Football news from all over

Serbia and Montenegro will have a place in the FIFA World Cup finals after their 1:0 win against Bosnia and Hercegovina, thanks to a goal by Mateja Kežman. "Incidents" were expected and the fans of the visiting team were heavily guarded. In the end, seventeen people were injured during the match, mostly by flying objects thrown at them. But navijači are a unique group and their behavior is not, thankfully, the model for everybody else. The journalists from SCG and BiH played a friendly match, which the BiH journalists won 6:4. Then both teams went to a restaurant, where they partied and agreed on further cooperation.

At the sound of the tone

Darko pretty much captures every customer's perception of dealing with the Verizon corporation. Add to that the piling on of charges which nobody can interpret, and continuing to put "long distance" charges on services that cost nobody a thing except the hapless customer. We considered not even bothering to get a telephone when we moved to our new place two years ago. But of course, the reason the phone company has customers at all is lack of choice -- we had to have a phone line to get DSL service, which we had to get to do our work at home (which we have to do for many reasons). But no longer: now we have switched the DSL to "dedicated line" service (also called "naked DSL," but if you do not believe that I am fully dressed as I write this just check the Boston weather report). Our VOIP phone works over it, so no dealing with the phone company at all. Our former phone number is now a mobile phone, so all those people who have the old number can still reach us. I just heard a story on NPR detailing why two million users have done the same. It takes some doing to wear down a lifetime of loyalty to the phone company, but it looks like inaccessibility, indifference, and exploitation can compensate for a whole lot of regulatory protection.

Georgia on my mind

The first phase of a new project by University of Pittsburgh librarians Susan Corbesero, Helena Goscilo, and
Petre Petrov is now up. Stalinka will be an online collection of photos and documents related to the life of Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili, known to y'all and me as Stalin. The photos (370 of them) are up, and texts will come soon. They warn that their photos are protected by copyright, so I'll illustrate this post with a photo of F. Murray Abraham as Stalin, with Judy Davis in the wry 1996 film Children of the Revolution.

Headline of the day

** Smurfs 'bombed' in UN ad campaign **
UN child agency Unicef launches an ad campaign in which cartoon legends the Smurfs are blown away by an air strike.

Check the story here.

What I found out while away...

Insight #1: "The problem with the city of Sarajevo... well, it's a town!" (My friend K when asked about whether he enjoyed living there.)

Insight #2: Every journalist can be bought. EVERY SINGLE ONE. OK, maybe not old Commie-types who are genuinely uninterested in money (I know all two of them). But it was extremely dispiriting to see, close up, how easily you can buy some ad space (otherwise known as "reporting") in Dani, for example, or how people I used to respect would sell themselves for a few hundred bucks (which they ended up not getting, he he).

#1 plus #2: Not much reason for hope there.

SOAP gets in your eyes

The newest claimant to showering with international recognition in Kosovo is the mysteriously fresh-smelling Serbian Antiterrorist Liberation Movement, or SOAP. Mikan Velinović, who claims to be the commander of the group, is a former wrestler and composer of aphorisms, and briefly ran a private courier service for the ICTY indictee Nebojša Pavković. He claims that the group has 7500 members, that they are unarmed, and that, depending on when you ask him, they are either holding two villages under seige or not. Or else that the movement is of a "humanitarian character." Thanks to AR for the tip.

Update: Oh dear, there's more. Channeling the spirit of Dr Bronner, Mikan Velinović frothed to an interviewer in November that "no normal person can be against SOAP, least of all the US president George Bush." Following the article is a somewhat, erm, spirited discussion of the group's implications, courtesy of your national broadcaster RTS.

Reflections on transitional justice

Helena Cobban, Jonathan Edelstein and Brandon Hamber have launched a new blog, at once discussion forum and resource clearinghouse, on transitional justice. Pay a visit to Transitional Justice Forum to appreciate or join in. The goal is not simply to provide information and reflection on ongoing events (although they certainly do that), but also to interrogate the meanings of justice and the adequacy of institutional mechanisms, as proposed in a highlight post by Jonathan Edelstein. They are also developing a bibliography of published articles available in full-text, small for now but awaiting your additions.

UNICEF's scorched Smurf policy

The advertisement on Belgian television (image courtesy of Večernji list) was meant to raise funds for a UNICEF program for child soldiers in Burundi. It began with an idyllic scene of the popular childrens' animated characters the Smurfs in their village. And it continued with a surprise air raid on the village leaving destruction, death, and an orphaned Smurf child. Belgian UNICEF spokesperson Philippe Henon told media that the purpose of the campaign was to shock viewers and provoke a reaction. No doubt it succeeded in that, but any advertiser will tell you that getting the attention of viewers is only the first job in getting a message across.

The best-advertised plans...

Remember Boris Mikšić? He is the wealthy and once well-connected military contractor who was not elected president of Croatia (he won "morally," he says, but we all know that is no way to get into political office), and subsequently was not elected mayor of Zagreb, but did succeed in getting removed as honorary consul in St. Paul, Minnesota. Now, it seems, he is also not buying the OTV television network. Which is not preventing him from saying that he is. Which the staff of OTV deny.

A brief greeting from the heartland

There is time for a quick dispatch from Champaign (that's in Illinois, Francesco, though I would love to be in Campania--can you believe that none of the members of Almamegretta live here?). Yesterday was a fine lecture, if I do say so myself, and socializing with people from the excellent Russian, East European and Eurasian Center at the University of Illinois. I never believed that a Friday afternoon talk on the Balkans would fill a room! Today will be a brunch with the graduate students in the program, then back to Boston.

The actual transport portion of travelling remains one of my least favorite activities, hard on the arms and knees. But the pleasure is in arriving. They have a large and tremendously active program (I keep imagining the suspense film in which one of the characters squints at the camera and says, "I've got a Title VI library and I know how to use it."), and the center is located just steps away from an entirely good enough coffee place and a truly outstanding tapas bar. Although the institution itself gives every impression that space aliens came and ported a huge university to the middle of a cornfield, the fine culinary resources seem to assure that interest is high, questions and comments are sharp, and that the importance of the sounds of Jarboli to any discussion of the region is perfectly obvious. The award for toughest question certainly goes to the formidable and beguiling Maria Todorova, but neither faculty nor students lagged behind. It was a pleasure afterward to relax over dinner and good conversation with Donna Buchanan, Zsuzsa Gille, and Judith Pintar. Without my beloved family here, I had the opportunity to get to sleep early and stay asleep late, and now I've got an hour or so before the next encounter to relax with a new manuscript by the Nishville sociologist Nikola Božilović.

This may be the last moment I get to compute in peace before Monday, so I can join the readers of this blog in the joy that accompanies the return of the mysterious Mr Teekay.

Back

Just returned from couple days in Germany's ugliest town (want to take a guess? No, it's not in the east) after spending 36 days (if I counted correctly) on my Big Balkan Reunion Tour. In fact, Germany's ugliest town looked a lot like what I imagine some forgotten industrial corner of Belarus might have looked in the mid-1980s. (Never mind that this town is supposedly rich and all that.) While I was away: Croatia gets membership talks with the EU. Turkey gets membership talks with the EU. Carla Del Ponte makes best friends with Kostunica and Sanader. Serbia gets SAA talks with the EU. RS is bribed into "agreeing" on police reform. Bosnia gets SAA talks with the EU. Anything I forgot?

A brief blog silence

I am heading off tomorrow morning for a brief guest gig in lovely Urbana-Champaign, so there will probably not be new posts here before Monday. Enjoy a fine weekend, and visit the blogs on the link list to the right.

