16 July 2008

Manifesto: What happened to Serbia?

(my last of the sort to be found within these pages)
(the text is yet to be fully proofread)

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing Serbia that it was doing better than other CEE countries and thus not needing reforms for its own good


Before I go to the crux of this manifesto I feel a need to first clear some of its background. Many people in Serbia over the past 20 years were either members, sympathizers, or believers that DS is a chief if not the party to take Serbia into the 21 century and achieving the necessary modernization through thorough reforms.

Some of us were in one or another category since 1991. But only until few years back. Now it seems that the pro-reform forces in Serbia need to reinvent themselves in order to achieve any tangible edge and capacity to do whats necessary.

Over the 1990s the wars of disintegration of the Titoist Yugoslavia clouded the Serbian political sky as well as any clear judgment regarding the roles of the changing political parties' spectrum in Serbia. The changes of October 2000 rescued DS (and DSS and some others) from losing the reformist role that many imposed on them since the 1989. After the assassination of PM Djindjic and fallen reformists’ hopes, an election of Tadic as the next DS party chief and later as the President of the country did the similar trick and gave to many people new hope.

Unfortunately the final blow came when Tadic performed a coup de etat within DS from his Ministry of Defense office surrounded by his close collaborators at the same time purging the party of the not trusted cadre. Some time later, he was elected President of the country, assisted by by the foreign aid sponsored and executed GO TO (“go to vote”) completely partisan campaign (still within the ream of democratic proces though). His Fall 2004 trip to Kosovo started to reveal and de-mask his politics by him during that trip giving attribute “Serbian” to creaks, trees, and hills across Kosovo, much alike Milosevic some 15 years earlier. Finally, Tadic and DS aligning with SRS and SPS over the issue of creating most shameful constitution in the modern European history (with cheated ballot process supported by US sponsored CESID), most definitely marked in any healthy political mind a closure of gathering a sufficient set of evidence that Tadic and his DS is not up to the mandate than many are entrusting in their hands. The mandate of leading the true reforms in this country.

Subsequent episodes of him becoming the biggest nationalist leader and the protector of Kosovo from Kosovars themselves as well as the most recent marriage with never reformed and still Milosevic praising-SPS, merely represents what was to be expected. One could see two phases in development of Tadic political posture evolved, the first one until the new Constitution during which Tadic was seating at the fence, and the second after and during which he removed his gloves and went into a value-less politics (colored by nationalism) free of real reform substance. Just alike Milosevic's. Killing whatever there was within DS in terms of democratic internal party process and decision making may prove in the long run as one of the most hidden political crimes of Boris Tadic. I’ll stop here short from discussing some of SRS's or SPS' accusations of DS about the mafia background of Tadic and some DS members, or those of General Grahovac that Tadic is a mere extended hand of the secret services and never truly (unlike in other neighboring countries) reformed security and defense sector in Serbia. So, this is where I am coming from.

Until recently many thought that LDP represents precisely the line this article is about to bore you with here. But something changed this year, either they ran out of money and hope and decided to give in and sell their backsides to DS, or they are simply more sensible, honest, and intelligent than most of those who took LDP away from DS decadent politics. How is it possible that LDP is ready to sacrifice its authentic politics to those of DS that adopted the entire DSS and some of SRS platforms, that went into etatist and collectivist waters charted in the 19th century and leaving behind its focus on bettering individual life and achieving modernity through serious reforms while at the same time breaking with the immediate past of Serbia littered with destruction and agony.

The above is a view and the background for this manifesto while the trigger for this somewhat inherently naïve manifesto was my surprising conclusion that there are more and more people these days (summer 2008) in Serbia that are stating and/or supporting the new DS+SPS+LDP chant: "Parties and ideologies are not important, people and (work and issues) promises are.”

This represents not only an obvious attempt to revolutionary change contemporary political thought and good governance practices, but also an expression of naked truth and a statement of the obvious: Whatever existing Serbian reform and democratization efforts have been suspended with this new thought, in favor for something yet to be defined and find solution for.

It seems that there is a need to agree about who devastating the situation is, clearly define the set of problems, and only then create vision and a set of solutions for moving forward the right direction. Hence, saying that the absence of the obvious alternative justifies the current situation represents merely a defeatist approach to the entire problem and will perpetuate our agony with DS and other Serbia pseudo reforms.

One could start a manifesto about present day Serbia with trying to summarize its reality, in fact, in Serbia you’ll presently find the following:

=People vote for parties not for their direct representatives as in many other democracies
=Hence nobody feels accountable to people between the votes and they blindly obey their parties
=Parties are authoritarian-like in their organization and are fully commanded by their leaders
=Parties arbitrarily choose their MPs and make them legally bound (unheard of elsewhere)
=MPs have no voting/political freedom
=Parliament has no oversight of executive function
=Parliament makes no law but merely is approving them by the parties commands
=For years Parliament is not passing such very important laws (land ownership, family, trafic, waste,etc.)
=At this pace of legislation Serbia will not only not ever enter the EU but lose the SAA associated status and trade benefits
=President of the country is the biggest party leader at the same time
=President chooses MP and appoints most of the government
=President also appoints most of the top judges
=Judiciary nor parliament has independent budget not supreme control over their portfolios
=Judiciary is idle,corrupted and expensive, judges dance as parties sing, while the Serbian judiciary embodies all Kafka was writing some 100 years ago

Therefore: President and sometimes few other parties’ leaders command the entire government (legislative/executive/judiciary)
Consensual and value based decision making, policy process, minority opinion, and other procedural mechanism are unheard of in Serbia which functions as 19 th century limited parliamentary democracy

=Media has no corrective/oversight impact to the workings of the government
=President directly/indirectly commands over the majority of most important electronic media
Print media is not read widely
=Civil sector dramatically weakened while many of its players were bought by the government and neutralized
=Foreign democratization pressure weakened in favor of stability due to the continuous use of SRS as chief but false foe

=Economy in Serbia is largely note privatized
=Those privatized to the foreign companies are solvent and major exporters
=Those none transparently and for-nothing privatized to local gang lords fetched no revenue
=These tycoons became shadow government makers and new Serbian economic elites
=The same tycoons pay back to the parties and leaders without any respect of the law of financing political parties public sees nothing, money goes left and right completely unregulated
=All privation revenues were spend for the regular expenses rather than invested
=Serbian budget is commanded by the parties is not transparent and was not accounted for for past seven years
=Serbian financial system has no modern budgeting systems of planning, monitoring and accountability since parties do not seek these
=The percentage of the Serbian state economy within the GDP is absolutely amazingly high and tailors parties cadre need for employment and economic gain
=Thus no decentralization in Serbia as most of to be shared by the elites economic resources are in Belgrade and Novi Sad
=And without decentralization and different voting system empowered people across of Serbia lack agents necessary for change of their miserable lives
=The miserable side of this life is kept largely unknown to people by Serbian media and the government so only random worldwide stats charts show this.

