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It's hard to pick up a newspaper anywhere these days without reading about the global economic meltdown precipitated by the collapse of a number of US banks, which has sent shockwaves across the globe. Remarkably, the Czech Republic and Central Europe seem to be relatively insulated from the crisis.

I’m standing in the exhibition hall of the Czech Senate and in front of me is an official copy of the Munich Agreement, the notorious 1938 document that ceded the Sudeten territories in Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. It is a four page document that is written in German, with a series of numbered points on it. At the bottom of the document are the clearly visible signatures of Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain and Benito Mussolini and French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier. But this act of appeasement didn’t work and ended up leading to the Second

Czech law is structured in such a way that non-prescription drugs can be freely advertised, while prescription drugs cannot. This has led to a totally unregulated culture of lobbying by pharmaceutical companies, desperate to get doctors to take notice of their prescription drugs. Sometimes, these lobbying efforts take the form of free pens or magazines and leaflets, but other times, they include far more expensive free gifts and even exotic holidays under the guise of inviting doctors to so called “conferences.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a landlocked country, the Czech Republic has one of the lowest rates of fish consumption in the European Union. Czechs eat around five kilograms of the stuff on average each year. But oddly enough, this country is also one of Europe's largest fish producers – and most of the thousands of tonnes of carp, sander, and other freshwater species farmed here end up being exported elsewhere on the continent. Now though, the government has launched a new campaign to encourage Czechs to eat more of their own home-grown fish.

“And I regret some of the recent behaviour that Russia has exhibited, and I’ll be glad to talk about that later including the reduction of oil supplies to Czechoslovakia after they agreed with us on a missile defence system…” That was Republican presidential candidate John McCain talking in New Mexico earlier this summer.

“A lot of people are curious about what lies behind your resignation. You had a brilliant career; your record is impeccable – they want to know why you suddenly left.” “What people?” “Now personally I do believe your story that it was a matter of principle, but what I think doesn’t really count, does it?” “...I will not make any deals with you. I’ve resigned."

In early July, three days after the Czech Republic and the Bush Administration signed a controversial agreement on a future anti-ballistic missile radar base, Russia drastically reduced the supply of oil flowing into the country. The move prompted fears that the Czech Republic had become the latest post-communist country to face what some view as extortion from its former big brother – one strongly opposed to the placement of the US radar base on Czech soil. The crisis soon passed, with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordering a full restoration

At this time of year, Czech gardens are a hive of activity. Driving through any Czech town you’ll spot at least a couple of barbecues smouldering away, and a handful of odd types digging and sweating in the midday sun. Certain garden chores - the weeding, the watering, the pruning - remain the same, year-in year-out, but are Czechs using their gardens in a different way now than say, ten years ago?

The Czech Republic is one of seven EU countries which haven’t yet ratified the Lisbon Treaty. Its ratification has become a divisive issue between the eurosceptic and moderate wings in the government’s strongest party, the Civic Democrats. In this edition of Talking Point, we look at the controversies surrounding the treaty’s ratification in the Czech Republic.

“Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along…We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.” That was US President George W. Bush speaking in front of the Israeli Knesset on May 15th. The statement was not only controversial because it was viewed as a political attack on a fellow American – Senator Barack Obama - while away from American soil, but