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Welcome to Kosovo(a)

So, what happens when leaders of a wannabe country are ex-terrorists educated by professional PR agencies from the West to show off as good guys?

Weapons seized, officials arrested in Kosovo

21 December 2006 | 14:19 | Source: Beta

PRIŠTINA -- Kosovo police (KPS) and KFOR confiscated a large amount of weapons in Glogovac last night.
KPS spokesman said that a significant amount of arms and ammunition was found in a van in the village of Štutica, Glogovac municipality, and confirmed that three people were arrested.
However, he did not disclose the identities of those placed in police custody. The media for its part speculates that a Kosovo government official is among those arrested last night.

Well, what happens is that they are commited to get Kosovo regardless of what Serbia or any other country thinks about it... Adn they smile in front of cameras, they visit Serbian enclaves and monasteries in Kosovo with foreign officials etc.. but they are also arming their fighters - poor stupid dudes that are willing to die for a stupid cause... and they are arming them even if UN (which is running Kosovo at the moment) doesn`t allow them to do so...

And in the end, the very same leaders stay untouched and some dude is arrested and will probably dissapear completely soon... Leaders will of course "condemn any illegal action regardless of who perpetrates it in the strongest terms and remains convinced that such people have no place in Kosovo’s government" and continue to use other dudes for the job...

The worst thing is that these poor dudes think that they are fighting for their "homeland" or "Great Albania" or even simply against "Evil Serbs", while they are actually fighting for the country that is supposed to serve those "leaders" as their own private land and a place where they can centralize their "business" of dealing drugs, firearms, lead prostituion etc...

I`m really trying not to write so much about Kosovo but recent moves and actions simply force me to do it... I can clearly see what is going to happen in Kosovo after final status is defined... One way or another, blood will be all over the place again...

And I hate that. And I don`t want to see that. Ever again.

Read the full story here and also check comments of dumbfucks from both sides (plus "peacefull foreigners").

Turkmen President Niyazov dies at 66

so, another "personality cult" died...

Let`s see how the country will deal with this... I actually always wanted to go there and see how it looks like leaving over there, since what one knows about the country is not too good (like he forbid ballet, censored all cultural events, used wealth gained from natural resources to build golden statues of himself everywhere etc.). Unfortunately, never had a chance to do that... as I probably won`t have a chance to visit Cuba while Castro is still alive...

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan - Authoritarian President Saparmurat Niyazov, who has ruled energy-rich Turkmenistan for more than two decades, has died, Turkmen state television and officials said Thursday. He was 66.

Full story here

Seduction style

hehehe, what can I say? :)





You seduce people by tapping into their dreams and desires.

And because of this sensitivity, you can be the ideal lover for anyone you seek.

You are a shapeshifter - bringing romance, adventure, spirituality to relationships.

It all depends on who your with, and what their vision of a perfect relationship is.

Your Seduction Style: Ideal Lover

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Montenegro

The story continues... (am refering to this story)

Exactly the same system as in Kosovo and Southern Central Serbia. Macedonia too, I guess...

 

Ethnic Albanians demand release of terrorist suspects

18 December 2006 | 11:53 | Source: AP

PODGORICA -- Protests were held to free U.S. citizens accused of terrorist plots in Montenegro.

Relatives of two jailed U.S. citizens accused of plotting an ethnic Albanian insurgency in their native Montenegro rallied Sunday outside the U.S. Embassy here demanding freedom for the suspects.
"Help American citizens imprisoned without evidence" read a banner held by some of the several dozen protesters who claimed that the charges against cousins Rok and Kolja Dedvukaj were politically motivated.

hahahaha, no evidence... they were cought with guns and bombs in their car :)

Andrew the Arab

Heard tonight and couldn`t believe my ears... and he confirmed it to me tonight...

My US mate Andrew was selected to be the first MCP of AIESEC in Oman... When I heard I was speechless (not in a bad way, just speechless, surprised), but when I thought about it, it just sounded right... sounded like something Andrew would do :)

Cheers mate and good luck! (and don`t forget to polish your shoes before you go... or bring enough money hehe)

Beogradski Sindikat - Oni su

If I find a version with english subtitle, I`ll post it...
Basicly it`s a pre-elections warning to politicians in Serbia to let them know that this is their chance to finally get rid of the past times and move forward...
For those that don`t know - October 5th 2000 revolution was not as succesful as many think it was... Milosevic`s people along with new mafia and tycoons are still present in public life of Serbia and even running it in a way...

More about Beogradski Sindikat at Wikipedia

seriously sad

This is one of the moments when I hate the whole NATO world...
This is not even comparable with genocides or massacres - they happen in one moment. And this... this is killing for decades... constantly...

If my child is born deffected, give me one good reason not to become terrorist and do my best to make them hurt as it hurts me?
UPDATE: were they helping Albanians in Kosovo while bombing? They live there now... along with lots of KFOR soldiers and UN stuff... they all suffer...

 

Depleted Uranium Missiles Found In Serbia
December 12, 2006 6:09 a.m. EST

Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Correspondent

Belgrade, Serbia (AHN) - Representatives from the directorate for the protection of the environment in Serbia has said that a total of 161 depleted uranium missiles have been recovered in the southern part of the country in the past weeks.

The states Beta news agency said the missiles were found in Reljan near Preservo after the 1999 NATO bombing campaign.