The current economic policies in Serbia are employed by the interest of well paying importers' lobby that thrives in Serbia. By artificially keeping Dinar strong the government is killing the exports and making wealthy their importing friends and sponsors. The value of Dinar is kept constant for several years now while the aggregate Euro zone inflation is at more 15% and home one for at least 30%. While they, the few, are becoming reach the state is impoverished by drawing expensive international credits and privatization money in order to pay for these imports. This finite economy has to collapse once the crocks completely drain the available resources at the expense of all taxpayers in Serbia and many generations to come.

These are only some basic normative, procedural, and economic points for discussion. The absence in Serbia of modern day values achieved by developed world such as women and children rights, minorities rights, environmental or community values, patient rights, the way we threat death and life, are not even mentioned here. Let alone rising the question how and if Serbians have faced and evaluated the results of its deeds during the recent past.

Regarding these values and progress about pushing these forward Serbian is arguably still places in the early 20 th century if nor in 19 th. Etatism and collectivism are the axioms and anachronic national building and xenophobia the poles of the present day Serbian national psychic. This 20 years old disoriented nightmare during which the Serbian national body was unsuccessfully searching for the way forward has been re-accelerated by DS and its politics of cohabitation and compromise.

To cover its misdeeds and lack of vision that would correspond to the goals of creating out of Serbia an open society characterized by the modern libertarian's values, DS-led elites have invented a new chant and dogma that merely rants about the reforms and insists on the past greater Serbian nationalist goals, Kosovo being in its center.

Modernity is a long distance away from present day Serbia, even larger problem is that the current elites are not about to merely occupy the right path. They turned at some points disoriented and at other points autistic to the real needs of Serbian and neighboring peoples alike.

Their political impotence to come up with an efficient and viable vision and strategy fitting to the Serbian reform challenges, silently for many external observers, imploded into continuation of the Milosevic's politics that followed the process of Titoist Yugoslavia's disintegration.

They cunningly hid their economic (privatization) rampage and feudal division of rent yielding economic opportunities by politically (again like in 1990's) hijacking national public agenda and thus monopolizing lives of ordinary people. This has been done by controlling media and purposefully hate mongering and inflaming the popular sentiments in an attempt to turn it away from the real problems of unemployment and hardship of life (especially for minorities and those not economically gravitational towards the gigantic state apparatus) in present day Serbia. As many times before worn out topics of national question replaces the real modern issues.

In the mean time, young and educated and not integrated in the kleptocratic and clientage party system, that was perpetuated for past 20 years in Serbia, will seek their fortunes elsewhere; Serbia will be left with its careerist and values-free elites, often product of the negative selection; Pensioners will stay without those needed to earn their pensions; While the semi literate nation will be happy the way it is living: in absence of the modern day society goods such as decent and affluent life.

To make something clear, it is very obvious that the Western world helped Serbia tremendously. After all, since 1915 when US helped Serbia not to literally starve, the West was the best friends and benefactors to Serbia. Titoist Yugoslavia survived comfortably the way it did in spite of the poor economic performance precisely due to the US cheap credits. The same way, over the past 8 years the Western world extended credits to Serbia thus making the "carrot" bing always more plentiful than the length of the "stick".

Besides the finance and initial investments the West extended many other supports were plentiful, while the diplomatic efforts and technical support (through USAID, Norwegians, CIDA, SIDA, SIPPO, SDC, DFID, GTZ, ADA and others) was simply gigantic (see Thomas Charoters’ The Weakest Chain).

Therefore, one can say that so much was invested in DS and Tadic and yet it seems that the cause of pushing vigorously for economic reforms and opening and democratization of societies (yes, plural) in Serbia was betrayed at worse and failed at best.

As it was not enough that soviet stile bureaucracy installed before 1948, as well as post-1910s Serbian apartheid-ism in Kosovo, still shows resilience in face of the lukewarm reform some 60 years later, Serbian political elites including of so called reformist DS still flock to Moscow for opinion about major state and political decisions. Many accuse US of the exactly same crime, negative influence to Serbian society and politics, but I would say they at least pay for it while Moscow is asking for monetary compensations through buying Serbian Oil Industry and other visible and note so visible to Serbian public economic and etatist wheelings and dealings.

In fact the Russian influence to Serbia has moved from bad to worse. It was difficult to like forcefully thrown at Serbian pupils all the Soviet/Russian stuff that has been thrown. In most general terms, many people grew up in Serbia disliking the way Moscow influence (-ed) Serbian society, culture and politics, and think that they were/are the worse thing ever happened to Serbia in terms of the unavoidable foreign influence by much bigger countries and cultures. Turkish and German influence by contrast I view as brief and terrific (obviously apart for the holocaust and other atrocities and losses).

The problem is that, believe it or not, the Soviet-designed ways are still all around as, from the army and secret services, to the militant health system and all present partism and clientige a la Putin. Actually, most of the present day Russian exports to Serbia sucks. Somehow only products of the darker Russia comes this way since these unfortunately have buried most of the hopes for building open society in Russia itself.

It is actually most amazing how Titoist Yugoslavia was not part of the so called Soviet Bloc (Romania and Albania were neither, in fact) and yet it is among the last ones to still dramatically suffer because of the soviet social-political architecture installed in the Titoist Yugoslavia before he renegaded from Staljin.

This is somewhat ironic too, Yugoslavs allegedly lived much better than any East Europeans and yet they are (still in 2008) fighting their way through the fog of Soviet styled problems. Socio-political elites in Visegrad countries (PL,CR,SL,and HU) somehow managed to create during the 1980s a post-soviet vision for their societies on the basis of opening their societies, reforming the economies, and ripping the state wide open in search for the mall functions that obstruct the implementation of the ideas of free society and competitive economy.

This kind of vision always lacked in Serbia. Their elites never had the strength nor capacity to come up with it. Berlin Wall never fall in Serbia because we were convinced that it never existed and yet it did. As said in one of my favorite movies "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist". Serbia's relation to the reform was pretty much the same. They convinced themselves that they are better than other East Europeans thus eventually ending up to be the worst of all.

The past 20 years of Serbia is the history of the fight for nationalistic steering wheel that emerged from decadent Serbian intelligentsia that did nothing but lamenting over the dead Titoist Yugosoavia and not much else. DS is as much part of this as any other party with or without their butcher representatives in Bosnia and Croatia during the 1990s. While late Djinjic had some reformist vision his successor Tadic has none. Serbia will never become a modern European nation under his tighter and tighter authoritarian rule.

