Latvian Mailer - February 23, 2002

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Besides our gradual redesign of our "look", we've also begun a longer term project, a photo feature on the Art Nouveau architecture of Alberta iela (Albert Street) in Riga. Most of the pictures have been sitting in a box for close to two years, now. Peters needed a project to keep him occupied on something positive (and less strenuous than construction work around the house!), so he finally buckled down and started scanning. But it's going to take a while to weed through nearly 500 pictures. (You can't get really good pictures without taking a lot of bad ones, too!)

We invite you to explore »Alberta iela!

News

Bud wars: Italy boots Czech beer

COMTEX Newswire Monday, February 18, 2002 3:35:00 AM
By Joel Kirkland
Prague Business Journal
(C)2002 New World Publishing Kft.

      Feb 18, 2002 (New World Publishing via COMTEX) — In another setback for Czech brewery Budejovicky Budvar, an Italian court ruled against the firm's two Italian distributors last week for disregarding an earlier ruling that prohibited the Czech exporter from using the Budweiser name.
      The decision confirmed the exclusive trademark rights of Budvar's legal nemesis, St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, in the Italian market. The ruling could result in the confiscation of the Czech beer from import distributors and retail outlets.
      But Budvar spokesman Martin Dolezel said Budejovicky Budvar has no plans to stop selling its premium import beer in the Italian market and is in the process of finding new distributors. Budvar appealed the court decision to the Italian Supreme Court.
      Dolezel stressed that the ruling was against the distributors and not a clear message about the use of the Budweiser trademark name and its heavily marketed shorter version, "Bud."
      Anheuser-Busch claims the latest ruling means that Budvar may be seized from its distributors and retail accounts.
      Budvar says the name dates back to its original brewery in the town of Budweis - the German name for Ceske Budejovice - where it began brewing in the 13th century.
      Both companies have used the Bud name for more than 100 years, but courtroom clashes have multiplied in recent years since the two beer makers expanded efforts to export worldwide.
      Stephen Burrows, president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch International, said he believes the Supreme Court will comply with the lower court. "The Court of Milan has sent another clear message to Budejovicky Budvar and its importers. Anheuser-Busch has the exclusive rights to Budweiser and Bud in Italy," Burrows said. "Any attempts to infringe our trademarks will not be tolerated."
      In November 2000, a Milan court prohibited Budvar from using the Bud and Budweiser name. Anheuser-Busch brought the case after Budvar's distributors failed to stop distributing the beer following that ruling.
      Since Anheuser-Busch began aggressively marketing its beers over the past two decades - becoming the largest beer maker in the world - it has tried to prevent Budvar from using the same name in countries where they both distribute.
      Anheuser-Busch exports to more than 80 countries, and the state-owned Czech brewer now sells to more than 60 countries. The two companies are battling each other on numerous legal terrains, with nearly 40 court cases and more than 40 administrative proceedings at patent offices around the globe.
      Budvar has experienced several recent setbacks, including a ruling last month that awarded exclusive rights to Anheuser-Busch in Denmark. The American beer maker has also won recent battles in Spain and Finland. However, Czech Budvar has maintained rights to distribute under the Budweiser label in Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Switzerland.

BOOK REVIEW: Baltic Cities

COMTEX Newswire Monday, February 18, 2002 4:36:00 AM
(C)2002 M2 Communications Ltd http://www.m2.com

      Feb 18, 2002 (M2 Best Books via COMTEX) — If you ask many people where might you find a Baltic city they will just give you a blank stare. Although the chances of getting someone to have a reasonably accurate guess has improved somewhat in recent years with many Baltic countries gaining independence from the USSR.
      Setting out to define what are the Baltic Cities, the book then looks at how the region is being reshaped post-USSR into a more dynamic part of contemporary Europe. The material for this book has been taken from a three-day conference on Baltic Cities, held in May 1996. While it is true that some things have dated over the time, the book still provides a great deal of interesting material on this area that is still undergoing much change. Facts might stay the same but perspectives can change.
      Starting by looking at the role of the cities in a changing Europe and their need to cooperate and compete both on a local and European level, the book moves through by examining the infrastructure within the region and then concluding with a series of profiles on key cities such as Riga, St Petersburg and Tallinn. Certainly a great deal of information is imparted in this relatively-small 252-page book.
      The text is written in a fairly dry sort of academic style and this might be offputting to the casual reader. Each essay comes with a series of notes and additional reading sources. However for the person who needs this kind of information the book certainly has the hallmarks of being an indispensable read.
      CONCLUSION: A comprehensive resource on a changing political, cultural and corporate region.
      Title: Baltic Cities: Perspectives on Urban and Regional Change in the Baltic Sea Areas
      Author: Martin Aberg and Martin Peterson (Editors)
      Published by: Nordic Academic Press
      ISBN: 91-89116-03-8
      Price: USD 51.50
      Reviewer: Darren Ingram