It was said that during the 78-day air strikes in the former Yugoslavia in 1991, NATO war planes dropped 31,000 missiles and bombs believed to contain depleted uranium, a kind of radioactive toxic material that has been linked to Gulf War syndrome and spiraling levels of cancer and birth defects in Iraq.

NATO has admitted 112 sites in Kosovo where it used depleted uranium. But it has not given Belgrade a complete list for the rest of Serbia.

Belgrade ordered a clean up operation in Reljan on October 1 and some 6.5 out of 12 hectares of contaminated grounds have been searched and cleared. A total of 2.4 cubic meters of contaminated soil has also been collected and removed.

Serbia has spent an estimated $450,000 for the clean up operation in the Reljan site.

seriously funny

Can we do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g correctly? :)

 

Man robs Austria bank, forgets card

Wednesday Dec 13 12:16 AEDT

A bank robber who was arrested because he left his account card at a branch where he had checked his balance just before holding it up was sentenced to four years in jail.

The knife-wielding robber was identified as a 32-year-old former policeman from Serbia after a clerk who witnessed the heist found the plastic card in the branch shortly afterwards, Austrian news agency APA said.

Police arrested the man a little later, after he tried to deposit some of his E14,260 ($A24,125) loot in his account to reduce his overdraft and reported his card as lost.

street food in serbia #1

one of the things that are so special about Serbia is definitely street food. I was using the term "junk food" until a dude from New York told me (while eating something similar to the pic below) that "if this is junk food, then what the f**k is what we eat in NY?"... And since then, I`m calling it simply street food...

and it`s really awesome... one of the rules to find good street food when you go abroad is to check where the locals eat, because they know what`s made for tourists and what`s not... well, in Belgrade you almost cannot miss - we don`t have so many tourists :)

of course, there are some shitty places (like ones next to bus and train stations), but in general street food is great! Unless you`re vegeterian, that is... :)

I will be posting photos of Serbian street food as I find them or take photos when I move back to Belgrade... Will write descriptions too, just to tease you a bit more...

Prijatno!

This is world famous "Pljeskavica". A gourman one in this case. While ordering, you can choose toppings from usually 5-15 different kinds of salads or sauces.

Pljeskavica on Wikipedia

am not saying good bye...

so Charlotte left... her 6 months traineeship is over and she went back to France...

one of the best persons I met in my life... and eventhough I promised to my self not to connect so much with other trainees (because I hate goodbyes and losing friends), she managed to get under my skin and we before I knew it we became really really close... started with ordering food together and watching a movie to relax after a hard day at work and ended up with some deep conversations and trust and understanding that we`ve built over time... she is the one I could turn to anytime to listen to me whining about anything and bitching about everything... to hug me everytime I`m down and miss Sandra and help me out with my countdowns `till my next trip to Belgrade, to hug me actually everyday I come back from work... in short to be there for me... 

And even if I told her so, I think she will never know how much I appreciate that and how important it was for me...

so, I`m not saying goodbye... I know that people lose contact over time and tend to forget, but this was so special that I simply don`t want to and won`t do it...

and I know that we will be singing this song whenever we meet, and remember The days...

Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours,
And dreamed of all the great things we would do

Those were the days my friend
We thought theyd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we chose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way

Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If by chance Id see you in the tavern
Wed smile at one another and wed say

Those were the days...

Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely woman really me?

Those were the days...

Through the door there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh my friends were older but no wiser
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same

Those were the days...

Download it here

See you soon mommy...

Been that in Belgrade to show you real places for going out and getting drunk :) or in Bretagne to see famous highways... ah, yeah, you don`t have tghem there :P

Love,
Daddy

couldn`t they wait?

as suspected, "the Great Albania" project continues... however, I thought they will wait until they get Kosovo first and then continue...

anyhow, it will be interesting to see reactions from albanian side on this...

Montenegro accuses ethnic Albanians of plotting insurgency

8 December 2006 | 11:05 | Source: AP

PODGORICA -- Montenegrin authorities indicted 18 ethnic Albanians, including five living in the United States.

Full story here

greatest thought

partners with bombers

Serbia accepted into Partnership for Peace

29 November 2006 | 09:43 -> 17:21 | Source: B92

RIGA -- A decision was made at the NATO summit in Riga for allowing Serbia to unconditionally join the Partnership for Peace.

So we`re in... Yeah, this is not NATO partnership yet, but it is a road to NATO.. the very same NATO that bombed us `99... the very bombing that made us affraid to make babies because we`re not sure how the baby will look like (uranium bombs all over serbia - even NATO soldiers suffering in Kosovo)... jeez, do we forget easily or what?

So we`re in... Unconditionally as they say... Unconditionally my ass, if you ask me... they`ll ask for something really soon... Karla Del Ponte (main prosecutor at Hague Tribunal) already expressed dissatisfaction (some sources say she was throwing things in her office :)), so I expect her to ask for something special soon...

I just hope they won`t ask for Kosovo... if no other reason, then because Kostunica won`t give it... and even if he does, people won`t...

So let`s see what happens next... I expect them to ask for something within end of next week...