Bottom line, Serbia led by the so called pro-reform elites led by DS and President Boris Tadic is economically rapping blind and politically cheating Serbia and people in it, hence making them eat the seat they are all seating at, without any meaningful accountability nor shown responsibility from governing offices. The falsely hopeful situation of chanting the lies while doing nothing good will be possible and will unfortunately last as long as the cheap international credits and privatization revenues continue to come in.

But once these stop all will collapse or even worse (and more likely) Serbia will be left at the margins of international integrations left with elites not wishing to join EU as by then the joining will yield minimal gain and subventions.

Some people will strongly disagree with the above lines since they after all will not understand where all these criticism is coming from. Others will disagree because they are the part of the described set up, while some other readers will perceive the article as an expression of the author's jealousy for not being the part of the described elites.

The rest will disagree with this article because they believe in the new meaning of President od Serbia and DS Boris Tadic’s (The Putin of Serbia) compromise and appeasement, since most of them think that there is no other way forward. This piece is addressing this group only and invites them for a dialog towards moving away from the “Seselj's SRS the foe” dogma and construction of real (parties dictatorship-free) solutions necessary for the real progress of this, identity-less, collapsing, and in decadence infected country.

Serbian "trivia" (6): did you know that...?


…each year 10.000 empty places remain in Serbian secondary schools

…existing 15 adult schools in Serbia would need 150 years to provide basic education to all those illiterate and semiliterate in Serbia

…at end of 16th century Belgrade was home to 273 mosques, most were destroyed during the Austrian rule between 1717 and 1739

10 July 2008

Macedonian Ruby: The Pink Beauty

Ruby is a pink to blood red gemstone, a variety of aluminum oxide. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Ruby (Rubin in Serbian, Macedonian and some other languages) considered one of the four precious stones, is second only to diamond. Rubies have a hardness of 9.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Among the natural gems only diamond is harder, with a Mohs 10.0 by definition. Value of rubies are primarily determined by color clarity: similar to diamonds, a clear stone will command a premium, but a ruby without any needle-like inclusions will indicate the stone has been treated one way or another.


Photo: a Macedonian Ruby cut by Skopje's Deco, and craftfully placed in magnificent filigree handcrafted by BK of Bip-Art
(photo courtesy of Bip-Art Skopje)

In the major works of Indian literature, a rich store of knowledge about gemstones has been handed down over a period of more than two thousand years. The term 'corundum', which we use today, is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kuruvinda'. The Sanskrit word for ruby is 'ratnaraj', which means something like 'king of the gemstones'. And it was a royal welcome indeed which used to be prepared for it. Whenever a particularly beautiful ruby crystal was found, the ruler sent high dignitaries out to meet the precious gemstone and welcome it in appropriate style.

Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum, one of the hardest minerals on Earth, only red corundum is entitled to be called ruby, all other colors being classified as sapphires. So it is no wonder that rubies with hardly any inclusions are so valuable that in good colors and larger sizes they achieve top prices at auctions, surpassing even those paid for diamonds in the same category. Ruby is the birthstone associated with July. Thus perfectly suitable as a present to people born in July. The color one spontaneously associate with love and vivacity, passion and love. The king of the gemstones, in the fascinating world of gemstones, the ruby is the undisputed ruler. Ruby is so fit to be a gift for lovers of pink color.

For thousands of years, the ruby has been considered one of the most valuable gemstones on Earth. It has everything a precious stone should have: magnificent color, excellent hardness and outstanding brilliance. In addition to that, it is an extremely rare gemstone. For centuries the South East Asia and India were regarded as the ruby's classical country of origin.

And yet a mine near Prilep in Macedonia yielded some nice pieces too, of which most beautifull one thankfully reached us.

Two magical elements are associated with the symbolism of this ruby's colour: fire and blood, implying warmth and life. So ruby-red is not just any old colour, no, it is absolutely undiluted, hot, passionate, powerful color. Like no other gemstone, the ruby is the perfect way to express powerful feelings. Instead of symbolising a calm, controlled affection, a ring set with a precious ruby bears witness to that passionate, unbridled love that people can feel for each other.

Photo: courtesy of Bip-Art Skopje

The color of this ruby is really most important feature. Its transparency is only of secondary importance. So inclusions do not impair the quality of a ruby unless they decrease the transparency of the stone or are located right in the center of its table. On the contrary: inclusions within a ruby could be said to be its 'fingerprint', a statement of its individuality and, at the same time, proof of its genuineness and natural origin. The cut is essential: only a perfect cut will underline the beauty of this valuable and precious stone in a way befitting the 'king of the gemstones'. And this one is beautifully cut by Skopje based Deco's workshop.

Photo: courtesy of Bip-Art Skopje

A really perfect ruby is as rare as perfect love. Nobody should dare to hope to find it. If you do come across it, you should feel fortunate. But when you have found 'your' ruby, don't hesitate: hang on to it! I did. Thankful to the craftiest pair of artisan hands in Macedonia (Bip-Art Skopje) we managed to preserve and house this specific Macedonian ruby (see pics), making possible for the loved one to ware and project it.



09 July 2008

Palma Kick-boxed Tadic

In front of the crowd of few thousands made of Palmas co-vilagers some kiolometers away from his Jagodina, Palma hosted Tadic and several diplomats for a Arkan's buddy Prelevic-styled international kick-box tournament. Roasted turkey centered the feast while sexy folk singer Seka Aleksic entertained Tadic and the naive diplomatic core as in one of oriental pashas' tents sometime in the past.
The road from Jagodina was paved for this occasion and the village stadium enlarged. Hence the new government headed by Boris has already started to show concrete development results. Well done! Now I see why we should be happy with the DS reformers and the Boris himself.

Serbian "trivia" (5): did you know that...?

…monumental Belgrade’s Batal mosque (Mosche Batall-Chamia) was the last of the great Belgrade’s mosques and stood at the place of the Serbian Parliament at the begging of old Tzarigrad Road (today Boulevard of King Alexandar) it was rampaged and destroyed after the Turkish 1867 departure

…the largest city in 1900 in the area covered by present day (2008) Serbia was Subotica with 82,000 people

… some 227.000 people in Serbia verifies his/her signature by a sign of thumb as they are completely illiterate

28 June 2008

After 3 months Tadic finally decided: Cvetkovic new PM

What kind a transition society has political party system that the most pro reforms and pro EU party has an internal democracy situation embodied in facts that the President of the Republic is still the party head and that the main board "voluntarily" delegated a privilege to its president to singlehandedly nominated and promote new PM the way Putin trabantacized Medvedev? party

Contrary to what the Main Board of the DS recommended the President of Serbia (DS Party President and Putin of Serbia) suggested ex Finance Minister Cvetkovic to be confirmed by the National Assembly of Serbia as the new PM.

