Czech President the Anti-Gore, Says U.S. Think Tank

"President Vaclav Klaus is getting help from a right-wing U.S. think tank ... to spread a message many see as anti-environmentalist and some Czechs say reflects badly on their country," reports the Prague Post. The Heartland Institute's new $1 million advertising campaign declares "Global Warming is Not a Crisis" and features pictures of Klaus and Al Gore. "Vaclav Klaus will debunk global warming myths at the UN Sept. 24," claims the ad, which ran in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Times. Klaus told the Czech News Agency that the UN conference on global warming "will be a gathering of Gore-ites, so they're going to be shocked that they invited me 'by mistake.' ... I'm going to give a very tough speech." Heartland PR director Thomas Swiss called Klaus "a great defender of freedom" and someone who "really gets the potential damage that big government regulations can cause." Czech environment minister Martin Bursik and other national politicians have criticized Klaus' stance on global warming.