Prishtine: Independence and Kanun

Tung ... goodnight and goodluck!!!

2008-11-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

Obama won ... I am going back home :)

Goodbye Kosova/o!!!

Faleminderit and hvala for everything!!!!

Peace, am out ...

End of my Era ...

2008-10-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

With the upcoming elections, I think it's time for me to end this blogging endeavor. I do not seem to be into it anymore. Kosovan(r)s only have their destinies in their own hands now. What they do with it is left for history to judge. I think my life and efforts are needed more at home in the US.

Unless someone proposes taking over blogging for this site, this might be my "amazing last post" for this blog.

Be blessed all and vote for Obama ... Zod knows the world needs that change (and that is a not an arrogant American statement).

Thank you all for the support thus far. Thank you Kosovo/a for providing me with a home until now.

Peace and love y'all.

I have always wondered whatever happened with this matter ...

2008-10-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

... I feel closer to Albania after reading Kadare's " The General of the Dead Army (1963)".

The final mystery

Oct 9th 2008 | TIRANA
From The Economist print edition

Finding the perpetrators of a lethal explosion could polish Albania’s image

Get article background

A MUDDY crater marks the spot near Tirana airport where a stockpile of artillery shells blew up last March. The blast killed 26 people, including several children, and injured more than 250 others. Dozens of houses in the next-door village were ruined beyond repair.

Sali Berisha, Albania’s prime minister, responded by removing from office Fatmir Mediu, the defence minister. Damaged homes are being rebuilt with government handouts. But people are still angry. “This”, says Fiqiri Ismaili, the mayor, “was the worst disaster since communism ended.”

Finding out who caused the explosion, and bringing the culprits to justice, is a test of Albania’s credibility as a future member of NATO. It would also help Mr Berisha achieve his goal of making Albania a formal candidate to join the European Union. That is because the EU’s sharpest criticisms of Albania are directed at the country’s judicial system. All too often, prosecutors and judges are bribed or bullied by politicians.

Most of the bomb’s victims were employees of Albademil, a local contractor working for an American firm selling ammunition to the new Afghan army. When the dump exploded, some workers were repackaging 40-year-old Chinese-made shells to disguise their origin (American military contractors are banned from dealing in Chinese equipment). Others were removing gunpowder and detonators from supposedly dud shells so that the metal casings could be sold for scrap.

Reuters

Picking up the pieces after the blast

Ina Rama, the chief prosecutor, who heads the investigation, says that four Albanians may soon face charges. She says that there were “no safety precautions at all” at the site. America’s Justice Department has launched its own investigation and is providing valuable help, she says. Even so, many Albanians fear that there will be a cover-up. In mid-September Kosta Trebicka, a businessman turned whistle-blower in the case, was killed when his jeep crashed on a remote mountain road. Opposition politicians claimed that the death of Mr Trebicka, who was a witness for the prosecution, was not accidental.

Mr Berisha hopes that joining NATO will help him change Albania’s reputation for corruption and lawlessness. He has already notched up successes. The economy has been growing by some 6% a year, agriculture is reviving and foreign investment is starting to flow in. A Canadian company is refurbishing neglected oilfields; a Turkish group is setting up a new mobile-phone network. A new highway to Kosovo is due to be finished next summer, boosting regional trade and encouraging tourists. Albania has also scored better in two influential reports: the World Bank’s “Doing Business” and Transparency International’s index on corruption. If justice is done over the munitions explosion, next year’s marks should be even better.

In the spirit of status quo and considering the UNSC dissed his Kosovo-related work ...

2008-10-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

I would like to congratulate Mr. Ahtisaari for all his work and efforts at promoting international peace and the Nobel Peace award he just received. The people of Namibia congratulate you also, sir. Like they say, a prophet is never appreciated on her continent ;)

help me...

2008-10-11T01:27:00.000-07:00

Cafes, clubs and restaurants are opening and closing so fast in Kosovo that I cannot keep up or go to them all. Please, if you have anything to say about any cafe, club or restaurant you have been to lately, send to me at Kosovo2007@gmail.com.

ciao

Big or little sister?

2008-10-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Getting on with big brother

Oct 9th 2008 | PRISTINA
From The Economist print edition

“Independent” Kosovo is in limbo, but ties with Serbia are quietly improving

A BLUE flag emblazoned with a golden map of Kosovo and six white stars flutters over the Merdare border crossing. Signs welcome visitors to the independent “Republic of Kosovo”—but that is not how much of the world sees it.

Ever since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17th, after nine years of custodianship by the United Nations, it has struggled to gain international acceptance. America and 22 of 27 European Union members have recognised it, along with 26 other states. But Russia, China and most of the UN’s 192 members have shunned it. This leaves Kosovo in limbo, its legitimacy still questioned. Some 90% of its 2m people are ethnic Albanians, but several Serbian-dominated enclaves are still beyond the control of Kosovo’s government.

The UN General Assembly this week approved a Serbian motion asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule on the legality of Kosovo’s independence. The court could take one or two years to issue a non-binding ruling, but the move could dim Kosovo’s hopes of gaining wider acceptance. Its leaders took time to wake up to the threat. “They are still in the mindset of the EU and the Americans being strong and who cares about the rest?” says Ilir Deda of KIPRED, a think-tank in Pristina.

More worrying is that the EU’s police and justice mission for Kosovo, called EULEX, has been so slow to arrive. It was supposed to be up and running four months ago, but has been hobbled by both politics and logistics. Only 350 of the 1,900 international policemen, judges and other personnel due to be deployed across the country have arrived so far. And they are unable to operate in the Serbian north of Kosovo. The absence of any new UN Security Council resolutions on Kosovo’s status has left the country with a plethora of international missions, none of which knows who is supposed to do what. One Kosovar official despairs of the “organised anarchy” of the international presence.

In the absence of strong international supervision, standards of governance in Kosovo are slipping. Opposition leaders are being bought off and boards of state companies packed with cronies. A briefing paper for Pieter Feith, the EU’s representative in Kosovo, complains that recent appointees “have direct political affiliations and fail to meet minimum professional qualifications requirements”.

The overall picture is not wholly negative, however. A new school seems to open every week. Despite the estrangement of Serbs and Albanians, diplomacy is proceeding. For the first time, Kosovo Albanian ministers and top Serbian officials are talking directly, with no foreign mediators, to solve practical problems. This began in July when the new Serbian government of President Boris Tadic put new people in the ministry dealing with Kosovo. The main officials are now Kosovar Serbs who have good relations with their counterparts. Serbia’s new minister in charge served in the pre-independence government of Kosovo led by Bajram Rexhepi. Another top official, Oliver Ivanovic, speaks fluent Albanian and was once a deputy in Kosovo’s Albanian-dominated parliament.

Mr Rexhepi, now mayor of the Albanian half of the divided city of Mitrovica, says that although such contacts may not on their own be enough to normalise Kosovo’s status and its relationship with Serbia, they can make a big difference. Like his Serbian counterparts he says he cannot hold meetings or discussions officially, but that unofficial contacts continue. “In this way you can solve problems,” he says, “but without too much publicity.”

M&M

2008-10-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

Kosovo is recognized by 2 of its immediate neighbours : Macedonia and Montenegro.

That brings the number of recognitions to 50. We have been told to expect more recognitions in October. Does this mean better power supply? Can I get a witness up in here?!?

I am not quite sure it can be taken back but let's see ....

2008-10-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

As if the early winter and constant power cuts were not enough to make an "international" whine, the ICJ has decided to sour the moods of Kosovars with its decision to issue an advisory opinion on Kosovo's UD I.

Let the games begin?

----

Hola to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates of the USA. Say hi to mum for me when you get home ...

Oh, Boris, you just get sexier and sexier by the day ...

2008-09-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

A new strongman

Sep 18th 2008
From The Economist print edition

The Serbian president has become unusually powerful

Get article background

WITH bombers streaking overhead during a military passing-out ceremony in Belgrade on September 13th, there was no mistaking the expression of satisfaction on the face of Boris Tadic, Serbia’s president. It looked more like his victory parade. Just two months after struggling to put together a European-leaning government in July, Mr Tadic now stands as the undisputed master of his country.

This is because the largest Serbian opposition group, the ultranationalist Radical Party, has imploded thanks to an internal war between the devotees of Vojislav Seselj, currently standing trial for war crimes at the United Nations’ tribunal in The Hague, and the allies of the more pragmatic Tomislav Nikolic, who led the party within Serbia.

The split became apparent on September 2nd, when two Radical women deputies issued blood-curdling curses in parliament. They accused Mr Tadic of being “a traitor” because his government had arrested Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb president, and sent him to stand trial in The Hague. Nothing unusual here. But then one of them, Vjerica Radeta, shouted something odd: “A curse on every Radical, on his seed and family, who ever meets with Tadic after the shameful extradition.”

Soon her meaning became clear: Mr Nikolic had been secretly meeting Mr Tadic to strike a deal to ratify a key agreement with the EU that the Radicals had hitherto opposed. Mr Nikolic announced that the agreement was good for Serbia. This raised the ire of Mr Seselj, who from his prison cell urged deputies to vote against the accord.

As a result the Radical party has fallen apart. Mr Nikolic has been expelled with 17 of his supporters and is setting up his own party. Mr Tadic is thus freer to pursue his rapprochement with the EU. “On the one hand this is the best thing that could have happened to Serbia because the Radicals are divided into pro- and anti-European wings,” says Zoran Lucic, a top Serbian pollster, “But on the other I am afraid that for some time we will have an effective one-party system.” And that party, of course, is Mr Tadic’s.

Not everything is going his way. On September 15th the Netherlands blocked an EU trade agreement with Serbia, saying it must first find and extradite Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander. Now that Mr Tadic is all-powerful, that may be easier to do.

taking a break ...

2008-09-10T03:16:00.001-07:00

... like everyone else in the Balkans.

squabbles...and I am taking sides ....

2008-08-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

According to a report from UNMIK:

"The Head of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren Bishop Artimije tried to dismiss the Decani Monastery Abbot Bishop Teodosije . . . ."

I am siding with Bishop Teodosije; he and his monks are the best hosts I have ever met in Kosovo. Open-minded with hearts of gold and love like Jesus. They have my vote anyday over whoever.

Vote for O[s]ama - Bi[n La]den '08

2008-08-25T02:38:00.000-07:00

To balance out my earlier endorsement, here is a public announcement for a friend of mine who is looking for Republican and right wing conservative investors for pumping out t-shirts and other election material.

"O[s]ama - Bi[n La]den" are hereby declared trademarked virtually and in real life ... royalties are expected :)

Let's talk Human Trafficking ... again ...

2008-08-18T01:44:00.001-07:00

... especially since Kosovo always gets special mentions in these reports.

People-trafficking and people-smuggling Drawing lines in a dark place
Aug 14th 2008 From The Economist

Coercing hapless human beings into sex or servitude is obviously evil, but defining the problem (let alone solving it) is very hard

LIVING from the forced labour, or unwillingly provided sexual services, of vulnerable people is a horrific business, and more should be done to punish the perpetrators and succour the victims. That is a sentiment to which almost all governments readily assent, even in the (quite large) slice of the world where links exist between officialdom, the police and the shady types who trade in flesh. And at least in principle, cross-border trafficking is acknowledged to be so manifestly dreadful that every civilised state must be seen to help correct this wrong. As one sign of this feeling, a Council of Europe convention on trafficking went into force this year; 17 countries have ratified it. The American government has for the past eight years been mandated by law to wage a many-fronted struggle against human trafficking, at home and around the world. And some hard arguments are now raging in Washington, involving politicians, lobby groups and rival government agencies, about whether the struggle should be escalated. Why, one might ask, should there be arguments about an issue that, in moral terms, seems so clear-cut? Mainly because the precise definition of trafficking, and hence of trafficking victims, is in reality quite difficult—whether you are a policeman or a moral philosopher.

Among pundits, people-trafficking is distinguished from the lesser evil of people-smuggling—an uncomfortable but almost unavoidable part of social reality in areas that adjoin rich countries with a demand for labour. In Kosovo, it is an open secret that you can be whisked illegally to Vienna by paying €4,000 ($6,000) to a professional smuggler. The Bosnian town of Bijeljina, once a black spot for ethnic cleansing, is now a way-station for south Asians who pay around $16,000 per head to be smuggled into the EU heartland: half on departure and half on arrival.
People-smuggling is done with the consent of those involved; they have no further debt to the gangsters who abet them once they arrive. Trafficking means moving people under duress or false pretences—or in order to use them for forced labour (ranging from domestic work to commercial sex). So the theory goes; but in practice, as the latest State Department report concedes, there is an overlap between the two activities. It often happens, for example, that a poor Indian is hired for menial work in a Gulf state—only to find that his wage is much less than promised, and his passport is seized. This leads to a form of servitude, and that person’s treatment could be called trafficking. Despite the grey area, public perception of the two problems often diverges. In Australia, for example, public opinion favours a tough line over people-smuggling—but there has been a surge of sympathy for the victims of trafficking (often brought to Australia from Thailand or Indochina) since the release last year of “The Jammed”, a film set in a Melbourne brothel.

And in recent years both the sharper definition of, and the fight against, human-trafficking have become a high priority for the State Department; its grading of other countries’ anti-trafficking efforts is an elaborate and closely-watched business. Countries in “tier 1” (including most of the EU but not Ireland, Greece, Estonia or Latvia) are deemed to comply fully with the minimum standards of American law. Those in “tier 2” don’t yet comply but are trying hard. A lower tier, labelled “Watch List”, consists of countries that are trying, but not hard enough or with good enough results. In the bottom “tier 3” (including American allies like Saudi Arabia) are those that are neither complying nor trying hard enough. Even rickety post-Soviet states (see chart) can improve their scores if they follow what is deemed to be the right advice. As the State Department has found, it is hard to discuss cross-border trafficking without looking at what occurs inside countries. Its reports have thus broadened into a more general look at the ways in which people are forced to work or have sex against their will. Servitude, it finds, can take many forms: for example, children are mutilated and forced to beg—or else fight in ghastly wars. Slavery, the State Department suggests, happens in many successful emerging economies; it cites bonded labour in Brazil’s plantations, or children working long hours making bricks in China. Indeed, bits of the department’s 2008 report read as though they were penned by a left-of-centre NGO, decrying the dark side of globalisation.And some of the other ideological issues now coming to a head in Washington are even more contentious. Behind them all is an emotive question: whether there can be such a thing as willing prostitution.

How far can you go?
Since 2002, the policy of the United States has been to oppose prostitution, and to urge all governments to “reduce the demand” for prostitutes through education and by punishing those who patronise them. But how far can this principle be pressed? As passed by the House of Representatives last year, a new bill on protecting the victims of trafficking could have made it illegal for Americans to consort with prostitutes anywhere in the world (even when the prostitutes are adults, and in countries where buying sex is legal). The House version of the bill would also broaden the obligations of America’s federal (as opposed to state) authorities to curb the trafficking of sex workers inside the country. The Justice Department (amid many other objections) said all this would place a huge burden on federal agencies that are already overstretched. Supporters of stepping up the fight (who range from feminist groups to the religious right) compare their campaign to that of William Wilberforce, whose efforts to free the British empire’s slaves bore fruit 200 years ago. John Miller, an ex-head of the State Department’s anti-trafficking programme, has deplored the Justice Department’s campaign to modify the proposed legislation; its complaints, he says, imply leniency towards an absolute evil, slavery. But the American Civil Liberties Union, a lobby group, has praised the Senate for deleting language which, in its view, would make prostitution and trafficking virtually identical. Lots more arguments can be expected before the bill reaches the White House. In fact, says Jorgen Carling, a Norwegian who has studied the trafficking of Nigerian women to Europe, it is rarely possible to draw the absolutely clear line that policymakers want between “innocent victimhood” and “willing participation” in sex work. For example, people may know that they are being taken abroad as sex workers, but have no idea of the harsh conditions, and the absolute loss of control over their lives, that they will face. This may be an area of life where most people can recognise evil when they see the details of one horrifying case—but where it will always be hard to make hard-and-fast rules that suit every country

Official Endorsement!!! - Luna loses her mind ....

2008-08-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

After 2 summer of thoughts and vanity checks, this blog has decided to finally and officially endorse:

Senator Barack Hussein Obama

for the US President. Cute, smart, a fresh of breath air atimes and sometimes loopy but definitely no angel, this might just be the man to lead US through trying changing times. Well, he has my vote come November. I want to encourage all of you with friends and relatives who are Americans to encourage them to vote for this beautiful man in the November elections.

gObama!!!

It's Summer and it's here ....

2008-08-08T22:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2008 Olympics in China!!!

The Chinese left no carpets unturned for the opening event ... dazzling. Though Kosovo might not have a team there, it is still a very good distraction for the summer from competing news of of war, pillage and skirmishes ... there goes Russia trying to start a war with Georgia .... enjoy the show!!!

BBC on Life in Kosovo

2008-08-07T02:07:00.001-07:00

BBC has been running a series of stories on people's lives in Kosovo. Nothing too analytical. They pick someone (usually a guy, of course) and tell his story and issues concerning him and his environment. Nice readings. Here are links and excerpts to stories thus far:

Kosovo lives: A mixed village

""The most painful thing for us, is when we see people selling up and leaving," says Dragana Gospic. And she relates how one of her neighbours, a fellow Serb, has just sold his land, and is now selling his house. "Each person who leaves makes it harder for those who remain," she explains. At 33, originally from the Bosnian town of Mrkonjic Grad, she lives in the village of Vidanje, near Klina in central Kosovo, with her husband Ranko and daughters Tanja and Sanja."

Kosovo lives: Ivan's journey

"Ivan Radic is one of nearly a quarter of a million people from Kosovo still classified by the UN as internally displaced persons (IDPs) nine years after the war. The vast majority are ethnic Serbs, now scattered across Serbia with a minority living in Kosovo's enclaves. Most of the hundreds of thousands of wartime Albanian IDPs were able to return home long ago. "I am in Urosevac almost every night - when I dream," Ivan tells me, remembering his birthplace as we stand on the central bridge in the town of Mitrovica."

Kosovo lives: Albanian in Mitrovica

"On the table in his front room, Driton Gerguri opens a red album, like a family heirloom.
"Other kids collected stamps, but I collected these," he says proudly. Page after page of carefully mounted badges and tie pins, from sporting events and factories, anniversaries and celebrations.
Each is like a crumb of the common life that people of different nationalities used to live in the old Yugoslavia. Taken together, the album is like a carefully preserved cake of a bygone world. "

Kosovo lives: Between two worlds

"His English is flawless, local knowledge near faultless but having him guide you around Pristina can take awfully long. Mehmed Sezai Shehu, or Meti as he likes to be known, seems barely able to cross a street without running into an acquaintance in the Kosovan capital. On the two visits I have met him, a simple stroll about the city centre became a wade through handshakes, jokes and banter. Not a few of the people knew him from across a kitchen table or a classroom desk because for the past decade, apart from the war period, Meti has been teaching his city English full-time. "

Kosovo lives: Not gone with the wind

Their great-grandfather built Urosevac, the Nikolic daughters like to say, so how can they leave it now? Sani (Santipa), the very image of mildness and physical slightness, beams mischievously at the memory of how she floored a US soldier with her karate skills, the day K-For came to evacuate her family. I am not saying she is over 60, because her disabled younger sister Lili (Liljana) reminded me, when I inquired, that you must never ask a lady her age. A smile of assent crossed the mask-like face of their blind mother Dani (Daniela).