The Pink empire, more interesting than ever

The Catholic church owns 26 percent of the shares in the Slovenian broadcast outlet TV Prva. Now the Belgrade-based RTV Pink would like to buy the other 74 percent. Pink is of course well known for its turbo-folk promotions, its echt-popular films and series, and of course its glitzy and model-filled "entertainment" program. It has been on the Bosnian market for a while, and in Serbia has recently positioned itself to compete with the slumbering state-owned giant RTS for a shot at dominating the news market. The church might not be so delighted to enter into a partnership with Pink, as the two institutions have some diverging thematic interests. But the results would certainly be interesting.

Gentle and reassuring words of cultural sociology

For anybody who cares to read it, I gave an interview last week to the talented young journalist and writer Nedim Sejdinović. Have a look at his site: in addition to conversations with me, he has also talked to interesting people.

Large scale crime, large scale complicity

There is a little problem with the "individualization" of gross violations of international law. It turns out that murdering thousands of people over the course of a few days, then covering up the evidence is a large technical undertaking. It requires administrative arrangement, technical resources of various types, and the engagement of personnel. How many people? According to the report filed today by the Republika Srpska Srebrenica Working Group, 19,473 "immediate participants" are identified, with as many as 25,083 involved in the events in and around the operation. The larger figure includes 22,952 people under the command of the RS defence ministry, 34 contract drivers and 209 people under the command of civil defense, as well as 1,988 people under the command of the RS interior ministry, "including 15 members of the 'Scorpions' unit" (Note of caution: my calculator says that when the numbers from FENA's report are added up, the total is 25,183, not 25,083). Of the military participants, all but 268 have been identified by name. The names, among which are the names of people still working in public institutions, have not been made public. But aside from opening up the possibility of new prosecutions against people who know very well who they are, the report also underlines the fact that killing on the scale carried out around Srebrenica in July 1995 cannot be done without considerable commitment of resources, planning, and the involvement of institutions.

Ambulatory ambalaža

If you are an admirer of clever technology and small vehicles, then the new "concept design" urban car by Nissan is pretty amazingly cool. In the East Ethnian region, though, they might want to think of marketing it under some name other than "Pivo."

Ne magija istim žarom

When his performance in Belgrade was announced, we reported that David Copperfield had given rise to some Great Expectations. They were not to be. If the review and the response from well-known members of the audience reported in today's Blic are any indication, his show was a disappointing collection of card tricks and the tricking of ducks, with some video recordings of more impressive feats he had carried off earlier. The handbag went quicker than the eye.

Half harmful ... and half harmless?

Although this list came out in May, the blog-based response to it seems to be getting under way now. First the infrequently read right-wing magazine Human Events asked a group of panelists to assemble a list of the ten most harmful boooks of the 19th and 20th centuries. Now a bunch of bloggers are being asked how many of them they have read (I found one list at Majikthise, certainly there are more). I've read 5 of the 10, but undoubtedly should have read more.

K. Marx and F. Engels, The Communist Manifesto: No surprise here, probably everyone who has studied sociological or political theory has read it.

Mao Zedong, Quotations from Chairman Mao: I did indeed pick this up out of curiousity when I was very young, and found it quite opaque. A line I remember: "A revolution is not a dinner party."

K. Marx, Capital: Charmingly, they give the title in German, even though it is eminently translatable. I'll happily confess to not having read the whole thing.

A. Comte, The Course of Positive Philosophy: I am a little puzzled as to why this is on the list, but then there are a lot of things about the mind of this panel that could be thought of as puzzling.

F. Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil: Not my favorite of his books, really, but still Freddy gets blamed for a lot of stuff that wasn't his fault.

They also have a list of 20 "honorable mentions" that did not make the list, of which I have read 9. For my own part, I stand by my position that the most dangerous book is a heavy one on the top shelf.

Update: Another point of view ... the American Library Association maintains a list of the 100 most challenged books, which people have requested be removed from library collections.

"A thought experiment"

There is a good chance everyone knows by now about the Republican party's official spokescretin for virtue and genocide, Bill Bennett, and his advocacy of crime control through applied eugenics. For those who do not, he outraged a good number of people last week by speculating about how "you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down."

Yesterday he excused himself by calling his remarks "A thought experiment about public policy." In this thought experiment, he was most likely the control group.

Helmut, the East German taxi driver played by Armin Mueller-Stahl in Night on Earth, received another version of experimenting in thought:

I wonder, what would be the impact on crime of providing all black babies with the financial and social resources available to George W. Bush? Property and violent crime rates might decline, but DWI convictions would skyrocket. The incidence of illegal insider stock trading would increase, but neither the indictment or conviction rate would change.

Neither one of these exercises is a proper experiment, of course, but only the second one offers the prospect of projecting a result from existing evidence.

Barbarogenije is back, and a little disappointed

The Balkans used to be backward, lazy and violent. No more. The wonderful Ivan Čolović explains why they are now authentic, spontaneous, diverse and passionate. They take pleasure and pain to their extremes. The European Union should be begging to join them. Not the way they are, of course, but the way music publishers would like to be proud of. All this is, says Čolović, a marketing trip from one krajnost to another. Just as the ethnologist Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin "refused to be ashamed of the Balkans when she was expected to be," probably today she would "refuse to envy them, now that it is all the more frequently demanded of us." Because sometimes a Balkan is just a Balkan, and not an existential category.

Friday dog blogging

No Friday Random ten this week, as I am feeling a need to acquire new music. I did, however, hear on my favorite local radio station Medeski, Martin and Wood's version of "Hey Joe," must get a copy. This week we have Lajoš in the kitchen, looking very attentive to whatever may be going on in there. The survival strategy of a dog depends on always looking very hungry and very innocent, despite having a diet that is probably far more substantial and healthy than ours. He recently had the opportunity to meet one of his sisters, who was also walking at Jamaica Pond. There aren't too many Schipperkes around here, so when two of them meet the owners always question one another. This owner used her cell phone camera thingie to capture the siblings together, but still hasn't sent me the photo. Ah well.

Unfortunate advertising offers

Got this offer in the mail today as a part of a promotion for a new educational kit from the Southern Poverty Law Center's "Teaching Tolerance" program. I am quite sure that they mean very well, and that they have probably prepared some good materials. But no thank you, really.

Техничко питање за ово козмополитско читатељство

Инспирисао ме је Чип, ко овде коментарише чак на арапском. Јер сам ја заклети Маковац, а вероватно знате да једини ВП програм који не подржаба Јуникод јесте Мајкетисофт Офис за Мак. Сад смо гђа. Етнија и ја направили (на брзаку) један превод, и збиља смо се мучили с тим што не можемо да видимо сва слова. На крају сам неке пасусе пребацио на ТекстЕдит, чисто да видим која су слова у питању. Све једна велика и непотребна мука, можете замислити. Постоји ли неко техничко решење за то? Не могу да верујем да нико није до сада измислио нешто. Иначе су та техничка и визуелна решења за Мак углавном паметнија и једноставнија него она за ПЦ. Мала ствар, знам, али кад се бавим овим послом, морам признати да ми је фрка.

Rock glazba made in Rijeka

Saturday, 9 October will be the world premiere of the film "Ritam rock plemena," in which director Bernardino Modrić and writer Koraljko Pasarić follow the rock n roll scene of Rijeka from 1960 to the present. After that, expect to find it at film festivals wherever there is an audience with a clue.

Globalize it, and I'll intellectualize it

Just came across this (I think) new publication by way of a link from one of my regular newspaper reads. Globalizacija is a "journal for political theory and research on globalisation, development and gender issues." It has several items taking a critical approach to neoliberalism and privatisation, with an emphasis on gender and economic issues. There is also an English language version for those who prefer it, and it would appear to be very much worth a look.

