it out you can use my referral link here.
Currently there's a blog plus accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The European Council, sometimes referred to as the EUCO, is not the same thing as the Council of the European Union.
The European Council doesn't have any legislative power. However, it sets the strategy and determines the overall priorities for the European Union.
The European Council is made up of the leaders of each member country. For Czech Republic, it is Andrej Babiš, the Czech Prime Minister.
There are two additional members, the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council. Neither of these two get a vote.
In 2019, Charles Michel, the former Prime Minister of Belgium, took over as President of the European Council. Here's a short video of his acceptance speech that I found on YouTube.
The Council of the European Union is one of the EU's three legislative bodies. It is also known as the Council or as the Council of Ministers, but the Council of the European Union isn't the same thing as the European Council. And it's definitely not the same thing Council of Europe.
The job of the Council of the European Union is to work with the European Parliament to amend, approve, or reject legislation proposed by the European Commission.
So the European Parliament represents the EU citizens are are directly elected by people in each country.
The Council of the European Union represents the governments and national interests of each EU country while the European Commission represents the interests of the EU as a whole.
The Council of the European Union has 10 different configurations and the national ministers from each member country participate. For example, the environmental ministers from each of the EU countries get together and sort out things in Environment configuration. The ten configurations are:
The Presidency of the Council rotates every six months. On 1 July, Germany took over the presidency from Croatia. In January 2021 the presidency moves to Portugal, followed by Slovenia and France. In July 2022, Czechland gets the presidency again. 
The last time Czech Republic held the presidency was in 2009.
The European Parliament is one of the EU's three legislative branches. Together with the Council of the European Union, it adopts the laws proposed by the European Commission. So the European Parliament can vote on legislation but it can not propose new legislation.
The European Parliament, after India, is the world's second-largest democratically elected body.
There are 705 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) as determined by each country's population. The minimum number of MEPs is six per country. Germany has the Most MEPs with 96, followed by France with 79, Italy with 76, Spain with 59, and Poland with 52.
Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, and Sweden, all have 21 MEPs each.
MEPs serve five-year terms and there are no term limits.
Here's a short 5,5 minute video I found out on YouTube that provides more information about the European Parliament.
The European Commission, the EC, is the executive branch of the European Union. The EC sits in Brussels and it is responsible for the day-to-day running of the EU. The EC initiates new legislation as it alone has the power to propose laws for debate. Another responsibility of the EC is to maintain that treaties are running efficiently and to police them. Basically, the EC acts as the cabinet government for the EU. The working languages of the EC are English, French, and German.
The commissioners are to think European as each must pledge to be independent of their home countries while acting in the general interest of the EU and not be subservient to their home countries. There are 27 commissioners, one from each of the EU member countries. It was 28 until the UK left the EU following Brexit.
The path to become a commissioner seems kind of complicated. Candidates are proposed by the Council of the European Union, based on suggestions coming from the various national governments. Once approved by the European Parliament then they are appointed by the European Council, which isn't the same thing as the Council of the European Union.
Here's a five minute video I found on YouTube that explains the how the European Commission works.
In December 2019, Ursula von der Leyen became the first woman to hold the presidency of the EC. She used to be the German Defence Minister and her term is for five years. Here's a bit about her.
She is one of seven vice-presidents and she is responsible for Values and Transparency.
Update 2025: Here's short video I found on YouTube about the European Commission.
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