Ex-Latvian central banker registers party

AP WorldStream Wednesday, February 20, 2002 7:00:00 AM
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — A new center-right, pro-business political party led by this Baltic state's former central bank chief was officially registered Wednesday, with a head start in opinion polls ahead of October parliamentary elections.
      The party, called New Time, had appeared as a favorite in a survey even before it gained official status in this Western-oriented former Soviet republic of 2.4 million people.
      Einars Repse, central bank chairman from the time Latvia broke with Moscow in 1991 until he resigned in December to form New Time, said he'll campaign for continued economic reforms and for tougher anti-corruption measures.
      He strongly backs Latvia's drive to join NATO and the European Union.
      New Time ranked first, with 16 percent support, in a January SKDS polling agency survey that asked 1,001 people who they would vote for in the Oct. 6 election. The center-right Latvia's Way, part of the governing coalition, came in second with 10.4 percent.
      Latvia's fragmented, 100-seat Saeima legislature comprises 12 parties. A coalition including Latvia's Way, the centrist People's Party plus the right-wing Fatherland and Freedom Party make up the current government.
      Repse, 39, has the reputation as a no-nonsense fiscal conservative. He guided Latvia through a series of difficult post-Soviet reforms, including the introduction of a new currency, the lat, to replace the Soviet ruble.
      The central bank's former deputy head, Ilmars Rimsevics, replaced him as chairman.

NATO head says Latvia could miss NATO invitation if language law is not changed

AP WorldStream Thursday, February 21, 2002 3:28:00 PM
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press
By J. MICHAEL LYONS
Associated Press Writer

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson told Latvian lawmakers on Thursday that their country risks missing out on alliance membership if they don't drop a language requirement that Russians consider discriminatory.
      In a toughly worded speech to the Saeima parliament in Riga, the capital of the ex-Soviet republic, he said the law -- which requires that candidates for elected office be able to speak Latvian -- does not meet NATO's democratic standards.
      "NATO nations will be watching very carefully what you do this year in relation to the election laws so they conform to standards throughout NATO countries," he said during a one-day stop in the Baltic Sea coast nation.
      He said once countries were in NATO, there was no mechanism to expel them.
      "That is why the heat will be on, why you cannot afford to be in any way complacent," he said. "Every minute is going to count, every standard is going to be examined and everything you do will come under the spotlight."
      Legislators say the law is meant to help entrench native Latvian after decades of Soviet rule, during which Russian was given preference by leaders in Moscow. It was passed after Latvia regained independence in 1991.
      Critics say it discriminates against Latvia's large Russian minority.
      Many Russian-speakers, who make up a third of Latvia's 2.5 million people, can't speak Latvian or speak it badly and so can't qualify as candidates for public office.
      NATO's criteria for membership are largely military but also include demands that candidates meet high human rights standards. Robertson said that Latvia otherwise mostly met those standards.
      Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga has urged the legislature to change the law, but she has faced resistance.
      Parliament foreign affairs committee chairman Guntars Krasts said the law will likely be changed but urged NATO to be patient.
      "We must have an open, public discussion about this," he said. "Otherwise the public will think it was just a back room deal with international politicians and it will change their opinion about NATO."
      Latvia is among nine countries hoping to be invited to join the 19-member alliance later this year. The other two Baltic states, Estonia and Lithuania, are in that group.
      The Baltic states are seen as having good chances of winning invitations despite Russian opposition to their membership.

Picture Album

The loud-mouthed and outrageous rock stars of yesteryear and today have nothing on the screaming heads of Nr.2a, Albert Street in Riga!

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