A widening corruption scandal, or something else

Here is a piece of breaking news that came out while we were walking our dog. Apparently Vladan Batić, the former justice minister who is president of the Christian Democratic Party of Serbia, is being held by police in connection with a corruption scandal. The given reason has to do with the release of an organised crime figure while he was minister. No concrete details, except that his party has issued a statement labelling the charges as political and saying that he has begun a hunger strike.

Update: It is still difficult to say what is up here. The official statement is that he "abused an official position" while he was minister, but it is not clear how. If the issue in question is the release from prison of a member of the "Kruševac group," this is something the justice minister could have achieved only indirectly, through prosecutors, judges, or the prison administration. On the other hand, the charge from Batić's party about the government using police to settle accounts with political opponents is not too persuasive either, as Batić can hardly be counted as a meaningful political force. My sense is that larger forces are probably not at stake, but that small ones may very well be.

Another update: On 30 September he was released, with no charges. This would tend to give credence to the thesis that it was political intimidation, though it remains unclear why anybody would have anything to gain by intimidating Batić. Alternatively, the government is such a panic over corruption that it no longer knows what it is up to.

A disturbing public opinion survey

A survey released today, commissioned by the British government and carried out by CeSID, suggests that if elections were held now, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) would get 38%, the Democratic Party (DS) would get 31%, The Democratic party of Serbia (DSS) 9% and Bogoljub Karić's Forza Serbia (PSS) 8%. No other parties would get enough to support to gain representation in the parliament. The results are believable, in the sense that they are consistent with recent election results and other survey findings, and also with the expected erosion of support for the parties currently in power. CeSID also has a decent record of reliable research. Some time will probably pass before elections are called, of course, which means that the balance of forces could change, but not in a direction which would necessarily be predictable.

Assuming for a moment that the results would be as the survey indicates, this would mean: 1) once more there would be pressure for DS and DSS to form a coalition, which would certainly be hugely unstable, and 2) assuming the (not necessarily very likely) coalition mentioned in 1) is formed, the government would still be formed by whoever gets PSS to join the coalition, which means that Karić would be able to demand a very high price for his support. If the government were to be formed by a coalition of DS-DSS-PSS, it would be mostly incapable of action. If it were to be formed by SRS and PSS, the results would be disastrous for everybody both inside and outside the government. If DSS were to try to stay out of coalitions, this would leave an unstable minority government and also possibly the demise of DSS. There is always the possibility of a SRS-DSS coalition, which has been raised in various ways by DSS officials at various times, but would certainly be very controversial both in the party and outside of it. It might seem unreal, but then consider that SPS is keeping DSS in power now.

No matter how one tries to add up the numbers, they would not seem to mean anything good.

The escape Klaus is in the fine print

The Czech president Vaclav Klaus expressed his worry about insistence on human rights to an international lawyers' conference, warning that respect for human rights might lead to regulation in the interest of defending them. Explaining his point, he argued that:

"Many partial, merely so-called rights, like the rights of consumers, children, women, disabled people and so on, replace a traditional understanding of human rights. When those new rights are brought into the legal system and lawyers accept them, they cause many serious consequences which begin to complicate social life and its quality."

It is not entirely clear what sort of "complication" he is concerned about, but it would seem to have something to do with what is involved in respecting the rights of women, children and other groups of which Mr Klaus is not a member.

Finska posla, Part II

I don't know how the story will turn out about the drunken Finnish EUFOR soldiers who spent an evening abusing the guests and staff and demolishing a club in Mostar. But it is not likely to enhance the welcome for international troops in Bosnia and Hercegovina.

On the hyperreproduction of the relations of production

The vice president of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Milorad Vučelić says that there is really no reason for SPS not to join prime minister Koštunica's government. And really, he may be right, considering that the government relies on the support of SPS for its survival, and pays heavily for that support. The only reason for SPS not to join up would be that they are already well represented in the cabinet and elsewhere.

The nonweekly Friday Random Ten

I haven't followed this blog folk custom for a while, in which people are invited to open their computer audio players, set them to "random play," and list the first ten songs that come up. This is partly because I have been blogging less in general, and partly because I haven't been shopping much for new music, so the same things keep popping up. But for now, it's better than grading papers, so here it goes annotated:

Bran Van 3000 (with Youssou N'Dour) -- Montreal
Shuffling rhythm, angry Muppet references, and a guest appearance by a favorite globopopper. What else does a pop song need?

Snakefinger -- Beatnik party
Is it possible for the influence of Nino Rota on wiggly guitar styles to be too strong?

The Kinks -- Waterloo sunset
Early adventures in stereo, or an involuntary nod to classicism?

The Replacements -- Androgynous
Words to live by. They may have been a bit of a hit-or-miss group, but this was hit. This and "Mr Whirly."

Azra -- Gracija
I only have vague memories of the video in which Džoni Štulić sings the song behind the counter of a fish market. Does anyone have a copy?

Eszter Balint -- Un poison violent c'est ça l'amour
It remains impossible to decide whether this cover is better than Serge Gainsbourg's original or not.

Carmen Consoli -- Bambina impertinente
Can anybody explain to me why this person is not the hugest international star?

Eva Braun -- Aljaska
Few things are more enjoyable than cover versions that vastly improve on the originals.

Dinah Washington and Brooke Benton -- Baby you've got what it takes
These two should have recorded many more duets.

Üstmamò e Giovanni Lindo Ferretti -- Io sto bene
I dream of a world in which this tune is some country's national anthem.

Please feel free to list or link your random ten in the comments.

Just possibly the best political advertisement ever?

Why the hell would anybody in Texas not vote for Kinky Friedman for governor?

Podujevo trial to resume again?

A Canadian court has decided to deport Dejan Demirović, the member of the "Scorpions" paramilitary group who is charged with murdering 14 civilians in Podujevo in 1999. In June, after several false starts, his fellow "Scorpion" Saša Cvjetan was sentenced to 20 years prison for the same offence. There were certainly many other people involved in the crime, none of whom have been charged.

Wonderful things my colleagues are doing, Part I

Get set in early November for the Extensible Toy Piano Festival at Clark University! Matt Malsky from our music department set this up together with David Claman from the music department of our sister school, Holy Cross. Composers were offered, via the internet, a set of recorded samples from a classic Schoenhut upright toy piano and invited to assemble them into original pieces. John Cage had already explored its potential in his 1948 Suite for Toy Piano. The aim of this project is to "bring the instrument into the 21st Century," combining its unique sound with the interactive potential offered by computer networks. On November 4 and 5, there will be performances of the selected compositions and there will be a symposium with a keynote address to be given by Kyle Gann.

Finska posla

The United States is not the only country where pseudoscience seeks recognition as a leading arbiter of knowledge. The Croatian minister of science and education (and sports!), Dragan Primorac, is under attack in Nature magazine for his interesting theories on the genetic makeup of various European ethnicities. He proposes that Croats are only marginally related to other Slavic groups, and are instead heirs to an ancient Asian civilisation, and also closely related to Finns. Alison Abbott's article in Nature quotes Primorac's advisor Vladimir Paar as assessing that this genetic-national theory assures that "Croats will be recognised as one of the oldest nations in Europe, and that Hungarians have more Slavic genetic markers than Croats." A physicist, Paar also shows his unique talent for distinguishing among humans by calling Primorac "the most competent person in the world." Primorac's ministry has issued a statement denying that this exercise in creative genetics, however dear to the minister, represents official policy. Meanwhile, Primorac himself has been busy adminstering electric shocks to Boris Becker.

Alo Banja Luka

I am certain that East Ethnia has at least one reader in Banja Luka, so at least this person may want to know that The Beat Fleet is playing a free concert on Sunday, 25 September, at the club "Titanium." Send us an izveštaj if you go.

