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.

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

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?

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

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 :)

 

 

 

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

...
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.

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

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....