Fresh blast in Kosovo

This is my homecity... :(

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Fresh blast in Kosovo

26 February 2007 | 11:35 | Source: AP

PRIŠTINA -- Explosion damaged several vehicles belonging to OSCE on Monday in Peć, a police official said. No one was hurt.
The blast occurred around 3:30 a.m. and was caused by an explosive device - possibly a hand grenade - that shattered windows or caused other light damage to seven vehicles in the parking lot of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Investigators were not certain whether the OSCE was the target of the attack, which occurred in a residential area in the city of Peć, some 80 kilometers west of Kosovo's capital, Priština, said regional police spokesman Avni Gjevukaj.
Two other vehicles that did not belong to the organization were damaged in the blast. There was no immediate comment from the OSCE mission in Kosovo.
Tensions in Kosovo are running high amid negotiations between the ethnic Albanians and Serbs over the disputed province's status.
Three U.N. vehicles were bombed in Priština a week ago. In other recent violence, two people were killed in clashes between police and ethnic Albanians protesting the U.N. proposal on Kosovo's final status.

Red star - Partizan 2:4

Kosovar warns of war if self-rule is denied

By John Phillips
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 20, 2007

ROME -- Any attempt by the international community to deny Kosovo independence will set off "a new Balkan war," a senior Kosovar negotiator cautioned yesterday.
    Speaking as he prepared to take part in final talks between delegations from Kosovo and Serbia scheduled for today in Vienna, Austria, negotiator Ylber Hasa said Kosovars believe they already have made extensive compromises.

rest of the story at Washington Post

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I`m going home in a week... Hopefully not directly to war... :(

KLA active again!?

KLA claims responsibility for Priština blast

20 February 2007 | 09:59 -> 13:05 | Source: B92, FoNet, Beta, AP

PRIŠTINA -- Kosovo Liberation Army says it blew up three UN vehicles in Priština last night.

The scene of the explosion in Priština (FoNet)

The blast caused no injuries but raised tensions amid ongoing negotiations on Kosovo's future.
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) distributed a statement to the media by e-mail claiming to have set up the explosion. Kosovo Police Service is yet to determine the authenticity of the statement.
Kosovo Liberation Army , now a disbanded force that fought against Serb forces during the 1998-1999 conflict, said it had regrouped in order to "avenge the death of two protesters" during a recent demonstration in Priština, adding it would avenge "any future injustice" against its people.

more at b92.net.

Me tarzan, you monument!

I think I should create a label called "funny monuments in serbia" :)

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From The Times

February 17, 2007

Me Tarzan; you monument

BELGRADE A tiny Serbian hamlet on the border with Romania is planning to build a monument to Johnny Weissmuller, the late actor famed for his film role as Tarzan. Weissmuller, who won five Olympic swimming gold medals, was born in 1904 in the village of Medja, in the Banat region that straddles the two countries but which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Weissmuller, who became a Hollywood icon as Tarzan, died in 1984. (AFP)

World happiness

Comments?

Hillarious

modern morality

Slobodan Antonić writes in Politika (Serbian original here):

... My "favorite" is the argument that says, "This isn't evil; the sooner we realize it's actually appropriate, the better off we will be!" Because, you see, "that's not ours anyway," and "who has ever actually been there," and "only priests and romantics care" and "queues in front of foreign embassies are a much bigger problem" and "they are actually doing us a favor," etc.
But when a NGO elitist says these words, he is really talking about himself. His mouth says "that's not ours anyway," but his eyes are betraying his thoughts: "that's not mine, so I don't care." His mouth says "who has ever actually been there?" but his eyes are going "I have never been there, so why would I care?" His mouth says "only priests and romantics care," his eyes are saying "I hate priests anyway, one church more or less, all the same to me." While his mouth says "queues in front of foreign embassies are a much bigger problem," his eyes are saying "why should I have to wait in those queues because of that damn Kosovo?" He considers it one and the same to "be modern" and "think only of oneself and money," and is now trying to persuade the rest of us that we should also be "modern," so we would feel as good as he does.