Only in Serbia

I wonder what would happen in any other country after such public display of disrespect to the country where you live...

to clarify something - each and every minority in Serbia is allowed to celebrate their national days (and even encouraged in a way through local municipalities` budgets) and display their national flag along with Serbian one, but only if they register so called National Council of respective minority (this is to protect from funny guys asking for funds from municipalities to celebrate "National Penguins day" or whatever they claim they are - because that`s another thing you can do in Serbia - you can actually declare as whatever you want to be :D). While most of the minorities did this, Albanians didn`t, for the sole reason that they expect this part of Serbia (southern central Serbia) to be next to get independence, after Kosovo.

And this is what they did...

 

Preševo Albanians remove Serbian, display Albanian flag

28 November 2006 | 14:19 -> 17:07 | Source: B92, Beta

PREŠEVO, BUJANOVAC -- Albanians in Preševo removed the Serbian flag and instead displayed three Albanian flags.

Serbian flag was taken off the municipal building as part of the Albanian national holiday celebrations in the south of Serbia. Preševo municipal president Ragmi Mustafa told journalists that the display of Albanian flags instead of the Serbian should ”not be viewed as an incident”, adding that ”Albanians in Serbia have the right to their own symbols”.

...

The organizers played the Albanian national anthem, after which the gathering paid tribute to the dead members of the officially disbanded Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac Liberation Army (UCPMB).

Now you tell me if it`s OK that they use local government`s money to pay tribute to the dead members of a terrorist group???

Which country would allow this? Which country would ignore this?

Indeed, only Serbia!

Serbia in PFP again?

NATO may induct Serbia into Partnership for Peace

28 November 2006 | 18:29 | Source: AP

RIGA -- NATO may invite Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia to join the Partnership for Peace at the Riga summit.
"I expect Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro to be given a green light for the Partnership for Peace at this summit," Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said. "For Slovenia it is important for the PFP to be enlarged and for the Adriatic Three to be given a clear signal for membership in the near future," Slovenia's foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel said on Tuesday.

Full story here

hmmm, very interesting... and I honestly don`t know how to see this... on one side, it can mean that they are offering this to show good will and support Serbia`s way to EU... it can also mean that they are changing their ideas regarding Kosovo`s status and that we will actually keep it... but it can also mean that they are giving us cookies and taking Kosovo from our hands...

I guess we`ll know in next couple of weeks... whatever it is, I expect more moves by the west soon...

This is also a big wind in the back for Kostunica and his Government... right before the elections in January...

Kemalist youth want professor sacked

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

A Kemalist youth organization appealed to YÖK demanding that a professor who criticized Atatürk be banned from the academic profession
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Secretary General of the Turkey Association of Youth (TGB) Osman Yılmaz has filed an appeal to the Higher Education Board (YÖK) for the dismissal of Professor Atilla Yayla, an instructor who criticized Kemalism in recent comments, from public duty and the academic profession.

There you go... However, I`m still waiting to see if there are any other brave groups in this country...

Full story

Forget about pope - this is real news!

I know that to most of you this will sound weird, but for me this is much bigger news then Pope`s visit to Turkey and implications that will bring...

This is simply bigger then it looks like. Living in Turkey for some 9 months I have learned already that here you can do basicly whatever you want except for one thing - do not ever criticize Ataturk!!

For those who don`t know, Ataturk is a father of Turkish nation - a founder of modern Turkey. He was the one to rebel against the Sultan and create a country that we today know as Turkey. He reformed almost everything, from language to the political and education system... Sounds good? Yup, it truly is... Not the way he did it though... At least not in my point of view... Some will say that revolution is revolution and whatever happens during the revolution is serving the cause... And I`m not gonna argue... No matter what`s my opinion on the subject...

Now, I do make jokes about Ataturk all the time with fellow aiesecers, for I know they won`t get me serious... And I even tested water with a couple of colleagues in my office , teasing them about Ataturk`s place of birth and education (he was born in Thessaloniki, Greece - and we all know about constant conflict between these 2 countries) - and the reaction was not that pleasant at all... a bitter smile was a clear message not to mess with this...
And unbelievably, whole country is all about Ataturk... Statues everywhere, photos everywhere, his thoughts are quoted in any occasion, been that politics or TV ads... His Al Pacino-looking face is on all money bills and coins...
Ok, some would say, it`s not the only country that has "The Leader"... Sure, but those countries like Turkmenistan, Cuba, North Korea are "somewhat" different :)
and they have their "leaders" still alive and kickin`...

Turkey is too modern to have this kind of idols, especially when... ok, I said I won`t argue his greatness and I`ll stick to it...

So anyways, this news below is for me much bigger then Pope having balls to visit an islamic country after the whole buzz with his message... Pope will come and leave, but this might be a beginning of something... something that can help this country switch from Big to Great... Or will this be a switch from Big to endlesly miserable...

 

Students defend 'heretic' professor who criticized Atatürk

Monday, November 27, 2006

While prominent Turkish liberal Professor Atilla Yayla is under fire for criticizing Kemalism, young liberals stand up for his right to speak out
MUSTAFA AKYOL
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News

"The problems began when the "heretic" argued that the era of Mustafa Kemal was “a period of regression, not progress.” He also criticized the abundance of photos and statues of Mustafa Kemal all around Turkey and warned that Turkey couldn't continue like this in its EU-driven process of democratization and liberalization. “Europeans will ask us,” said Yayla, “why this man's photos and statues are everywhere.”

Read full story

Pope Turkiye`de

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Some 20,000 Muslims held an anti-pope rally in Istanbul on Sunday in a peaceful protest against Pope Benedict’s visit to Turkey this week.