While LDP is making coalition with SPS in municipality of Vozdovac and tacitly supports the new DS ethnocentric politics, DS’ coalition partner SPS-keepers of the Milosevic’ flame supported this PM nomination while Palma-Arkan’s brother in arms wholeheartedly confirmed in media that Boris made good choice.

While wondering if Serbia became Putinazed presidential system I guess our opinion mattered only when we supported lies in the form of pre-election pledges.

Though, there is one thing that will for sure come along with Cvetkovic: He'll not bullshit us about the many topics former PMs did. He is likely to do his finance/economy work good while leaving the management of the government and the probably most important PM role of motivator and keeper and the seller of the vison to his boss and political debt Boris the omnipotentious.

It is amazing how Kostunica looks better each day alike Jeremic since this evening.

24 June 2008

GOVERNMENT NERALY AGREED * SPS’ blast from the pas * DS nearly completed metamorphosis away from the late PM Djindjic’s heritage

The new Government of Serbia has been almost agreed about between Tadic’s DS (Democratic Party) and their future governing partners SPS (Socialist Party of Serbia)-led Milosevic/Arkan's successors (Palma's Serbian National Unity Party). So, former Milosevic closest associates have dictated the way these post election negotiations took place and have won incredible ministerial gains for the 8% ballot-party.
In fact, SPS' Dacic, and former chief Milosevic-Jugend, emerged today in media so cocky to state that SPS actually all mercifully gave away the PM seat to DS thus demanding rightfully earned hefty compensation. And Tadic, my main point, will give it to them without a blink of an eye: Deputy PM and Speaker of the Parliament position (!?), Police, Secret services, oil industry (NIS), entire energy sector, and much more will be in sole command of newly back Milosevic apparatchiks, war criminals and profiteers, and social demagogues.

The biggest laugh of all is that there is a rumor that Tadic-the-omnipotentious may ask his trabant Vuk Jeremic to form the government !? How sick is this? Incredible in deed.




Two strong impressions I can not escape, the first one of how neatly SPS and Palma match DS company in terms of the current politics, priorities, lingo, etc., and the second, how Dacic is bold enough to be very frank how SPS is not going through any kind of change or god forbid distancing from the 1990s, rather, he is open about saying that this pact with DS is a proof how SPS has noting to answer for regarding the 1990s.


The last is precisely what pisses me of with those DS/Boris voters who declare ability to see how all this is the best thing that can happen to us and that DS is still a force to rest our reform hopes with. LDP is en route to equally making me angry by the lack of stability of their anti-SPS stance and, which eventually was turned into getting into the DS backside. Borise! Why did you turned your back to us?






Plain truth is that without lustration and more serious effort to come with the terms of the past no serious and speedy enough reforms in Serbia are possible, especially not with this kind of SPS’ positioning. Yes, other nations managed without but we could not and will not.





21 June 2008

The greatest "traitor" ever Guus Hiddink beats his own, EURO 2008: Russia vs. Netherlands 3:1

(For the full experience please hit this link before you go on reading this post.)

I though I will never say this: “VPERED ROSSIYA” !!!

In fact, I thank Russian football team for such a wonderful game their treated us to tonight. TRULY AMAZING STUFF!!

Many simply love the Dutch football team and the way they play(-ed) football since the times of the total football invention by Johan Cruyff and his friends. They/we love it for their game's beauty, attractiveness, openness and flare. This sense of somehow granted (actually, well earned) support and expectations on each occasion for them to be better than their opponents did not occur tonight. We did pretty much offer this automatic support until the few minutes into the tonights game, only until we realized how amazingly play the Hiddink's coached Russian team.


On the other hand I personally never supported Russians, let alone their football squad. Quite on contrary. In most general terms, I grew up disliking the way Moscow influence (-ed) Serbian society, culture and politics, and think that they were/are the worse thing ever happened to Serbia in terms of the unavoidable foreign influence by much bigger countries and cultures. Turkish and German influence by contrast I view as brief and terrific. The Soviet-designed ways are still all around as, from the army and secret services, to the militant health system and all present partism and clientalism. I really dislike .... "the way the Moscow talk..the way it walks". I find Dostoevsky loony, Chekhov lousy, Tolstoy boring, their stew-like borsch disgusting, and stiling unattractive. Simply, I really dislike pretty much anything Russian that reaches Serbia these days and try to keep away from it. Till tonight that was. (remark: some people took this personally and I apologize for this. Having many Russian speaking friends I felt I should explain myself, see the new endnote)


YET…tonight during the Holland Vs. Russia EURO 2008 quarterfinal match I was so much enjoying the un-be-fuck-n-livable game of the Hiddink’s team led by cosmic Andrei Aershavin and his comrades that I thought that I am treated to a joy not possible. Russians played UNBELIEVABLY attractive, really! I only have seen Cruyff’s Holland, Platinis’s France, and few more teams play it like it. They were precisely executing passes and pounding the Van der Sar's goal like it is practice! I just could not believe it with my own eyes! Russian's players were running and running and passing and passing for two hours straight! They locked the Dutch play completely, the half dozen of 20m-ish free kicks were the only Dutch chances. Van Basten boys could not believe what is happening to them, they were clearly amazed and confused. They surely expected no such excellent tactical and physical game by Russians, nobody did, but I am sure that amazing Hiddink did!

Tonigh it was famous tika-taka but by the incredible Russians and not Spaniards.

I am sure that nobody but the Dutch themselves wonted their team to actually win tonight, especially not after it was obvious the absolutely wonderful way Russians were playing tonight—some cosmic football rarely seen these days.

END NOTE: Some people protested about my anti-borscht article this is my response

Firstly, sorry to see my borscht dislike was taken literally and personally.

I would never say that for the borsch you any of my friends made for me but than I wonder if any of them would pick borscht to prepare :-) I am open to be convinced that the borscht has comparative edge and I'll take it out of the list. I think this is fair. The same way I would try with you and czevapcziczi should you express disliking with it. But then I'd not expect you to think Kosovo is Serbian should you start liking szevapcziczi.

Hence, I may like better some better made borscht, I even may dig out some contemporary Russian singer (besides the ridiculous guy who won the 2008 Eurovision) that I could like, but I really can not judge current Russian imperial foreign politics but authoritarian and devastating for the nascent Serbian democratization.

Actually I missed listing of made in Russia things that I like since would not fit the article spirit, which means what I listed is truthfully: I did not like borscht, while the attractiveness of the Russian kitchen I know exactly matches the level of amount of good things reaching Serbia from Russia these days. Sorry to say, but really these days Russia is making an historic low in Serbia with its authoritarian and etatist advances.

To be honest it so easy to feel these days in Serbia about Russian exports as Poles/Checks/etc in 1950's. It is completely different thing that there are good things over there that can not surface in Russia itself let alone reach Serbia.