The hypocrisy of NGO "modernists," says Antonić, is best tested by the following hypothetical scenario: would they be as willing to give up one of the parking spots reserved for their SUVs, as they are willing to cede Kosovo? Ah, well, that's different, you see...
This is quotable enough, but Antonić offers another great passage in the same article:

Someone once compared the seizure of Kosovo with rape. The rapists are big and strong, the poor girl could get a beating if she resists too much, and maybe it is really better for her to give in. But for crying out loud, how can anyone say on top of that, "Oh be smart! Maybe they are rapists, but they are rich, powerful, you can't risk ruining your future relations with the, so don't dare complain. Think of your future, think of becoming a part of their rich and beautiful society tomorrow. Cry a little, then come back and smile as if nothing happened."
Can it really be like that? As if nothing had happened? Are you serious about the smiling? What if the boys get a desire to have a little bit of fun again? And what could one possibly say about those who jeer at the unfortunate woman, "Come on, sister, don't be conservative, the boys are doing you a favor, you need to be modern, enjoy the sex, and especially when the Big Boss goes on top of you. Then you have to be particularly enthusiastic, groan and sigh and scream - Yes! Yes! More!"
Yes, Big Boss likes to be the ladies' man. But dear Serbia, you don't have to put on an act for him. Cry freely. And most importantly, remember them all, both those who took their turns with you and those who jeered and cheered. Because one day...

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link via http://grayfalcon.blogspot.com

Serbian village venerates Rocky

After the statue of Brus-Li in Mostar, another fighter for justice will get the deserved statue in Balkans :D

gotta love the spirit...

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6353659.stm

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Sylvester Stallone was made famous for playing Rocky Balboa

A tiny village in Serbia says it will construct a statue of the film character Rocky to ward off decades of bad luck.

An official from Zitiste, about 55k (33 miles) north of Belgrade, said the statue of Rocky was needed to give the village a more positive image.

Zitiste has suffered serious damage from floods and landslides, earning it a reputation for being jinxed.

Many of its residents have left the village in search of a better future.

The idea came from Bojan Marceta, a village resident, when he saw the latest Rocky film "Rocky Balboa".

"I felt as if Rocky has come from our village, he had to fight to win his place in society," he told B92 radio.

Zoran Babic of the local council said he and other officials agreed with the plan.

"This is the chance to give a better, more positive image to Zitiste," he said.

Mr Babic said villagers had already been in touch with officials in the US city of Philadelphia, where a Rocky Balboa monument has already been erected.

"We have also contacted a sculptor who has designed the statue, asking him whether he would help us," he told AFP news agency.

The film "Rocky", a story of a boxer who gets the chance to fight the reigning champ, won three Oscars for best picture, best director and best film editing.

Its star, Sylvester Stallone, has recently released "Rocky Balboa", in which the character comes out of retirement to fight once again.

Take it easy dude... we don`t want WW3...

Putin addressed a Security Forum in Munich accusing the US of trying to create a unipolar world... He was criticizing US for this or that before too, but never this strong... Is he negotiating a new "here`s more money to shut your mouth for a couple of years" deal or is he introducing the new Russia to the world?

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U.S. fuelling arms race: Putin

Vladimir Radyuhin

Russian President condemns indiscriminate use of force by America

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has ripped to pieces the concept of a unipolar world and blasted the United States for indiscriminate use of force, which provoked other countries to seek nuclear weapons.

Addressing a security forum in Munich, Germany, the Russian leader said, "The unipolar model of the world is not only unacceptable, but also unrealisable because in today's world, nobody has enough political or economic resources to enforce it".

Mr. Putin pointed out that the combined Gross Domestic Products of India and China based on purchasing power parity is already bigger than that of the U.S., while the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries have a larger GDP than the European Union. "There is no doubt that in the foreseeable future, the economic potential of these new centres of power will inevitably get converted into political clout and will strengthen multipolarity."