Benedict, due to begin his first official visit to a Muslim country next Tuesday, angered many Muslims in September with a speech they took as an insult to Islam. He later expressed regret but did not offer an apology.

Youths wearing headbands with Islamic scripts, beating drums and waving Turkish flags chanted “the pope made a mistake, our patience has run out.”

Can`t wait to see what happens when he comes... Stay tuned...

Rest of the story

Microsoft Citizenship Report 2006

From Steve Ballmer`s MS internal intro letter:

Did you know, for example, that we recycle 141 tons of material every month? That employees volunteered more than 76,000 hours last year? That we donated more than $2.5 billion to communities in the past 20 years?

The data and the human stories in the Citizenship Report show how our creativity and our spirit of innovation are making a difference – through our contributions to communities, our responsible business practices and our product innovations. For instance, Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 System include many enhancements that will make positive impacts economically and socially – on children’s online safety, data protection and privacy, accessibility for people with disabilities, energy conservation, interoperability and consumer choice. Our products also build on a strong platform that creates opportunities for innovation around the world, creating new jobs and driving local economic growth.

Last week, we took our citizenship commitment one step further through our endorsement of the United Nations Global Compact, an international public-private initiative to promote responsible corporate citizenship and help realize a more sustainable and inclusive global economy. We’re proud to stand behind the ten principles of this compact, which support universal social issues ranging from human rights to protection of the environment.

Amazing, isn`t it?

Yeah, I know - MS could and should do more... And I agree with that... But let`s forget about that for a moment and just think about how this world would be a much better place if all companies were thinking like this...

Click on a link below and find me on the picture on 5th page (that`s from MS Global CSR Summit 2006) :)

Microsoft (MSFT) Citizenship Report 2006

 

Will write more these days about my job in Microsoft and projects that we do in Middle East and Africa...

Now they use submarines!?

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - U.S. Coast Guards have seized a submarine carrying 3.5 tons of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica and arrested three Colombians on board, the Costa Rican Coast Guard said Sunday.

Link

sponsored post - reviewme.com

While browsing nomadlife.org, I read on Tom Gara`s blog about this website reviewme.com - which actually pays you to review websites!

As soon as you register and submit your blog/website, they evaluate it on a scale 1 to 5 and price of your review changes accordingly (my blog got 1 star, so I`m being paid $20 per review). And then they offer you your first job - to review their website (which I am doing now :)).

An interesting concept indeed... Don`t know how much do they charge companies to advertise through this system, but I do believe that it`s not too much and that many companies might consider this option... Why? Well simply because this is not about spreading the good word - it is about spreading the word in general... So if you want your product to get through the consumers and you don`t have enough funds to compete with big fishes in advertising campaigns, then you usually turn to other channels - word of mouth, direct marketing, reviewme.com...

And just the idea of paying you to review their own website, which is I guess a proof of concept strategy, is fantastic!

So, let`s see if this continues to work... So far - I like the idea... And I hope it continues to work... :)

Interesting search

Check http://www.msdewey.com/

It`s based on MS Live search...

Don`t ask her anything for a couple of minutes and see how pissed off she gets :)

Shines like gold!

First time on the World Championship after 28 years and they won a bronze medal!  

Bravo for telenor

It`s not the best CSR action I`ve seen, but it`s a job well done and the media attention around it should show corporate sector in Serbia that CSR is an investment, not pure philantrophy...

 

Telenor Hands Out Free Tickets to Belgrade High Schoolers

Belgrade, Nov. 14, 2006

Telenor handed out 2,000 tickets to Belgrade high-school students for a friendly football match between the national teams of Serbia and Norway, on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 8.15 p.m. Tickets are valid for the east section of the stadium.

The Secretariat for Education of the City of Belgrade supported the action and recommended it to the principals.

“Our support reflects our belief that the Telenor action is valuable for the promotion of sports among Serbia’s young people,” said Vladimir Todic, head of the Secretariat.

Telenor provided 43 buses to pick up the students outside their schools and take them to the stadium. One bus will collect the protégées of all four Belgrade homes for children without parents in front of Mosa Pijade Home, 19 Ustanicka Street.

Read full press release

Europe, decide at once or leave us alone!

First they tell us it`s not possible to join before 2014, then they tell us 2010 is fine, then they tell us they will slow down the process after accession of Bulgaria and Romania, then they tell us we`ll get in at 2009 if we let Kosovo to become independent, then they stop negotiations with us and finally this...

Grrrr, this really sucks...

And honestly, I wish they just leave us alone... I`m sick of Unions and stuff... Let Serbia be independent at once... Even if that means less wealth for us...
Just to finaly feel how is it to enjoy the benefits of what you do (instead of having to take care of other republics and keep feeding them)... To feel proud to be Serbian again (since this pride was heavily lost in last 50-60 years or was misinterpreted)...

Anyhow, the second news is that our economical reforms are quite good and that we are growing quickly... Not that we feel it that much because inflation is still quite high, but yeah, one can see impact of recent investments in Serbia... Belgrade is booming (was voted as SEE City of Future), Novi Sad is emerging as a big business center, Nis is still struggling but soon after the elections the improvement will be seen, Kragujevac is finally on a good way (after signing a strategic partnership between Zastava and Fiat), Indjija has become the best municipaity in the whole region etc...