You saw it here FIRST!!!: Pilot Production of S&M

2008-07-28T03:16:00.000-07:00

Good morning all,

I have been granted exclusive rights to broadcast the Pilot for the upcoming of "s&m feat. Madame b". Hope you enjoy it and please feel free to send in comments so I can forward to the producers. I am sure it will encourage them to make it a regular production. Good job guys....
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What really matters...

A film festival in one of my favorite towns ...

2008-07-22T03:03:00.000-07:00

Be there or be square ....

Most wanted Bosnian Serb delivered ....

2008-07-21T03:06:00.000-07:00

Mr. Radovan Karadzic was delivered today to the world:

One of the world's most wanted men, the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, was arrested last night in Serbia after 12 years on the run from charges of genocide and war crimes.The man indicted for the Srebrenica massacre and the Sarajevo siege, among other war crimes, was arrested by Serbian security officers and taken before a war crimes court in Belgrade, according to a statement from the office of the Serbian president, Boris Tadic. . . .

Thank you, Tadic & co.

PS: For people who wrote asking if I dislike Serbs due to some of my posts in the past, the answer is NO. If I hated Serbs, I would have no sex life in the Balkans. I think Serb men and women are some of the sexiest in the region, except for some montenegrans and rich Slovenians. A mother only chastises the child she loves ...

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

UPDATE:

Karadzic Extradited to The Hague to Face War Crimes Charges - Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Most famous and wanted Serb in NYC

2008-07-06T02:06:00.000-07:00

A friend flagged me on this news from NYC, asking if I ever dated this guy while in Mass or the Balkans (f****** retard that my friend is). Apparently, this chap is very wanted in the US....

No official search for fugitive student
3 July 2008 16:47 -> 18:37 Source: B92, FoNet

BELGRADE -- Serbian institutions have yet to receive any official information from the U.S. regarding the case of Miladin Kovačević.The Serbian national is suspected of brutally assaulting a fellow student Bryan Steinhauer on May 4 in the United States. State Prosecutor Slobodan Radovanović told B92 that Serbia will do everything it can to solve the case once it receives an official request. Radovanović said that the only information he has about the case has been through the media. “The American institutions can rest assured that Serbia will do everything within its legal possibilities to sanction this and to make sure that possible perpetrators of such act are not left unpunished." "On the other hand, I must say that we are still waiting for an official demand and official information, and we will act according to that,” Radovanović said. In the meantime, the government yesterday, in connection to the case, dismissed the New York consul-general, Slobodan Nenadović. Kovačević was issued a new passport by the consulate, even though a U.S. court was did not allow him to leave the country. The student Kovačević is accused of assaulting is currently in a coma. Kovačević has put into custody after the event, but released on June 5 on USD 100,000 bail. Serbian vice-consul Igor Milošević issued the suspect a new passport after the original one was confiscated, which allowed Kovačević to flee America. Disciplinary actions will be taken against the vice-consul, but Radovanović said today that the diplomat might face criminal charges as well. Earlier today, a Kovačević family lawyer said the case has a political dimension. "This case is above all a legal issue that is now under the jurisdiction of Serbian law. The law on criminal proceedings categorically rules out extradition of a Serbian citizen to a foreign country during criminal proceedings if the citizen is on Serbian territory,” Veselin Cerović told FoNet. The lawyer believes that the case is becoming more and more political thanks to the sensationalist approach to the case in certain domestic and foreign media, and by statements coming from “certain American senators in attempt to promote themselves.” "Everything is absolutely clear in this case. Any type of questioning of Kovačević, who is a Serbian citizen, should be conducted by the domestic judiciary, once all the relevant and valid documents have been received from U.S. officials,” Cerović said, adding that everything should be carried out in accordance with Serbian law. He said that Kovačević had been released from custody by the U.S. authorities, after paying the bail. "When that decision was made, the court adequately estimated the possible real damage that might be incurred in the event of Kovačević leaving the United States, and thus becoming unavailable to the U.S. judicial system,” Cerović explained. He did not want to comment on how Kovačević had managed to leave the United States or on whose passport Kovačević had used, stating only that he would talk about it at a press conference scheduled for tomorrow. According to the U.S. media, Kovačević’s family pressured Serbian vice-consul Igor Milošević into issuing him a new passport, thus enabling Kovačević to return to Serbia. On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Belgrade Cameron Munter called on the Serbian authorities to react, and return Kovačević to the United States to face trial.

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UPDATE

By Jack Carey, USA TODAY

United States government officials are continuing to press for the return of a former Binghamton University basketball player, who was arrested and charged in the severe beating of a fellow student before fleeing last month to Serbia. Representatives from the offices of New York Democratic senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton along with staff members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee met Wednesday with Vladimir Petrovic, the Serbian Embassy's Charge d'Affairs, to urge that Miladin Kovacevic be returned for trial, and expressed that there would be "significant consequences for Serbia" if the matter was not resolved, a joint statement from the senators said. Kovacevic, a Serbian national, was charged in connection with the alleged May 4 assault of Bryan Steinhauer at a Binghamton, N.Y., bar. The incident fractured Steinhauer's skull and left him in a coma two weeks before he was to graduate with a degree in accounting. Kovacevic was jailed on a felony assault charge and forced to surrender his passport. However, on June 6 the Serbian Consulate in New York posted the $100,000 bail for Kovacevic and aided his return to Serbia by issuing an emergency passport. Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic said Monday in Belgrade that Kovacevic would not be extradited and suggested U.S. authorities hand over the case file so Kovacevic could be prosecuted in Serbia. Kovacevic last week signed a contract with a Serbian basketball team, which said it expects him to show up for the start of the club's practice sessions on Aug. 10. "Because of the aid of Serbian officials, Mr. Kovacevic is living his life openly and freely in Serbia while the Steinhauer family is spending every day praying that their son will recover from his life-threatening injuries," Clinton said in the statement. "We continue to urge the Serbian government to do everything in its power to uphold the rule of law and facilitate the immediate and unconditional return of Mr. Kovacevic to face prosecution."

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now that there is a new SRSG for UNMIKistan...

2008-07-03T01:42:00.000-07:00

.... one wonders who owns or rules Kosova? There are too many queens and princes ruling this tiny kingdom of 2 million people. The new buzz word from UN legal minds is "Reconfiguration": "Have you been reconfigured lately?" ... doochbags...

Here is a link to an analysis by Albin Kurti on who run the country.

Happy Summer all!!!

Where can I get a Skenderbeg for lunch in Prishtina?

2008-06-29T01:37:00.000-07:00

Interesting

2008-06-25T02:05:00.000-07:00

June 25, 2008
Albania Custom Fades: Woman as the Family Man
By DAN BILEFSKY

KRUJE, Albania — Pashe Keqi recalled the day nearly 60 years ago when she decided to become a man. She chopped off her long black curls, traded in her dress for her father’s baggy trousers, armed herself with a hunting rifle and vowed to forsake marriage, children and sex. For centuries, in the closed-off and conservative society of rural northern Albania, swapping genders was considered a practical solution for a family with a shortage of men. Her father was killed in a blood feud, and there was no male heir. By custom, Ms. Keqi, now 78, took a vow of lifetime virginity. She lived as a man, the new patriarch, with all the swagger and trappings of male authority — including the obligation to avenge her father’s death. She says she would not do it today, now that sexual equality and modernity have come even to Albania, with Internet dating and MTV invading after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Girls here do not want to be boys anymore. With only Ms. Keqi and some 40 others remaining, the sworn virgin is dying off. “Back then, it was better to be a man because before a woman and an animal were considered the same thing,” said Ms. Keqi, who has a bellowing baritone voice, sits with her legs open wide like a man and relishes downing shots of raki. “Now, Albanian women have equal rights with men, and are even more powerful. I think today it would be fun to be a woman.”

The tradition of the sworn virgin can be traced to the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini, a code of conduct passed on orally among the clans of northern Albania for more than 500 years. Under the Kanun, the role of a woman is severely circumscribed: take care of children and maintain the home. While a woman’s life is worth half that of a man, a virgin’s value is the same: 12 oxen. The sworn virgin was born of social necessity in an agrarian region plagued by war and death. If the family patriarch died with no male heirs, unmarried women in the family could find themselves alone and powerless. By taking an oath of virginity, women could take on the role of men as head of the family, carry a weapon, own property and move freely. They dressed like men and spent their lives in the company of other men, even though most kept their female given names. They were not ridiculed, but accepted in public life, even adulated. For some the choice was a way for a woman to assert her autonomy or to avoid an arranged marriage. “Stripping off their sexuality by pledging to remain virgins was a way for these women in a male-dominated, segregated society to engage in public life,” said Linda Gusia, a professor of gender studies at the University of Pristina, in Kosovo. “It was about surviving in a world where men rule.” Taking an oath to become a sworn virgin should not, sociologists say, be equated with homosexuality, long taboo in rural Albania. Nor do the women have sex-change operations.

Known in her household as the “pasha,” Ms. Keqi said she decided to become the man of the house at age 20 when her father was murdered. Her four brothers opposed the Communist government of Enver Hoxha, the ruler for 40 years until his death in 1985, and they were either imprisoned or killed. Becoming a man, she said, was the only way to support her mother, her four sisters-in-law and their five children. Ms. Keqi lorded over her large family in her modest house in Tirana, where her nieces served her brandy while she barked out orders. She said living as a man had allowed her freedom denied other women. She worked construction jobs and prayed at the mosque with men. Even today, her nephews and nieces said, they would not dare marry without their “uncle’s” permission. When she stepped outside the village, she enjoyed being taken for a man. “I was totally free as a man because no one knew I was a woman,” Ms. Keqi said. “I could go wherever I wanted to and no one would dare swear at me because I could beat them up. I was only with men. I don’t know how to do women’s talk. I am never scared.” When she was recently hospitalized for surgery, the other woman in her room was horrified to be sharing close quarters with someone she assumed was male. Being the man of the house also made her responsible for avenging her father’s death, she said. When her father’s killer, by then 80, was released from prison five years ago, Ms. Keqi said, her 15-year-old nephew shot him dead. Then the man’s family took revenge and killed her nephew. “I always dreamed of avenging my father’s death,” she said. “Of course, I have regrets; my nephew was killed. But if you kill me, I have to kill you.”

In Albania, a majority Muslim country in the western Balkans, the Kanun is adhered to by Muslims and Christians. Albanian cultural historians said the adherence to medieval customs long discarded elsewhere was a byproduct of the country’s previous isolation. But they stressed that the traditional role of the Albanian woman was changing. “The Albanian woman today is a sort of minister of economics, a minister of affection and a minister of interior who controls who does what,” said Ilir Yzeiri, who writes about Albanian folklore. “Today, women in Albania are behind everything.” Some sworn virgins bemoan the changes. Diana Rakipi, 54, a security guard in the seaside city of Durres, in west Albania, who became a sworn virgin to take care of her nine sisters, said she looked back with nostalgia on the Hoxha era. During Communist times, she was a senior army officer, training women as combat soldiers. Now, she lamented, women do not know their place. “Today women go out half naked to the disco,” said Ms. Rakipi, who wears a military beret. “I was always treated my whole life as a man, always with respect. I can’t clean, I can’t iron, I can’t cook. That is a woman’s work.”

But even in the remote mountains of Kruje, about 30 miles north of Tirana, residents say the Kanun’s influence on gender roles is disappearing. They said erosion of the traditional family, in which everyone once lived under the same roof, had altered women’s position in society. Women and men are now almost the same,” said Caca Fiqiri, whose aunt Qamile Stema, 88, is his village’s last sworn virgin. “We respect sworn virgins very much and consider them as men because of their great sacrifice. But there is no longer a stigma not to have a man of the house.” Yet there is no doubt who wears the trousers in Ms. Stema’s one-room stone house in Barganesh, the family’s ancestral village. There, on a recent day, “Uncle” Qamile was surrounded by her clan, dressed in a qeleshe, the traditional white cap of an Albanian man. Pink flip-flops were her only concession to femininity.

After becoming a man at the age of 20, Ms. Stema said, she carried a gun. At wedding parties, she sat with the men. When she talked to women, she recalled, they recoiled in shyness. She said becoming a sworn virgin was a necessity and a sacrifice. “I feel lonely sometime, all my sisters have died, and I live alone,” she said. “But I never wanted to marry. Some in my family tried to get me to change my clothes and wear dresses, but when they saw I had become a man, they left me alone.” Ms. Stema said she would die a virgin. Had she married, she joked, it would have been to a traditional Albanian woman. “I guess you could say I was partly a woman and partly a man,” she said. “I liked my life as a man. I have no regrets.”

Vetëvendosje last protest ... in May

2008-06-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks for "unconfusing" it all, Mr. S-G

2008-06-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

I do hope most diplomats do not handle sex the way they handle problems. Everyone was waiting for clarity from the UN in New York about the role of the multiple institutions claiming to be kings in Kosova and they got this instead: Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo

HTH!!!

PS: This in no way should be seen as a criticism of the UN S-G. He is a referee caught between sovereign egomaniacs.

Pics...

2008-06-17T00:29:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming

2008-06-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

One can tell by all the new and more varied brand of cars on the road these days. Familes from 'yonder' are arriving to show off their new pimped rides and face caps. While I am sure that we all appreciate the dollars and euros they bring into the economy, not mention a couple more choices of eye candy, some of these Kosovar "internationals" can be obnoxious sometimes. Some behave as if they are the best thing that ever happpened to this region or something ... pffff, we need to start taxing them for all the broken hearts and souls they leave behind :)

Send Us Your Favorite Pictures of Kosovo ...

2008-06-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

... so that we can share with all. "We" being me of course :) Please send to Kosovo2007@gmail.com. Note that I cannot guarantee copyright protection once your picture is on this blog. Consult you lawyer before sending, if in doubt.

Let's talk UN ...

2008-05-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

... in a bigger context than UNMIK alone. A report by Save the Children shines some light on of the horrific plights of people that are supposed to be protected and served by aid workers and peacekeepers. This ONE was particularly about children, which makes it particularly frightening to imagine. There are also other horrifics going on everyday in such societies being committed by those supposed to be protecting them: Human Trafficking, Rape and Abuse of Women, Financial Mismanagement and Corruption of Different Magnitudes, Coziness with Illegal and Crime Syndicates and Organizations, etc. Shame ... Shame...Shame on US all =>International Community, Aid Workers, Peacekeepers, and the States that protect them!!!

I love whistle-blowers:

May 23, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Who Will Watch the Peacekeepers?
By MATTHIAS BASANISI
Bern, Switzerland

THE United Nations, facing criticism that it has failed to police itself in Congo, has hit back in recent days. Press officers insist that there is no problem. Based on my own experience, I disagree. The BBC and Human Rights Watch have both brought forward evidence that the United Nations covered up evidence of gold smuggling and arms trafficking by its peacekeepers in Congo. The peacekeepers are said to have had illegal dealings with one of the most murderous militias in the country, where millions have died in one of the bloodiest yet least visible conflicts in the world. Last month, Inga-Britt Ahlenius, the head of the Office of Internal Oversight Services at the United Nations, told the BBC that her investigators drew the right conclusions based on the evidence they found: that there was little that warranted prosecution or further investigation. I wish that were true. I was the investigator in charge of the United Nations team that in 2006 looked into allegations of abuses by Pakistani peacekeepers in Congo and found them credible. But the investigation was taken away from my team after we resisted what we saw as attempts to influence the outcome. My fellow team members and I were appalled to see that the oversight office’s final report was little short of a whitewash. The reports we submitted to the office’s senior management in 2006 included credible information from witnesses confirming illegal deals between Pakistani peacekeepers and warlords from the Front for National Integration, an ethnic militia group notorious for its cruelty even in such a brutal war. We found corroborative information that senior officers of the Pakistani contingent secretly returned seized weapons to two warlords in exchange for gold, and that the Pakistani peacekeepers tipped off two warlords about plans by the United Nations peacekeeping force and the Congolese Army to arrest them. And yet, much of the evidence we uncovered was excluded from the final report released last summer, including corroboration from the warlords themselves. I resigned from the Office of Internal Oversight Services in May 2007. But that does not mean I am alone in my concerns. Former colleagues of mine who recently investigated similar allegations against Indian peacekeepers in Congo are worried that some of their most serious findings will also be ignored and not investigated further. What’s more, two outside management reports have been critical of the oversight office and its work. Ms. Ahlenius, who has been in charge of the office since 2005, says that she agrees with those criticisms. Secretiveness, she told The Washington Post earlier this month, "serves us extremely poorly." Indeed. So why does it continue under her watch? The oversight office hires experienced investigators. Those investigators are required to respect the highest standards of integrity. And yet the office has done little to ensure that management lives up to its own standards. One likely reason for the watered-down reports is that Pakistan and India are the largest contributors of troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions and no one wants to offend them. I met and worked with many of these peacekeepers and found the majority of them to be professional soldiers willing to risk their lives to bring peace to countries like Congo. But if peacekeepers of any nationality are found to have committed serious crimes, the United Nations must say so. The organization cannot close its eyes and ears to evidence of misconduct. Such behavior undermines peacekeeping efforts everywhere. It would be shocking to think that the United Nations’ own investigative body is reluctant to act on evidence of cooperation between peacekeepers and alleged war criminals. The United Nations must be prepared to deal with crimes by peacekeepers in the eastern Congo; it must also be prepared to tell the truth. Matthias Basanisi was the deputy chief investigator with the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services in Congo from 2005 to 2007.

It pains me to agree with DiCarlo but...

2008-05-27T00:32:00.000-07:00

... out of the other 192 (plus 2) countries in the world, The government of Kosovo should have been able to lobby more than just 41 countries for recognition. I mean, many of these countries would happily recognize Kosovo if for no other reason than to put their names in the world press for a couple of hours. Inefficiency, incompetency, ignorance, egotism ... or whatever their reasons might be for their failure to get more recognitions, some people in the government need to start getting flogged to perform. I would personally suggest that Thaci should not be allowed to eat at "Ex" restaurant anymore until the government crosses the "97 countries recognition" threshold.

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US unhappy with Kosovo over recognitions

Macedoniaonline.eu

U.S. criticized Pristina's government over the small number of countries that have recognized Kosovo's independence, attributing this fact to insufficient lobbying efforts. Foreign diplomats told Pristina-based TV Station Kohavision that Washington is unsatisfied with official Pristina's failure to secure recognition of independence by 97 countries. Kosovo needs this number to apply for admission in the United Nations at this year's UN General Assembly. Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of State Rosemary DiCarlo has reportedly conveyed the message of criticism during her recent visit to Pristina. Pristina's TV station reported that the Americans have suggested to the Kosovo's government to seek for assistance from the Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari and his assistant Albert Rohan in the lobbying efforts. Serbia is taking advantage of Pristina's inefficiency, by preparing a resolution against independence, which is expected to be put to vote at the UN General Assembly. As many as 41 countries have recognized Kosovo so far, 20 of which are members of the European Union.

