Belgrade. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has made millions in Kosovo, Serbian Vecernje Novosti daily writes.
“The commitment of the former leader of the U.S. diplomacy to the Albanians’ side has paid off in recent days. Albright’s company (The Albright Group) has made EUR 20 million from the sale of the Kosovar mobile operator,” the Serbian newspaper comments, adding this happened with cunning financial and political moves.
With Kosovo's recent organ-trafficking scandal and the debate of whether Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Joe Biden and other western "power figures" were aware of the fact their friend and colleague Hashim Thaci (first Prime Minister of "new Kosovo") was (and remains) in control of large-scale-trade of drugs, weapons and organs, human trafficking and other criminal enterprises; it's important to remember (and note) another, more fucked up fact:
There has been sufficient evidence of organ trafficking and sadistic murders at the hands of KLA (Kosovo's Liberation Army) since the late nineties. Such evidence has been presented to the medias, USA officials, UN committees and other people in control of international laws from as early as 2000. The evidence was than hidden, dismissed and denounced by those same medias, officials and committees for the sake of justifying the bombing of Yugoslavia and imprisonment of Slobodan Milosevic (which in-turn justified the secession of Kosovo). THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACCUSING THACI OF CRIMES AND ATROCITIES, ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THESE CRIMES FOR OVER A DECADE, AND WHO CHOSE TO DISREGARD THEM FOR PERSONAL GAINS. THEY ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THACI TO HAVE POWER OVER A GOVERNED STATE. MEMBERS OF THE KLA TERRORIST GROUP ARE FREE TODAY MORE THAN EVER, TRADING ORGANS AS WE SPEAK, AND HAVE BEEN ORDAINED MEDALS OF BRAVERY AND PENSIONS BY UNITED NATIONS. AND FINALLY MY PEOPLE, KEEP IN MIND THAT BEHIND EVERY WESTERN PUSHED PROPAGANDA IS A REASON FOR ITS RELEASE. I'M AS SURPRISED AS ANYONE EDUCATED ON THE SUBJECT IS, WITH BRITISH AND AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS AND NEWS STATIONS CALLING THACI A MONSTER AND ACCUSING HIM OF CRIMES THAT HAVE BEEN PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE FOR MANY YEARS, BUT I ALSO KNOW THERE IS A REASON FOR IT BEHIND THE SCENES.
MAYBE THACI RAISED THE PRICE OF KIDNEYS. (Or maybe Hearts, Bill ;) )
MAYBE IT WAS KEYS OF HEROIN, OR MAYBE HE SAID A STATUE OF JOE BIDEN NEXT TO THE ONE OF BILL CLINTON IS TOO MUCH FOR ONE CITY.
REGARDLESS OF REASON, I'M TOO OLD TO BELIEVE THAT TONY BLAIR HEARD THE "NEWS" OF THACI'S TERRORIST METHODS AND DECIDED TO END A "TRUE FRIENDSHIP" AT ONCE.
Here's a picture of KLA members carrying heads of 2 dead Serbian souljers (RIP). The psychopath in the middle of the celebration is Sadik Cuflaj, KLA member from the Decani area. Here's the problem: In a picture where 3 sadistic terrorists are holding 2 cut-off heads, the graphics aren't the scary part; nor is it scary that this picture has been public for over 5 years.
SCARY IS THE FACT THAT THESE 3 (NOW DEAD) ANIMALS AND THOUSANDS LIKE THEM HAVE BEEN DEEMED HEROS AND "FALLEN VETERANS" BY THE UN, AND BECAUSE OF THEIR "CONTRIBUTION" TO KOSOVO'S "FREEDOM" THEIR FAMILIES ARE RECEIVING PENSIONS AND BENEFITS.
On behalf of everyone at IX Million Entertainment, I just want readers of this blog to understand that in this world there are 3 types of people, a) those who are clueless, b) those who know but don't give a fuck, and c) those who know and honestly give a fuck. As long as u not A, you aiite. The greatest contribution you can give the world is making the most of your own self. Everything else is TIP, it's unnecessary. Take everything you hear or see in the media with a grain of salt (or better yet don't even watch the bullshit) and if you choose to give a fuck, look behind the scenes for hidden factors and true motives.
When the wars of the former Yugoslavia finally ended in 1999, the region was left with hundreds of battle-hardened men who had become accustomed to crime and easy money. With the fighting over, many of them turned to crime full-time. In the era of electronic banking, banks no longer carry much cash so jewels are the softest target for thieves. The former Yugoslav criminals saw their opportunity and are now the world's most feared diamond thieves. Interpol has dubbed them the Pink Panthers.
"They've become more than pure criminals, they're heroes," said Dragan Ilic, a morning radio talk show host in Belgrade, the Serbian capital. "They're violent but they haven't killed anyone. It's as if they're saying, ‘We can beat the technologically superior West with our raw power and intelligence.' They're feeding the Western myth of the dark, tribal Balkans - these criminals coming from those wars and woods."