At the end of the day the borscht is just a paradigm, and one liking it like you do or disliking it like me is beside the point.

I LOVE MY RUSSIAN SPEAKING FRIENDS but I JUST SO STRONGLY DISLIKE PUTIN AND 60 YEARS OF MOSCOW INFLUENCE TO BELGRADE!!!

18 June 2008

DS-led urban mafia runs up Belgrade new homes prices: Serbia's reform a joke

It is a common knowledge in Belgrade that if you wanna get any of the necessary licenses for construction of new homes that you need to bribe municipal and city bureaucrats. This practice was firmly established by SPO when they took over the Belgrade administration from SPS in 1997 and was perfected later by the DS urban mafia to a level of existence of the grey price list for every single step in construction of new homes. These costs are estimated in an excellent daily Blic article (link attached) to be over 30% of the price of the new homes.

Moreover, organized political parties' mafia clans ("firms" may be the best name for it, SRS started first behaving like one when started cashing their electoral successes), led by DS, in purpose to keep away big international real estate investors (like those Israeli companieds that constructed thousand of flats in Budapest where square meter costs 1/2-2/3 of the Belgrade's), as well as any effort to modernize the real estate regulation in Serbia and that way make it more transparent and accountable.

This way the real estate business in Serbia- read Belgrade- remains to be a major source of power and wealth for a number of political aparatchiks, their bosses and their political parties. No wonder that Serbia has not any serious budgetary mechanisms controlled by the parliament nor the final account for past seven years, not there is financial control of the political parties finances inclusive of the electoral finances.

In short, DS led political parties and big business mafias have completely hijacked the flow of money and wealth in this country and have never placed themselves in the position of accountability and transparency hence making Serbia a 19 century country in terms of the development of good governance practices and state of democracy. Should we take into an account the bad record on individual and collective human rights, etatist and command organized economy with a system of drainage of in purpose not private huge public and parties controlled sector, and a mere indirect electoral system for the parliament , then it becomes obvious that Serbia represents a joke in terms of achieved reform goals towards a free market and modern libertarian democracy.

Full text on construction mafia in Belgrade
http://www.blic.co.yu/temadana.php?id=45562

17 June 2008

Will the Irish “NO” lead to EU “NO” to Serbia's "Deltino" democracy

It seems that all those Serbian thugs and pseudo reformers not in favor of EU integrations and genuine reform have a reason to laugh and celebrate.

The Irish vote against the Constitutional Treaty will probably seriously threaten anyway vague prospects for any soon Serbia’s EU accession. As the protection of the war criminals such as general Mladic and Bosnian Serbs ex leader Karadzic were not bad enough for Serbia’s poor EU health, now there is a danger that additional conditions may be imposed on the countries such as Serbia (and Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo). Those new conditions will likely be not connected only to the countries' reforms pace and success, but also with the ability and/or willingness of the EU member countries to suck them in.

Not only that it is for a carefully (and vested inters-free) observer in Serbia increasingly difficult to distinguish a genuine EU accession and reform forces from those patriotic ones, but now the capacity of EU to take the region in comes too under the question mark. And yet, we know that the only way forward with the necessary reforms is the carefully watched and regulated tunnel of the EU accession process, SAA and onwards.

Yes, Sule, Bota and the rest of the pseudo modernist DS Co. will probably go for a holiday on one of the Greek islands this August, as usual, continue their stupid anti Kosovo independence chant, treat never reformed security sector as of the holy cow, and continue forming the cabinet and government policies in "Miskovic's restaurant "Deltino". How idiotic is this? That's Serbia for you.

B92 takes much brighter angle on this issue, check it out:
http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2008&mm=06&dd=18&nav_category=11&nav_id=304260

13 June 2008

After many months Serbia arrested another war crimes suspect wanted by the Hague Tribunal

Stojan Župljanin (1951) was arrested yesterday in Pancevo. He is a former Bosnian Serb police commander from Kotor Varoš, a commander of the Bosnian Serb police during the Bosnian war. Župljanin had operational control over the police forces responsible for the detention camps where thousands of prisoners were held in horrific conditions and many were murdered. Župljanin is also alleged to have played a central role in the destruction of Bosniak and Bosnian Croat communities in the Autonomous Region of Krajina. On 14 March 1999 he was charged by ICTY with genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the laws and customs of war and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.


With the arrest of Stojan Župljanin there are at least three more people indicted for war crimes on the list to be arrested: Ratko Mladić, Radovan Karadžić, and Goran Hadžić. However given the sharp reaction by SPS, DS-would-be colaition partner, after this arrests it remains unclear wheter DS will be capable of any further arrests.

11 June 2008

The first result of DS prostitution with SPS: Milosevic Jr. not guilty!

The first result of post-elections DS prostitution with SPS was a sudden release of Marko Milosevic, he was found not guilty for beating of three ‘Otpor’ members in Pozarevac eight years ago due to lack of evidence.

It is certian that SPS Dacic-led crew demanded this from outgoing-new DS Justice Minister Petrovic as a first sign of good will, before they finally ditch SRS/DSS lunatics.

Th question is what is to come, god knows what else they will get from freaky and compass-less Tadic.

10 June 2008

Serbian "trivia" (4): did you know that...?

…while before WWII Belgrade resided over 10,000 Jews today there only few hundreds remain while incidents of anti-Semitism, including anti-Semitic graffiti, vandalism, small circulation anti-Semitic books, and Internet postings are still to be found
…German minority (Volksdeutsche), in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenians, were the largest (500,000 in 1921) ethnic minority in Serbia, ahead of Hungarians and Albanians
…Serbia is the only country in Europe that over past 15 years experienced a decrease in its tertiary educated population

Emigrate, emigrate, emigrate! Don’t return , don’t return don’t return…

As you still in Serbia will:

• Have to fuck somebody up big times on daily basis, or be so called a foreign spy, in order to earn more than 15k EUR p/a;
• Wonder if you or someone close to you will be drafted overnight to fight other wars and get killed or fucked up in the process;
• Risk a line for overpriced monopolized petrol, monopolized groceries, and dirty and poor pubic transportation used only by poorest;
• Need a “veza” to get decent, preferably government job;
• Are not meant to work and earn but rather drift around be smart play zero-sum-game, and craftily be wiser than others (verb: prejebati, zajebati, proci, skockati, smuvati, srediti, srediti,na foru, itd.);
• Need visa to go pretty much anywhere decent and are viewed as loony or something when but 200 EUR worth of IKEA rubbish none-existent though in Serbistan;
• Are not guaranteed sometimes even basic healthcare or a bed-place to finally rest;
• Need to bribe all those that are supposed to just do their job and service fellow citizens;
• Need to be close to one of the few equally corrupted political parties in order to do or achieve anything to society meaningful in your life;
• Be pushed to be associated with the state and your blood cells on daily basis;
• Pay for your cable TV and internet sky-high and get the poor service in exchange without being able to do a thin about it;
• Breath the most polluted air in Europe and thinking that it is you being a problem for noticing it;
• Live a life without reaching the limits you are capable of in pursuing high quality of life being surrounded by thieves and wise asses!
• Face one daily bases all those incapable, illiterate, and employed by fathers/husbands/and relatives post clerks, state employees, and poor customer trained shops attenndents;
• If in Serbia get the fuck out of it unless already on the payroll, or if outside of it, stay where you are and make the bets of it!