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Hot off the Press

U.S. Embassy Issues Denial of Criticism

It has been recently claimed that the U.S. Embassy in Pristina issued a statement denying any criticism leveled against the Kosovo Government by Deputy Assistant Secretary Rosemary DiCarlo. "The Embassy press statement clarifies that DiCarlo "made no such comments.""

God, I sometimes hate diplomats and the press ... who said what?

Have you bought a ticket yet?

2008-05-19T01:34:00.000-07:00

Folks, EuroVision is here again. Who is going? I need find a way there. I doubt I can afford the ticket (or that I would torture myself through the terrible songs EV is known for) but it would be nice to go check out all the cute gay guys converging in Beograd. Who knows? I might be able to convince some of them to fact check their sexual preference with me ;) Here is a piece on the prep but not without political bitching, of course.

--------------------------------------
Serbs tune in for Eurosong
Neil MacDonald Belgrade
Source: Financial Times

The lights are hung, the stage is built and the 300 sq m electronic backdrop is ready to project the Eurosong 2008 logo. "It's going to be the greatest show," says Aleksandar Tijanic, general manager of Radio Television Serbia, the state broadcaster, and master of ceremonies for next weekend's Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade. "I hope we can keep it apolitical." Hosting Eurosong will help Serbia improve its image in the European Union, Mr Tijanic says. The chance for the maligned Balkan country to bask in the European spotlight caps the unexpected success of Serbia's pro-EU alliance in parliamentary elections on May 11. Yet there are doubts over whether the former Yugoslav republic will extend a warm welcome to nearly 10,000 tourists and 2,500 journalists who are expected to descend on the capital this week. Nationalist Serbs are still smarting over Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia on February 17. For the organisers, the contest "couldn't have come at a worse time - right after presidential elections, then parliamentary elections, and at the peak of the Kosovo crisis", Mr Tijanic says. "But it's a good test for all of us. Traditional Serbian hospitality will win, and people will feel comfortable in this city." Marija Serifovic's Eurosong victory in Helsinki last year gave Serbia the right to host this year's competition and a chance for some soft diplomacy towards Europe. But Ms Serifovic dabbled in Serb nationalist propaganda, standing next to the nationalist politician Tomislav Nikolic at rallies ahead of his unsuccessful presidential bid. Ms Serifovic subsequently fired her manager and renounced political appearances. "She will sing at the opening," Mr Tijanic says. In February doubts over Belgrade's ability to host the light-hearted Eurosong grew as protesters torched the US embassy in Belgrade. Washington and leading EU countries advised their citizens against travelling to Serbia. Mr Tijanic says the riots did not reflect Belgrade's true character.
Gay organisations - whose constituents are among the greatest fans of the event - recalled how extreme-rightwing thugs wrecked Belgrade's first and only gay pride parade in 2001. Mr Tijanic says Serbia would not tolerate attacks on gays. "I refuse to look at visitors as gay people or straight people. For us, they're participants and guests." The contest will cost 12m ($18.5m, £9.5m), of which the European Broadcasting Union, which runs the 52-year-old show, has contributed 3.5m. But the international exposure from Eurosong will be worth 100m, according to Mr Tijanic. Yet the Kosovo question is never far away. The new breakaway state - whose broadcasters lack EBU membership - cannot send any of its aspiring music idols. This is a relief to Mr Tijanic. "As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather cancel it all than organise Eurosong with Kosovo as a participant."

Mali

2008-05-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently went to Mali and sent me these pics. With his permission, I want to share these with you ... beautiful pics....thanks 'k.

My apologies ....

2008-05-09T01:13:00.000-07:00

... for the long absence. I have been taking care of family issues and have been a little ill. Yes, a little water has gone under the bridge since when I was here last but I will make it up to you all as I have some incredible pictures from Mali that a friend took on his recent trip. More to come soon :) Serbian elections this weekend; protest in Pristina today against the elections taking place in Kosovo ... despite all of these, one cannot help but feel bored by all of these.

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If interested in reading about my country: America, Land of the Free (No more???)

Newly independent Kosovo adopts constitution - WELCOME TO THE FUTURE!!!

2008-04-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

PRISTINA, April 9, 2008 (AFP) - Kosovo's parliament voted unanimously on Wednesday to adopt the Balkan state's first constitution after it unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. "By passing this constitution, we are setting the foundations to build Kosovo as a democratic and sovereign state," parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi said. The constitution, which is to come into effect on June 15, was approved by all 107 deputies present at a special session of the parliament, which is dominated by ethnic Albanians. Its adoption enables Kosovo's institutions to take over from a mission of the United Nations (UNMIK) which has administered the disputed territory since the end of its 1998-1999 conflict. The move also paves the way for the complete deployment of the European Union's 2,000-strong peace and justice mission to Kosovo, dubbed EULEX, which is to oversee Kosovo's "supervised" independence. Kosovo's parliament unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17. It has since been recognised by 38 countries, including the United States and most of the European Union. "The constitution is our will and legitimacy. It is a seal of the state of Kosovo," Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told parliament. "This is another historic step forward in building of our stable state and democratic governance in an independent, sovereign and proud Kosovo," said the ethnic Albanian leader. Backed by traditional ally Russia, Serbia, which views Kosovo as its historic heartland, has rejected the independence declaration, saying it violates international law. Kosovo -- a mountainous territory with some 1.8 million people, 90 percent of them ethnic Albanians -- would be a parliamentary republic and "citizens' state," according to the text of the constitution. "The Republic of Kosovo is a secular state and is neutral in matters of religious beliefs," it said, adding that the "official languages in the Republic of Kosovo are Albanian and Serbian." The constitution guarantees the rights and protection of minorities, notably Serbs who have rejected Kosovo's independence. "Serbs are the citizens of Kosovo. This constitution is also theirs," president Fatmir Sejidu told reporters after the charter was adopted. "We want them to be an important foundation and a bridge for the future better relations with the state of Serbia." The plan for Kosovo's "internationally supervised independence" was devised by special UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari last year after failed talks between Belgrade and Pristina on Kosovo's status.

Haradinaj is acquitted ...

2008-04-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

The least they could have done was find him guilty of bad taste. I detest that horrendous monstrosity of an observatory he calls a mansion built illegally on Prishtin"ian" hills. [What? You were expecting some deep analysis of this issue from me? Like I have nothing better to do with my time :P]

On to something more important: an advertisement to volunteer with young Kosovans in Pristina:

Would you like to get to know members of the youngest population in Europe, and see Kosovo through new eyes? Pupils in Kosovo's urban schools attend classes in shifts. In large classes, attending school for only a few hours a day, they have little opportunity for attention from their teachers, and when it comes to learning English, almost no access to native speakers as role models for their language learning.

Would you like to help? Are you a native English speaker? Could you give up a few hours a week for a 5 week project to support Kosovan kids' learning of English in after-school clubs? We are setting up a pilot project for volunteers to work in pairs running bi-weekly after-school English clubs with groups of up to twelve 10-year-olds in a school in Pristina. No previous experience of teaching English is required - we will run a few training sessions in advance of the project starting, offer the necessary resources, and be available for support during the 5 weeks that the project runs. Depending on the interest in our after school clubs, and the success of the project for the children, volunteers and school, we hope to extend the project with more volunteers and more schools in the autumn term.

Volunteers will need to be available for training on Friday 18 April, Wednesday 23 April and Friday 25 April from 2 - 5pm and for one further session during the week of 5 May. Beyond that, the commitment can be flexible. If you have questions about the project, please contact us (elizabethgowing@hotmail.com).

Some night views of Prishtina

2008-03-31T00:44:00.000-07:00

Kosovo is burning????

2008-03-21T02:33:00.000-07:00

I do not think so but it was interesting to see UNMIK flexing some military muscles this past week to dire consequences. Also interesting to note that none of the elites from any side gets hurt in these incidents, it's always blue collared young people getting the shaft and bullets. I would like to see Kostunica or Krasniqi go sleep on the streets and get stones and bullets rained on them ... mofos. In case you missed it, here you go. Since then, an UNMIK police officer from Ukraine has passed away and a Serb man is in critical condition from a bullet in his head (plus plenty others wounded on both sides, some critically).

An interesting side story, what has bread got to do with nationality? everything apparently ... in Serbia.

03/20/2008 Serbian president Tadic urges probe into calls for boycott of Albanian-owned bakeries (Ap)

BELGRADE, Serbia_Serbia's President Boris Tadic is demanding that police find out who is behind calls to boycott Albanian-owned bakeries in response to Kosovo's declaration of independence. Tadic is critical of what he termed "chauvinist actions" against Serbia's ethnic Albanian citizens. He says each citizen has the same rights regardless of ethnic or religious background. Serbian nationalists have handed out free bread in front of Albanian-owned bakeries in the northern city of Sombor and other towns since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17. On Thursday, leaflets urging a new boycott of Albanian shops are appearing. Kosovo is considered Serbia's medieval heartland, but is dominated by separatist ethnic Albanians.

HAPPY EASTER ... if you celebrate it. Let peace reign, people!!!

Yeah, another story from Kosova ...

2008-03-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

For those who might be tired of these stories, you might want to switch off a little, I love these interesting stories of people in this new country. Here is another one:

An American – university – in Kosovo

By Robert Marquand Tue Mar 11, 4:00 AM ET
The Christian Science Monitor

A few years ago, Chris Hall was a state senator from midcoast Maine. He had quit a job as a steel and mining executive, deciding "never again" to do the weekly commute from Portland to New York. But a defeat in 2004 opened the door for Mr. Hall to become the first president of one of the more unusual colleges in Europe: the American University in Kosovo.
After decades of repression and war, Kosovo's schools were in tatters. A privileged few studied abroad. But AUK, formed three years ago with funds from the Albanian diaspora and the only multiethnic private college here, aspires to help the somewhat battered new state build its next generation of leaders. It's a mission the Oxford-educated Hall deeply believes in.
Kosovo's declaration of independence on Feb. 17 may have brought angry protests from Serbs 30 miles away on the Ibar River, but Hall has a college to run. He sits in on statistics classes, juggles scholarships and budgets, coordinates with Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology, which grants AUK degrees, and hires Fulbright scholars.
He's added a public policy program to what is now a business degree and helped create one of the freest weekly political forums in Pristina, albeit one in English. He wants the small school to breathe the values of civil society and intelligent democratic sentiments.
Just last week, Hall was in Chicago signing a partnership with the Illinois Institute of Technology for an AUK master's in law, which will be the only such degree offered in Kosovo.
Most important, Hall and many students say, AUK offers Kosovar youths a school where they encounter Western-style debates, interaction, and educational standards.
Student Tefta Kelmendi first considered going abroad for college, since there were "many other possibilities offered to Kosovar students for study abroad and scholarships," she says. But AUK allowed her to "be part of all these significant changes that are taking place" in Kosovo, so she stayed.
The college opened in 2003 in a crowded house with few facilities. But two years ago, AUK moved to a small complex in a hilly suburb, with lecture halls, information-technology facilities, and a cafeteria-cum-student hangout. Some 34 professors – from the Balkans as well asthe US – staff the school. Enrollment is 450, but Hall and company plan for 600. Last year, the school celebrated its first graduating class, of 57.
Of those, more than 40 now work in Kosovo, a point of pride for Hall and the AUK board, whose members include prominent American Albanians like businessman Richard Lukaj and Ron Cami, a partner of the New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Students come mostly from the Albanian diaspora in 11 other countries, including Syria, Nigeria, and Algeria. Four Serbian students attend – and have not left despite Kosovo's declaration of independence.
AUK is "a success story in a part of the world with few success stories at this point," says Louis Sell, a former US diplomat and an AUK board member who helped bring Hall to the school. Mr. Sell feels that after Kosovo's declaration of independence, a school of public service at AUK will make a contribution. The school is seeking $3 million in scholarships as part of a larger Kosovo package now before Congress. Kosovo "is a part of Europe that is nominally Islamic, but overwhelmingly pro-American. The US has been quite cautious in the money it gives. But we hope that is changing," Sell adds.
After Hall lost his senate seat in 2004, he ran into Sell, who lives nearby. Sell knew that Hall, a Briton turned naturalized American, had a longstanding interest in the Balkans. Hall was in one of the first tour groups to enter Albania in 1990 after it had been closed for decades. Sell, with other US diplomats, had worked with the Fund for the Reconstruction of Kosovo, made up of Albanians, to establish a nonprofit college in Pristina with $4 million left over from the monies collected from the diaspora.
Hall, who was going to be in Belgrade, agreed to pop down to Pristina. While the college was "this overstuffed house on a hill," as Hall recalls, he was "deeply impressed" with students. "They don't have the worldliness you find in so many American kids of this generation," he says.
Before 1999, Kosovar students lived in a virtual police state under the Serbs. After NATO intervention, they were going to schools that "suffered every conceivable form of setback. But Hall found "a degree of idealism and passion for learning that I had not expected.... [We] don't have the drugs and crime you would expect, either."
Hall taught public policy courses for two years, then agreed to be president in the summer of 2007. That meant living away from his wife, Jackie Wardell, who heads a staff of 80 at a community bank on the Maine coast that does a small business lending to women and minorities.
"We thought about it long and hard. It took a lot of searching," Hall says, adding that his administration's motto in working out knots and kinks in a highly sensitive locale is "to be diplomats – friends with everybody and allies of nobody."
"Kosovo has a population of incredible talent and energy; I wouldn't be here if I weren't optimistic," he says. Some of his biggest battles in what he calls "management by walking around" is raising faculty expectations of students: "I don't want to hear that we have to go easy because these are poor Kosovars. They have the talent to be every bit as good as RIT students."
Robert McCloud, an IT professor here on a Fulbright from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, describes Kosovo youths as a bright and innovative generation who haven't been exposed to enough differing ways of thinking. But being isolated, he says, "They are much too self-taught." he says. In his graphics classes he tries to get them to expand into different types of software. "Everything is done in Photoshop. They buy the software for $1.50. So finally I tell them, don't show me any more Photoshop!"
For Hall, AUK's success is measured by the help it offers the new state. With a pedigree name (American University) and English fluency requirement, in gritty Pristina the school has a reputation as elite. Only about 20 percent of students are on scholarship, and the tuition is $4,000 a year, hefty by Kosovo standards. Still, an AUK degree is not "a passport out of town," Hall says.
Hall, who deeply loves Maine and its people, says he is giving AUK "three years, about right for this kind of commitment."

Happy International Women Day

2008-03-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

Kosovo's women suffer

Stemming domestic violence and human trafficking remains a challenge in the newly independent nation.

By Tracy WilkinsonLos Angeles Times Staff Writer

March 10, 2008PRISTINA, KOSOVO — She purses her lips in a "tsk-tsk" when asked difficult questions. Questions about her life, about the husband who beats her, the father who denies her an inheritance and a place to live.Slightly hunchbacked, her thin frame barely fills the several layers of donated clothing she wears. At 26, she looks 15. She has three children and an elementary-school education. When she showed up at the door of a women's shelter here, purple bruises blotched her face and framed her shattered, crooked nose. Chunks of her hair had been ripped out."I've been beaten a lot," said Fatima. "They beat me so badly the last time, I could not care for my children." In the last couple of years, she says, she has spent more time at the shelter, hiding, than in her husband's house. It is only a slight exaggeration.Fatima is actually luckier than many women in Kosovo, a harsh region weighted by twin burdens of poverty and unenlightened tradition. A United Nations study in 2000 estimated that one-fourth of the female population of Kosovo suffered physical or psychological abuse; Kosovo police last year recorded 1,077 cases of domestic violence.Fatima and her children were able to escape to a shelter, one of a dozen or so that now operate here. It has given her refuge from the violent men of her family and an alternative to an even darker fate: being sold into the expansive networks that traffic women like chattel in this part of the world. But for every woman in Kosovo who is saved, an untold number do not make it, according to women's advocates and social workers.Dominated by ethnic Albanians, Kosovo broke away from Serbia last month, proclaiming itself an independent nation, with fervent backing from Washington. Among Kosovo's many challenges, from building state institutions to combating rampant corruption, is improving its historically unjust and often criminal treatment of women. Like much of the surrounding, rugged Balkans, Kosovo has long served as a notorious transit point for the international trafficking of women, mostly from Eastern Europe, who are forced into prostitution or slavery.After a brutal crackdown by Slobodan Milosevic in 1999, Kosovo came under the stewardship of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations. During the years since, Kosovo evolved from a transit point into both a source of and destination for trafficked women. Often, Kosovo officials and former guerrilla commanders were complicit in the lucrative trade -- and the resident international community, including peacekeepers and civilian consultants, its market. Unemployment problemThe question now is whether independence, which is still in an embryonic stage and not universally recognized, will result in a change of status for women and eradication of the trafficking networks. Or whether organized criminal gangs, with allies in the new government, will be given an even freer hand."The first thing our government must do, and they've promised a lot, is to fight unemployment. The violence is linked directly to economic conditions," said Naime Sherifa, director of the Center for the Protection of Women and Children in Pristina, the first such organization here. "People are very tired of being poor."Tired, she said, and ready to explode. Roughly half of Kosovo's generally young population is out of work; the World Bank and other experts believe it could take a decade to dramatically reduce unemployment. Poverty strains Kosovo's families, which tend to be large. Add to that the dislocations of war: Thousands of people were killed and entire villages razed, their residents forced to move to urban areas. There, many live in cramped conditions, disoriented, unsettled in an unfamiliar environment.The breakdown of family structure and the transfer of populations to cities created an anonymity in Kosovo society that did not exist before the war; as one consequence, it left women vulnerable to traffickers and other abuse, said Wanda Troszczynska, a Kosovo specialist with the New York-based Human Rights Watch.Women used to be relegated to restrictive lives at home, guarded behind the high-walled compounds that traditionally housed extended ethnic Albanian families, or clans. It wasn't freedom, but it was out of the reach of outside exploitation. Traffickers brought women from elsewhere, such as Moldova and Romania, initially to be shuttled to Italy or other parts of Europe and, after the war, to remain in Kosovo to "service" a growing international population.Eventually, more and more Kosovo women, ripped from their traditional home life, also fell prey to traffickers and found themselves lured by promises of work, marriage or their own cellphone, only to end up in seedy bars, strip joints and brothels.Need to enforce lawsIn their long march to prove themselves ready to run a state, Kosovo Albanians set up a police force under United Nations tutelage that gradually took up the mission of raiding bars and rescuing victims of sexual exploitation. In 2006, the Kosovo police conducted 99 raids, arrested 28 suspected traffickers and "identified" 50 victims, according to statistics provided by the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.By all accounts, the work by the Kosovo police is an improvement but targets only the tip of the iceberg.More insidious than the trafficking are the domestic abuse cases. Perhaps tens of thousands of women suffer violence at home or the denial of basic rights, according to human rights activists and social workers. Experts say the problem crosses ethnic lines -- Albanians, Serbs, Roma and others are victims -- and remains vastly underreported. Igballe Rogova, head of the Kosova Women's Network, an umbrella coalition of about 40 groups, said she was hopeful the government, with the independence issue more or less settled, could put into practice laws that exist on paper."Today we have really incredibly good mechanisms on gender equality," she told a European Parliament committee on women's issues in Brussels late last month. "We have a law on gender equality, we have an office on gender equality at the prime minister level and, in every ministry, gender equality officers. We are not happy with the implementation of these mechanisms, but we are very optimistic." Sherifa said laws grant women the rights to own and inherit property on the same terms as men. But it often does not happen that way.In the case of Fatima, for example, her father owns nearly nine acres of land, which he has divided among her brothers. But he refuses to give Fatima any, forcing her to live with her husband and children in her father-in-law's tiny house. Seven people live, cramped and unhappily, in the two-room shack.Both her husband and her father-in-law beat her, Fatima said. Her "offenses" ranged from asking for money to buy medicine for a sick child, or asking for food. Sometimes, she said, she goes days without eating. Fatima has ended up in the shelter three times in the last two years, each time after a beating so severe she could not stand the pain any longer.Haven for abusedThe shelter, run by Sherifa's organization, was the first one in Kosovo. It is a three-story house behind a gate on a quiet street of Pristina. Police patrol it regularly. (The Times was granted rare access to the shelter and its residents on the condition that neither the location nor the victims be identified. "Fatima" is a pseudonym.) The good news in Fatima's story is that when, bruised and bloodied, she called the police, they came. They took her to the shelter. She returned to the family after the men were briefly detained by the police and ordered not to touch her again. Now, however, it is clear the intervention has failed, Sherifa said, and she will look for a permanent place for Fatima and her children to live.More than anything, Fatima seems weary. "I just feel sorry for my children," she said. "They see all this violence all the time. I'm afraid it will affect them." The bad news is the shelters are full, unable to meet the demand; abusers are rarely prosecuted, witnesses too terrified to come forward.Said Sherifa: "This is something we, and the next generation, will have to work on."

