Friday, February 22, 2008

Serbia and Kosovo,
from a Croatian-Irish Point of View,
and from Another Point of View

"Wait, so really.... we all really can't just get along?... gotcha."
Peace Turkey (February 21, 2008)

Another blog's post on the Serbia/Kosovo situation. "Peaceful Turkey" gives a point of view I don't think we'll see in the papers: Including more of that strange ""Kosovo is Serbia" quote, and the reasons in culture and history that make it (almost?) make sense.
"Serb tantrums lead to violence against US embassy "
Prairie Pundit (February 21, 2008)

I haven't run into allegations of Serbian government or PAC involvement in the demonstration and/or riot in Belgrade elsewhere, but it's possible: particularly since there don't seem to have been Serbian police near or around the American embassy.
"Serbian President Boris Tadic Calls Emergency Meeting; Rioters Protest for Fifth Day"
FOXNews (February 22, 2008)

The day after, some more details, including:

" 'Kosovo is Serbia and we will never surrender, despite blackmail by the European Union,' Serbian government official Dragan Deletic told the crowd."

"Tadic's and Kostunica's parties are united in a coalition government — but the two differ sharply on how to handle Kosovo's declaration of independence, with Tadic saying Belgrade must press on with efforts to join the EU regardless and Kostunica seeking to drop the bid over EU nations' recognition of Kosovo.

"Rioters also targeted the missions of Croatia, Turkey, Bosnia, Belgium and Canada, officials said. Germany said its mission suffered damage."

"In Kosovo, about 5,000 protesters in the Kosovo Serb stronghold of Kosovska Mitrovica threw bottles and stones at U.N. and NATO peacekeepers."

The score, after the fires were out in Belgrade last night:
  • One dead (the still-unidentified body in the U.S. embassy)
  • Over 150 people injured
  • About 200 people arrested
  • 90 shops ransacked
There's no word on whether any of those running shoes and track suits have been recovered. In a way, those looters were a bright spot in yesterday's violence.

At least some of the protesters were sober enough to make full-contact five-finger discounts. Their rapid response to a rare opportunity also shows a presence of mind and ability to adjust to circumstances that Serbia and Kosovo will need in the years ahead.

Developing a moral sense and a code of ethics will be needed, too. I'm hoping that there will be enough people in those countries with both the brains and the character to sort out the current mess.
More at "Here We Go Again: American Embassy Burned in Belgrade" (February 21, 2008)
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Blogroll

Note! Although I believe that these websites and blogs are useful resources for understanding the War on Terror, I do not necessarily agree with their opinions. 1 1 Given a recent misunderstanding of the phrase "useful resources," a clarification: I do not limit my reading to resources which support my views, or even to those which appear to be accurate. Reading opinions contrary to what I believed has been very useful at times: sometimes verifying my previous assumptions, sometimes encouraging me to change them.

Even resources which, in my opinion, are simply inaccurate are sometimes useful: these can give valuable insights into why some people or groups believe what they do.

In short, It is my opinion that some of the resources in this blogroll are neither accurate, nor unbiased. I do, however, believe that they are useful in understanding the War on Terror, the many versions of Islam, terrorism, and related topics.