Adventures in self-government

The British government is not confirming the story, but it looks like there are witnesses. Apparently the Iraqi police arrested two British undercover agents in Basra because they "looked suspicious." When the British requested their release, the Iraqi police objected and said they wanted to continue their investigation. At this point, it seems, the British army sent tanks to the prison where the two agents were held and used them to break down the walls of the prison, freeing their agents and whatever other prisoners managed to get to the hole in the wall in time. Said British defence secretary John Reid, no doubt suppressing a giggle, "We remain committed to helping the Iraqi government for as long as they judge that a coalition presence is necessary to provide security." There may have been a subtext to his statement.

Get thee to a nunnery

Is war crimes fugitive Ante Gotovina hiding in a Franciscan monastery in Croatia? ICTY prosecutor Carla del Ponte says yes, the Vatican says no. Is war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadžić hiding in an Orthodox monastery in Montenegro? A lot of people say yes, Amfilohije says no. Are other monasteries being left out here?

Education can be so easy!

Not all of the junk mail I receive comes from people who have mysteriously found themselves with some large quantity of an ex-dictator's money. Some of it invites people to engage in self-improvement. Like this one:

Do you want a University Degree without studying? An Income that starts off high? The 0pportunity to just get in the door?

We can help. We have a LEGAL Offshore University that issues valid Degree's in any subject for a small fee.

Our Degree's work worldwide. Here's an example.

"I had no exper1ence at all in Marketing. I applied as a marketing consultant for a company. My University Degree & reference letters(issued with degree) got me the job in 1 week! My income is now $90,000 a year vs. $25,000. They still have no idea about not going to University, but love me at work for my creativity. You guys rock!."

Those are some very impressive Degree's, indeed, considering how small their fee is. Of course, they are only of any use to a person who is creative.

Don't let the stars get in your eyes

Although the Ministry of Education appears to have gone out of its way to point out that the institute is not a part of the school or university system, an institute for astrology has opened in Belgrade. It offers certificates in knowledge of astrology which, it seems, would be accepted by the international astrological organisations (I did not know there were such things!). The name of the institute is the Johan Kepler Institute for Astrological Research and Education, probably after the founder of the much-missed bookstore which until very recently brightened the heavens in and around Menlo Park, California.

Like slams to the laughter

Although the Croatian reality show beat has long belonged to Drax, this item comes courtesy of the elusive Dr Whyte. A Croatian artist, Siniša Labrović, has launched the first sheep reality show on the internet. The winner will receive an award of poetry, and the losers might be eaten. You can follow the sheep in their stable at the show's site. Says Mr Labrović of his production, "I am not an insensitive bastard who abuses animals. We've called a vet for those sheep that were in poorer shape." He said the aim of the project was to show that "more and more people, especially those who take part in reality shows, are made to look like sheep in every situation".

Friday dog blogging

As a part of the general five-year plan for bringing our apartment into compliance with EU standards and the Bologna agreement through a thorough technological renewal of our domestic environment, we have not succeeded in getting a new stove, but did get a printer with a scanner, very sweet. Here is a photo taken by our friend this summer of the mighty Lajoš defending the living room.

Happy landings

Mirjana Marković did not turn up, for a second time, to court to face the (surprisingly thin) charges against her. But should she decide to come, the youth organisation of the Democratic Party has prepared a landing site for her. Photo courtesy of Danas.

Like a twit on a wire

The good day for Massachusetts ended quickly when Mitt Romney, the coiffure hovering over an empty shell who will not, under any circumstances, be reelected as governor, gave a speech to the right-wing Heritage Foundation yesterday. In it he made recommendations for surveillance of international students ("Do we know where they are? Are we tracking them?") and for wiretapping religious institutions (they "may be teaching doctrines of hate and terror. Are we monitoring that? Are we wiretapping? Are we following what's going on?") It might be reasonable to surmise that he was not thinking about treating all students and religious institutions in the same way, but singling out some groups based on origin or identity for special treatment. But of course, that would be illegal. Also destructive and foolish.

A good day for Massachusetts and constitutions

The proposal to amend the constitution of Massachusetts in order to forbid same-sex marriages has failed, after nearly two years of campaigning by opponents of equal rights to set the procedure in motion. The ban seemed likely to pass after the state's highest court, in a November 2003 decision, ordered the state government to allow marriages beginning on 17 May of last year. The legislature passed one measure in March approving the amendment by a vote of 105-92. But amendments to the constitution have to be approved by the legislature twice in two consecutive sessions: the second effort failed, 157-39. If the move had succeeded, it would have marked the first constitutional change designed to exclude a group of people from participation in legal rights since the Massachusetts Constitution took force in 1780.

What happened in the meantime? Some of the people who voted in favor of the first proposal are no longer in office. Also, the AP reports:

"Some lawmakers said they no longer oppose gay marriage after observing a year of weddings in the state. Others say they couldn't stomach the dilemma that would come with creating two classes of gay and lesbians: one group with full marriage rights, and one without."

But that is not all that is happening. Some of the harder-line people who supported the original amendment have abandoned it in favor of a more restrictive version, which would also forbid "civil unions," a compromise solution offering several protections short of those provided by marriage. They are gathering signatures for a proposal which would have to go through the same legislative procedures, which could then appear on the ballot in 2008 at the earliest.

Confusion over "Captain Dragan"

A recurrent news story in Australia over the past week or so has been the case of Dragan Vasiljković aka Daniel Snedden aka "Kapetan Dragan," who achieved notoriety as a paramilitary commander in the war in Croatia. Since word got out that he was giving golf lessons in Perth, there have been calls (notably from Graham Blewitt, the former ICTY deputy prosecutor who is now a magistrate at home) for him to be prosecuted in Australia as a mercenary. Then the Croatian justice ministry requested his extradition in order to try him for "most serious war crimes." Now it seems that the person Croatian prosecutors have evidence against and want to try may be not Dragan Vasiljković, but the similarly named Dragan Vasiljević.

There is no such confusion, however, about Croatia's request for the extradition of Anton Gudelj, charged with the murder of the conciliatory Slavonian police chief Josip Reihl-Kir and two other people in 1991.

Adventures in gardening

Thanks to the very tall photographers at Politika, an aerial view of the garden at BIA headquarters in Belgrade.

What was democracy

Forty two years before tomorrow, Bertrand Russell published his essay "What is Democracy?" The Guardian is rerunning the review they wrote at the time. Brief, but interesting.

Carnivorous fury

Apparently John Lennon may have had a bit of a temper too, but that would seem to be where the similarities between him and Velimir Ilić end. For example, John Lennon was never invited to Leskovac to open the Roštilijada. Which is a shame.

Reform torta

The people in power in Serbia and Montenegro will certainly be congratulating themselves over the World Bank report naming the country among the top twelve in achieving reforms. The field of observation is limited, though: most of the reforms have to do with laws related to the regulation of property and receptivity to international investment. Political reforms are not considered, nor on the level of business is it taken into account whether practices have changed materially. The political question remains as to how desirable the "opening" of a country may be to investors, particularly if those investors turn out to be net exporters of profit. So while there might be a partial victory to be celebrated, more questions remain open than are closed by the country's achievement.

Back online!

Well, that was neither easy nor comprehensible. The gentleman with many wire cutters came by this morning to set up our new internet service, with any luck faster and more reliable than the dubious one provided by Verizon. The main benefit: it offers broadband without requiring a phone line. So he came, set up the connection in the wall quite nicely, and then went on his merry way, leaving me to figure out how to get their connection to mesh with our wireless router and VOIP. Two hours later, quite frustrated, with an aching back, and really not certain what I did that worked or why, it's up. Lovely world, full of technology that can probably be understod by someone. Now, it's off to try to install the light for under the counter in the kitchen.