Independence Pictures...

2008-03-05T06:05:00.000-08:00

Delayed but not late ...

BOOYAH!!!

2008-03-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

You go boy, Rücker!!!

UNMIK/PR/1725
Tuesday, 04 March 2008

UNMIK reasserts control over rail line in north of Kosovo

PRISTINA – UNMIK today reasserted control of the rail line between Zvecan/Zvečan and Leshak/Lešak in the north of Kosovo.

“The successful intervention of UNMIK Border Police today reverses the challenge to UNMIK’s authority that occurred yesterday when Serbian Railways illegally sent two of its trains south of Leshak/Lešak,” said Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Kosovo (SRSG) Joachim Rücker.

“Any movement of trains south of Leshak/Lešak by Serbian Railways is a clear challenge to UNMIK’s authority as well as a breach of the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding that Yugoslav Railways [now Serbian Railways] signed with UNMIK Railways [also called Kosovo Railways] and will not be tolerated,” the SRSG said.

Today at around 9:35am, Border Police at the train station in Leshak/Lešak explained to a representative of Serbian Railways that the train would not be permitted to travel south. Serbian Railways complied.

“UNMIK and its partners will continue to meet any challenges to law and order throughout Kosovo,” the SRSG said.

A little perspective ...

2008-02-28T00:27:00.001-08:00

The Gospel of Jeremic

2008-02-27T02:40:00.000-08:00

February 27, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor

One Nation, Indivisible
By VUK JEREMIC
Belgrade, Serbia

THE international system that has brought unprecedented prosperity to the world since 1945 is based on rules that apply without exception. This system is supposed to protect the basic, legitimate national interests of every country, whether rich or poor, strong or weak. Its binding principles include the sovereign equality of states, the respect for the territorial integrity and the inviolability of internationally recognized borders.

Yet on Feb. 17, the Serbian province of Kosovo, which has been under United Nations administration since 1999, unilaterally declared independence from my country. This illegal act has, unfortunately, been recognized by the Bush administration and some European countries including Britain, France and Germany. Others in Europe — including Greece, Romania and Spain — have withheld recognition, as have most other leading global and regional players, including Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Israel, Russia and South Africa.

As things stand, the number of countries that will recognize an independent Kosovo will plateau at around 40, leaving it unrecognized by a vast majority of the close to 200 members of the United Nations. This includes, of course, the Republic of Serbia.

A peaceful demonstration of close to half a million people in Belgrade last week condemned this act of illegal secession. Unfortunately, a few hundred hooligans attacked several embassies, including that of the United States, and looted stores; they even attacked my ministry. Our government has condemned these acts, and will prosecute the offenders.

The case against recognition is based not only on the Security Council’s 1999 resolution reaffirming Serbia’s sovereignty over Kosovo, but also founded on the view that the international system has, as a result of this hostile act by the Kosovo Albanians, become more unstable, more insecure and more unpredictable.

Here’s why. Recognizing the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia legitimizes the doctrine of imposing solutions to ethnic conflicts. It legitimizes the act of unilateral secession by a provincial or other non-state actor. It transforms the right to self-determination into an avowed right to independence. It legitimizes the forced partition of internationally recognized, sovereign states.

It violates the commitment to the peaceful and consensual resolution of disputes in Europe. It supplies any ethnic or religious group that has a grievance against its capital with a playbook on how to achieve its ends. It even resurrects the discredited cold-war doctrine of limited sovereignty.

A historical injustice is being imposed on a European country that has overcome more obstacles since we democratically overthrew Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000 than most other nations have in a much longer time. Recognizing Kosovo means saying, in effect, that Serbian democracy must be punished because a tyrant — one who committed heinous deeds against the Kosovo Albanians in the 1990s — was left unpunished. Such misplaced revenge may make some feel better, but it will make the international system feel much worse.

To act out of a false moral imperative to right a supposed historical wrong will contribute neither to international security nor to the region’s prospects of European Union membership. It is time to take a step back and examine the damage done.

If we can find a creative way to step back from the abyss that is Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, we could not only salvage the credibility of the international system, but even strengthen it through a re-commitment to its basic principles. Some will say that it’s too late to put the genie back in the bottle. I don’t believe that’s true, because it’s never too late to forge a prosperous future for all stakeholders to share.

What is absolutely certain is that trust needs to be rebuilt and values must be reaffirmed. The way forward lies in coming together and securing an agreement between the two parties: a negotiated, compromise solution to Kosovo’s future status that addresses the legitimate right to broad self-governance for Kosovo’s Albanians, while preserving a democratic Serbia that is whole and free, integrated into Europe, and engaged with a world set aright through prudent statecraft.

The legitimacy of the international system hangs in the balance.

Vuk Jeremic is the foreign minister of Serbia.

Hey Ma, can you hear me? We are news again ... so is our distant cousin!!!

2008-02-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

So, fires have become the protest weapon of choice for the "thugs" of Serbia. Are these really "thugs" or just a convenient labeling by both sides to understate the frustration of a large population in Serbia? Personally, I have no problem with people who want to vent their frustration ... nobody likes to give away power or their view of power willingly. So I sent out some emails to some people (non-US and non-Euro) and here are some advices they have for the protesting "thugs":

1. Wearing hoodies is not the chic fashion for true protesters. Otherwise it might be interpreted that you are not really sure of what you are protesting for and are more afraid for your jobs and getting arrested than for your cause. Did Che, Chavez or Mandela wear hoodies? Answer is NO!!!

2. While fires might be cute on tv news, they have this nasty habit of being uncontrollable atimes, as evidenced by the dead person from the US embassy fire. Perhaps try more modern technology.

3. Going back home in Belgrade for dinner and sleep after breaking open borders just seems plain lazy and shows lack of commitment. Here is a quote from a gal on a small island: "I am not in the military and even I will tell you that it's more effective to occupy any territory taken. Heading home for the night and then coming back to retake the same border is a waste of effort and has the potential to make you seem like the "boys" who cried wolf. For heaven's sake, occupy Kosovo already if you are so intent on taking it back."

.... and lose the cell phones on camera. Makes you look more like a drug dealer rather than a soldier for the heartland.

There you have it folks. From moi, here are a couple of news links that are interesting to read:

- The world's newest state

- Storming of embassy in Serbia sparks U.S. outrage (apparently, Kostunica apologized to the US but no one has apologised yet to the dead body found in the fire - martyr or moron?)

- Violence erupts on Kosovo-Serbia border (again!!!)

- Kosovo, controversially free at last

Stories ... Kosova

2008-02-21T01:04:00.000-08:00

Taking a little break from the Independence euphoria, I started searching for stories and articles that might have been written about non-independence-related Kosovo matters (like the one below); considering there were tons of journalists here ... one or 2 might have been interested in other parts of life in Kosovo. It was a futile search. If you know of any, please send to me. As a bonus, I found this: Articles written when Kosovo was not famous...

It's 'Islam lite' as Kosovars shun extremist Muslim dogma
Faith in Islam can coexist with a fondness for a beer at the local in the country seen as Europe's bulwark against radicalisation

By William Kole
in Gnjilane, Kosovo

KASTRIOT Sadiku, 25, has a confession: like a good Muslim, he was near a mosque when Kosovo declared independence. But like a good Kosovar, he was just around the corner from it, sipping beer at his favourite pub. "In the entire Muslim world, I think that's probably something that can only happen here, where our religion doesn't interfere with the rest of our lives," he said.Much has been made of Kosovo's status as the world's newest mostly Muslim nation. But its secular government, religious leaders and faithful have carefully distanced themselves from the slightest hint of extremism.The fledgling Republic of Kosovo, they insist, embraces a decidedly laid-back version of Islam."Our Islam is 'lite' – like Coke Lite or Marlboro Light cigarettes," said Ilmi Krasniqi, an imam at one of five mosques in the eastern town of Gnjilane. "This is not Baghdad, and what goes on in Saudi Arabia cannot happen here."Agim Hyseni, the chief imam in Gnjilane, said Muslims in feverishly pro-United States Kosovo have distanced themselves from extremist ideology or acts. "The people here feel no empathy for those kind of acts," he said. "They know very well what terrorism is because they've suffered through so many terrorist acts."But if terrorism is a relative term in Kosovo, so is "Muslim".The Ottoman Turks imported Islam centuries ago, but it has npt saturated this society. Kosovo was Christian before, about 7 per cent of its ethnic Albanians are Catholics, and a large cathedral is being built in the heart of Pristina, the capital.The late president Ibrahim Rugova was fascinated with Roman Catholicism, and there were even unconfirmed reports after his death in 2006 that he had converted.Although the conflict pitted Albanian Muslims against Christian Orthodox Serbs, who consider Kosovo the cradle of their religion and national identity, it was a battle for turf – not a holy war."We've never had a Christian-Muslim conflict here," said Albulena Hoti, 20, strolling in Gnjilane beneath the flags of the United States, Britain and Germany – all among the first countries to recognise Kosovo after it declared independence on Sunday.Stephen Schwartz, the executive director of the Centre for Islamic Pluralism, a Washington-based think tank, contends that Kosovo will become a model of religious pluralism in Europe. "lbanian Islam is moderate, and constitutes a bulwark against radicalisation of European Muslims," he said."I don't think there's any other Muslim country in the world where there's so much Christian missionary activity that goes on undisturbed." Kosovo's conflict drew only a smattering of mujahideen – Islamic fighters from the Arab world – unlike the 1992-5 Bosnian war, where they came by the thousands to aid their Muslim brothers.Outside Gnjilane's main mosque, the crowd of young men included some with long, wiry beards. But they are quick to eschew the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam followed by al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden."I'm proud that our democratic and recognised country is first and foremost a very tolerant and secular state," said Fikret Morina, a 31-year-old Muslim tradesman. "The world has no reason to be afraid of us."

UNESCO Heritage Site???

2008-02-20T03:10:00.001-08:00

... or perhaps UNICEF heritage site. Or no need at all if a dash is added in between to read: "Free-Kosova". One thing for sure, this wall was a darling for photo-journalism in Kosovo.

hahahaha ... e dua Kosova

2008-02-19T10:39:00.001-08:00

Probably the most famous picture rounding Prishtina currently ...

REPUBLIC OF KOSOVA!!!

2008-02-17T10:01:00.000-08:00

... told ya ... and the party is on.... please, be careful with the "happy shooting". (pics below were culled from the net; mine will come later)

I-DAY is Here!!!

2008-02-17T04:44:00.000-08:00

Less than 2 hours away from the eventual announcement. I wish I could feed you a live video feed but I am not that tech savy ... It's a regional party and apparently, everyone is invited. Nice to know that Kosovars are actually immune to cold temperatures. I always suspected this but witnessed it several times last night with people in t-shirts when I thought the cold would break off my c***. I have tons of pics and will upload them for y'all after the celebrations. No politics talk today. I just want to be happy for a people who seem happy.

Congrats KOSOVA!!!

Independence is in the air ....

2008-02-15T06:10:00.000-08:00

... and the ladies of Prishtina still look as hot as ever :)

In case you are not aware, we all expect some sort of proclamation of independence this weekend. Many are betting on Sunday 17 Feb (night). I have my money on tonight (early morning tomorrow) but do not pay attention to me as I ALWAYS lose these bets. Either way, K becomes a republic as from next week. hmmmm ...

Of course, that will require a change in the name of this blog and I might need to apply for immigrant status. People are excited, flags are flying, drinks are being offered for free (well, that has always been true for cute stuff like me ... ahem!), and many international people are fretting (not all though). BTW, please, could all fob journalists and their lunch dates try not to be so annoyingly loud in resturants?!? We thank you for the petro-dollars you are spending in Pristina though.

Google Kosovo/Kosova and you will find more news that you can digest and hold your horses, a movie will be produced about these days in case this is not exciting enough for you.

oh! I lost already ...

This is fresh off the rolls, folk: Agenda for I-Day

Agenda "D-Day", Times in CET

Independence Declaration

17th February 2008

10:00 Prime Ministers leads off from Government to Parliament- hands over the request for extraordinary Parliament Session

11:00 Prime Minister makes public the request for extraordinary session of the Parliament

12:00 Assembly Presidency Meeting

13:30 Meeting of the Parliamentary Groups

15:00 Plenary Session of Kosova Assembly

18:00 Statement by three leaders at Hotel Grand MEDIA CENTER

18:30 Hoist of Independence Obelisk in front of the Youth Palace in Prishtina

19:00 Kosova Philharmonic Concert Hall 1 October

20:00 Concert in Prishtina Square

22:50 President and Prime Minister address the masses

23:00 Fireworks displayed at four different parts of Prishtina

THE guide book for Kosovo

2008-02-08T10:33:00.001-08:00

This has been the quasi-toast of town since December. Talk about an opportuned time to publish this, with independence just around the corner [knock on wood three times]. I have heard nothing but praises about this guide book and have read a couple of sections in it. Very informative. I have not bought one yet as I think I should get it as a gift. Anyone wants to do me the honors? Hehehehe, of course nothing goes for nothing ;) ... ok, enough of the slut in me. Only detail in this book I can see changing are the cafes, restaurants and phone numbers. But these reflect reality on the ground here; these fore-mentioned trio change rapidly in Kosovo. What are you waiting for? Go buy one and put me out of business.

What the heck is Kusty doing in Belgrade?

2008-02-08T10:26:00.000-08:00

Can he rein in these idiots before they destroy the international image of Beograd?

Radical group blows up Slovenian mall in Serbia

Friday, 08 February 2008

SloveniaBELGRADE (AP) - An explosion shook a shopping mall in Serbia Friday and another mall was evacuated as tensions soared before an expected declaration of independence by the Serbian province of Kosovo. The explosions took place a day after right-wing protesters, chanting the names of Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitives whom they consider heroes, disrupted an exhibition by Kosovo Albanian artists. Nationalists are angry that Kosovo - Serbia's cherished medieval heartland now dominated by independence-seeking ethnic Albanians - will secede within days. Serbian Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic said Friday the declaration likely will be made Feb. 17. He didn't give the source of his information. Kosovo Albanian leaders have said statehood will come in "a matter of days." The blast early Friday at a shopping center in New Belgrade was caused by an " explosive device," said Sanja Segrt, a spokeswoman for the Slovenian company that owns the mall. No one was injured and the explosion caused only minor damage, she said. Serbian police said the blast destroyed ten windows near the main entrance and an investigation is ongoing.

In Slovenia, the foreign ministry said it expected the Serbian police to identify and punish the culprits. But it said "Slovenian and Serbian friendship is traditional. We...will make sure that it stays that way in the future, as well." Hours later, Serbian media reported another mall - this one in the central town of Cacak, and owned by the same Slovenian company, Merkator - was evacuated after a telephone bomb threat. It turned out to be a false alarm. Many Serbs see Slovenia, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union, as supportive of Kosovo's quest for independence. Some Serbs have called for a boycott of Slovenian goods - a campaign reminiscent of the days leading up to the bloody breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

Late Thursday, riot police deployed in central Belgrade to prevent about 300 members of the right-wing group Obraz, or Honor, from bursting into an art gallery and disrupting the opening of an exhibition of art from Kosovo. Ljubica Beljanski-Ristic, who runs the gallery, which is displaying work by 11 Kosovo Albanian artists, said one of the protesters tore down a poster before the event was closed "for security reasons." The Obraz members were chanting names of Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitives Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, whom they consider heroes despite the genocide indictments against them at a U.N. war crimes tribunal.

The Gospel of Thaci

2008-02-06T03:16:00.000-08:00

Kosovo is ready

By Hashim Thaci
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
IHT

Independence is here. In close coordination with our U.S. and EU allies, my government and the Kosovo Parliament will declare it in days. We have negotiated with Belgrade and the international community for almost two years. Some progress has been made on some important issues, like the return of refugees, decentralization and cultural heritage. But we have failed to make any progress on the fundamental point, the future of Kosovo.

Now we are turning to a new beginning. An independent Kosovo is a fact. Serbia and Kosovo have a common future as two independent countries in the European Union. It is our goal to work closely with Serbia and other neighbors in order to receive the full benefits of regional cooperation and European integration. Kosovo is confident because we know we are headed toward the European Union. The re-election of President Boris Tadic suggests this is also Serbia's direction. This is a positive development for the region.

Kosovo has come a long way since 1999, when NATO intervened to stop Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. The United Nations Mission in Kosovo is a temporary set-up that has helped us build and develop our own institutional capacity. Kosovo is obliged to the good job done by the international community thus far, which made it possible for Kosovo to be ready for self-governance.

Moreover, we have a plan. First, we need independence declared and recognized. The phase of convincing is over. We have proved that we can be a responsible partner and are serious about a multi-ethnic future. The international community, except for a few countries, has come to understand and support our legitimate right to be an independent state. I am confident that Kosovo will be recognized by a majority of European countries and the United States immediately after we declare independence.

But we need more than independence. We need economic, social and political development. After independence we are responsible for Kosovo. This is a massive mental shift, which Kosovo will have to make very soon. The way we live from here on will depend on how well we manage development. Responsible governance is tied in principle to having a vision and the rule of law. My government is fully committed to this goal.

Hence, my third point: the need to chart a vision for Kosovo. First, there is the regional dimension. Kosovo will invest in becoming a link between Serbia, Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. We have the geographic location to become a regional hub. We will upgrade our roads, airport and rail lines. We are eager to capitalize on the potential cargo trade. We are ready to invest in building logistic centers near Pristina, coupled with tax-free industrial parks.
Promoting open borders and the free flow of goods, capital and labor will be a priority of my government. This is also good news for our Serbian minority. We want our citizens to be able to travel freely, and to trade, first regionally, and later within the EU borders.
Kosovo Serbs are part of our system. We are ready to move with them to build a future founded on European values and European institutions.

