Stories from Quick Reads and Kosovo
The Balkans: Turbo-folk and Rock Mashups
Mashup clips by YouTube user apostolski, which combine video footage of Coldplay, U2 and Queen with Serbian turbo-folk songs are poised to become the next big viral hit among Balkan social media users and bloggers [MKD]. Some have already “spilled over” into traditional media like TV call-in show Jadi burek...
Serbia, Kosovo: Comment on Dick Marty's Report
Belgraded.com comments on Dick Marty's “report on organized criminal activities committed by the Kosovo Albanian side during and after Kosovo conflict”: “As it turns out, there are now at least two things Serbs and Kosovars have in common – people who committed crimes during the war and politicians and other...
Serbia, Albania, Kosovo: More Info on “Yellow House”
Sasa Milosevic has collected some of the available information about the “Yellow House” and human organ trade in Kosovo on his blog, The Bloody Yellow House (ENG).
The Balkans: Angelina Jolie's “Directorial Debut”
Gray Falcon and Srebrenica Genocide Blog discuss (from different perspectives) Angelina Jolie's “directorial debut” – “a love story set during the Bosnian war.”
The Balkans: Genocide Denial
Greater Surbiton writes about “the bizarre world of genocide denial.”
Northern Cyprus: Rihanna's Concert
Greater Surbiton writes about the controversy surrounding Rihanna's upcoming concert in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Serbia, Kosovo: Another View on ICJ's Ruling
The Greater Surbiton writes that “the ICJ’s ruling on Kosovo sets a precedent that is dangerous only for tyrants and ethnic cleansers.” (More views are here and here.)
Serbia, Kosovo: More on ICJ's Ruling
More commentary on the ICJ's opinion on Kosovo's independence – at A Fistful of Euros, Belgraded, Gray Falcon, and Jamestown Foundation Blog (a GV translation on the subject is here).
Slovenia: Referendum on the Arbitration Agreement
Sleeping With Pengovsky writes – here and here – about this past Sunday's referendum on the Arbitration Agreement between Slovenia and Croatia; posts Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 of The Definitive Guide to the Arbitrage Agreement Between Slovenia and Croatia (links to the earlier installments are here); and...
Macedonia: Remnants of the Yugoslav Legacy
Sead Dzigal reminds readers [MKD] that after “the death” of the .yu domain [SER] this past March, the term ‘Yugoslavia’ officially survives on the international scene only in the provisional reference the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the title of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which...
The Balkans: 30th Anniversary of Tito's Death
Sleeping With Pengovsky, Balkan Insight (via Balkan Travellers) and Piran Café write about the 30th anniversary of the death of the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito.
The Balkans: Thoughts on Slavenka Drakulić's 1993 Book
Filip Stojanovski shares his thoughts on Slavenka Drakulić's 1993 book, How We Survived Communism & Even Laughed.
The Balkans: “Six Reasons for Marrying a Balkan Man”
Ruth Platt-Stavrik's “Six Reasons for Marrying a Balkan Man” – at MladiInfo.com (via Belgraded).
The Balkans: A Travel Roundup
“Street and alternative photography of Belgrade” – at Belgrade Raw; “Other people's journeys: Balkan travelogues 2009” – at Balkanology Blog; a map of Belgrade's hostels – at Belgraded; a review of the “best flight options to Sarajevo” – at Bosnia Blog.
Kosovo: Coal Imports
A Fistful of Euros writes about Kosovo's need to import coal from elsewhere, despite having “the world’s fifth largest reserve” itself.
Kosovo, Hungary: More on the Tisza River Tragedy
A Fistful of Euros discusses the story of tragic death of 15 Kosovo Albanian illegal immigrants, who were trying to cross the Tisza River into Hungary and the EU. More about it – in Marietta Le's Oct. 28 GV post.
The Balkans: Danilo Kiš
Belatedly, a tribute to Yugoslav writer Danilo Kiš (1935-1989) – at Balkans via Bohemia.
Abkhazia, Kosovo: Not an Option on Facebook, Dopplr, LibraryThing
Eternal Remont writes about the launch of two “pro-independence Abkhaz” groups on Facebook – where “Abkhazia is not a country option.” Wu Wei reports on similar problems with Pristina, Kosovo, on LibraryThing and Dopplr.
The Balkans: More on EU Visa Rules
More on the new EU visa rules for the Balkans – at A Fistful of Euros.
The Balkans: Language Issue
Gray Falcon writes about the language issue in the former Yugoslavia – here and here.
The Balkans: EU Visa-Free Travel Controversy
AriRusila of Blogactiv.eu‘s BalkanPerspective writes that the EU's intention to introduce visa-free travel for some Balkan entities but not others is dividing the region.