Nine years ago, neoliberal political forces took power in Serbia, promising a radical transformation of the economy. Today, deep into that transformation, Serbia is foundering from its effects exacerbated by the worldwide economic downturn. Industrial production has fallen 15 percent compared to the average of last year, while unemployment remains high.
The outcome for those who work at enterprises that undergo privatization has been all too predictable. Companies privatized in accordance with the 2001 privatization law have shown a decrease of 45 percent in employment over the first two years of private ownership. Those companies that are privatized based on the 2003 law dropped just 15 percent by the end of the first year, but this apparent difference was only because of the extensive downsizing that these firms must undergo prior to sale, in order to make them more attractive to investors. The textile industry has been particularly hard hit, with steep job losses and falling performance. As the Privatization Agency reveals, "the performance of privatized companies is worse than the performance of the sector as a whole," an interesting admission.
Inevitably, it is working people who bear the brunt of privatization. Unemployment in Serbia steadily grew since 2000, when neoliberal political forces came to power, quickly reaching 32 percent within four years. After that there was a modest economic recovery, due in part to the short-term influx of cash from the sale of enterprises through privatization. Unemployment dropped to 16 percent by April 2009, but this apparent improvement is illusory, having to do mainly with the recent adoption of the current American model for calculating unemployment. Under this method, workers who are not regularly and actively seeking jobs are counted as "discouraged," and "out of the job market," and therefore not belonging to the ranks of the unemployed. If one adds back in the number of workers who are classified as "inactive" but who profess both the ability and the desire to work, then the unemployment rate increases to 25 percent. In real terms, then, there has been no meaningful improvement in the unemployment rate. To put this in perspective, at its peak in 1933, unemployment during the Great Depression in the U.S. reached 25 percent, a figure that was then not calculated to exclude a significant portion of workers. Today Serbian workers are enduring their own Great Depression, but one that has been imposed through adoption of the neoliberal economic model. For those who lose their livelihoods, there is little hope. Nearly two thirds of the non-discouraged unemployed have been without work for a year or longer, sometimes much longer. They are society's discards. FULL ARTICLE
Once Brothers (ESPN, 2010) is the story of Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac, 2 of the greatest European basketball players of our time. Drazen and Vlade were part of the last Yugoslavian national team, which went to win the 1990 World Championships in Argentina, defeating both the USA and Soviet powerhouse teams.
This movie is incredible. 4real. To me, and likely most former Yugoslavian kids, it's also very personal. I remember the times when Divac snatched the Croatian flag from the fan, and I remember him becoming a hero to Serbs, and a villian to Croatians. Where I lived (Serbian part of Croatia) every kid wanted to be Divac, and every kid had a Divac poster on their wall (In my case, a TEMPO magazine centerfold). I also remember everyone, Serbian and Croatian idolizing Drazen Petrovic. Drazen's dad was Serbian, his mom Croatian, and before the war he was the pride of Yugoslavia.
"Once Brothers" is a obvious metaphor for the story of all Yugoslavian people, it's more than a sport story. It's packed with front line footage of the civil war, never before seen footage of Vlade's and Drazen's early years in the NBA, and rare insight into the behind the scenes details of this incredible piece of history. Divac does a good job directing and narrating as well.
I met Vlade Divac in 2002, at the peak of Sacramento Kings mania. I was at a church hall in Hamilton, and he was at a table with Scott Pollard, Hedo Turkoglu and Peja Stojakovic. I only got a chance to talk to him briefly, but to me it's still one of the illest moments of my life. I don't think people outside of Serbia can ever understand how much love Serbian people have for Vlade. It's been said for years, and it's most likely true, that if Vlade Divac decided to run for president, our country would have it's first unanimous election. Not because he's a Serbian extremist, or even nationalist. Maybe because he's a Real Philantropist (you know, the kind that gives more money to charities worldwide than Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods and ... you name him, but without the media coverage return on investment), or maybe because he's a Real Leader (you know, the kind that sees no racial or national differences in people... the kind of goodfella who can't understand how his friend can put his country above their friendship, and although he has a country in a war too, he had a friend before the war started), or maybe it's just because, in the words of Chris Webber, "He's a Real Nigga".
If it's the only documentary you'll watch this decade, please don't miss a thing.
focus-fen.net
When the wars of the former Yugoslavia finally ended in 1999, the region was left with hundreds of battle-hardened men who had become accustomed to crime and easy money. With the fighting over, many of them turned to crime full-time. In the era of electronic banking, banks no longer carry much cash so jewels are the softest target for thieves. The former Yugoslav criminals saw their opportunity and are now the world's most feared diamond thieves. Interpol has dubbed them the Pink Panthers.
Once Brothers (ESPN, 2010) is the story of Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac, 2 of the greatest European basketball players of our time. Drazen and Vlade were part of the last Yugoslavian national team, which went to win the 1990 World Championships in Argentina, defeating both the USA and Soviet powerhouse teams.