Maniacal

If you visit Maniac shop today, you will find my modest guest post on musicians and the not so secret connections between the Balkans and the bayou.

Hari se vraća kući

The Serbian translation of the newest book in the Harry Potter series did not simply apparate, of course. Rather it was translated, in record time, by Vesna and Draško Roganović. Vesna Roganović has a most amusing essay in today's Danas on the question of how they did it. The greatest challenge, of course, was finding suitable equivalents for Ms Rowling's neologisms, which draw on folklore, popular culture, and the tradition of fantasy literature in English. Much of this is not available to readers of the translation, and so the pair had to invent ways of expressing these products of the linguistic imagination. I have to admit that I am not thrilled with their rendering of «Muggles» as «Normalci»—it seems to miss both the elements of class derision and the comical effect of the diminutive that seem to be in the original. But they came up with a good many more creative resolutions, many of which the essay kindly lists. Her essay also gives a good sense of the pleasure and humor that the pair brought to the job.

Hard to disagree!

Courtesy of Wonkette, this perceptive caption appears to have been the work of the staff of Sky news. Though officially, the blame will of course be placed on Michael Brown, who had previously demonstrated that he was not capable of organising horse shows.

Do you believe in magic

The former Mr Schiffer, David Copperfield, is «planning something spectacular» for his upcoming Belgrade performance. He promises that he could even, «with the permission of the Serbian government and people,» spring Slobodan Milošević from the Hague. That would be a trick, certainly.


Daniel Radcliffe as the young David Copperfield in the 2001 PBS miniseries.

Legal documents of our time

I don't think I will bother translating Vojislav Šešelj's letter to the ICTY secretariat. He would appear to be making some sort of promise or another.

Update: Ah, but somebody did bother to translate it.

The wisdom of Barbara Bush: On hurricane victims

Courtesy of Atrios, here is what the president's mother had to say about people whose homes were destroyed in New Orleans, and who sought refuge in Houston:

"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle)--this is working very well for them."

You can listen to Mrs Bush laughing at the "underprivileged" in an mp3 file provided by Mr Atrios.

Most people have probably heard the line from F. Scott Fitzgerald about how rich people are just like us, except they have more money. Not true: this unfeeling creature is not one bit like us.

That could be useful

It is possible that this year Bosnia-Hercegovina might get a translation of its constitution, which exists now only in its official English-language version. Law professor (and holder of many government positions at one time or another) Kasim Trnka makes the obvious point that "in practice, this creates serious problems, because there are several translations both of the constitution and of the Dayton agreements in their entirety. With the constitution, which is the most sensitive document, there are very often translations into three languages in which there are material differences, which can and do cause problems in application and interpretation."

Tsunami threat in Bulgaria?

The National Geophysical Institute of Bulgaria has warned of the possibility of a disastrous tsunami on the Black Sea coast. Seismologist Bojko Rangelov anticipates that the northern coast would be most threatened. The last time this happened was in 1901, when waves brought about by an earthquake sent water fifty miles inland. Bulgarian media note that no warning system is in place.

Count on a teacher

It is reassuring that the schoolteachers in Stolac are not willing to go along with the plan by the local ruling political parties to require children of different ethnic backgrounds to attend school in separate buildings.

Regional agreements of great importance

The Friulian winegrowers hope to be able to reach an agreement with their Hungarian colleagues over the rights to the name "Tokaji," or names that sound like it. Everyone of good spirit is of course familiar with the Hungarian grape, from which a variety of wines are made, but most famously the sweet dessert wine Tokaji Aszú. The Friulian "Tocai" is a dry white wine which is regionally popular and ideal, as ANSA helpfully points out in their report, with fish. The Italian winemakers point out that the Friulian white has used the name "Tocai" since the Middle Ages, and that they would have difficulty marketing their old wine under the proposed new name, "Friuliano." Enzo Marsilio, of the Agricultual Association of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, is "moderately optimistic" that a compromise can be reached. But the last word may have come from the European Court of Justice, which has ordered the makers of both the Friulian Tocai and the Alsatian Tokay Pinot Gris to find a new name by 31 March 2007.

No news of a great musician

An earlier post noted with pleasure that Fats Domino had been rescued from the wreckage of New Orleans. However, it seems that the great Alex Chilton is still missing. As much as I love musicians, he is only one of the over 17,000 people listed at the New Orleans Times-Picayune's missing persons site.

Thanks to Coyu for the post that informed me.

Update, 5 September: Alex Chilton's family reports that he is safe, according to the newspaper site and a fan site.

A minor technical change

I have altered the settings for comments very slightly. Now when you open the window to comment on a post, a box will appear asking you to copy some letters that appear as a distorted graphic. This should not be a very big burden for anybody, and I want you to know that your comments are certainly welcome. I did this not because of people who write to disagree -- anybody is welcome to disagree (though comments that contribute nothing may well be deleted, standard rules of discourse apply). The reason I did this was that I hoped to control the automatically generated comments which appear from time to time directing readers to some advertising site or another. These are, it seems, the blog equivalent of spam mail. What the comment box does is assure that there is really a living human being at the keyboard. I know that it is a bit of a silly burden, but I hope it will not discourage anybody.

A short review, two years late but positive

Vinko Brešan achieved broad popularity for his two comedies Kako je počeo rat na mom otoku and Maršal. Today we got a chance to watch his first «serious» film, 2003's Svjedoci (based on the novel Ovce od gipsa by Jurica Pavičić, and the first film on which Vinko Brešan did not collaborate with his father, the great comic novelist Ivo Brešan), at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.



Much of the discussion of the film has had to do with its political orientation, as an instance of Croatian artists examining war crimes committed by Croats. Drax points out that it was controversial for that reason even while it was being filmed. I like the description of the film by Mima Simić and Iva Radat as «carefully treading the minefield of responsibility and emphasizing the humanity of both sides.» This is the «crime story» of the film, not much of a mystery in the details: a botched bombing lands a group of reservists in trouble. As the effort to cover it up comes to involve a greater number of institutions, the emotional ties between the participants break it apart.

The author of the novel on which the film is based is more modest about its political implications, though. Jurica Pavičić characterizes it as a «description of the social, mental and whatever other kind of reality there is here.» This is the level on which the film really succeeds. A team of outstanding actors subtly shows the conflicting pressures that work on the characters, refusing to let the «good» ones be overly good, the «bad» ones be one-dimensionally bad, or any of the familiar stories about war and ethnicity take front stage. The worst ones find themselves paralyzed by their own doubts and by guilt, and the best are overpowered by their own weaknesses. The honesty and complexity of the story is foreshadowed in the opening sequence, showing different sets of cars heading in different directions through Karlovac, each of them with a purpose connected to that of the others, but with their drivers unaware of this and never noticing one another. There are critics (like Jakov Kosanović in Slobodna Dalmacija) who see the final scene as over the top and too formulaic for the narrative. Without giving anything away to the people who have not seen the film, I would disagree — its symbolism suggests that easy conclusions cost an arm and a leg.

I am inclined to agree with Andjelo Jurkas who says that that the film «functions perfectly» The film did get a review in the Boston Globe which isn't much, but is mildly amusing for its overly literal translations. Pamela Biénbozas wrote an interesting observation of the film's psychological dimensions for FIPRESCI. For a review from someone who didn't like it, try Jesus Quintana. Have a look at Dnevnik's interview and Cross Radio's interview with Brešan if you like. For a nice overview of recent films from the region, this analysis by Andrew James Horton may be interesting.

One piece of good news

Worry had been widespread that the great Antoine "Fats" Domino was unaccounted for in the destruction of New Orleans. AP is now reporting that the 77-year old musician has been rescued and is now out of the city.