My government's vision for integrating the Serbs is aligned with the proposals made in the Ahtisaari plan - we are committed to decentralization, affirmative action, property rights and favorable representation in the government for the Serbs, and to protecting the rights of Serbs to run their local affairs. I am determined to set up a special office for promotion of minority rights in my government.

The population of Kosovo is young, a major asset for a continent that faces a retirement crisis. With independence investor confidence should return. We are preparing a number of stimulants to attract businesses, including tax incentives, zero-tolerance on corruption, and promoting law and order.

Europe is welcomed in Kosovo. I say this on behalf of our citizens, who overwhelmingly endorse Kosovo's European future. Kosovo will be a success story if we are realistic and inclusive. We want reforms for the good of Kosovo. Independence and reform are our gateway to Europe.

HNY: I am sorry to disappoint my detractors :P

2008-02-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year folks!!!

Yes, I know you missed me, I missed you all shume shume ... hehe. I wish I could apologize for having been missing but a gal's gotta have a break during the holidays. And a break I got. Before I get into details of my vacation sins though, can I just tell you how sexy I find Serbian President B. Tadic (he should lose the Boris ... reminds me a fat drunken man)? Not least because he just whooped ass in the just concluded elections. I like men (and women) with power who can be soft spoken at the same time. Whether his re-election is a blessing or curse for those of us who have been waiting for independence will be seen in the coming days (weeks?). But, I hope he means progress for Serbia - a peaceful and prosperous Serbia is good for the Balkan region in general -extrapolate what you may from this. One thing for sure, Serbs know how to vote and count votes fast.

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

Okay, poll of the week: Who is cuter?
(if you have more flattering pictures of your choice, send to me and I will use it instead of the ones below)

1. Boris Tadic: President of the Republic of Serbia

2. Hashim Thaci: Prime Minister of Kosovo

Disclaimer: This poll in no way, form or shape represents the personal taste of the author in men. Neither does it express, implicitly or otherwise, any preference or support by the author or voters for any person, party or political status. In others words, if you do more than voting and laughing with regards to this poll, you do so of your own free will and you are liable for any consequences that arise from such actions or inactions.

Post 50 ... and the fat lady has just left the room

2007-12-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

The latest gossip on land is the sudden departure of the PDSRSG (or deputy head) of UNMIK, Gen. Steven Schook (rtd), from Kosovo yesterday. He made waves a couple of months ago when he gave a solo press conference announcing he was being investigated by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS) for "loving his job". Well, if he is to be believed, the people of Kosovo just lost a good friend. But friends come and go as long as they are sent by Washington, Kosovo' heart will not be broken too long :) The SRSG apparently is "saddened by" and I mourn his departure. I have met him a couple of times at some functions and he exuded so much confidence and straight-forwardness, something found mostly in Texans (is he Texan?). Very unlike most UN people I have met here who tend to be sneaky and three-faced. Maybe that is why he was doomed to leave.

So, Gen. Schook, here is an adieu from Luna ... I always thought you were hot!!! Feel free to have a "personal relationship" with me next time we cross paths.

... here is 50 Cent as a consolation price ...

2007-12-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

They have yet to produce the cheaper mobile system they were awarded a contract for but yet they can bring 50 Cent to Prishtina. Doofs ... IPKO that is!!! I want my money back .. oh wait, I do not subscribe to internet access at home anymore.

I rejoice for all fake hiphop posers in the city who will run to pay other's yearly salaries for this show but really, can't the private industry think of better ways to bring good tidings to the region (e.g. sponsor kids' education, promote local culture, build museums, etc.) than bringing a rich rap star to Kosovo? Maybe this will take all our minds off independence for a while ... pfffff.

NOTE: The author is fully aware that she is, unintentionally, promoting 50 Cent's gig. S'ka problem. 50, please donate to the SOS village in Pristina. Those kids need all the love a rap artist can afford a million times over.

here is what they think about ... always relative to others ...

2007-12-03T03:38:00.000-08:00

Kosovo's future: The day after independence

Nov 22nd 2007 From The Economist print edition

The next Balkan headache for the European Union

FOR months the future of Kosovo has been uncertain. In March Marti Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, presented a plan for conditional independence to the United Nations, which has run the province since the end of the war in 1999. Russia stepped in to stop this, and has since treated Kosovo as a bargaining card with the West. The crude message was that, even though Kosovo is surrounded by the European Union and NATO, a resurgent Russia can still get its way there. Now it looks as if this may have backfired. Kosovo has a population of 2m, 90% of whom are ethnic Albanians who have long demanded independence. Serbia's leaders say they cannot have it, since Kosovo was always a Serbian province and not a Yugoslav republic before the country fell apart. Serbia has proposed various models of autonomy, drawing on such examples as Hong Kong and the Swedish-populated Aland Islands, formally part of Finland. But Kosovo's Albanians have rejected them all. A final bout of diplomacy intended to reach a compromise has, predictably, failed so far to find one.

The diplomats will present a report on their work to the UN on December 10th. Russia and Serbia want the talks to go on after that. But their chances of success are diminishing. “The intriguing thing,” comments Mr Ahtisaari, with not a little hint of satisfaction, “is that the Russian attitude has reinforced the unity of the EU. I don't think that was their original intent.” Kosovo's Serbs were told to boycott the election on November 17th by their leaders, and only 40-45% of Kosovar Albanians turned up to vote. The election was won, with 34% of the vote, by Hashim Thaci, a former political leader of Kosovo's guerrillas who fought against the Serbs in 1998-99. After the poll he said Kosovo would declare independence immediately after December 10th. But privately he told Western diplomats he could wait until spring; he then said nothing would be done before consulting the Europeans and Americans. Many countries wonder if Kosovo's independence is a good idea. Some fear a precedent for separatists, from Abkhazia to Catalonia. At one time, the European Union looked set to be divided over recognition. But a likely German decision to say yes, plus what seemed a scary bid by Russia to exploit Kosovo to divide the EU, has converted many doubters. Only Cyprus is likely to resist to the bitter end. Slovakia and Greece seem resigned to accepting Kosovo's independence.

This is a big success, says Ivan Krastev, a Balkan analyst, “but the problems will come later. It must be understood that EU unity cannot expire on the day after the recognition of Kosovo.” What this implies is a large EU commitment to the region, beyond replacing the UN mission in Kosovo with an EU one. It is not clear that all European governments are prepared for this.
Several things need to be done in the wake of Kosovo's probable independence. The most delicate are careful handling of the Serb breakaway northern bit of Kosovo and the reinforcement of pro-European voices in Serbia. The second may involve some unpalatable decisions, such as setting aside the condition that Serbia's advancement towards EU accession must be conditional on the arrest of Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb general wanted by The Hague war-crimes tribunal. Another place causing concern is Macedonia, where recent violence involving ethnic Albanians has set nerves jangling. Macedonia hopes to be invited to join NATO next April. That would warn off predators in what by then may be a newly independent Kosovo. But it may not happen, for Greece threatens to veto a Macedonian invitation as part of its 15-year-long campaign to get it to change its name.

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The independence precedent If Kosovo goes free

Nov 29th 2007 SUKHUMI AND TSKHINVALI From The Economist print editionWhy

Georgia's enclaves would love to follow, but will probably fail

KOSOVO Albanians and Serbs met in Austria this week for last-chance talks before a United Nations deadline of December 10th, after which Kosovo is likely to declare independence unilaterally. Serbia's old ally, Russia, blocks any UN resolution. But plenty are watching south of Russia in the enclaves of Georgia. As Maxim Gunjia, the cheery young deputy foreign minister of Abkhazia, says, “because Russia does not want Kosovo to be recognised, it does not mean that we do not want it.” When the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia fell apart, sovereignty passed to their constituent republics. But Kosovo was a province of Serbia. Its independence, argues those worried by precedents, will be seized on by separatists from Catalonia to Chechnya (to say nothing, nearer home, of the Bosnian Serb republic). As Russia's Vladimir Putin once asked, “If people believe that Kosovo can be granted full independence, why then should we deny it to Abkhazia and South Ossetia?” Why indeed, ask people in these two enclaves, which are among the four “frozen conflicts” left from the wreckage of the Soviet Union. The enclaves broke away from Georgia in nasty wars in the early 1990s, but no country recognises their independence. Two other frozen conflicts are in Transdniestria, which split from Moldova, and Nagorno-Karabakh (see article). Recently the presidents of three of these Russian-backed places met in Sukhumi, Abkhazia's capital.

Abkhazia is a backwater, much of it in ruins. In contrast to the Balkans, it has received no international largesse. This would change, argues Mr Gunjia, if the world would only recognise Abkhazia. That is unlikely. Western countries are wedded to the territorial integrity of Georgia; so, despite its support for the secessionists, is Russia. Leyla Taniya, an analyst, sighs that Russia cares for Abkhazia only “as a card that can be played” directly against Georgia or in the great game with the West over the region's future. “Those rules which work for Kosovo will work for South Ossetia,” insists Alan Pliev, South Ossetia's deputy foreign minister, in Tskhinvali, the capital. But the situation in each place is different. Kosovo has 2m people, 90% of them ethnic Albanians, who have long been in the majority. Only 200,000 people live in Abkhazia. Before the war in the early 1990s only 18% of them were Abkhaz; even today they make up no more than 45% of the people, the rest being Armenians, Russians and Georgians. More than 200,000 Georgians from Abkhazia are refugees in Georgia who are unlikely to be allowed to return. Georgians accuse the Abkhaz of ethnic cleansing. The Abkhaz say they have reclaimed what was lost by deportations to Turkey in the 19th century and to Siberia in the 20th century, as well as through later Georgian settlement (Stalin was Georgian). Today Russia supports the Abkhaz and South Ossetians with money, troops and passports. Both places use the rouble; Russian money is flowing in, especially to Abkhazia. The Russian passports let locals travel, but may also allow Russia to claim its citizens have been attacked if Georgia tries to retake the enclaves.
Yet even if Kosovo declares independence, Russian recognition is unlikely. It might, says Inal Pliev, a journalist in Tskhinvali, be Russia's “holy duty”, but reality intrudes. South Ossetia is a tiny patchwork with perhaps as few as 50,000 inhabitants in the Ossetian-controlled part. Much of the land is controlled by Georgians. It is linked to Russia by a tunnel through the mountains; on the other side is the autonomous Russian republic of North Ossetia.

“Our aim is unification with North Ossetia,” says Alan Pliev. “We don't know if that would be as part of Russia or as a separate united Ossetian state.” The deputy speaker of parliament, Juri Dzittsojty, is cautious. “I would prefer there to be an independent and united Ossetia, but today it is not possible. It is safer to be with Russia. The main aim of the struggle is to be independent of Georgia.” And tomorrow? If Russia recognised the enclaves, that might encourage bits of Russia that wanted independence. This is why Russia is unlikely to act even if Kosovo is widely recognised. Yet the Georgians are nervous. David Bakradze, the state minister for conflict resolution, says he is not worried about Kosovo, but about “the misuse of Kosovo”.

... I am back ... again

2007-11-23T03:17:00.000-08:00

I know you all missed me. I did not have time to miss y'all unfortunately. My visit home to Boston and NYC was very hectic and what have you. I also missed Thanksgiving ... yipeee. Never appreciated the mass murder of turkeys and an insult to the face of Native Americans anyway.

So, I missed much here. Elections, elections, elections and the freezing cold.

Kosovans (Balkans) in NYC....

2007-11-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

So, I will be heading home soon to Boston to take care of some family and educational stuff. What's the use of being in the East Coast without going to NYC, right? So I will be in the big apple a couple of days. I have heard and read a lot about the the 'big' Kosovan (Albanian) community in NYC ( and other Balkan folks also). However, I have yet to discover them or where they hang out and would love to do so. If you have any tips or info on where to go to for the Balkan (minus mafia) vibe in NYC, please & please, drop me a note and let me know.

I, for one, am glad that I am getting this excuse to go back home. My abstinence here is beginning to get to me and is driving me nuts ... hope I can do something about that once I get back to the East Coast ;)

other world news ... I think the winter is getting to people

2007-11-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Pakistan: Musharraf grabs for power

Iraq: Turkey is getting trigger itchy

Georgia: Lost love for the President

Chad: Aid workers kidnapping children?

Mexico: Tabasco ... another New Orleans?

Myanmar: Let's keep beating up our monks

Palestine & Israel: Keep striking with bombs and missiles

Somalia: Soma ... who?

Sharing joy ....

2007-10-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

I do not think I ever shared this with you but just in case, check this out:

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/expos/expoprizren/index.html

This is a link to pictures (commissioned by the Council of Europe) of one of my favorite towns/villages in Kosovo - PRIZREN!!! Prizren rocks and I like it. I have been there couple of times now and it never tires or bores me. Very cheap to get to from Pristina also .... 3 Euros at most by public bus. The old town is cool and even cooler are the children there. Very fascinating bunch always willing to practise their English at the slight view of a stranger. I have met a couple compatriots kids there whose parents, unfortunately, got deported from our country. I usually just sit and listen to them tell me about what they miss about home (Michigan and NYC) and how they understand they have to be here in Kosovo now with their parents. These children, too wise for their ages, I tell you.

.. winter ... brrrrrrr

2007-10-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Is it officially winter season yet? I am already feeling it. My apologies for the lapse in posts. The veins and arteries connecting my brain to my fingers have been frozen for a while now and all I want to do is hibernate.

More to follow soon... for real ;)

Kosovo-related Austrian Immigration Story ...

2007-10-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

October 17, 2007
Vienna Journal
An Immigrant Girl’s Plea Draws Austria’s Attention
By MARK LANDLER

VIENNA, Oct. 16 — Arigona Zogaj returned to her school in an Austrian village on Tuesday morning, hugging classmates, accepting flowers, and ending — if only for the moment — what has become a singular act of resistance against the authorities of her adopted land. Late last month, Ms. Zogaj, a 15-year-old ethnic Albanian from Kosovo, went into hiding after the police came for her family, which has been living in Austria and seeking asylum since 2002. After her father and four siblings were deported to Kosovo, Ms. Zogaj recorded a video, broadcast on Austrian TV, in which she threatened to kill herself if her family was kept apart. Her mother, who had remained here to search for her daughter, suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized. The saga of Arigona — everyone here calls her by her first name — has riveted this country, raising fraught questions about asylum seekers in a Europe no longer shadowed by war, and about the human cost of Austria’s immigration policies, which are among the most restrictive in Europe. “This girl speaks with a pure Upper Austrian dialect,” said Alexander Van der Bellen, the leader of the Green Party, which has taken up Ms. Zogaj’s cause. “These people are like native, inbred, aboriginal Austrians, and yet they are deported to Kosovo. Many people can’t accept that.” It is not that simple, of course — as it never is, when Western Europeans confront minorities in their midst.

Ms. Zogaj’s desperate flight has evoked genuine sympathy here. A crowd of 5,000 marched on the Interior Ministry to protest its hard line against her family. Austria’s largest paper, Kronen Zeitung, which champions strict immigration policies, said she should be allowed to stay. It does not hurt that Ms. Zogaj is a winsome young woman whose anguish was as authentic as her accent. Yet by all accounts, most Austrians still want to keep out foreigners, whether or not they are asking for asylum. Austria’s tough laws are supported by both the center-right People’s Party and center-left Social Democrats, which govern together in a coalition. “There is a real schizophrenia in Austria,” said Hans Rauscher, a columnist at the newspaper Der Standard. “A majority of Austrians say, ‘We can’t send poor Arigona away from her family.’ But a majority also says, ‘We can’t let in more people like her family.’” Even the claim made by her supporters — that Ms. Zogaj was happily integrated in her home village of Frankenburg — goes too far for some Austrians. Residents did rally in support of the family. But after a Catholic priest in a neighboring village, Josef Friedl, took Ms. Zogaj, who is Muslim, under his care, vandals sprayed the words Mullah Friedl on a graveyard wall. “Obviously, Arigona speaks very good German, but that’s not the case with the other members of her family,” said Günther Platter, the interior minister, who met with her in recent days and told her she did not have to fear deportation.
Mr. Platter, a conservative who used to be a small-town mayor in Tyrol, has taken a pasting in the news media for his handling of the case. He has refused to allow Ms. Zogaj’s father or siblings to return to Austria, pending a ruling on the family’s case by the Austrian Constitutional Court, which is not expected before December. Speaking over coffee, he is unbowed. “As interior minister, I can’t allow myself to be blackmailed by the media,” Mr. Platter said. “We must fight against the misuse of asylum.”

Ms. Zogaj’s father, he said, settled here in 2001, two years after the end of the war in Kosovo. Even after his initial application for asylum was denied, he arranged for his family to join him. The family then applied for asylum several more times, and was denied repeatedly. One of Ms. Zogaj’s older brothers, Mr. Platter said, had a run-in with the law, though he said he did not have details. Austria has granted asylum to thousands of refugees from the war-torn Balkans since the 1990s. In this case, Mr. Platter said, the government consulted United Nations officials who administer Kosovo, and was told there was no reason not to repatriate the Zogaj family. The fact that they would have less economic opportunity in Kosovo was not grounds for asylum, Mr. Platter said. The problem, critics say, lies with Austria’s asylum system, which has a backlog of more than 30,000 applications. Foreigners can live here for a decade or more before being told that they have to leave. At a protest on Tuesday, students wore placards with the names of other families facing expulsion. Austria has so many asylum seekers, experts say, largely because it is so difficult to get in any other way. In a European Union-backed study of migration trends released Monday, Austria ranks near the bottom of 25 European countries in its openness to migrants. A new law, adopted in 2006, raises the hurdles to reuniting immigrants with their family members and makes it harder to gain citizenship. Defenders say the measures are needed in a country in which more than 13 percent of the population is foreign-born and nearly 10 percent hold foreign passports. Critics say the policy reflects Austria’s refusal to accept that it is an immigration country, whether the immigrants are the young Czech women who work as nurses today, or the Czech refugees of a century ago. The government has begun a thorough examination of its integration policies, but Bernhard Perchinig, a senior researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, said, “It’s not possible to completely close a country and have, at the same time, a good integration policy.” In this regard, Arigona Zogaj, with her Austrian-flavored German, may have done this country a service. “Cynics say this girl should be given Austrian citizenship just for showing Austrians howconfused they are about immigration,” said Michael Fleischhacker, the editor in chief of the paper Die Presse.

dragash region

2007-10-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

Explosion at shopping mall in Kosovo kills 2, injures 9

2007-09-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

I am sure many of you saw this news before I did as I was informed about it by a friend in the U.S. as I was waking up yesterday. My roommate claims she heard it. I have chosen not to go to the site to take pics; I am superstitious about going to places where people just died. Below are pics culled from all over the net. They speak better than words about the demonic, wicked and stupid side of mankind:

Question....

2007-09-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

.... can anyone inform me where I can donate clothes in Prishtina or other parts of Kosovo?