 

First extradition, then candidacy in 2008

15 November 2006 | 13:02 | Source: Beta

BELGRADE -- The EU expects the next Serbian Government to extradite Ratko Mladić in a very timely manner.
If this is taken care of, Serbia will become a candidate-country for European Union membership in 2008, according to daily Blic.
Blic’s source adds that the EU will conditionally continue the discussions for signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement by the summer of 2007, if the new Serbian Government accepts the obligation of arresting Mladić with a definitive deadline for doing so.
The EU no longer believes in the Action Plan and is looking for a new date to be set, according to the daily. The source also says that Schengen visas could also be included in the package if all technical details are taken care of.
If this was to happen, Serbian citizens would be able to travel freely through the European Union without the need for visas, once Serbia becomes a candidate-country in 2008.

 

Serbia shows fastest growth

15 November 2006 | 08:48 | Source: B92

LONDON -- The EBRD stated that Serbia has shown the greatest amount of economic growth this year in Southeast Europe.

In the latest Transitional Report for Economic Trends in Southeast European countries, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development stated that Serbia had a 6.3 percent economic growth rate this year.
However, the region in total suffered a drop in economic productivity, from 6.9 to 4.7 percent, mainly because of Romania’s slumping economy.
In addition to Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria had good showings this year, with rates near six percent. The two countries will be joining the European Union in January.
The EBRD stated that industrial growth, mainly in the metal sector, a growth in exports, and larger domestic consumer demand linked to the expansion of crediting activity by banks, are responsible for the economic progress in the region.
Of all the former Communist countries, those of Southeast Europe have shown the most progress since last year, mainly because of the promise and perspective of joining the European Union many have received.
Still, the region is still very much behind Central Europe economically, a region which has show tremendous growth in recent years.

6 months

UFO...

From the website of Nick Pope, who used to run the UK UFO project 1991-1994. He started his website to "prove the truth", as he continued to do private researches...

Biography:

Nick Pope used to run the British Government's UFO project at the Ministry of Defence.  Initially sceptical, his research and investigation into the UFO phenomenon and access to formerly classified government files on the subject soon convinced him that the phenomenon raised important defence and national security issues, especially when the witnesses were military pilots or where UFOs were tracked on radar.  Nick also looked into other mysteries such as alien abductions, crop circles and ghosts.  He now continues his research in a private capacity and is recognised as a leading authority on UFOs and the unexplained.  He does extensive media work, lectures all around the world and has acted as consultant on numerous television documentaries. 

I wish he finds them... Perhaps UK & US (and NATO in general) wouldn`t have to search for enemies anymore... At least not on our little friendly planet...

Pronto condoms

One of those things you realize that they should be invented much before...

Awesome!

Quote:

The second video is a real prod at South Africa's Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang...she advocated the eating of beetroot and garlic as a cure for AIDS.

 

BBC Story

Official website

csr and religion?

Honestly, before I read this text, I never thought of the connection between faith and CSR, regardless of how logical it is... This text I found in the BSR.org`s "Leading Perspective", which is a quarterly publication. Very very interesting...

------------------

 

Many in the corporate world would rather not bring religion into the boardroom. Fair enough, especially if the purpose is to misuse religion for selfish or inappropriate purposes. But if advocates of CSR are interested in finding new allies in the quest to encourage businesses to become more ethical and attentive to their responsibilities to a wide range of stakeholders, they should think anew about the role of faith in the workplace.

There are many reasons that leaders interested in CSR might reconsider the role of faith and business. First, if we look carefully at the so-called “big five” — the five main religious traditions and their offshoots (the three Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and Hinduism and Buddhism) — we quickly discover that each of these traditions and their holy teachings are very interested in the material world and how one takes care of it. Advocates of CSR might be pleasantly surprised to find that, for example, classic Jewish and Christian teachings accentuate a responsible tending of the garden (i.e. environmentalism), the decent treatment of workers (i.e. human rights) and attention
to the nature and purpose of work (i.e. goals other than maximization of shareholder returns).

Second, many adherents of these great traditions consciously or subconsciously ground their ethics — their understanding of right and wrong, good and evil, and beauty and falsehood — and their sense of life purpose in the teachings of their faith. If much of CSR is about going beyond the customs and dynamics of the marketplace, might not faith be a helpful resource to help business leaders and organizations think afresh about their duties to the broader community in which they live and work?

Finally, faith brings a different kind of vision. When one accepts the existence of a transcendent being or higher power, the result is that believers see the world differently. One sees beyond the immediate problem or pressure to meet quarterly returns. One’s sense of time is much more long term or, as theologians would say, eschatological, thinking of the eternal value of one’s work and how one does it. God is interested in what we do and how we do it; God values us doing creative, excellent work. But surely God is also interested in more than just earnings per share.

Of course, intentionally engaging the resources of faith to help business consider its wider responsibilities also brings certain risks that too often seem to accompany religion. Among these questions: What about different views, teachings and historic friction between different traditions? Can these be overcome? Is there more common ground than we think, and if so, how can that be tapped into and used in a business setting? Can faith help organizations rethink such important moral questions facing business today, such as economic development, sustainability, corruption, education and treatment of employees?

As I continue to study and conduct research into these questions, I conclude that faith is indeed a viable and valuable force that ought to be recognized as a legitimate resource for business leaders to draw upon. And while not without its challenges, I believe there are appropriate and respectful ways to draw on one’s faith in a pluralistic marketplace. Authentic faith might be precisely the new dimension needed for tomorrow’s global corporate leaders to succeed responsibly.