The come back of the 1990s death ghoust a.k.a. Serbian Socialists Party

The last word is that rather than the post of PM, the Deputy PM and security agencies goes to the '90s Milosevic-jugent leader Ivica Dacic as a measure of sacrifice in order for turbo reform DS engines to start working

Deputy PM post and authority over security services to Dacic

Reported demand by the SPS leader Ivica Dacic to get the PM post in a government that would be formed by ‘ZES’ (the list ‘For European Serbia’) is going to be half- met.

Instead, the fallen Democrats and their Milosevic secret services installed leader Tadic are offering to experienced in horrors of 1990s Dacic the Deputy PM post and Serbian never-reformed or lustrated secret services.

Great! Now we are not to worry who will be misusing never brought to democratic control secret services in Serbia.

Luckily for us, Arkans' party benefactor and his political successor Palma's and G17PLus stern position against SPS, reduced the maneuvering space of Dacic and he will accept slightly less than demanded. So he will not be the PM. Wow, kudos to Palma and Dinkic!

So the Belgrade rumors has it that eventual DS candidate for the PM will be most likely Bojan Pajtic, its Vojvodina chief cadre rather than some of the more closer Tadic's clowns. Shame, I was hopping for Yugopetrol-Jeremic appointment and with it a full laugh.

The main other post elections ridiculous news enabled by Tadic-ruined-by-dictatorship-DS will be return of infamous Mrkonjic-Mrka and Petar Skundric. The first known as the Milosevic's chief rebuilder of the Cultural Revolution sort after the NATO campaign in 1999, and the second as one of the founders of the Milosevic SPS. The first is likely to be promoted to the Minister of Infrastructure or alike and the second is to be resurrected to the Minister of Science. Wonder if the rest of the past will be reanimated too.

Alleluia

06 June 2008

Serbian "trivia" (3): did you know that...?

… of total length of the roads in south western Serbian municipality of Tutin in amount of 1550km only some 50km is paved with asphalt

…over 50% of primary schools in Serbia still operate none-flush toilets used by 25,000 pupils, while some have not even running water and electricity at all

…more people were killed in Titoist Yugoslavia in the period between 1944-1948 than during the war years of 1941-1944 by all occupying forces combined

DS lost it completely

Alike after the January 2007 parliamentary el(r)ections when they pacted with and supported fascistoid DSS policies DS has lost it again and deteriorated to retriving the political party scene of Serbia to Milosevic times and sending the probe about SPS Dacic becoming PM:

23 May 2008

Serbian "trivia" (2): did you know...?


...that every sixth girl-minor in Serbia was at a point a victim of sexual abuse and violence

…that out of cca. 8 million people in Serbia more than 1,2 million adults is without completed primary education

…..that more ethnic (5,800) Germans in Vojvodina (Volksdeutsche) were killed in the few weeks of fall of 1948 when Bosnian Partisans occupied Vojvodina than in infamous Nazi killings in Kraljevo and Kragujevac combined

16 May 2008

The Virtue of Compromise

Post parliamentary election Serbian kitchen

While we are awaiting new Serbian government, that is, while we are waiting for SPS (Milosevic's Socialist Party) Ivica Dacic to return from Moscow (as stated in media yesterday) with the set of instructions about who SPS should invite in its bed (Seselj's)SRS/DSS(of Kostunica) or (Tadic's)DS/G17 (of Dinkic) Plus/LSV (of Nenad Canak ), I’d like to address the issue of so called “big picture” or “compromise”, as some people call it. That is, some these turbulent days in Serbia argue that DS cohabiting and/or compromising over the past years with DSS/SRS/SPS and potentially now with SPS was and is a matter of necessity and even reform virtue.

I strongly disagree.

Firstly, I am fine with compromise as long as individual freedoms and other libertarian values as well as the basic pillars of security and decent life are not placed at stake. Well, I agree, often in life compromise is wise thing to do, sometimes even necessary, settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions is a logical and conflict resolution tool everybody is using on daily basis. Moreover, compromise is sometimes something intermediate between or blending qualities of two different things. I mean, when the blending is sought for. And this is precisely where my discontent kicks in.

There was enough damage, I would argue, done by so far DS policies of cohabitation and compromise. The clear result of these DS policies was erosion of potential for creating larger liberal and pro reform pole in Serbia. Drowned in personal anger and leadership vanity DS made an effort to localize the only healthy view on the Serbia reality preached by LDP and make it look estranged with its values without actually making a natural step of alignment. In addition, this change of DS stances, happened since Tadic took the party, for the sake of enlarging its support made those changed stances changed for good. So, the explanation how DS is merely verbally patriotizing Kosovo and how DS is only rhetorically being bigger nationalists then the SRS themselves is nothing but an empty talk of those die hard DS supporters.

The truth about what DS became I believe is simple, and all should face it, DS is not anymore the same party what it used to be. Its pro reform leadership potential irreplaceably vanished and the new nationalists dangerous rhetorics became genuine as such immensely dangerous (like when DS pacted with SRS about creation of the stupendous new 2006 Constitution). DS with these rhetorics changed itself so much and attracted so many nationalist and anti reform votes with so little internal democracy exercised that they started becoming ballast and not asset to further reform efforts of society in Serbia.

I know many former always-vote-DS voters who clearly said: We'll never vote for this kind of DS ever again, no matter what. Having SRS in power and losing the Belgrade's wheal of money may be exactly what DS need in order to go back to its pro reform path searching for partners where these are.

Die hard DS supporters should not despair. (Unless they are one of many DS supporters interrupted saucing at one of the budgetary ends.) These are natural processes. Happened all over the CEE/SEE. What happened to DSS after 2000 in terms of growth and change of characters now it happened to DS. Should one add to this a picture of corrupted and technocratized DS freed of a real ideology of transition or reform, than the DS deterioration as the reform agent comes afore stronger than ever. As said, many argue that this is the natural process of the growth of any party but the trick is exactly to balance the two, populism and progressiveness, while shielding from the unrealistic demands of the former and keeping the accent at the later.