Attempts to impose the unipolar model by force have only generated more conflicts and more deaths.

String of conflicts

"We are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations, which plunges the world into a string of conflicts," Mr. Putin told a gathering of 250 top officials and political leaders from around the world, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

"One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders and is imposing its legal system on other states," Mr. Putin said. "This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure anymore because nobody feels protected by international law. This policy fuels the arms race... encourages countries to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

"They keep teaching Russia democracy, but don't want to learn it themselves. Why do they resort to bombings and shellings all the time? Could it be because of a lack of political culture, respect for democracy and law?"

Recalling NATO promises to the former Soviet Union not to deploy military forces in Eastern Europe, Mr. Putin asked: "Where are your promises? Why is it necessary to move the NATO military infrastructure to Russian borders? What has that to do with combatting global threats?

"The unipolar world is destructive, not only for those who live in it, but also for its master, because it destroys him from within as it has nothing to do with democracy".

Kusturica awarded with France’s Order of the Knight of Arts and Literature of the first degree

Serbia’s Knight

As of Thursday, February 8, Serbia has another Knight, a highly esteemed movie director Emir Kusturica. French Minister of Culture Rennaud Donnadieu de Vabres has awarded world renowned Serbian director with France’s Order of the Knight of Arts and Literature of the first degree — Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

This is the highest French recognition for achievements in arts and culture, honoring those who have “significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance.” The medal was given to Kusturica as an acknowledgement of his professional achievements in France.

Minister De Vabres said that with this recognition France wanted to express its affection and admiration to Kusturica and appreciation of his entire artistic opus that, along with movies, includes his music band Zabranjeno pusenje, documentary films and the magnificent ethno village he has built in Serbia.

Kusturica is a great artist who carries within all that Europe represents today — positive values, drama, tragedy. He is the artist of exquisite power and ingenious mind, the French Minister of Culture pointed out.

Before Kusturica, Serbian artist Vladimir Velickovic and writer Danilo Kis were also recipients of this decoration.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of culture and foreign ministries of France and Serbia as well as Serbian Ambassador to France Predrag Simic and Director of the Serbian Cultural Centre in Paris Zivadin Mitrovic.

Kusturica and Coppola Only

Born in Sarajevo, capital of former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1954, Emir Kusturica graduated from the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1978. Extravagantly brilliant, Kusturica almost immediately became one of the most creative cinema directors during the 1980s and 1990s, and the only director other than Francis Ford Coppola to have won the Cannes Palme d’Or twice.

Among his numerous awards is also the Best Director award at Cannes Film Festival in 1989 for Time of Gypsies, Golden Lion in Venice Film Festival in 1981 for his first movie Do You Remember Dolly Bell?, a Silver Bear at Berlin Film Festival in 1993 for Arizona Dream, and a Best European Union Film at César Awards in 2005 for Life is a Miracle.

From Emir to Nemanja

Although born of nominally Muslim parents, on Đurđevdan (St. George’s Day) 2005 Emir decided to correct the historical anomaly and return to his roots and the faith of his ancestors by being baptized into the Serbian Orthodox Church under the christened Serbian name of Nemanja, in Dormition Monastery near Herceg Novi.

While for Kusturica this represented an act of reclaiming his true origins and reaffirming his identity, among his critics and opponents it was equated with the final betrayal. Bosnian Croat Mile Stojic commented: “... it shall be written that Kusta was the first Orthodox Christian in modern history whose father’s name was Murat.”

Emir responded:

“My father was an atheist and he always described himself as a Serb. OK, maybe we were Muslim for 250 years, but we were Orthodox before that and deep down we were always Serbs, religion cannot change that. We only became Muslims to survive the Turks.”

Ethno village Serbian most imaginative director has built
on Tara Mountain, in the heart of Serbia.

