Slashdot Mirror
Political Upheaval In Fictional Czech State
Rog-Mahal writes "The fictional Kingdom of Wallachia has made the front page of Czech newspapers lately. The practical joke turned tourist attraction started by photographer Tomas Harabis has been locked is a power struggle between Bolek Polivka, the current king, and Harabis, the foreign minister. The faux country has received international attention over the years: 'Wallachia makes money several ways, including offering tastings of its famed plum brandy, slivovitz, to corporate clients. Its biggest source of revenue is the Wallachian passport, which costs the equivalent of $7.69. There are roughly 90,000 citizens of the make-believe nation, once including George W. Bush, who was given a passport some years ago by a Czech living in Texas. Mr. Bush's citizenship was revoked in 2003 after the United States invaded Iraq.
The passport has created some confusion, however. When a man from Pakistan recently asked the kingdom for political asylum, Mr. Harabis said he had to gently explain that Wallachia was not a real country. The Wallachian passport now warns: "This passport is not yet an official document of the Czech Republic."'
We can only hope for a peaceful end to hostilities."
Mr. Bush's citizenship was revoked in 2003 after the United States invaded Iraq.
Wow. You know, more countries should punish warmongering, though jail sentances would probably be better than exiling them.
Small European Country with unusual financial situation? Sounds like a Lichtenstein (Chuck) setup to me.
Let's hope Russia now doesn't invade Czech to liberate those poor Wallachians.
As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.
Am I the only one who is completely lost here?
I became a little suspicious when, after having lived in the Czech Republic for over 8 years, today was the first time I've heard of this Kingdom of Wallachia. When I saw that the Wikipedia article on it comprised of a single sentence, I did a bit of research on this Kingdom, which I thought I'd share here.
Firstly, the NY Times gets a few things plain wrong. They claim that the Kingdom of Wallachia is in the north-east of the Czech republic, when it is in fact in the south-east (see official map). Furthermore, they claim that "[Wallachia] became one of the country's biggest tourist attractions", which they've seemed to have pulled right out of their asses, since it is not mentioned in any major Czech tourist sites at all. CzechTourism.com (the "official travel site of the Czech Republic") mentions Wallachia in only one article, without a word about it being a "kingdom" of any kind. It's also suspiciously absent from a list of the most visited tourist destinations on the same site, the list of Czech tourist attractions on IgoUgo, and has a general lack of web presence.
I eventually found the official website for the Kingdom, after searching for its Czech name "Valasské království", and found it to be very lacking in information in English. An interesting reversal of this can be found on the official website of the town Roznov pod Radhostem, where the official Wallachian Kingdom information centre (that also issues passports) is located. While the site has a page on the information centre in English, Polish, German, and French, there is no mention of it on the Czech version of the site.
At about this point, I realised that the Kingdom of Wallachia is even less newsworthy than even Molossia or the Conch Republic, so I stopped wasting my time on it. I suggest Slashdot editors and readers do the same.
and it tastes more like Slithershitz to me. Sorry for the mental picture, just being honest.
It's an aquired taste. It usually takes me three or four shots to properly aquire and appreciate. From that point on its smooth as silk :-).
Maybe the parent got a bad batch... from Vizovice. Zlin my friend, Zlin.
1. F2-F3
1. E7-E6
2. G2-G4
2. Q D8-H4 CZECHMATE!
And they would like their principality back.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
s/Rawx/FAIL IT/
Let's hope the Latverians don't attempt an invasion amongst all this political tension.
Did you ever hear about the guy who made the fake Atlantis country, and claimed he had found it? Turns out, Atlantis wasn't a giant city, but a shoddy wooden raft.
Has the old saint in his forest not yet heard of it? That God is dead?