By pushing the DS into having so authoritarian leadership (to the point of having the paternal say in the party and bringing the difference between the country and party presidency to the point of not recognition) of essentially populist party Tadic failed to do so and instead created Tadicevism that is good for nothing apart being nutshell for the DS cleptocratic elites.

The peak of a charade of creating a partnership between bestial SPS and Tadicevism was a somewhat desperate finding of a common ground about what SPS calls social justice. While SPS sounds ridiculous for declaratively supporting values they read about in their Soviet handbooks while still wearing the bloody shirts of 1990’s, DS looks equally ridiculous for trying to match SPS while not getting their heads from the bottoms of the Serbian tycoons. Crazy!

While the LDP, to the likings of DS and SRS alike are safely locked at the margin of Serbian political spectrum it is obviously that they are talking the politics far ahead from Serbian public ability to take in, and social capacity to upheld and practice. On the other hand evergreen G17 Plus is appearing again as the ideological savior of the pro refom block’s honesty by basically deciding that if SPS goes with SRS and make ruling coalition in Belgarde than G17 Plus will opt not to work with SPS on the national level. Fair enough and filling the void in lack of principles of Serbian reformers in most prudent way in the given moment, I'll give them that. It is funny however that this comes from a party that has as much ideology in its workings as Serbia true reformers.

13 May 2008

Serbian "trivia" (1): did you know...?

...that during the 11 May 2008 Elections no Officers, NCOs, or soldiers, in the Armed Forces of Serbia were permitted to vote

...that each time there are elections in Serbia the new set of transparent ballot boxes are purchased at the price of 50 eur for each one, so each election/s the boxes cost taxpayers in Serbia circa 1.5M euro

...that antisemitism was official Serbian state policy until the Western powers made Serbia change it in 1878

The past and the future of Serbia

Tadic's buddies, trio fantastics: Krkobabic, Dacic and the Palma

Back to the past: Viva SPS

7 May 2008 Vranje

Dacic:

Predsednik Socijalističke partije Srbije (SRS) Ivica Dačić izjavio je u Vranju, na Završnoj konvenciji Koalicije SPS-Partija ujedinjeih penzionera Srbije-Jedinstvena Srbija, da dolazi vreme politike SPS-a i Slobodana Miloševića.

"Došlo je vreme da pokažemo da smo bili u pravu svih onih godina kada smo sa Slobodanom Miloševićem branili ovaj narod, branili i odbranili našu Srbiju", rekao je Dačih burno pozdravljen u prepunoj sporskoj hali u Vranju.


Blic
Belgrade
Tuesday May 13 2008

Koalicija „Za evropsku Srbiju“ ponudiće Socijalističkoj partiji Srbije i manjinama da zajedno formiraju novu vladu Srbije, saznaje „Blic“. Iako se u prvi mah po objavljivanju izbornih rezultata matematičkom računicom učinilo da SRS, DSS-NS i SPS mogu da formiraju novu vladu, jer imaju 127 mandata, ali politička kombinatorika, tu opciju čini manje verovatnom. Lider Jedinstvene Srbije Dragan Marković Palma, članice koalicije okupljene oko SPS, naklonjeniji je koaliciji sa DS i evropskom putu Srbije, što bi povlačenjem njegova tri mandata vladu SRS učinilo nemogućom.

12 May 2008

11 May 2008 Parliamentary Elections in Serbia. And the winner is...well SPS Dacic will decide.

Looking at the plain results cited below it is obvious that the politically immortal 1990's chief hate monger Vuk Draskovic is back, that DS and G17 are the gainers and DSS the loser while the rest took their old gains.

However, I find something very funny. Boring Radicals, Kustinicas' blood sucking DSS, and Molosevic’s SPS won 127 seats, a majority, two seats over the simple 125 majority of 250 seats, and yet DS leadership is talking about some kind of pro EU victory and encouraging people to go out to and occupy streets in celebration. Yes, as my friend C. put it: "They missed a chance to capitalize on Kosovo departure so if now SRS do not form the government in four years time will be safely on our EU road away from Kosovo".

While this true the numbers are quite grim and show no change in Serbian electorate regarding the sharp cleavage over the issue of Western international integrations.




Jan 2007 May 2008 Change

% seats % seats % seats

Radicals 28,7 81 28.5 77 0 -4

Democrats 22,9 65 39/103 (coalition w/G17,SPO,LSV) cca +8 to10

G17 19 25 +6

SPO 0 ? ?

LSV 3? 3? 0

DSS/NS 47 30 -17

JS 2 +2

PUPS 2 +2

SPS 16 16 (+4) 0

LDP 15 13 -2

HUN 3 4/5 +1/2

ROM 1+1 ? ?
SDA 2 2 0

ALB 1 1 0

*final results may change these for +/-1 seat

So when DS say Serbia chose Europe that means "we made a deal to buy support from Milosevic's SPS". While not pretending to be a puritan here we are talking about the exactly same SPS as the one that ruled during the 1990's. I guess that this kind of political pragmatism and wisdom will find fully fertile ground in Serbia only once us who vividly remembers 1990's are still around.


On top of this Tadic is so open about him taking Serbia into EU with Kosovo only (!) that he not only scares me but also insults my libertarian feelings in terms of him saying that 2 milion Kosovo Albanians should give in to 120k remaining die hard Serbs or that they are idiots and will come back under the Tadic coat as soon as he forms the government. The little happiness around as found by that bunch remains to be DS target perpetuating as LDP would say "politics of territories and not of people for people". Any debate on this topic would be unaccaptable beyond silly and thus Tadic stand is plain crazy! Even be it for PR purposes as many are trying to explain it.

Back to SPS, I mean…one thing is if some Belgrade treasury money loaded DS yuppies already bought our SPS support with few public companies board seats here and few there, another one is that Serbia is yet to gain critical majority for reforms and EU integrations.

The two leaders, Nikolic and Tadic, essentially failed to move the old boundaries and thus achieved no success, both of them should account for these lack of gains to their parties, and yet none of the two will. Certainly Tadic who steadily grew into a small Putin by killing all there was of the internal DS democracy and melting the Presidency of the Republic into the DS leadership. Not sure which of the two makes me more disillusioned. Probably the combining unfortunate result that effectively will prevent DS from becoming a serious vehicle on any genuine reforms road, a hallucinating hope by a part of DS voters that have no direct personal interest out of the DS corrupt and irresponsible Belgrade or national governance.

If anything, this elections are spitting image of the one from Jan 08 with a 5 seats less for the Radicals and as many more for DS. The rest is the same. Only naïve and overly hopeful will let be confused by sudden coalitions and some achieved synergies. Also, to mention, it is shame that LDO couldn't pull more than 5 nationally and 7 % in Belgrade. This is also a call for Ceda to reconsider his so far autocratic leadership style and decide if he'll let LDP outgrow him some time in the future or does it have to stay his own private ring. It seems that only that when this takes place and when painfully hermeneutic in their views Ceda's colegues get the idea of the movement expansion, more present unhappy DS supporters will turn to them.