From Paris and New York to Serbia’s Mecavnik

While filming a movie Life is a Miracle in Serbia, Emir noticed the beauty of the Mecavnik hill three thousand feet up on Tara Mountain, and decided to build a village there. Fiachra Gibbons of Guardian describes the visit to this unique place:

What started as a couple of salvaged traditional wooden houses 18 months ago, on a bluff above the spectacularly beautiful Mokra Gora valley in western Serbia, has mushroomed into a modern take on the great monastery-universities of the middle ages. The village is equipped with a library, Serbia’s most advanced cinema and, most incongruously of all, an underground basketball arena — a tribute to the three world championships won by the former Yugoslavia. For Küstendorf, as he calls the place, is also a hymn to Serbian cultural achievement and traditional living [...]

The focal point of Küstendorf, which is every bit as rustic, poetic and miraculous as his films, is Serbian Orthodox church dedicated to the first Serbian Archbishop and the father of Serbian nation, St. Sava. The church Kusturica built in the center of his village has been consecrated on St. Archangel’s Day in 2003 and dedicated to the great Serbian saint in January 2004, by the Bishop of Zica of Serbian Uzice Diocese, His Grace Hrizostom.

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from: http://byzantinesacredart.com/blog/2007/02/kusturica-knight.html

Russia fears chain reaction

from www.b92.net/eng

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Russia fears chain reaction

9 February 2007 | 11:59 | Source: AP

SEVILLE -- Granting independence to Kosovo could inspire other breakaway regions in Europe and former Soviet Union, Sergei Ivanov warns today.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov spoke before holding planned talks with his NATO counterparts, who have backed a plan drawn up by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari proposing internationally supervised statehood for the separatist Serbian province.
Ivanov issued a strong warning Friday that  Kosovo independence could spark 'chain reaction' among separatist regions. Russia has long expressed reservations about Kosovo's separatist aspirations, and Ivanov's comments underscored differences between Russia and the West. The issue of Kosovo's status will be discussed next month at the U.N. Security Council.
"If we imagine a situation where Kosovo achieves independence, then other people, people living in regions that are not recognized, will ask us: "are we not as good as them?" Ivanov told reporters.
"This concerns obviously the post-Soviet space, but also regions in Europe," he said. "This can create a chain reaction ... we must be careful not to open Pandora's box", Ivanov said.
Ivanov spoke after a meeting with German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, who restated Western support for Ahtisaari's recommendations and said NATO and Russia should work together to persuade the Serbs and Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority to "accept this proposal in the interest of a peaceful and stable development."
Jung also rejected Serb requests for a delay in talks on the plan. "I would wish that the Security Council can vote on this in March, and vote positively," he said.
Moscow has often warned that Kosovo's status will serve as precedent for other nations with similar cases, including several breakaway provinces in the ex-Soviet Union. The Kremlin has hinted that, were Kosovo to gain independence, two pro-Russian rebel regions in Georgia and a breakaway province in Moldova, which enjoy Moscow's tacit support, could follow suit.
Serbian officials also have warned that an independent Kosovo could also serve as a precedent for independence movements elsewhere, notably in Spain's Basque Country or Catalonia.

help refugee children

cross-posted from www.harjeetkumar.com.

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Microsoft has recently launched its “Click for the Cause” initiative, in which Internet searches performed at http://click4thecause.live.com,
using Microsoft’s Live Search, result in a financial donation to ninemillion.org, a UN Refugee agency-led public and private sector partnership which benefits the 9.3 million refugee children in the world.
The campaign aligns Microsoft’s core competencies with the goal to help provide education programs for refugee youths and will run throughout March 2007.

Given below are some simple steps to make this your default search engine on Internet Explorer 7.

1. Open Internet Explorer and click on the drop down menu next to the search icon and click on “Find more providers”

   

2. In the create your own section copy and paste this link http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=TEST&mkt=en-gb&FORM=MOHA5L

3. Specify a name for the search engine and click install.

   

4. To make this your default engine again click on the drop down menu next to the search icon, click change default and choose your new search engine.
5. Start searching and helping NineMillion.org at the same time!