David W. Miller, Ph.D. is a former senior executive in international finance and partner in an investment banking firm. He now heads the Yale Center for Faith & Culture and teaches Business Ethics at Yale Divinity School and Yale School of Management, and advises CEOs on questions of values, ethics and faith in the workplace.

Tomahawk screen

hahaha, check this out! One of the oldest and biggest newspapers of Serbia...

Text is about US getting ready to possibly attack North Korea... I didn`t even read it because when I saw the picture I thought it`s not worth... The picture is supposed to represent the control screen of Tomahawk rocket... Oh my god!!!!

Link - hope they change it soon :)

US presidential speeches tag cloud

Very interesting Tag Cloud made by Chirag Mehta - it`s made out of 360 documents (1776-2006). You can even use the slider to change timeframe... pretty cool because you can see how US politics changed over time...

Picture and links are found at Svakodnevnica blog which I reccomend to all Serbian speakers...

"Saddam Hussein sentenced to death"

cross-posted from nomadlife.org.

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2 days before the US elections, although the two are obviously unconnected and only a crazed conspiracy theorist would suggest otherwise.....

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi High Tribunal on Sunday sentenced a combative Saddam Hussein and two other defendants to death by hanging for a brutal crackdown in 1982 in the Shiite town of Dujail.....(link)

There is an automatic appeal process for the death sentence, and he still has other trials to face, so it will be a while before the sentence is carried out.....perhaps sometime in October 2008?

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My comment:

heh, in my country they start big projects before the elections... or raise salaries, start building new roads etc...
and we hate them for that... jeez, just realized how underdeveloped nation we are...

prince pavle`s archive finally to be opened!!

an intro for those who don`t know who Prince Pavle (Paul in english) Karadjordjevic is...

Born in 1893 as a member of the Royal Family of Karadjordjevic, he took over the regency in 1934, after the assasination of King Alexander in Marseille. Pavle ruled until March 1941 when something unimaginable happened - on March 25th in Vienna he signed a Tripartite Pact and joined Germany, Italy and Japan in Axis Powers!!!

Because of his decision, massive demonstrations happened in Belgrade and 2 days after his cousin Peter II Karadjordjevic overthrew his government and took over. 10 deys after, unsatsified Axis Powers, led by Germany, bombed Belgrade and invaded Yugoslavia.

Royal family left the country and Prince Paul was kept in house arrest by British in South Africa, until the end of the war. He died in Paris on September 11, 1976, without ever coming back to Yugoslavia.

Noone ever managed to unveil the secret of his decision to join the tripartite pact... However, by his last will his complete archive was given to Columbia University, but not to be opened until after 50 years of his death.

Anyways, some important historians pressured his only daughter, Jelisaveta (which is the only one with rights to break the 50 years veto) and she finally agreed to break it and gave them rights to open the archive.

So, microfilms are on their way to Belgrade and I`m looking forward to know the truth about what happened back then... And why he made a decision that simply destroyed all good  that his family did for our people in the history.. and made me hate them all...

Some say that he was forced to do it because British (his family was close to the UK at that time) betrayed him and he wanted to save the people... Some say that he was an evil man anyways and that he actually wanted to do it... Some say that he was simply stupid because he believed Germany that Yugoslavia will remain independent (in addition, he was strongly against communism) etc...

Well, I guess we`ll know really soon... As a big history lover, am not just looking forward... Am freaking excited!!

happiness

Part of an e-mail that I got through a list... Part of a chain letter, but a nice one, without promising you to become rich etc...

...just an inspiring text that reminds you about things...

I got it in Serbian and am translating it using all my english skills :)

 

 

 

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...
Old age is like a bank account. You gain from it what you invested. My advice is to invest lots of happiness in the bank of memories!

Thank you for your part in my bank of memories. I`m still investing!

Remember 5 simple rules for happiness:

1. Free your mind of hate.
2. Free your mind of concerns.
3. Live a simple life.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

I`m not forwarding this expecting "some miracle" tomorrow, nor to complete the "7 people goal". My aim is that each and every one of you realize this very second just how happy you are. If I achieved this, then I don`t have to wait for tomorrow... A miracle happened already...

Real happiness is in small things - we just have to reach them and put them in the right place.

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Starost je kao bankovni racun. Sa njega podizete ono sto ste tu ulozili. Moj savet vam je da ulozite mnogo srece u banku secanja!
Hvala vam za vas deo u banci secanja. Ja još uvek ulazem!!

Zapamtite pet jednostavnih pravila za srecu:
1. Oslobodite svoje srce mrznje.
2. Oslobodite svoj um od briga.
3. zivite jednostavno.
4. Pruzajte vise.
5. Ocekujte manje.
Ne prosledjujem vam ovo da bi mi se desilo "neko cudo" sutra, niti da bih ispunio cifru od 7 ljudi. Namera mi je da svako od vas, ove sekunde pomisli koliko je zaista sretan. Ako sam to uspeo, onda ne moram da cekam sutra... Desilo se cudo...
Sreca je u malim stvarima, treba samo da pruzimo ruku i postavimo ih na pravo mesto....

Future

My future will be decided very soon...