At the end of the day, the numbers are irreversible and painfully rigid. Will see who exactly will buy whom and who'll form the government, one idiotic rumor from very close DS had it previous days that little Jugopetrol boy turned Hardvardian wonder foreign minister Jeremic himself will become the Medvedev, pard me, Serbian PM. One thing is for sure though, albeit ticking the stupid eurocratic boxes Serbian is nowhere nearer EU or for that matter economic reforms or much needed political cleansing in the form of consensus about its European future.

11 May 2008

11 May 2008 Extraordinary Parliamentary Elections

Instead of dwelling about the standard unfortunate Serbian parliamentary elections affairs I'll turn to preparation of some of my most favorite food:

Tabouli

We just love tabouli, a Persian/Lebanese/Near Eastern salad made of tomatoes, couscous (bulgur wheat), and loads of parsley.

First time I had this wonderfull salad at our dear Budapest friends' house Nadia and Rui. This week, however, I got adventurous and decided to find the necessary ingredients to make it myself for my Belgrade friends. This is the way I do it:

Allow 15 minutes

1 cup couscous
2 cups water
2 bunches parsley
3 red juicy tomatoes
4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
some chopped black olives

Bring the water to a boil, then remove from heat and pour in couscous. Allow to sit 5 - 10 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Separate the parsley leaves from the stems, then place leaves in food processor and chop until very fine. Chop the tomatoes as finely as possible. Combine couscous, parsley, tomatoes and black olives, mixing well. Stir the lemon juice and olive oil together then pour over couscous and mix well. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at
least an hour before enjoying.

Enjoy it!

23 April 2008

Serbian Nazis mark Hitler's birthday by organizing a picnic gathering nearby Nis

Kostunica-Beckovic sponsored marsh towards the right yielded yet another victory.

Some hundreds die hards a.k.a. Serbian Nazis decided to completely go of their rocker and mark Hitler's birthday by organizing a countryside picnic gathering alike well known Chetniks' at Ravna Gora.

Super Skroz or --SS

To remind: The first attempts of mass executions of prisoned inmates by poison gas in WWII were carried out by Serbia's Nazis. Serbia was the first country to proudly declare itself “Judenfrei”.

In Summer of 1942 the head of the Nazi German civil administration in Serbia proudly declared that Serbia became the first country in which the “Jewish question” was solved and that Belgrade was “ the first place of a New Europe to be Judenfrei.”

21 April 2008

What is Serbian set of values, anybody?

For an example, the Australian officially declared set of values include:

  • respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual
  • equality of men and women
  • freedom of religion
  • commitment to the rule of law
  • support for Parliamentary democracy
  • a spirit of egalitarianism that embraces mutual respect, tolerance, fair play, compassion for those in need and pursuit of the public good
  • equal opportunity for individuals, regardless of their race, religion or ethnic background









So...what about
Serbia?





18 April 2008

Where did sanity go?

Although quite difficult for any close observer of the Serbian kleptomaniac and accountableness politics, I’ll refrain from passing any of many remarks regarding shamefully elections campaign in Serbia where none of the major political parties feels compelled nor accountable to genuinely address voter’s concerns nor verifiable pledges.

Rather I have to share with you my this morning paradigmatic impression that one liter of 3.2% fat yogurt know as “Kravica” costs in a low-budget Serbian shops chain whooping 130 eurocents!!!

So much for reduced-to-one-man-show-DS grandiose many times promised reforms and blast-from-the-past-SRS/DSS pathetic patriotic rhetoric for you. None of the two works for me. Uh, I wish LDP could throw the distance, but not any time soon nor with Ceda-the-boss.

09 April 2008

May Elections

The May 2008 Parliamentary and Local elections campaigns are stepping up. These look more of a total propaganda war that targets all those scarce political ideas advocating Serbia’s modernization and joining the free world than anything else.

Unfortunately for those free thinking people in Republic of Serbia worn out Democratic Party failed again to choose to be a unifying factor and the major agent of change in Serbia. Rather, those business and petit leadership interests prevailed, leaving Serbia in a desperate leaderless situation and torn apart between the desperate and futile show up of Liberals and a strong pull by DSS/SRS fascists into the bleak collectivists past.

Just under one million educated and skilled young people were kicked out of Serbia over the past 15 years or so. They chose future and freedom over the collectivists’ patriarchal agony. More will go during the coming days. Only those with a miraculous surplus of energy and hope, or those with accumulated vested interests, or in deed, those without any choice, will stay, together with vast senseless masses so blind and so screwed up.

Serbia and Racism

Yesterday was the World Roma Day

Some 49% of the Roma population in Serbia lives in poverty, whereas 60% never finish primary education (grammar school), 7.8% graduate from high school and only 0.3% from university. 60% of Serbia’s jobless belong to that community. According to the 2002 population census 108,000 Roma live in Serbia, whereas UN estimates that their number lies between 400,000 and 700,000. Roma organizations’ are the only in Serbia to state the truth: there is no consistent development strategy for the Roma community and whatever progress is achieved is a result of sporadic efforts based on personal engagement with foreign assistance rather than clearly defined government programs.

24 February 2008

Serbia, 3 days after the Kosovo myth turned into looting the downtown shops: Nationalists still planning, Democrats dead, liberals still hiding

Most written immediately after the Thursday 21 Feb 08 events still stands. One thing was not recognized though, that the entire event was in essence post/pre election rely of the Serbian Radicals, in which PM Kostunica and the rest of actors took their rightful place.

To move on, it seems now that another set of questions seek answers and clarification in order to better understand what is happening. The following is an open list (please contribute):
  • How Kostunica & Co. reacted to the 21 Feb 08 events? Why no police official explained why the security system failed?
  • Is anybody still in doubt that the Democratic Party actually does not exist? Did President Tadic escape the Thursday event because he couldn’t or did not wish to stop the 21 Feb 08 taking place?
  • What’s wrong with the Serbian liberals? Why the organized reaction to the past Thursday events is missing? Why a part of if thinks that Serbia “lost” Kosovo in 1999?
  • What is to be and what’s to be done?
  • What's wrong with Serbian people, one could rightfully ask, are they drunk to ride on the nationalists made waves and really believe that Kosovo is theirs? Is theirs disorientation the standard part of cleansing process alike the one in post WWI Hungary or post WWII Germany?
  • Last but not the least, what is the social and capital cost of all this mess and irresponsible state and social reactions to what should be regarded as inevitable events?

Soon to be filled in/expanded on.