Faleminderit!!!

Ginger

2007-09-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

I am dedicating this post to my favorite store ne Prishtine - "ginger" ... when you have a need to feel suave, intellectual or just plain bourgeoisie, ginger is the place for you -- books, music, dvds, couch, dog and all. This store rocks....

Ramadan!!!

2007-09-13T06:21:00.000-07:00

As Ramadan begins, I am wishing my fellow Kosovans a blessed and peaceful time. I pray we all remember, as the Holy Quran quites, that Piety does not lie in the East or West but only in God. Let us seek the face of Allah and prayerful seek a renewal of our minds and souls which are on the brink of total human corruption. In this spirit, I share with you a personal prayer from a friend of a friend:

RAMADAN

My Dear Sweet Allah,

the Holy month of Ramadan is coming upon us with the subtle certainty of time.

The flame inside re-ignited, the burning within me reinforced.

This passion I have for You erupts with vigor, this vigor resonates within all my brothers and sisters, covering the ends of the earth, touching all of humanity.

The energy of our worship is consolidated into a bright, shining light, a reflection of that flame inside each of us, the manifestation of our selves fully realized.

With every heartbeat, every movement, every hunger spasm, every prayer, this energy pulsates with a constant beat.

It propels me forth, I go forward in your Name, I actively engage in this world as your humble servant.

I look to only You for an understanding, a greater meaning, a rationalization of all I see.

My Dear Sweet Allah,

the Holy month of Ramadan is almost here,

Every drop of blood inside me flows with the goal of prayer,

Every muscle contracts with the goal of personifying a noble Islam in Your name,

Every frustration, every ounce of knowledge I have, all is submitted to Your will,

I trust in You, I know that on the Day, the meanings will all unravel,

I will not allow myself to feel that you have failed my brothers and sisters in Islam whom I see suffering at all corners of this earth.

My soul will no longer bleed as I think of their suffering, my heart will no longer mourn tears for injustices in this world.

I will channel all of my hurt and all of my frustrations into sincere and desperate prayer.

For these are your dearest children, those you hold closest to your bosom,

Veiled by my human ignorance, I cannot see what You know

I will not allow my faith in You to waver at the sight of adversity

On the contrary, my conviction grows even stronger

I trust in You, the Most Merciful and Most Beneficent.

The Holy month of Ramadan is now but breaths away,

I am eager to please You, my Dear Sweet Allah.

For what cause should I not serve You, Who hath created me, and unto Whom I shall be brought back? (36:22)

By Asma Chandani UC Berkeley, 2001

March Against Organized Crime

2007-09-13T05:29:00.000-07:00

After the shooting of the police officer, about 5 000 residents of Prishtina (less than the over 10 000 that showed up for Ramush's support rally) marched peacefully through the city to show their disgust at crime in the city. It was a beautiful and powerful march. But even the residents who marched are skeptical about things turning around since the Region seems to be held captive by "local tax collectors" and corrupt officials who lay in bed together. Read this for a brief assessment.

Request

2007-09-10T03:35:00.000-07:00

A fan in Belgrade is seeking to establish communication with people in Kosovo to facilitate better communication and understanding with people in Kosovo. He seems genuinely interested. So, if there are any readers in Kosovo that might be interested in making a penpal or email pal in Belgrade, let me know and I will put you in touch with this person.

This is what I am looking for....

2007-09-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

The story below is so cute and intriguing. I really really wish I have been there to be part of this festivities. As much as I enjoy the the shedding and cutting of phalli parts as much as the next guy, there is just something about the rich cultural history of this that needs to be explored. So, in all humility, I beg of my readers, if you have any idea or knowledge of culturally rich and worthwhile rituals like below in any villages or hamlets in Kosovo or the Balkans, do let me know. I would happily travel to witness these and share in people's cultures, regardless of the involvement of a phallus or not.

PS: Erecting statutes of Rocky Balboa or Bill Clinton do not count.

Published on TaipeiTimes
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/08/28/2003376197

AFP, DONJE LJUBINJE, Serbia Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007, Page 9

Every five years, two tiny Muslim villages in a remote corner of Kosovo put politics and all else aside to welcome family and friends -- some from across Europe -- for an age-old ritual: The mass circumcision of young boys. To the untrained eye, Donje and Gornje Ljubinje -- or Upper and Lower Ljubinje -- look like many other sleepy hamlets in southeast Kosovo, tucked into an isolated ravine in the rugged Shara mountains. A majority of the 2 million inhabitants in this breakaway Serbian Province are ethnic Albanians, many practicing Muslims. While the 3,000 residents in the two Ljubinjes share their religion, they proudly defend their ethnic differences.
The tiny population is Gorani -- or Bosniaks as some now call themselves, a Slavic subgroup in Kosovo's southern highlands who speak a language similar to Serbian, with lots of Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish influences, though their names are closer to Albanian.

The villages, which lie 5km apart, are poor and many of their youths have left in search of jobs and a better future in western Europe. But every five years in the heat of summer, residents forget every hardship that has shaped their lives during a four-day festival that culminates with the mass circumcision of young boys, performed according to rites that date back centuries.
"Everything stops when the festival begins. No one works or does anything these days except celebrate," said the doyen of the village Donje Ljubinje, 80-year-old Sadrija Karadollami.
Even he could not explain the origins of the ritual, called Sunet. Sunet is deeply rooted in both the lore and soul of these mountain villages that, until recently, could only be reached on foot in winter and where goods are still sometimes brought in on donkeys. Locals feel the ritual has helped hone their difference from other ethnic communities in the Balkans. "This is why we are not the same as the others, even when it does not help us," said 40-year-old Arif Kurtishi, in a reference to the bloody wars that have beset ethnic and religious communities in the Balkans.
So attached is Kurtishi to his roots he traveled from Sweden, where he has worked for years, to take part in the festival.

Donje Ljubinje was the setting for this year's Sunet when 130 boys aged from 10 months to five years -- some brought from abroad for the ritual -- were circumcised by 70-year-old Zylfikar Shishko, a barber from the nearby town of Prizren. Shishko, in a neatly pressed suit and traditional crocheted white cap or terlak, is the honored guest as well as a living legend in these parts after performing circumcisions for the last 45 years. "It has been so long, that I don't even know the number of boys I've circumcised in the Prizren area, maybe 15,000 or 20,000 or more," he said. The festivities began with traditional dances as hosts greeted their guests and neighbors from Gornje Ljubinje. Preparations took up the second day when the boys to be circumcised paraded through the village, dressed in special outfits. On the third day, the ritual started bright and early amid great fanfare as a local imam led a dozen men from house to house along the steep narrow streets of the village, followed by a five-man brass band playing the traditional zurla and goc, similar to a flute and drum. The imam entered the home where 13-month-old Amar Hashani lay in a bed covered with an ancient baldachin. To the sound of Muslim religious chants, Shishko pulled out his simple equipment -- a scalpel, iodine and medical powder. Two of his assistants took hold of little Amar who, suddenly among strangers, started screaming. But Shishko, unmoved, deftly finished the operation with no anaesthetic in less than 20 seconds. Only after the honored visitors left, the women -- Amar's mother and two sisters, all dressed for the occasion in elaborately gold-embroidered traditional blouses and pantaloons -- entered the room. The boy's father Efrim, part of the Gorani diaspora who brought his family from Sweden, was choked with emotion as neighbors and relatives poured into the house, wishing good luck and bringing presents for the boy. His voice trembling, Efrim drew deeply on a cigarette and said he did not think his son would remember much of the rite. "I remember mine only because I bought a bicycle from the money I got from relatives for Sunet," he said.
Washing his hands before hurrying to the next home, Shishko said he has not had a single mishap during his long career. "I learned the trade for 10 years with a master before I started to work alone. But now, I don't have a successor. All young people are obsessed with computers and this new, loud and poor music," he complained. Shishko is paid 10 euros (US$13) to 15 euros for each operation. "I do this for free for the children from poor families," he said proudly.

The circumcisions were over by early afternoon, as families of this year's boys prepared lunch for all in 14 huge military caldrons. Their neighbors from Gornje Ljubine had brought a barbecued bull for the banquet. Shehadin Hasani, 70, a retired pastry shop owner, was in charge of preparing halva, a traditional desert offered only on special occasions. Troublesome political issues so present elsewhere in Kosovo seemed to have bypassed the village, sparing it the uncompromising bickering between Serbs and Albanians over the future status of the UN-run province where some 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers are still deployed. "Someone else, stronger and more powerful, will decide over the status," Shishko said. The fourth and final day was dedicated to traditional sports dating back to Ottoman rule in the Balkans -- tugs-of-war, long jumping, Turkish wrestling and stone-throwing. The next morning, silence again prevailed in the small hamlet as it would for another five years, until the next Sunet.

"Fotos"

2007-08-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

Crazy hectic summer days ...

2007-08-30T22:28:00.001-07:00

Whew peeps, it has been crazy for a while now. My organization has become under-staffed and I have so much more to do these days. Despite it all, I am still the best dressed in the office ;) But, also one of the most over-utilized staff member also. I often get home late but my work is good so I am not complaining. I promise to post up some new pictures of Pristina and my travels soon. I need to breath first though.

In a sad update, I heard yesterday that a young and dedicated Kosovo Police Officer was killed yesterday. That is really sad especially considering he was so young and Kosovan gang members (mafia) are suspected to have murdered him :( More on this can be found here.

Happy Belated ...

2007-08-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

... Birthday, that is. To none other than the "come-back kid" himself, Billy Clinton. Kosovo dua Bill Clinton like nothing else ... so much that a birthday bash was thrown for him ne Prishtine this past weekend. I missed the festivities but I heard it was the party to be seen at during the weekend ;). Damn, Billy, you just refuse to die from the limelight, even in the Balkans. More on the festivities here.

What's a birthday Bash without a cake? (Photo: Ermal Meta/Agence France Presse–Getty Images)

I am back... this time

2007-08-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Don't leave, don't leave ... I made it back to my love, Prishtina. I am sorry about the absence of posts but I was on vacation. Who works during vacation? Yeah, you ....

Here are some initial photos of aerial views of Kosovo and the airport :)

I am not really back...

2007-08-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

It's been quiet here a bit. It is because I had to run home (Boston / NYC) at the beginning of this week to take care of some personal stuff. I am still in the US and it's both enjoyable and hectic. For one, I do appreciate the joy of being in an environment where I understand what almost everyone is saying. I will have to seriously start learning Albanian and Serbian when I get back to Prishtina.

Hope y'all have not forgotten me. Keep your emails and comments coming. I will soon post some questions I have received and my answers to them. E dua Kosovo ... heaven help us all!!!

From Russia, With Love ...

2007-07-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

U.N. to Hold Off on Kosovo Vote
By WARREN HOGE

UNITED NATIONS, July 20 — The European and American sponsors of a resolution that would put Kosovo on the path to independence withdrew the measure from the Security Council today in the face of a promised Russian veto and said a six-nation European group would now seek a way to settle the contentious statehood question. “We regret that it has been impossible to secure such a resolution in the United Nations Security Council,” said Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, the French ambassador. “We will therefore put on hold discussions of the resolution.” He made the announcement after a morning meeting held to test the ongoing Russian resistance to the resolution despite repeated revisions adopted in recent weeks to try to meet Moscow’s objections. Vitaly I. Churkin, the Russian ambassador, said he had told the 15 council ambassadors that Russia was not prepared to vote yes or to abstain, leaving a veto the sure response if a vote were called. . . .

More here.

New York City this evening...

2007-07-18T16:58:00.001-07:00

... not terrorism.

me Rugova!!!

2007-07-09T03:20:00.000-07:00

Earth Weekend ... 07/07/07 or 7.7.'7

2007-07-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend featured a series of concerts to highlight global warming: Live Earth–10 concerts on seven continents to fight global warming. Hmmmm, can we have this everyday? I don't think people remember these things after the weekend ends.

Land of the Brave and Free ... Happy Birthday!!!

2007-07-03T21:53:00.001-07:00

"It's not the flag, stupid!!!"

"Many say America is losing or searching for its soul these days. I absolutely disagree. What is currently happening to America has nothing to do with soul. It's about a nation that has been blessed too much and does not know what to do with its many 'toys'; and has instead chosen to be a spoilt brat, which does not utilize its brain and pretends like it does not have one whenever it's convenient for its fits of tantrum."

---- Luna (2007)

I hope I can be pardoned if I concentrate on my home country today on this Kosovan page. Since US is a land of lawyers, what better way to commemorate its birthday than a tale of how the law and society interwine to define American Society. Enjoy or sleep through the following:

July 1, 2007

The Nation

Can a Law Change a Society?

JEFFREY ROSEN

SINCE 1954, liberal and conservative justices have disagreed about the central meaning of Brown v. Board of Education. Was the purpose of Brown to achieve a colorblind society or an integrated one? Last week, in its 5-to-4 decision declaring that public schools in Louisville and Seattle can’t take explicit account of race to achieve integration, the Supreme Court came down firmly on the side of colorblindness. Despite some important qualifications by Justice Anthony Kennedy, at least four conservative justices made clear that they believe that nearly all racial classifications are unconstitutional. The lawyers who won the Supreme Court case predicted that it would have as dramatic an effect on American society as the original Brown case did. “These are the most important decisions on the use of race since Brown v. Board of Education,” Sharon Browne, the principal lawyer for the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation, declared in a press release. “With these decisions, an estimated 1,000 school districts around the country that are sending the wrong message about race to kids will have to stop.”

But some legal scholars on both sides of the political spectrum, and of the affirmative action debate, question this assessment. They doubt that this case will transform society as dramatically as Brown did. And some of them question whether even Brown was as singularly influential in transforming society as many have claimed during the last half-century. The conventional wisdom about Brown holds that it was more responsible than anything else for the integration of schools. “Brown really did transform society by stopping de jure segregation, and without Brown, schools would look very different,” says David J. Armor, a conservative scholar at George Mason University.

But some liberal scholars have challenged that heroic assessment. In “From Jim Crow to Civil Rights,” Michael J. Klarman argues that it was a political commitment to integration in the 1960s, not the Brown decision in the 1950s, that led to meaningful integration. “Brown didn’t transform society very much, and to the extent that it did it was indirect,” says Mr. Klarman, who is a law professor at the University of Virginia. “Brown brought out the worst in White Supremacy, and Northerners were appalled by the police dogs they saw on television, and that advanced the civil rights movement.” He argues that meaningful desegregation didn’t occur until the Johnson administration’s Justice Department became committed to enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare threatened to cut off financing to school districts that refused to integrate. Professor Klarman said he believed that just as the court couldn’t bring about integration on its own in 1954, so it won’t be able to mandate colorblindness on its own today. “Just as Brown produced massive resistance in the South and therefore had little impact on desegregation for a decade, this decision is going to be similarly inconsequential,” he says. “This affects only the tiny percentage of school districts that use race to assign students, and even in those districts, like Louisville and Seattle, it won’t be consequential because there are so many opportunities for committed school boards to circumvent it.” In his concurring opinion, Justice Kennedy invited school districts to explore “narrowly tailored” ways of pursuing their compelling interest in “avoiding racial isolation.” Some critics of government-sponsored affirmative action believe that this may allow school districts to pursue racial diversity by indirect means. “School districts are going to continue to do indirectly what they tried to do directly,” says Peter H. Schuck of Yale Law School. “They will feel the same pressures to reduce racial isolation, and they will look for proxies for race.”

Some scholars who support affirmative action also agree that public schools will use proxies for race — like neighborhoods, socioeconomic status, or single-parent households to achieve their goals. “I think what you’ll see is schools avoiding talking in racial terms, and talking in more vague terms about a diversity of backgrounds,” says David A. Strauss of the University of Chicago. “There will be another layer of bureaucracy, but I wouldn’t expect a large-scale retreat from what public schools have tried.” After Texas and California banned affirmative action in the 1990s, officials in both states guaranteed admission at the top public universities to a certain percentage of the class at every public high school, regardless of the school’s quality. Because of segregated housing patterns, this somewhat reduced the fall in the numbers of enrolled African-American and Hispanic students. “If you judge by what happened in California, you’ll see some drop in minority enrollment but not as huge a change as some people expected,” says John Yoo, a former Bush Justice Department official who teaches law at the University of California at Berkeley. “School administrators and bureaucrats are so heavily invested in the idea of diversity that they will try an amazing array of policies to get around the ban of the use of race.” Although it will be harder for public schools to resort to similar race-neutral alternatives, many legal scholars believe they will try. “It’s tougher in a public school setting, where generally applicants aren’t competing against each other on an individual basis, but that’s clearly what Justice Kennedy is inviting,” says Samuel Issacharoff, a law professor at New York University who supports affirmative action. To enforce its vision of colorblindness, Professor Klarman suggests, the Supreme Court would need to be backed by the president and Congress. But so far, that political commitment to colorblindness has not materialized. “It’s not enough for the court to announce this; to really make it stick, the president would have to cut off funding for school districts that circumvent the decision, just like the 1960s,” Professor Klarman says. “If you start threatening to throw school board members in jail, that might have an effect, but the strongest evidence that there’s not that kind of political support for colorblindness is that the military and Fortune 500 companies have said we need affirmative action to survive.”

More broadly, the effects of last week’s decision may be limited by the fact that American society is divided on just how colorblind or integrated society should be. When Brown was decided, 54 percent of the country supported the result. Today, the public appears similarly divided about the appropriate balance between colorblindness and diversity, and there are backlashes in both directions. After a Texas court banned affirmative action in 1996, the Texas Legislature tried to preserve racial diversity in the state’s public universities with race-neutral alternatives, but after the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action at the University of Michigan law school in 2003, the voters of Michigan passed an initiative banning it. “I think that there will be a King Canute quality to the decision,” Professor Strauss said, referring to the Anglo-Saxon king who ordered the sea’s waves to stop. In the end, the Supreme Court throughout its history has rarely precipitated social transformation on its own; instead it has been most effective when it acts in conjunction with the president, Congress and ultimately a majority of the country. “Brown pushed the country in a direction it was already going, and in the same sense, the large forces today are going to continue to operate regardless of what the Supreme Court just decided,” Professor Klarman said. “We’re headed toward an ambiguous place where we’re committed both to colorblindness and to diversity in public life. We might have a black president, but we’ll still have a society with very segregated neighborhoods and public schools. I don’t think the court decision will make much difference either way.”

The Stupidity of Man ...

2007-07-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

"Suffering, poverty and torture do not breed humility and kindness ... au contraire ... they breed greed, selfishness and torturers of brethren" ---- Luna (2007)

We never seem to learn from our mistakes or sufferings ... I see these traits below ne Prishtine almost every week in the corridors of power. I guess suffering at the hands of a common foreign element makes all those suffering equal; but once that foreign element is gone, an internal element takes its place and, all of a sudden, all men and women are no longer equal amongst the "sufferees".

Kosova, my Kosova, when will our souls and spirits rise and seek true unselfish and uncorrupted Justice???

