My friend, Alex updates me on the situation there in Serbia with regard to the newly-declared independence (cough) of Kosovo. Tonight there is violence in the capitol city of Belgrade as angry Serbs, mostly young soccer fans, stormed several embassies (including the U.S. Embassy) and set them ablaze. At least one person is dead as a result of this mayhem.

From the report at B92.net:

The U.S. has asked the U.N. Security Council to meet and discuss the breach of international law by Serbia, since embassies are sovereign territories. Instead of an apology, Prime Minister Kostunica responded by saying, ‘This is a good time to discuss a much bigger breach of international law, by the United States, when it supported the illegal and unilateral independence of Kosovo.’

The U.S. and Americans have a LOT of nerve being outraged about this. We are the ones who started it nearly 10 years ago. America has its head so far up its ass that it just can’t see the light. Pretty damn dark in there, huh?

Despite what imperialistic America and its fawning press would have you believe, there is some well reasoned opinion out there why independence for Kosovo is a bad move. It has been ignored and will continue to be ignored. And let’s not even go into the issue of the unilateral and illegal bombing of then-Yugoslavia back in the spring of 1999. No, we definitely don’t want to go THERE. What a short memory the U.S. has. Well, I don’t.

And Svetlana said it best here:

So, let me see if I get this straight: the US embassy in Belgrade is “a sovereign American territory” in Serbia, but 15% of Serbian state and a cradle of Serbia’s culture, faith and statehood—Kosovo and Metohija province—is not sufficiently sovereign Serbian territory, because the US wants to seize it from Serbia?

for the business.

Kosovo is independent? Someone pass me the crack pipe, please. According to Dictionary.com, independent means:

* * *
4. not dependent; not depending or contingent upon something else for existence, operation, etc.
5. not relying on another or others for aid or support.
6. rejecting others’ aid or support; refusing to be under obligation to others.
7. possessing a competency: to be financially independent.

For nearly a decade, Kosovo has been under the authority and control of UNMIK, a United Nations led civil administration bureau who has failed miserably at its stated “missions” as found under “Duties” and “Criticisms” in this Wikipedia article. Electricity is still sporadic, as the original news article bears out; since UNMIK arrived on the scene, Kosovo has been used as a place from which young Slavic women are trafficked as prostitutes, most notably from Romania, Bulgaria and the Ukraine. Minority Serbs living in Kosovo are not being protected, as UNMIK was supposedly beholden to do, and in fact ethnic violence there is rampant.

Independent? Not hardly; they’ll still be reliant on UNMIK, NATO and others for handouts for years to come. Why is everyone patting themselves on the back for this “bold” move? I, for one, am not an American who will sit back and cheer for independent Kosovars. The media only tells part of the story. The real people involved, those whose lives are affected, know the score. And the score is: Kosovo: 0; Serbia: 0. It’s a wash, folks.

To whom love is everything. . . . I dedicate this video to the two greatest and sweetest men in my life, whom I love with all my heart. No one means more to me than you guys do. You already know that. So . . . I guess I’m allowed to be corny and sappy and mushy one day of the year, huh?

P.S. Guys, girls understand that there should be only one umbrella, to be shared. Don’t try to be efficient and bring an extra. You’ll ruin the moment.

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!

Stop hitting the Reset Password link on this blog. There are no users here except me. The password reset notification goes to an email you don’t have access to, so what’s the point? Just stop it. I’m not impressed.

Heh, are you guys as tired as I am of everyone referring to Valentine’s Day as VD? I just couldn’t resist going with the sheeple on this one. I’ve resurrected an old skin for February. I also use it in October during the Go Pink for October Breast Cancer campaign. I call it Hearts Afire. The pink polka dot background is courtesy of Citrus Moon. The divider graphics and sidebar icons are from True Type font Webdings and the banner font is True Type HeartBreak. All conjured up by Pixelita Designs, the web design shop I and he run. Enjoy!

Today, Serbia votes on a new president. The original voting, which took place on January 20, resulted in today’s runoff election between incumbent Boris Tadic and Tomislav Nikolic. While both oppose the secession of Kosovo, Tadic apparently is not prepared to impose sanctions or trade embargos against the West (meaning the U.S. for one), which probably will further isolate this troubled country from the rest of Europe. I have a vested interest in the outcome of this election as my very best friend in the world lives there. Sitting here today hoping for the right outcome, and remembering that you can cut diplomatic relations, you can impose embargos, you can refuse to deal with a certain entity. But you cannot cut heartstrings.

Update, 4:03PM CST/11:03PM CET

Serbian Election Commission:

Based upon 47,55 % of the votes that have been counted so far…
TADIC, Democratic Party 51,16 % of the votes
NIKOLIC, Serbian Radical Party 47,18 % of the votes

Thanks, Alex, for that update!

It’s Official…

Tadic won.