GROBARI (Partizan - Unicaja)

I missed it again :(

Last first round match of Euroleague. Despite the loss in overtime, Partizan went through the Top 16... Something we`ve been waiting for for 9 years...
An absolute record of 8100 fans was registered at this match against Unicaja (7100 seats in the arena). For Top 16 matches, Partizan will most likely move to Belgrade Arena (23000 seats)... Watch this video and imagine 3x more fans...

Ana Ivanovic def. Maria Sharapova in Tokyo, Japan

My favorite tennis player is in finals of Tier 1 tournament again! and again she will meet in finals with Martina Hingis... Last time (in Montreal) Ana won... Let`s hope she wins again...
Video is the end of first set with Maria Sharapova...

Ahtisaari: independence for Kosovo

from http://belgrade.org.yu/blog

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...we got Marti Ahtisaari in Belgrade today. Ahtisaari decided to come despite Koshtunica pretended he wasn’t there luckily, Boris Tadic was home so he opened the door and let the Finnish guy do his thing.

So, after his press conference in Media centre, everything is clear.

Apparently, the only things Kosovo will get are: justice department not controlled by outside forces**, their own police, an army free from external*** control and constraint, sovereign constitution, autonomous border control, Serbia’s property will become Kosovo property, they will choose their own coat of arms, national anthem, flag and will get the right to apply for membership in all international organizations without having to ask Serbia first.

Whew, and here i was, thinking they were going to get independence. Thanks to Sloba and Radicals some years ago and now Koshtunica, that will not happen. As Borat would say: Great success!

*oh, and please spread the news: we’re online again!

**as in: Serbia

***as in: Serbian

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from B92.net

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Tadić: Independence unacceptable

2 February 2007 | 14:51 -> 18:36 | Source: B92, FoNet, Beta

BELGRADE -- “I told Ahtisaari that Serbia and I, as its president, will never accept Kosovo’s independence”, president Tadić said.

President Boris Tadić

“Imposed independence for Kosovo would contravene with the basic principles of international law and would represent a very dangerous political and legal precedent”, the Serbian president said in his address.
Boris Tadić added that the Kosovo status proposal submitted by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari does not specifically mention the word independence, but that it also leaves out the terms sovereignty and integrity, when it comes to Serbia’s jurisdiction over the province.
The president said that the proposal also dealt with a number of issues beside Kosovo’s status, such as decentralization, protection of the Serb Orthodox Church and its heritage in Kosovo, and international civilian and military presence there.
Tadić said he will ask all the parliamentary parties’ leaders to attend a meeting where he will present Ahtisaari’s blueprint.
Drašković: Ahtisaari overstepped mandate
Serbia’s outgoing foreign policy chief Vuk Drašković reacted to Ahtisaari’s proposal presented in Belgrade today by saying that the UN special envoy has “overstepped the mandate given to him by the UN secretary-general”.
“He turned the Kosovo status negotiations into a change of Serbia’s status, an internationally recognized state”.
The foreign ministry press release states that Serbia will point to this it its communication with the Contact Group, the UN Security Council, the EU and NATO.
Analyst: No mention of Kosovo army - good news
Military analyst Zoran Dragišić believes lack of any mention of Kosovo’s army or armed forces in Ahtisaari’s proposal is a positive development, as those represent “elements of statehood”.
“’Lightly armed forces’ are mentioned, but that refers to a kind of gendarmerie rather than an army, set to operate within the police force. That would not be unacceptable since even municipalities have police, which is not an element of statehood”, Dragišić says.
He added that Annex VIII of the proposal needed to be studied carefully, as, in his words, “the devil is often in the details”.
Dragišić thinks the existence of a Kosovo intelligence agency would be unacceptable for Serbia, since such agencies work as part of a country’s foreign policy, something a province cannot exercise.

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read more:

International Reactions

Ahtisaari: UN Security Council to decide status

Halimi: Kosovo will reflect on south of Serbia

 

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