Not much in my hands anymore. Too many variations, too many players, too many possibilities for different ending...
Of course, I will continue to fight for the best solution to win, but some things I simply cannot influence...

If I only had the crystal ball...

In Belgrade

God, almost forgot how much I missed this city...

In about 18 hours I will see her... My lady...

Wonderful - World's Strongest Dad

From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

Wonderful - World's Strongest Dad

[

I love JAT Airways!

And how can I not?

I was supposed to travel Belgrade by bus, which is 14-17 hours trip... and that`s only because I thought that if I buy a plane ticket in Belgrade it will be much cheaper (because of all those student discounts, euro<26, isic etc)...
So anyways, I had to move the date and leave on Saturday instead of Thursday, which screwed up my bus plan, so I had to buy a flight ticket... And that`s where the coolest system comes in place...

Sunday: Checking prces online - 250 EUR;
Monday: I`m calling to reserve the ticket and the lady tells me it`s 230EUR and no student discounts whatsoever;
Tuesday: Calling to re-schedule and lady tells me that`s fine and the new price is 196 EUR;
Wednesday: Happy me going to the agency to buy the ticket, and the nice lady hands it, takes 200 EUR from my hand and returns 35 - new price again, now 165 EUR!!!

I will never understand how this worked out (since JAT is well known for never changing the prices and especially not lowering them :)), but I do hope this will continue...

Hand-made condoms!?!?!?

when you are coming from a small eastern european country, and especially from one that is not perceived so well in the world like Serbia is (so basically that little that people usually know about us is crap), then you are not surprised about different steretypes and prejudices people might have about you or your people.

- Some of them think that Serbs still live in communism (most of them don`t know that even when we were a communist country, we were in far better situation then other countries from the "eastern bloc");

- Some of them think that Serbia is still completely destroyed from bombing and that we still (!?) have occasional gunfights in Belgrade (I wonder whom did we try to shoot at in Belgrade - unless they think about WW2);

- Some of them think that we hate everything and everyone, especially muslims (a guy from the dorm where I live here in Istanbul actually asked me why I came to Turkey if we hate Muslims so much that we hunted them in Bosnia and Kosovo!!! - I laughed and told him to watch not to turn his back to me, or else... :));

- At the airport in San Francisco they checked me thoroughly and even used those little papers (which are used to determine trails of gun-powder in your luggage - usually by rubbing your suitcase) on my hands!!! - it`s ok if they think that we are a terrorist threat to the US, but do they really think we make bombs with bare hands? we have technology, dude! :D

anyways, I could go on listing all the stupid things I heard about my country and my people, but I guess you get the idea already... What this post is really about is what I heard last night from one german trainee here in Istanbul...

So, her friend was traveliing Eastern Europe and he told her about this weird thing Serbs have - old ladies in the streets are selling "hand-made, self-knitted" CONDOMS! And not only that he heard about it - he actually saw it! Well, WOW! I was trying whole last night to imagine how "hand-made, self-knitted" (whatever this means) condom looks like, and no luck... (can you imagine coming to an old lady in the street, taking off your underwear for measuring, then choosing the model from the catalogue etc. :D)

But good to know that my country is not only famous by Milosevic, Karadzic and Mladic, but condoms too... Durex, beware of the Serbian Grand-moms!

Libya to buy 1.2 million laptops for school kids

NEW YORK - The government of Libya has reached an agreement with an American nonprofit group to provide inexpensive laptop computers for all of the nation's 1.2 million schoolchildren, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

With the project scheduled to be completed by June 2008, Libya could become the first nation in which all school-age children are connected to the Internet through educational computers, Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the One Laptop per Child project, told the newspaper.

The computers will run Linux and have wireless access... We`ll finally be able to see if Linux solution is good enough to remove Microsoft from one whole market... I doubt, but let us see...

Full story here

Take the TiG survey

Guca Film - Trailer

From thisisthelife.com: "Forget Glastonbury, Reading, Burning Man and Cochella: the wildest music festival on earth is a cacophonic and crazy brass band festival that takes place every summer in the tiny Serbian town of Guca (pronounced “Gucha”) in the western region of Dragacevo. What began as a small competition for the Dragacevo Assembly of Trumpet Players back in 1961 now attracts nearly half a million people every year. Given Guca’s population is 3000 – it’s some party. For an entire week the sound of thousands of blaring trumpets rends the air, playing everything from traditional Serbian folk and gypsy music to songs by the likes of Goran Bregovic. Grilled meat washed down with potent plum brandy keeps you and the delirious crowd going, and don’t be surprised to see Bregovic or legendary filmmaker Emir Kusturica turn up with his band. " Also, a documentary about it has just been released. I found only this short teaser on google video, so go to www.gucafilm.com and click on Trailer to see the long and much better one.

Simpsons, Futurama etc.

No need to search for torrents or through Limewire etc... Just go to http://dailyepisodes.com and enjoy!

test

Test categories

New template

Still working on installing this new template with AJAX thingy, so bear with me...
Also, any comments and feedback are appreciated...

and yeah, pull the string and let me know if it works...

Politikin Zabavnik

Just found out that I can read online the best magazine ever... Magazine that suits anyone from 7 to 77... Unbelievably relaxing, yet educational paper...
It`s in Serbian, so no use for most of you, but I know that readers from ex-YU countries will know how to respect this info :)

http://www.politikin-zabavnik.co.yu

Click on Arhiva and enjoy!