His manager Al Embry (who lives in Tennessee) confirms his rescue, and his daughter Karen Domino White (who lives in New Jersey) identified him from a photograph of a person being rescued but has not yet spoken with him.

A great cultural legacy is still being lost. Hear a discussion of it from Open Source.

On understanding frustration

As they acknowledge the failures to provide aid to people killed, injured and dispossessed by Hurricane Katrina, politicians will often offer a line about understanding the frustration of people who are receiving no assistance. Speaking on Larry King's interview program, CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper has a reply:

KING: Anderson Cooper in Biloxi, Mississippi and you were an angry man today, Anderson at what?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I wouldn't say I'm angry, you know. I think I'm tired of hearing the politicians say that, you know, they understand the frustration of people down here. To me, you know, it's not frustration. It's not that people are frustrated.

It's that people are dying. I mean there are people dying. They're drowning to death and they drown in their living rooms and their bodies are rotting where they drowned and there are corpses in the street being eaten by rats and this is the United States of America.

It's not a question of me being angry. People down here are frustrated and angry and it goes beyond just frustration. It's, you know, there are a lot of people who listen to you on satellite radio who are down here who are able to, you know, get some radio and they're -- you know they come up to me and they tell me if I hear them one more time, you know, congratulating each other and thanking each other for all their efforts, the politicians, you know.

They would like them to come down here and roll up their sleeves and get in the tent and help out with some people because there's a lot of need here and there's not much help. I mean there are a lot of hardworking people here from FEMA and the national government and God bless them but I got to tell you there is a great need here, Larry, and it is shocking to see firsthand.

Meanwhile, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, does not understand anybody's frustration. Radiating empathy, he declared, "It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed." The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, observed that federal officials "don't have a clue what's going on down here." To which the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Michael Brown, responded, "I understand the mayor's frustration."

Ko linkuje, taj može biti i linkovan

Just a quick heads up to let you know that the link list has been updated for the first time in a while. Some wonderful new stuff was added, some old sites that seem to have become inactive have been removed. Of course, in the likely event that anybody knows of any delightful sites that have escaped my attention, please let me know.

A disaster caused by humans

Anybody who has been following the horrifying detsruction of lovely New Orleans has been able to observe two catastrophes. One was an unavoidable disaster caused by forces of nature which could be to some degree foreseen, but could not be controlled. The other is being caused by a failure of responsible agencies to anticipate and respond to the predictable consequences. I often enjoy the political satire of Patriotboy, but today he is serious, and gets it just about right. He has posted a call for donations, respond if you can.

Update: The Patriotboy blog is back to its previous form, and the page mentioned above is archived here.

When it was fab

Coming out next week, Kako je bio rokenrol is a collection of the writings of the late legendary music writer Branko Vukojević in the magazines Džuboks, Start and Ritam, as well as critical essays for Politika, between 1975 and 1991. The collection is edited by Goranka Matić, Dragan Kremer, Momčilo Rajin and Predrag Popović. The presentation will be 6 September at Kinoteka in Belgrade at 12:00, and speakers will be comic artist Saša Rakezić, film director Milutin Petrović, multimedia artist Uroš Djurić, music journalists Dragan Ambrozić and Predrag Popović. The publisher, Drustvo ljubitelja popularne kulture, has posted a web page with information, photos, reviews, and two chapters for download.

Not completely successful

After another in a long series of violent attacks on civilians in Kosovo, the assessment of US Institute for Peace analyst Daniel Serwer is that "it is a fact that the international community is not completely successful in the protection of minorities." Which would certainly be one way of putting it.

Too much future

Not too well observed in its time, a new retrospective exhibition is shedding some interesting light on the old East German punk rock scene. Observes the organiser of the exhibit, Michael Böhlke zvani Pankow, "In retrospect, I was probably more of a hippy."

It's a love thing

The testimony of Vojislav Šešelj is continuing at the Hague, for some reason. In the context of denying the large-scale killing at Srebrenica, he claimed that it was a massive execution of prisoners of war. Since this is also a crime, if his testimony were to be taken seriously by anybody as evidence it would not help any of the people charged. Just to make his statements less useful to the indictee in whose defence (!) he is testifying, he claimed that the Serbian government provided transportation for the victims.

But the high point may have been when he repeated his claim that the major national groups involved in the Bosnian conflict were all Serbs of different religions. The accused asked him whether such claims spread hatred, to which Šešelj replied, "No, I spread love by telling the Serb Muslims that the joint state should be restored." Voli i on Vas.

Teaching with the web

A post on web teaching by Sepoy at Chapati Mystery has got me thinking again about ways to use this huge information and communication resource to enhance teaching. In the past I have tried such campus-based solutions as a course mailing list, though this is a bit one-directional. I have also tried using the somewhat more intuitive Yahoo service for a dedicated course mailing list, though I found it was a lot of extra work without a clear benefit. Piggybacking onto an existing topical list was nice as a source of topics, but not everyone was motivated to take advantage of it. Our campus offers a "discussion board" feature through the Blackboard system, but it is one of those institutional software packages that is 90% filter and requires seven steps to do what could easily be done with one.

Sepoy makes the important point that "the instruments and tools of pedagogy should not stop when the time limit of the class is over. Discussion and interaction can and should take place outside of the classroom." I think everybody understands that as the carrot, but then carrots do not always get eaten. So up comes the question of the stick: "I don't think blogging as it exists in the public sphere is the same as blogging within the classroom environment. It has to be structured - rigidly so, perhaps. There should be reasons to blog and reasons to comment and reasons to do group-work. That is, graded assignments." This has always been a source of confusion for me, the fact that so little gets done at institutions if it is not explicitly required. However, I have no doubt that it is true. I think that to really inegrate the potential of blogging technology into teaching, there has to be some element that is obligatory, and subject to receiving or failing to receive a reward.

I am giving myself a semester to consider how I want that integration to work. In the meantime, I've begun a new blog mainly for the purpose of keeping access to all of the stuff I run across that looks useful for discussing or illustrating a point. It may become a regular part of my teaching, may become a more public resource, or may die a natural death. Whatever the outcome, people who are interested in sociology of media may care to have a look. Your experiences and suggestions (also anecdotes and jokes) about bringing the classroom and the internet together are welcome, of course.

What's in a screen name?

E	Easy
A	Ambitious
S	Shiny
T	Tender
E	Extreme
T	Twisted
H	Hairy
N	Normal
I	Innocent
A	Ambivalent

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

The Milošešelj show

At the Milošević trial in the Hague, the accused's old political partner and dirtyworker Vojislav Šešelj, himself under indictment and awaiting trial, has been testifying for several days. AP has already noted that the spectacle has revived viewership of the trial proceedings, which had been lagging as the process continues to drag out in its fourth year. And the proceedings have certainly been interesting, from the camaraderie displayed between the co-conspirators to the lectures on pan-Slavic geopolitics Šešelj has to offer, his accusations against political opponents, regardless of whether these opponents have been murdered or those attempts failed, to his denials of responsibility or even knowledge of crimes which are well documented. It all makes for fascinating television, seeing these two people on whom many lives and deaths once depended sharing with one another their truly unusual understanding of just what it was they did.


A pointed argument from Vojislav Šešelj. Photo thanks to NNDB.

But the whole exchange between the two is not likely to contribute much to the trial. Most of what Šešelj has had to say has been a combination of his opinion of himself, his opinion of other people, and his already very well known extreme right outlook. The judges have more or less told the defendant as much, which suggests that the testimony is likely to be mostly ignored as evidence. So why are Milošević and Šešelj bothering? The whole event is dedicated to people who are no longer in power repeating the phrases that dominated the media when they were in power. They know that no generally available media outlet has offered any kind of consistent alternative to what they used to offer through the media when they controlled them. Wouldn't it be a sad irony if at the end of their long trials, they lose their legal battles but win the television show?