Detainees tortured in Kurdish area of Iraq, Human Rights Watch report says
YAHYA BARZANJI
Associated Press
July 3, 2007 at 7:58 AM EDT
IRBIL, Iraq — Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq — close allies of the United States — routinely torture detainees with methods including electric shock and hold them in overcrowded facilities without formal charges, a human rights group said Tuesday.
The Human Rights Watch report — based on interviews conducted from April to October 2006 with more than 150 detainees — demanded a comprehensive overhaul of detention practices in the Kurdish region and urged an independent body to investigative claims of torture.

“We are surprised that the Kurds are practising such violations after they were victims of torture during the Saddam (Hussein) era,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for Human Rights Watch. “We appreciate the efforts by Kurdistan government to combat terrorism and secure Kurdistan, but we see that such violations against prisoners are not a good thing,” she told a news conference in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil.

The Kurds effectively broke with Saddam's government after the 1991 Gulf War and developed a largely autonomous mini-state under the protection of U.S. warplanes.
The post-Saddam constitution consecrated the north's autonomous status, with its own security forces. It is run by the region's main political parties, the Kurdish Democratic party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. PUK leader Jalal Talabani is Iraq's president.
Kurdistan has largely been spared the violence that has ravaged the rest of Iraq — though Sunni insurgents have carried out several deadly attacks in the region. One of them, a suicide truck bomb attack on a Kurdish political party in May, killed more than 50 people and was blamed on al-Qaeda. Kurdish security forces also operate in areas with large Kurdish populations outside the autonomous zone, such as the cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, which have seen frequent Arab-Kurdish violence as the two communities vie for power. Kurds want to incorporate oil-rich Kirkuk into their self-governing region, a step strongly opposed by other Iraqis. The New York-based Human Rights Watch report said abuses have been committed against suspects detained by Kurdish security personnel and others taken in U.S.-Iraq raids, including suspected insurgents. The report listed Kurdish violations of both international human rights law and Iraqi codes.

“Kurdistan security forces routinely subject detainees to torture and other mistreatment,” Whitson said. In interviews the New York-based group conducted at detention facilities — described as “severely overcrowded and unhygienic” — detainees said they were beaten with metal rods and cables and subjected to electric shocks. Some detainees were kept blindfolded and handcuffed for several days at a time, the report said. Jassir Abdul-Razaq, an official in Human Rights Watch's Mideast department, said most of the detainees are Kurds, “detained for terrorist, political or religious extremism causes.” Several Islamic militant insurgent groups that have carried out attacks, including Ansar al-Islam, have a large number of Kurdish members.

The report said the “vast majority” of the hundreds of detainees held by Kurdish security forces have not been charged with a crime, allowed access to a lawyer or provided with a means of appeal. It mentions several cases where defendants remained in detention after having been acquitted or having served their terms. Whitson said the Human Rights Watch team visited 10 prisons run by Kurdish security forces in the cities of Sulaimaniyah, Irbil and Dahuk, but “there are hidden prisons that we could not visit and prisoners whom we were not able to see.” Kurdish officials denied torture was taking place when Human Rights Watch presented them its findings, but they promised to form an independent investigative committee to review the allegations, Whitson said. “We hope that the Kurdish officials will live up to their promises,” she said.

Reports from UNMIKistan ...

2007-06-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

So the latest non-sex-related gossip in town these days is the "scandal" by a Swedish writer, who "dared" to write a series of articles portraying UNMIK in bad light. Her name is Maciej Zaremba and she ain't repentant folks :) [wait a minute ... why did I automatically assume the writer is female? Talk about bias....]. Maciej is a guy. Interesting set of articles for discource on Kosovo but I can see some holes in some of his claims. Regardless, I applaud the writer for daring to write this and making people think a bit. Who knows? The intended "target" audience might be reading and listening.

The articles can be found HERE in English. Read and enjoy them.

TOC:

• Part 1. Report from Unmikistan, Land of the Future
• Part 2. The UN state and the seven robbers
• Part 3. Complain in Azerbaijan
• Part 4. Prowess, courage and plastic socks
• A foundation for justice in Kosovo
• A bizarre form of government
• Kosovo - a pocket guide

And for those too lazy to go to the site, here is the exerpt of the "Kosovo- a pocket guide":

Kosovan means an inhabitant of Kosovo. A Kosovan can be Albanian (90% of the population), Serb, Roma, Bosnian or even Turk. At least half a million Kosovo Albanians live outside Kosovo.

Albanians are not Slavs and their language is as strange to a Serb as Finnish is to a Swede. Culturally they are Muslims (as a result of the Ottoman occupation, which lasted between the 14th century and 1878), but they are not particularly practicing nor are they orthodox. As an example the end of Ramadan can be celebrated by drinking raki (grape brandy) and dancing.

Serbias claim on Kosovo is based on the fact that the centre of Medieval Serbia was located in the province. It is also based on the late myth (from the 1880s) concerning the importance of the battle of Kosovo Polje (Field of the blackbirds, 1389), when Serbs and others were defeated by the Ottomans.

The present conflict dates back to at least 1912 when the Serbs reoccupation of Kosovo turned into a massacre on Albanians. Six years later they were expected to become loyal citizens of the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes". In post-Second World War Communist Yugoslavia, Kosovo Albanians were considered inferior people, comparable to how Gypsies were regarded in Sweden in the thirties. But the province enjoyed autonomy.

The hostilities started symbolically in April 1987 when a fairly unknown Communist functionary named Slobodan Milosevic in a speech at Kosovo Polje turned into a Serb nationalist. As the president of Yugoslavia he abolished the autonomy of Kosovo in 1989. The Albanians countered by proclaiming independence, with Milosevic in turn dismissing all ethnic Albanians in the provincial government. Thereafter Kosovo was governed from Belgrade as an occupied country.

The Balkan wars started by Serb attacks on Bosnia and Croatia in 1992 and Kosovo was abandoned by the media. Seven years of peaceful resistance (with a parallel clandestine government, school and health care) made little impression on the outside world. Milosevic was forced to give up Bosnia through the Dayton-agreement in 1995 but he was allowed to keep the control of Kosovo.

The Kosovo Albanian guerilla is called UCK (Kosovo Liberation Army). It started attacking Serb police and "disloyal" compatriots in 1996. Milosevic countered by sending in troops and paramilitaries. In 1998 they started torching villages, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people having to flee. Three years after Srebrenica another ethnic cleansing was in the making.

The UN Security Council issued resolutions urging Milosevic to stop the violence. When this did not help the Contact Group(France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Great Britain and USA) proposed a settlement between Serbia and Kosovo. In Rambouillet the parties were faced with an ultimatum: armistice and negotiations about Kosovos future status - or military intervention in Kosovo. Rugovas shadow government signed, Milosevics government refused. And so

On the 24th of March 1999 NATO was engaged in warfare for the first time in its history. It took three months of bombing to compel the Serbs to withdraw their troops from Kosovo. On the 9th of June, with Milosevic already indicted by the Hague tribunal, the UN security council agreed on resolution 1244 concerning UNMIK. United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo was to be the biggest mission in the history of the UN: the UN would be in charge of all governmental functions and keep them until a democratically elected provincial government could take over. The UNs functionaries began arriving in June 1999.

Revenge. When the Serb troops had withdrawn, after killing maybe 10,000 persons, the Albanians took their bloody vengeance. Whole Serb families were massacred. The passivity of the UN can be explained by the fact that in the autumn of 1999 in Kosovo there were 50,000 NATO troops, a few thousand UN functionaries, two thousand foreign journalists but not a single police officer. The international police started arriving much later and at a pace depending on the UN member states willingness to spare their constables.

UNMIK is headed by an SRSG, meaning Special Representative of the Secretary General, that is the envoy of the head of the UN. All the seven SRSGs (which in the text are called UN governors) were appointed by Kofi Annan. The UN and UNMIK draft laws (regulations") and exert executive power. A governor has four deputies, each heading a "pillar". Number one is responsible for law and order, number two for civil administration, number three for democratization (led and financed by OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), number four for economic reconstruction, financed by the EU.

In addition there are the NATO forces, Kosovo Forces (KFOR). All five entities are subordinated to the governor, who reports to the Secretary General of the UN, who in turn reports to the Security Council and to the General Assembly.

In this article and in the following ones the expression "UN-people" includes functionaries and soldiers within the four pillars and NATO since they are all operating under the UN mandate even if some are formally employed by the EU or by the Swedish Armed Forces. (See UN S/1999/672)

The seven SRSGs, or the Kings of Kosovo:
Sergio Vieira de Mello (June-July 1999), Bernard Kouchner, until January 2001, Hans Haekkerup, until December 2001, Michael Steiner until July 2003, Harri Holkeri until June 2004, Søren Jessen-Petersen until September 2006, Joachim Rücker - still on duty.

Turkish style ... good for a short break

2007-06-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

A commentary for the weekend . . .

2007-06-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Koha Ditore carried an opinion piece today by columnist Enver Robelli. Mr. Robelli thinks Kosovo deserves another government. When referring to the current government of the region, he says, "Not these circus members, sellers of tenders, thieves, cheaters and abusers of public goods. Kosovo has thousands of professional and honest people, who would do the job of a minister at the good this people who have grown weak by the leaders of this crime".

OUCH!!!!

He goes on, “Imagine Kosovo with ministers who would win their posts thanks to their abilities and not thanks to bribe, organized crime, the partnership with drug leaders, threats and arms trafficking, and money laundering?”

Why stop at Kosovo? Imagine any country like he just described. You'd have to have a pretty damn good imagination to imagine such.

Robelli then goes on in the article to suggest "a whole list of names of people who in his opinion could take up posts in a different government, like Muhamedin Kullashi, professor of philosophy at Paris 8 University, Brikena Muharremi, barrister of law in London, Martin Berishaj, professor political sciences in Ljubljana University, Edita Tahiri, a female politician with long experience in lobbying for independence, Ymer Shkreli, one of Kosovo’s best authors, Lulzim Kabashi, one of the best architects in Croatia, Dom Lush Gjergji, founder of the Mother Teresa Association and known for his inter-religious and interethnic tolerance, Virtyt Koshi, telecommunications expert and manager of Vodafone, etc. "

Apparently, according to Robelli, all the non-corrupt Kosovans just do not live in Kosovo . . . touche!

Peja (Rugova Valley)

2007-06-19T03:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, after staying in Prishtina for long, one could forget that Kosovo is a diverse land with beautiful diverse geographical landscapes. A good friend went to Peja yesterday and sent me some pictures he took there. Thanks B.

While the kingmakers drag their feet, the most unlikely "bishop" is making its moves ...

2007-06-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

This just came in this morning. Wow, 2 big shots in less than 3 weeks; must be a bad period to be an ex-genocidal general in Serbia. Kudos to the Serbian government for this progress (yes, some might argue that they could have done this a long time ago but, hey, better late than never, right?)

Serbia Arrests a Fugitive Tied to Crimes in Kosovo

By REUTERS
BELGRADE, Serbia, June 17 (Reuters) — A Serbian police general indicted on charges of crimes against humanity after being accused of ordering the killings of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, was arrested Sunday and sent to face the charges at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. The general, Vlastimir Djordjevic, is the second Serbian fugitive to be arrested in three weeks, a change of course by Serbia’s new government after a previous record of inaction and defiance. The arrest further raises the possibility that the tribunal’s most wanted fugitive, Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serbs’ wartime military leader, might at some point be taken into custody. General Djordjevic was arrested in the coastal resort town of Budva in neighboring Montenegro, said Rasim Ljajic, chief of Serbia’s council for cooperation with The Hague.

“It was a joint action of Serbian and Montenegrin police and of the Hague tribunal,” Mr. Ljajic said. “He is on his way to The Hague.”

A spokesman for the Hague tribunal confirmed that General Djordjevic had been detained and would be handed over soon to the tribunal. The arrest appears to confirm Serbia’s new willingness to engage with the West in the hope of joining the European Union and NATO. General Djordjevic was indicted in October 2003, accused of ordering a crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatist guerrillas in the Serbian province of Kosovo.

At least 10,000 civilians, overwhelmingly ethnic Albanians, died in the Kosovo conflict, which prompted NATO’s first war and ended with the United Nations taking control of the province eight years ago. The Hague’s chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, is to report to the United Nations Security Council on Monday about Serbia’s cooperation with the court, her last report before stepping down in September. The arrest of Zdravko Tolimir, another fugitive, at the end of May helped prompt talks about closer ties between Serbia and the European Union, but the union has said it wants more fugitives behind bars before it signs a deal.

Misadventures of the emperor

2007-06-14T03:58:00.000-07:00

Brought to my attention by a reader: From Crooks and Liars

‘What exactly did I say?’

By: Steve Benen @ 5:10 AM - PDT

Bush at a press conference on Saturday:

Q: And on the deadline [for Kosovo independence]?

Bush: In terms of the deadline, there needs to be one. This needs to come — this needs to happen. Now it’s time, in our judgment, to move the Ahtisaari plan. There’s been a series of delays. You might remember there was a moment when something was happening, and they said, no, we need a little more time to try to work through a U.N. Security Council resolution. And our view is that time is up.

Bush at a press conference on Sunday:

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday you called for a deadline for U.N. action on Kosovo. When would you like that deadline set? And are you at all concerned that taking that type of a stance is going to further inflame U.S. relations with Russia? And is there any chance that you’re going to sign on to the Russian missile defense proposal?

Bush: Thanks. A couple of points on that. First of all, I don’t think I called for a deadline. I thought I said, time — I did? What exactly did I say? I said, “deadline”? Okay, yes, then I meant what I said.

At which point assembled reporters started laughing at him.

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

Was it stolen or not?

Bush's Stolen Watch Mystery Solved

FUSHE KRUJE, ALBANIA (Reuters) -- Albanian police say the reports of President Bush's watch being stolen while greeting the crowd in Tirana are untrue.

Video from the presidential visit shows that while he began to work the crowd with a timepiece on his left arm, within seconds it was gone. But video shot at another angle appears to show Mr. Bush removing the watch and either giving it to a security guard or placing it in his pocket.

"The story is untrue and the president did not lose his watch," a spokesman for the embassy in Tirana said.

White House Spokesman Tony Snow set the record straight: "It was placed in his pocket…the president put it in his pocket and it returned safely home."

Some newspapers, television stations and websites carried reports that Bush's watch vanished on Sunday when he was greeted by ecstatic crowds in Fushe Kruje, outside the capital Tirana.

"It is not true," said Albania's police director, Ahmet Prenci.

Photographs showed Bush, surrounded by five bodyguards, putting his hands behind his back so one of the bodyguards could remove his watch.

From the Archives

2007-06-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old stories from the Economist when I came across the piece below. An interesting article even if very tiny. Talks about the forgotten groups in Kosovo in the struggle between the Albanian and Serb Kosovans. Groups so forgotten that even the Economist could only spare a few lines to mention them. Enjoy ....

Ethnic groups in Kosovo

The minorities within the minority

Nov 2nd 2006 | BROD
From The Economist print edition

Kosovo is lived in by others besides dominant Albanians and minority Serbs

HAMDIJE SEAPI, a local Gorani official, excuses himself to go to the funeral of a woman from a neighbouring village. He did not really know her, but since her village was all but abandoned in 1999, somebody has to. In his village, Mlike, there were 1,380 people before the Kosovo war, but now there are barely 400, 70% of them over 65. “Before, we were somehow like shock absorbers between Serbs and Albanians, but now we have our backs to the walls.”

The Gorani are among the smallest of Kosovo's minorities. Before the war, say officials, anywhere up to 18,000 of them lived in Gora, a rural sliver of land squeezed between Macedonia and Albania. Now a mere 8,000 remain. They are Muslims, living in villages in the remote south and speaking a language close to Serbian and Macedonian. At school they have always been taught in Serbian. Many of them were loyal Serbian citizens, serving in the police and as officials until the end of the war in 1999.

This has incurred much enmity from Kosovo's Albanians. Since 1999 Serbia has continued to pay Gorani teachers like Serbian ones, and they have continued to use the Serbian curriculum. Now the Kosovo authorities want to force them to change. If they did, Gorani children could not go to Serbian secondary schools. Serbia pays its teachers in Kosovo at least twice what the Kosovo authorities do. As a result of this dispute, several hundred Gorani children are now locked out of their schools.

In the village of Brod, locals still burn manure for fuel. Hakija Cuculj, a member of the local council, says that since the UN took over in Kosovo it has redrawn local boundaries so that Gorani are now outvoted on everything by Albanians. Immediately after the war many Gorani left for Serbia; now they go farther afield. Mr Cuculj's son works in Italy and sends home money. “People are just living in uncertainty,” he says. “They just want to survive.”

There are no reliable figures for anything in Kosovo. But a rule of thumb is that some 90% of the province's 2m people are Albanians. At least half of the remaining 200,000 are Serbs. The biggest minority after that are local Slav Muslims, many of whom, since 1999, have chosen to identify themselves as Bosniaks (ie, Bosnian Muslims). Then come Roma, some of whom are called Ashkali and some Egyptians; Turks; Gorani; and, finally, a tiny number of Croats. Since the early 1990s most Croats have left, many to settle in places in Croatia from which Serbs have fled. The Gorani are now the smallest of the small.

... says the Economist

2007-06-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

Serbia and Kosovo

Crimes and misdemeanours

Jun 7th 2007 | BELGRADE AND PRISTINA
From The Economist print edition

Serbia tries to please the European Union—but Kosovo still waits

FOR months, diplomats said that this would be the week when Russia's Vladimir Putin and America's George Bush struck a deal: not about Kyoto, but about Kosovo. The hope was that Mr Putin would assent to Kosovo's independence in exchange for a concession elsewhere. Yet this is clearly not now going to happen.

Kosovo is still technically part of Serbia, though it has been run by the United Nations since 1999. Some 90% of its 2m people are ethnic Albanians who want independence. A plan drawn up for theUN by a former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, proposes this with minor constraints, but also gives concessions to Kosovo's Serbian minority. The problem is that, without Serbian agreement, Russia will remain opposed to the Ahtisaari plan—and seems ready to veto it at the UN Security Council.

American diplomats have hinted that, if this happens, they might encourage the Kosovo Albanians to declare independence anyway, and then recognise their new state unilaterally. This may still be the plan, but it will meet resistance from the European Union. The Ahtisaari plan proposes to replace the UN structure in Kosovo with an EU one and an international governor, as in Bosnia. But without a UN resolution, such a change may not be legal.That is why some diplomats now reason that it would be better to postpone the whole issue until September. But since September is even closer to Russia's parliamentary election (in December) and presidential one (next March), there seems no good reason to expect the Russians to change their minds. At least the talk of postponement is not yet stirring trouble in Kosovo. Far from reaching for their guns, says Visar Reka, erstwhile spokesman of the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army, those who might be tempted to return to war are, for now, happy to wait.

This will obviously come as a relief not only to Western diplomats, but to the Serbs. If fighting broke out again in Kosovo, its Serbs would surely be among the first victims. Besides, Serbia's new government has its own EU ambitions to attend to. On these, it has played a shrewd game. In May 2006 the EU suspended talks with Serbia on a stabilisation and association agreement, widely seen as a first step towards membership, because of its failure to co-operate with the Yugoslav war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. But now talks with the EU are about to resume, boosted not just by the new government but also by its arrest on May 31st of Zdravko Tolimir, one of six Serb war-crimes suspects who were still at large. Mr Tolimir, who is charged with genocide, was living in a flat in Belgrade. After the decision to arrest him, police piled into his flat and bundled him out in a body-bag, according to some reports, and then spirited him to the Serb part of Bosnia, where he was officially arrested. This way Serbia's prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, who dislikes the tribunal, appears not to have betrayed his principles.