10 weirdest monuments of the world

Melbourne, Australia



Manhattan, USA




Los Angeles, USA




Paris, France




Erevan, Armenia




Oxford, UK




Monaco




Oslo, Norway




Bratislava, Slovakia




Turin, Italy

WB World Development Report 2007

World Bank urges boost for young

Developing countries must invest in young people, promoting education and health and developing essential skills, a major World Bank report says.
The World Development Report says there are now a record 1.3 billion people aged 12-24 living around the world.

Those numbers could create problems in many nations if societies do not adapt, World Bank officials warn.

Although the number of young in primary education is rising, the report says some 130 million cannot read or write.

Young people are thought to make up about half the world's unemployed, the report says.

It also estimates that about 100 million new jobs need to be created in the Middle East and across North Africa before 2020 to cope with the numbers of young people seeking work.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5351524.stm

MC Blogging

MC of AIESEC in Serbia started blogging...
http://www.aiesec.org.yu/blog

Uhhhhhhhh

My friends sent me this pic today... My favourite pizza... I hate them... and I miss home...

Photos

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*Update: Apparently, the link was wrong :) Now it should be OK...
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Since flickr allows only 200 photos with free subscription and I`m not willing to pay any money to them (at least not yet :P), I created my own gallery with all my photos at http://www.ic2003.org/~nino/Photo.

In a couple of days I`ll add some interesting plug-ins onto it, like saving photos to your phone, comments, counters etc...

Have fun while admiring my looks (just don`t fall in love with me, for I`m taken already) :P

Google`s for profit philanthropy

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13 ? The ambitious founders of Google, the popular search engine company, have set up a philanthropy, giving it seed money of about $1 billion and a mandate to tackle poverty, disease and global warming.

But unlike most charities, this one will be for-profit, allowing it to fund start-up companies, form partnerships with venture capitalists and even lobby Congress. It will also pay taxes.

Full text here

Serbian Anthem - first time...

for those who didn`t know - Serbia recently changed its anthem from "Hej Sloveni" (which noone liked because it was introduced during communist regime, regardless of the beauty of the song and its meaning) to "Boze pravde" (God of Justice).
In last couple of years, all big events where our anthem was played were destroyed by people booing the anthem... This was the first time that everyone actually enjoyed completely...

First ever gold for SERBIA!

Historical moment...
Although 3rd gold in a row for our Waterpolo team, this is the first one for the Republic of Serbia.

As usual, Belgrade and other Serbian cities knew how to celebrate the success...

Working birthday...

damn... it`s my birthday and here I am, working at 00:22... what have I become? :)
worst thing is - I don`t mind... grrrr, hate myself sometimes...

The best man

Exactly one year ago I became the best man for the first time in my life. :)
It was Tanja`s and Jelenko`s wedding and it was a 3-day blast... Surely unforgetable, mostly because he is one of my best mates ever and this event is a milestone in my life and also because of the event itself (including being caught unprepared for the best man speech :) and singing/crying our favorite songs at 6am in already empty restaurant...

Will post some photos later...

Birthday

Happy birthday my dear... Hope we celebrate next one together in some nice place far away...

IC 2003

boris also wrote about it... check his blog.

International Congress 2003

Yeah, it`s not a mistake... I`m not writing about IC 2006, but IC 2003... exactly 3 years ago on this day IC 2003 started with a Global Village at Nikola Pasic square and then grand opening at Center Sava in Belgrade.
I remember each and every moment of that day... It was the dream coming true, and in a pretty good way too! We were praying for good weather for almost a year and not only that it didn`t rain, but it was the hottest August day in the history of Belgrade :).

generally, no IC is easy to organize, but this one was special... our team faced so many challenges that I still cannot believe we did it... let me just name a few - murder of our prime-minister Djindjic (supposed to be our main supporter) couple of months before the conference, initiating "red-alert" status in Serbia and slowing our progress; then one of main political parties offering us money and help if we join them (most of directors of biggest companies are involved with them); then people of @ in Serbia not believing that we can do it (this was the worst); then huge cash flow problems, alumnies not helping etc. Oh my god, were we challenged all the time or what... But the only thing that matters is that we believed... There were days when we analyzed the situation, realizing that we`re all alone in this (the 5 of us) and discussed if it`s worth or not... If it`s worth losing health and precious time (some of us actually quit our jobs so that we can be full time IC execs)... It was not easy indeed...
But yeah, it was worth! It was worth each and every second! I realized it when the global village started and I got onto the stage with a beautiful view in front of me - all delegates dancing @ dances and Belgrade people joining them creating the biggest amount of positive energy I ever felt... Then the grand opening in Center Sava with couple of thousands of people and our Minister of Finances, Mr. Djelic giving a fantastic opening speech. Then Beli had a CCP speech and invited the whole CC on the stage... I was in my shorts and t-shirt, still dirty from cleaning the GV place, so there was no time to change (and yeah, I was CCVP, supposed to be in a nice suit and mingling with important guests)... but just the feeling of standing at the big stage with the whole team, while thousands of people are giving you standing ovations... well... it just hits you... more then 2 years (we first got the idea of orgnizing IC2003 on the last night of eurolds 2001, when we were completely drunk) of waiting for the moment, going through bidding nightmare, then organizing problems etc... it simply hits you... you succeded... and you can`t stop tears...