The long hot summer just passed me by

This blog came about during a sabbatical, and today that idyll has ended, with the first day of classes taught and little left but to sort out the various complications of enrollment. All by way of giving notice that as the lectures need to be written and, Inshallah, the papers graded, there will be more frequent periods of what the euphemism calls "light blogging." The youth must be educated! And I must be around somewhere to watch and pretend I had something to do with it.

In case anyone is wondering where I work, my place of employment is the “Hottest School for Student Research”. So nyeah.

What I'm listening to

You can't hear it on the radio, I guess, unless you are in Massachusetts, Seattle, or Salt Lake City (imagine!), but you can get it through the magic of podcasting. Radio Open Source is "a very different sort of radio conversation" hosted by the witty and encyclopedic Chris Lydon. He is trying to merge the possibilities of radio and internet technology, and it shows in the updates, the choice of guests, and the range. You can read the manifesto of sorts, but I prefer listening to the program.

Coffee with the president

After he was attacked by street thugs, Darko Rundek was invited for coffee by Serbian president Boris Tadic. There is no official stenogram of their conversation, but thanks to Index, there is a photo.



Rundek is the one with the dark glasses.

Update: Thanks to the anonymous reader who suggested this photo from B92.



Tadic looks a little less confused, and Rundek a little less animated. Is Mrs Ethnia the only person who seems to have observed (after recently watching, once again, Citizen Kane) a slight resemblance between Boris Tadic and Joseph Cotten?

Negotiating Kosovo

Negotiations on the final status of Kosovo are set to begin this fall. Anything else would risk new riots by parts of the ethnic Albanian majority in the province, and the great powers feel they're trapped. But there's one aspect of the discussion about options for the final status that troubles me, and that's the idea that it's somehow the great powers that "grant" independence. It's certainly right to use the carrot of recognition to push an agenda of reform, and it's certainly right for the internationals to hold the Kosovar authorities responsible for what's going on there, especially with regards to minorities. But Belgrade is bringing this up again and again as "proof" that Kosovo somehow doesn't deserve independence because it treats its minorities badly, and many internationals share this view that independence is somehow as reward for good behavior. Well, that's precisely the argument that was made to justify the bombing of Serbia in 1999: sovereignty is a social contract that includes some form of protection for citizens, and once the state no longer provides that, other protectors may -- or must -- step in. How ironic Belgrade should now be using this line of argument regarding Kosovo!

Why can't the whole festival be made out of the stuff they make the black boxes out of?

Those readers who find themselves in Berlin in November may want to check out the Balkan Black Box festival of film and culture, this year on the theme "Seljak & Gradjanin: Archaism and Modernity in the Balkans." The program is in the German-language section of the site, but hey, I could get the point of it.

First culinary post in a while

This might strike a few people as niche marketing of the most specific type: Einstürzende Neueküchen is an online cookbook consisting of recipes submitted by members, fans and supporters of the hoary German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, which has been around a lot longer than most of your spices. For those who always wanted to know what Blixa Bargeld gets up to in the kitchen (apparently, lemony lentil soup).

More nonsense nobody needs

On Friday it was the attack by drunken idiots against Darko Rundek in Belgrade. Today it was by drunken idiots against bus passengers in Rijeka. If the two incidents are related, it is through the kinds of connections made in the mind of a drunken idiot. The overwhelming majority of people in both countries has nothing to do with this kind of nonsense. Both Serbia and Croatia could control their drunken idiots, if their governments were not populated by the kind of people who would do the same thing if they had the chance.

Special no-parking signs for the day

The City of Boston transportation department has unveiled a special series of parking enforcement signs to prepare for tonight's massive Rolling Stones show at Fenway Park. A sampling of the signs around the area (sorry, I haven't found photos):

"Park illegally and you can have your own 19th Nervous Breakdown"

"You will be Waiting on a Friend to drive you home if you park here"

"The Transportation Department has its own `Beast of Burden.' It's called a tow truck''

'' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want,' so don't even think of trying to park illegally"

Courtesy of various Boston-area media sources. Mayor Menino says come enjoy the show (in the unlikely event that you can find tickets), but take a train or bus.

Dr. Rice discovers time zones

The Times ran an article today about the U.S. government's attempts to control the news cycle improve its image abroad. They put Karen Hughes, a longtime Bush confidante, in charge of the effort at the State Department. (For a more serious take on the issue, check out this opinion piece from last Monday's Trib.) Dr Rice, when asked by the Times about what this was all about, had this incisive observation to offer:

“What we found with rapid response is it does have to be 24-hour and at least a lot of it has to be in the field, not back in Washington, just because of the nature of the time cycle,” she said.

It is indeed reassuring to know that the Bush administration has discovered that there are countries outside the GMT -4 to -7 zones.

Ajmo u ravnine

Even with the withdrawal of criminal charges against them, the criminals of the Milošević family appear to be finally making their way out of Serbia, selling their property in order to be closer to their favorite criminal, who has a long-term engagement at the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague. Apparently they own five houses valued at 4,2 million Euros, though chances are that these properties could be sold for less, considering their disreputable histories, everyone's awareness that the titular owners received title for symbolic prices or for free, and the fact that every potential buyer knows that the sellers have good reason to want to get out in a hurry.

To the complaint that they will getting something for nothing, it could be replied that at least they are leaving. So to all those people continuing to work on the restoration and rehabilitation of that regime: its leaders and primary beneficaries are giving up, this could be taken as a sign.

Don't quite believe this (mate)

Australian, zar? Looking fairly weak on the Victorian side as well, this may not be surprising.

Your Slanguage Profile

Aussie Slang: 75%

New England Slang: 75%

British Slang: 50%

Canadian Slang: 50%

Southern Slang: 50%

Prison Slang: 25%

Victorian Slang: 0%

What Slanguage Do You Speak?

Technical question

We are in the process of arduous thinking about rearranging the variety of technical services in our palatial and gracious home. Since switching our telephone to VoIP, we have found that the phone services conflict with one another -- while the VoIP modem is on, people who call our land line get a busy signal. At the same time, we have not been able to get rid of the land line because our DSL runs through it, which is a classic bad deal in which we pay Verizon money for the pleasure of paying them more money. We could switch the internet service to cable, but the only provider around here is Comcast, which repels us with its unique combination of high prices and bad service. One thing we thought of was switching the land line number to a cell phone (I need to get one anyway, am probably the last holdout), but apparently we can only do this once we have freed the phone line from its DSL burden. This means that our first task is to find a new internet provider. So the question is: if we want to stop having business with Verizon and are not exactly attracted to Comcast, what other options are out there? Our beloved town wants to introduce wireless internet everywhere, but who knows how long this can take. Meanwhile, in this fabulous age of satellites of love and wireless of wrath, it is hard to believe that we are really required to knuckle under to the monopolies of proprietors of wires. So, to all those readers who are more technically adept than I (that should be pretty much all of you), what suggestions have you got?

The joys of bureaucracy

Matt Prodger wrote up a cheeky little piece for BBC on the frustrations of waiting in line, getting forms stamped, and the generally enhanced complication of bureaucracy in Serbia. I say cheeky, but, well, it is also entirely truthful. The reason I mention it is that it brought back sweet memories of the classic animated piece by Bruno Bozzetto comparing Italy to the rest of Europe.

Izadji i osramoti se

Yesterday after playing a concert (which visitors say was excellent), the musician Darko Rundek was walking with friends down Knez Mihailova in Beograd when he was first insulted and then attacked by a group of young men.



