…the largest city in 1900 in the area covered by present day (2008)
… some 227.000 people in Serbia verifies his/her signature by a sign of thumb as they are completely illiterate
09 July 2008
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
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.
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!!!
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
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
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
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.
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
…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!
• 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
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.
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
…that out of cca. 8 million people in
…..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.
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
...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
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.
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.
rnment 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.
% 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
So when DS say S
erbia 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.
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
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
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!
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