EU officials insist that talks with Serbia cannot be completed without the arrest of General Ratko Mladic, Mr Tolimir's wartime superior. Whether that happens remains to be seen—Carla Del Ponte, chief prosecutor at the Hague tribunal, now speaks of its being done within weeks. If Mr Kostunica wanted to weaken EU resolve over Kosovo, he would do well to arrest the general. Those against Kosovo's independence might then argue that even a co-operative Serbia was being punished. The trouble is that if Kosovo loses any prospect of independence, war and instability could return. Politics in the Balkans, as elsewhere, is about hard choices.

Pristina

2007-05-30T00:11:00.000-07:00

Et tu, UN?

2007-05-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

HEADLINE: When the peacekeepers become the problem
BYLINE: RAMESH THAKUR

The real UN scandal over the past decade was not the oil-for-food program in Iraq, but the abuse of civilians by UN peacekeepers. Almost 200,000 personnel from more than 100 countries are rotated through UN operations every year. After the damaging allegations of protectors turned predators in the Democratic Republic of Congo, usually in exchange for food or change money,Jordan's UN ambassador Prince Zeid Hussein wrote a forthright report that led to a new and stringent code of conduct for preventing, identifying and responding to sexual misconduct by UN peacekeepers.

The problem persists: UN vehicles are not an uncommon sight in haunts frequented by teenage prostitutes. Sexual exploitation and abuse are not the only side effects of the large numbers of missions and personnel living and working in isolation, far away from home and family, in conditions of loneliness, and without the discipline of the behaviour-regulating norms and codes of conduct of their home countries. Most studies of UN operations focus on the stated mandates and implicit goals of the international community and troop-contributing countries, and the success or failure in implementing them. But peace operations also produce unintended negative consequences, caused by the flood of international money -such as increased corruption and inflation, more prostitution, sex-trafficking and underworld criminal activity. Often the presence of large numbers of people on international salaries creates a shadow economy that drains skills, experience and talent away from the national bureaucracy, as in Afghanistan.

Consider the case of HIV/AIDS. In some of the war-affected countries of deployment in sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV prevalence rate is 40-60 per cent.Soldiers tend to be mainly men of a sexually active age, with money in their pockets far in excess of prevailing local incomes, deployed away from home for six months and prone by temperament and training to risk-taking behaviour.Almost half the Dutch military personnel serving with the UN mission in Cambodia in the 1990s had sexual contact with prostitutes or other local women. Often soldiers come into contact with young boys and girls who are poor,unemployed and traumatized victims of sexual exploitation during prolonged and vicious armed conflict. Troops from countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates make up one-third of UN peacekeepers. Some African military forces have infection rates five times that of the civilian population. Some countries, Ghana, for example, conduct compulsory testing before selecting soldiers for mission deployment. Some resist, for reasons of social and cultural sensitivity, others simply lack adequate testing facilities.
The number and seriousness of side effects of UN peace operations increased along with the growing numbers and complexity of the missions after the Cold War. In some cases, when children are raped by soldiers, for example, serious harm is done to individuals and communities that the peacekeepers are meant to protect, the ability of the mission to fulfill its mandate is weakened, the legitimacy of the UN as an organizer of peacekeeping is eroded, and support for the UN as a whole is diminished in both host and troop-contributing countries.

It is not easy to identify proper legal remedies. Many allegations are difficult to prove in a court of law. The offending soldiers are subject to the disciplinary authority of their own military, not the UN. Often, alleged perpetrators have returned home while victims and witnesses are from host countries with weak criminal justice systems. Yet, international peacekeepers must be held internationally accountable for criminal acts. Merely repeating promises of zero tolerance and setting up task forces and committees is not enough. In addition to education and training inhuman rights and international humanitarian law and standards, peacekeepers must be brought within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and made subject to criminal prosecution. Countries that demur from the more stringent standards, codes of conduct and international investigations and prosecution should be excused from contributing personnel to UN operations.
***
Ramesh Thakur Distinguished fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ont.
***
Ramesh Thakur, former vice-rector of the UN University in Tokyo, is co-editor of the recently published Unintended Consequences of Peacekeeping Operations.

.. and they will come: Qendra Kosovare per Strehim dhe Trajnimin e Qeneve Endacak (Kosovo Shelter for Stray Dogs)

2007-05-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

I was recently contacted by the "Qendra Kosovare per Strehim dhe Trajnimin e Qeneve Endacak (Kosovo Shelter for Stray Dogs)". According to Petra, who contacted me, Qendra Kosovare per Strehim dhe Trajnimin e Qeneve Endacak is one of a kind of such facility in Kosovo. It is situated near the Prishtina airport. Here is the group's quote:

"The shelter has been built and funded solely by two Albanian Kosovars Florim Ferati and Nexhmedin Kabashi and has been in operation since May 2004. Both myself and Toni-Maree McInnes are NZ veterinarians based in the UK. We first visited Kosovo in April 2005 and have since been visiting biannually for approx 2 months per year taking unpaid leave from our jobs in the UK to volunteer at the shelter. We have independently set up a veterinary clinic at the shelter where our primary focus is the sterilisation of the streetdogs as well as providing medical care to owned dogs of both locals and internationals. We also spend a lot of our time raising funds and awareness within Kosovo and abroad. The shelter is a registered NGO but receives no formal funding relying solely upon donations to finance the daily running costs and continual upgrading of the facilities. Please see our website www.kosovodogshelter.org for further information. We will be in Kosovo for 3 weeks from Sunday May 27th . . . We will no doubt be running our well known pub quiz at the Phoenix Bar to raise funds during this time where we are well known!"

Sounds like they are doing great work and I encourage all animal lovers to support them. However, if I am (yes, I am), I'd like to raise an issue about the work of the doctors above. I am not up to date about the constitutional or statutory rights of dogs in various countries, but doesn't the sterilization of street dogs seem sort of ... how do I put this tactfully ... discriminatory and "classist". How come dogs with owners get medical care while street dogs only get sterilized? I am just raising a point which can be extrapolated to the state of human welfare where poor people seem to always be "paternalized" and sometimes made to feel that they do not deserve to pro-create due to their economic status. No, I did not make this up; there are groups and people from the West who go around paying people to sterilize themselves and stop having babies and some courts have upheld these arrangements as valid contracts. Yes, yes, Luna is running wild with ideas again but take a moment to wonder with the street dogs why they should get sterilized. I would appreciate Petra or someone else from the organization answering this for me. I am sure there is a good explanation for it; I just want to know it.

But people, not to take away focus from the work of this good organization, I should stop now. At least, they are doing something to help animals they care for ... that much cannot be said about most of us in Prishtina who just spend all our time drinking macchiatos!!!

In answer to my query above:

Hi Luna

We would like to clarify a few of the points from the previous email and hopefully clear up any confusion!

We are certainly not "classist" and when in Kosovo are more that happy (and do) sterilise owned dogs. The majority of our sterilisation is of street dogs for a number of reasons. Firstly the dogs in our shelter are street dogs and we sterilise them before homing, and secondly the concept of
sterilisation is not widely accepted/understood by the general public of Kosovo and hence we only have a small number of owned dogs presented for surgery. We regularly treat sick/injured street dogs as well as owned dogs when we (the vets) are in Kosovo. We must take care when treating owned dogs so as to always be mindful that we are not taking paid work away from the local veterinarians. With regard to sterilisation this is not too much of a problem as few perform this surgery. When we are not in Kosovo there are no veterinary services available at the shelter and sick/injured dogs and cats must be taken to a local veterinarian for treatment.

In answer to your query on sterilisation.....
Kosovo has tens of thousands of street dogs. Currently shooting campaigns are being run in an effort to reduce the dog population and individuals are being offered €7.50 for the tail of every dead dog. The practice of shooting dogs as a means of population control goes against World Heath Organisation guidelines. It is inhumane and in the long term is ineffective. Shootings are inhumane because dogs are often injured and suffer prolonged painful deaths. Those shot are usually the more tame members of the population and the more aggressive wary problem dogs are more likely to remain and for want of a better term are negative "role models" for new pack
members who can intimate the aggressive behaviours. Shooting is also ineffective in the long term. It is impossible to shoot all the street dogs. Removing large numbers of dogs allows greater resources (food/shelter) available to those remaining thus these dogs are then more successful in rearing litters of pups and shortly the problem again begins to escalate. Higher numbers lead to increased competition for food and can thus lead to increased disease incidence as body condition can suffer. This also allows different populations to enter new areas and introduce new illnesses/disease which can also impact on the human population (particularly relevant in areas where rabies is prevalent). Shootings largely fail to address the problem of the "owned" dogs who are likely to be confined during the culling periods. These owned dogs who receive human support and shelter are most successful in rearing litters of puppies. It is then their offspring abandoned to the street to fend for themselves who largely perpetuate the cycle. The only humane and effective means of population control (as advised in WHO guidelines) are neuter and release programmes targeting not only street dogs but those belonging to members of the public.

We understand from your blog that your concern was that we were victimising the street dog and not that you are against sterilisation, which not only humanely reduces the street dog population longterm but provides health benefits as well. On an individual level sterilisation is advantageous to reduce disease and help improve body condition. This is pertinent not only for behavioural issues eg less fighting/mating etc but also reduces disease incidence eg mammary cancers, womb infections etc. With these things in mind we are very keen to start a sterilisation programme focusing on "owned dogs". This will however take considerable funding, government legislation, public and veterinary education. As you can imagine this is far beyond the scope of just ourselves. We do hope this helps to clarify things.

Kind regards,
Toni and Petra

Graduation Season ....

2007-05-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot that May is graduation month. I was reminded of this when I was walking home from my french class today and saw lots of young people at the Grand Hotel --- you got it--- Prom Night!!! That jolted my memory; after all, it was not that long ago that I graduated from professional school myself. So to all my peeps out there graduating transcontinentally, wishing you great after-graduation parties and hope we all become useful to our world one day. To commemorate your graduations, I am dedicating the best commencement speech ever written that never was but became a great music single in 1999 (under the name of "Wear Sunscreen"). Enjoy, live long and prosper.

Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young

Mary Schmich

June 1, 1997

Inside every adult lurks a graduation speaker dying to get out, some world-weary pundit eager to pontificate on life to young people who'd rather be Rollerblading. Most of us, alas, will never be invited to sow our words of wisdom among an audience of caps and gowns, but there's no reason we can't entertain ourselves by composing a Guide to Life for Graduates.

I encourage anyone over 26 to try this and thank you for indulging my attempt.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Belgrade ... city with a soul

2007-05-12T03:23:00.000-07:00

I know you all missed me ;) Here are some beautiful pictures from Belgrade ...

KANUNI LEKE DUKAGJINIT

2007-05-06T01:20:00.000-07:00

This has become my favorite reading material since I got to Prishtina. I find it to be very interesting and revealing. I am still reading enough not to make any comments on it. Just thought I'd share snippets of it with you. This is the English translation version of it. One sees the influence of the Christian priest that compiled the Kanuni on several pages.

Ah! So that was what the poster on my door meant ...

2007-05-02T03:32:00.000-07:00

As I sit in the office waiting to go to lunch, I can hear the loud voices of protesters screaming in support of Ramush Haradinaj. He is the former Prime Minister of Kosovo who is now standing trial at the Hague with the ICTY for crimes against humanity. Mistaken not, the young Mr. Haradinaj is wildly popular with many Kosovans for his heroics when he was with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) –note to self: a glossary of acronyms for Kosovo would be good for readers. Now, he is better known for his over $3 million mansion in Pristina that looks like a big observatory and his unquestioned ability to make things happen in Kosovo. Not bad for a former security guard and club bouncer in the late 90s. Here is an article about him and his relationship with the international community.

A delegation came from the UN Security Council last week. No one really knows what they came from but they claimed to want to see how things are on the ground in Kosovo. Their prerogative; let's see if this will help in getting a quicker response on Kosovo's status or if Russia will still be holding the Council hostage on this issue.

Onto another serious issue, security forces need to come up with a way to rid the Prishtina community of personal grenades. I am lifting my moratorium on stories involving explosions. According to Kosovo Police, a person got injured in a bomb explosion in Prishtina, from an explosive device that was placed next to the entrance of the apartment of a police officer in the Bill Clinton Street. The police allegedly arrested an individual suspected of placing the explosive. This sort of story is becoming common-place here and people should not stand for it. Exploding one's business and love rivals is never an answer.

Prizren ... Kosovo ... beautiful town for sure....

2007-04-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day all!!!

Love Affair

2007-04-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

I believe this past week was remembrance week in Pristina for those who died in the genocide in the past. There were many flags everywhere and posters commerating the week. Gratitude to the US was of course vivid in all of these. I recently came across a quasi wall of memorial with pictures of victims in front of the government building. I will get those pics for y'all to see.

In memory of the recent vicims of the shooting at V-tech by Students of the University of Prishtina

Bill could always move here for retirement

Speaking of Independence....

2007-04-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

I came across this article which was an interesting read ... agree? yes? no? FU Luna?

Kosovo: Is Partition Most Likely Outcome? By Patrick Moore

(RFE/RL)
April 24, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Many commentators have suggested that the Serbian-dominated north of Kosovo will break off from that province and become a part of Serbia if the Albanian majority declares independence. The idea of partitioning Kosovo along ethnic lines is nothing new. Some Serbian officials and academics toyed with the idea in the early decades of the 20th century as a way of dealing with the Serbs' declining demographic position there. More recent partition projects were associated with the Serbian Academy of Sciences in the mid-1980s. In addition to securing Serbian-majority areas and cultural and religious sites for the Serbian state, the partition planners have generally sought to keep control of as much of the province's mineral wealth for Belgrade as possible.Some forms of de facto partition already exist in Kosovo. In the 1970s and early 1980s, when ethnic Albanian politicians held sway in communist Kosovo after decades of tough Serbian rule, many Serbs left the province. They said they were victims of intimidation and various forms of pressure to sell their land, although the Albanians claimed the Serbs were happy to take the money and move to better farms in Vojvodina. Serbian RefugeesIn the wake of the 1998-99 conflict, much of the Kosovar Serbian population fled their homes for Serbia proper or for what was emerging as a heavily Serbian territory north of the Ibar River, which divides Mitrovica into northern Serbian and southern Albanian halves. Various Serbian enclaves remain throughout Kosovo, but their existence is often precarious. Some Serbian refugees and displaced persons probably will never go back to their former homes in what are now heavily Albanian areas like Pristina. The Serbian ethnic-cleansing campaign of 1999 in particular made heavy use of "human intelligence" on the ground that only local Serbs could supply. Many Serbs who cooperated with former Serbian and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's security forces subsequently fled because they feared the wrath of their Albanian neighbors. Those Albanians also remember that it was the Serbs of Kosovo who formed the bedrock of support for Milosevic in his rise to power in the mid-1980s and subsequently helped keep him there. Lack Of CommunicationThere has, moreover, been little communication across ethnic lines since 1999. The younger generations of Serbs and Albanians literally do not speak each other's languages because they never experienced the joint school or military systems that Yugoslav-era generations did. Traditionally, few Serbs bothered to learn much Albanian, but prior to the late 1980s, most Kosovar Albanians with anything more than very basic schooling knew some Serbo-Croatian. All Kosovar males who served in the Yugoslav military learned at least enough Serbo-Croatian to conduct basic conversations and probably developed their skills further if they were posted to Croatia or Bosnia or somewhere else far from home. Balkan DominoesThe international community has long ruled out partition as an option, saying that Kosovo's future will be determined for the province as a whole. Some observers have warned that if foreign powers ever do allow the Serbian north to secede, they will pave the way for similar partition attempts in the Presevo Valley, Macedonia, or Bosnia-Herzegovina, thereby opening a Pandora's box of Balkan conflicts. Whatever the merits of a Balkan domino theory might be, there is at least one realistic scenario for Kosovo that leaves open the possibility of partition in the not-too-distant future. According to that view, Russia will continue to stall on any serious consideration by the UN Security Council of UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan for conditional independence for Kosovo. Moscow will go on calling for holding debates, arranging fact-finding trips, appointing new negotiators, and doing whatever else can be done to delay things. In the meantime, according to this scenario, the Kosovar Albanians will become increasingly impatient. Before young hotheads or organized radicals take matters into their own hands and renew the violence that shook the province in March 2004, the political leaders will issue a unilateral declaration of independence. This will be endorsed as the only practical alternative to protracted instability by several members of the international community, including probably the United States, Great Britain, Turkey, and some other states that have already indicated their support for Kosovar independence. Most of the EU member states will bicker among themselves and not be able to act together, as has often happened in the past. Serbia will use its old connections with the Nonaligned Movement and its corps of experienced diplomats to ensure strong support for its position among the developing countries. This could prove useful, not only in the Security Council but also in the General Assembly, if and when Pristina seeks membership in that body. The Kosovars have few seasoned diplomats to plead their case except for publisher and negotiator Veton Surroi. Facts On The GroundAt this point, so the theory goes, Russia and Serbia will make it clear that they have been stalling in hopes of triggering a declaration of independence by the Kosovars without Security Council approval. Serbia will then invoke the council's Resolution 1244, which specifies that Kosovo is part of Yugoslavia. (Yugoslavia was changed to Serbia in the text after Milosevic's rump Yugoslavia ceased to be.) As former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has noted, the Western countries never meant the reference to Kosovo being part of Yugoslavia seriously but simply included it in 1244 as a sop to Russia and Greece.But that will not make any difference at this stage. According to this scenario, Belgrade, backed by Moscow and perhaps Beijing, will announce that it will invoke what it considers its rights under 1244 and send its security forces and other officials into northern Kosovo to protect the Serbian population there from the "illegal" regime in the south. The partition will then be sealed, perhaps with the assistance of foreign peacekeepers guarding the new boundary lines to prevent any direct clashes between Serbian and Kosovar Albanian forces.The new Kosovar state will try to observe the provisions of the Ahtisaari plan and protect the Serbian enclaves and cultural properties because it knows that its international standing depends on it. But the enclaves will likely fade away as the young in particular move to the north, to Serbia proper, or even further away still. The cultural properties will lead a sometimes difficult existence, probably behind much barbed wire and guarded by French or Greek troops. One of the lessons of the Croatian and Bosnian conflicts of the early 1990s was that Serbian populations outside Serbia had difficulty accepting the possibility that Serbs could have happy and productive lives in states that they did not control. That is clearly the case in Kosovo, too, particularly after 1998-99. It is probably too much to expect that any Albanian-dominated Kosovar state would ever attract even the grudging the allegiance of the province's Serbs. Partition would be a bitter pill for the Albanians to swallow. They have said repeatedly that they will not accept it, but they might find themselves with little choice. With the political limbo of the UNMIK period behind them and a new legal system in place, they will then get on with their own lives and display the skills of entrepreneurship that they have in the United States, Switzerland, Germany, or Croatia. Neither they nor their former neighbors are likely to miss each other.