Darko Rundek is an outstanding musician and, by all accounts, a most decent person. This was a stupid act by stupid people. Although he was slightly injured, he intends to play the remaining concerts he has scheduled.

Update: The image that keeps coming back to me is the conversation I had with a friend (a celebrated Serbian poet) after we had the pleasure of being shouted at and tear gassed by a group of young men no doubt quite similar to the ones who attacked Darko Rundek. He told me, "their goal is not to hurt you physically, but to force you to spend the next several days looking at everybody you see in the street with fear." This is where the anonynimity of the violence (yesterday's attackers have not been caught, and most likely never will be) comes in. It would be possible to look at every young man with a short haircut and wonder whether that person is a violent fascist. But the potential margin of error is huge (I have a short haircut myself, even if I am no longer young), and eventually you feel sick with yourself for thinking that way. Which is why normal people need Darko Rundek and his charming music, and why so much violence is directed at removing the foundations of normality.

The Friday random ten

It's been so long, I almost forgot. Here they are:

Los Twist -- Es la locura
Üstmamò -- Cosa conta
Half man half biscuit -- For what is Chatteris
Cabaret Voltaire -- Seconds too late
The fifth dimension -- Wedding bell blues (Marry me Bill)
The monochrome set -- Martians go home
Kanda Kodža i Nebojša -- Operate
Boye -- Kralj dosade
Popcycle -- San letnje noći
Cibo matto -- Spoon

This must be "nostalgia for cheesy pop" week! Admittedly, though, I have been listening to less music these days than a person ought to. My employer was kind enough to furnish my office with a new computer while I was away, but it does not have speakers, if you can imagine such a thing.

What becomes of the broken hearted

Despite having a name that suggests being held together by an idea, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) has found that it had little to keep it together once it ceased to be the proprietor of all state services and patronage and the rentier of the League of Communists' real estate. The part of it that did not seek restoration at the hands of the Radicals sought rehabilitation at the hands of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), or avoided it by travelling to the Hague. Last week there was an abandoned effort to "unify all social democratic forces" (which SPS never was) by joining up with Nebojša Čović's Social Democratic Party (also not a social democratic party--aren't these names helpful?).

Bogoljub Karić: Singing "All things must pass."

Now Danas reports that a plan is on the table for one portion of the party to join up with the "Forza Srbije" party led by state-asset profiteer Bogoljub Karić. This may or may not happen, and if it does it may or not involve a meaningful number of the shrinking SPS faithful. But it would lend credence to the claim by the Radicals that movements like Karić's have been engineered to cut into their base of support. Which might not be a bad thing, to the extent that you think that corruption is more tolerable than mass violence.

Levels of frustration

One building association has clearly reached the end of its patience. So they put up this notice, observed by Alphons at Srbovanje:



For those who like, a translation: "If more than four people go into the elevator (and then, of course, get stuck), the building association sincerely wishes that they stay in there." You think they may have had a recurring problem?

Islamic terrorism

In my daytime job as an editor, I love pieces that can be held on reserve and put in the paper whenever there's the need for a little something to fill all that space. Many publications use stories about Islamic terrorists in Bosnia or Kosovo for that purpose (I don't, since most of it is made up). They're usually based on statements by "Serbian security analysts," or on stories by Serbian newspapers which are in turn based on obscure commentators from the West who make their living spreading disinformation (e.g., Gregory Copley).

Will you forgive me the joy with which I read this piece this morning?

A Moroccan suspected of involvement in the Madrid train bombings has been arrested in Belgrade, Spain says.

Security

Evidence from the inquest into the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes by London police on 22 July suggests that the initial information that was given by the police was false: Mr Menezes did not jump a ticket barrier, did not flee from police, was not wearing a large and roomy coat or carrying a rucksack. Rather, he was killed after being followed from an apartment block that was under surveillance. So there is the possibility that he was killed for having a residence and personal appearance that the panicked police thought were sufficient. The Guardian has the report, and so does BBC.

Update: Now it turns out that the police commander, Ian Blair, intervened immediately to delay an independent investigation into the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was under restraint at the time that he was shot repeatedly at close range. We expect Mr Blair to prepare the next several minutes of his life writing his letter of resignation, several years in jail, and the remainder in disgrace.

A good point from Nadezhda

I always recommend reading chez Nadezhda for good writing and good insight. Here is a point that has certainly been made many times before, but it is ignored at least twice as often as it is made, so why not make it again:

"....the fact that intervening to halt genocide is easier to justify than interventions in other violent conflicts doesn't make it a "fundamentally different phenomenon" for other purposes. Putting a halt to the killing is only the beginning, not the end, of any intervention. Whether a conflict involves genocide or just terrible violence does not change the fact that those who intervene should have a pretty clear idea of what the desirable "end game" will be for neutralizing, if not permanently resolving, the conflict. There also must be a consensus on how to get to the "end game," the military and non-military resources required, and what impact the desired outcome would likely have on neighboring countries. Regardless of whether the methods used by one of the sides in a violent internal conflict is "genocide," those who intervene will have taken upon themselves the long-term responsibility for overseeing the hard political and practical challenges of peace-keeping and peace-making, reconstruction, and -- depending on the political outcomes -- reconciliation or separation of the conflicting groups."

Symbolic half measures and instrumental declarations of victory are poor substitutes, and are just as likely to prolong damage as anything else.

Continuing with the fast food theme

McDonald's really is everywhere. This gem is from the Aktuelno gallery at Zamisli Srbiju.



As part of our process to welcome first year students at my fine place of employment, they are all reading Fast food nation by Eric Schlosser. Fascinating and disturbing stuff. Collectivisation of agriculture was not a unique achievement of the Soviets, you know.

The torture president

If George Bush is going to remembered for anything, it will probably be for making his country guilty of torture, and reversing a century's worth of effort to ban the practice. So why is his Department of Defence in court fighting against the release of more photos which they have in their possession documenting the practice of torture? Part of the reason we do not know because DoD is asking the court to keep its legal arguments secret. Part of it is reported as the fear that if the photos are released, there may be rioting and attacks.

A couple of points here. First, comments by people who have seen the photos in question suggest that they are absolutely shocking and scurrilous, which I believe. Second, nobody has bothered to deny either the fact that torture is practiced or the existence of documents (produced by the perpetrators themselves) showing the details. Third, regardless of whether the military wins or loses the lawsuit filed by ACLU to force the release of the photos, the photos are going to be made public by somebody, because these sorts of secrets rarely remain secret.

The principal legal argument being deployed by the military seems to amount to if people knew what we are doing, they would be angry. But they do, and they are.

For further discussion, listen to Chris Lydon's interviews.

A northern boy

We are finally back from our long sojourn across the large North American continent, having seen more of it than we really knew existed. High points include: the Badlands; the Spotted Horse Cafe in Belgrade, Montana; showing my native region to my daughter (who has seen every cousin she has but one this summer); listening repeatedly to the new album by Kanda Kodža i Nebojša. The "visited states" map is filling up.



create your own personalized map of the USA

There was also something to be said for our first attempt at making cedar plank salmon at our cousin's place in Toronto. We have still not seen much of the southern states, must do something about that. Am told they have oysters as well.

Thanks to East Ethnians worldwide for their patience as we vacation. Posting to resume.

East Ethnia has not disappeared

Just so the loyal readers of this blog know, I am on a long vacation, driving through the US and Canada, having spent a longish and very pleasant visit in my ancestral home of Seattle, and I ought to be back home and posting at a fast clip again about the 15th. In the meantime, the weather is excellent, the local cuisine is consistently better than expected, and we have determined that even a beer with a name like "Moose drool" can be fairly decent. However, internet access fast enough to match my typing habits is intermittent, so expect us back again next week.