World Affairs | SLEEPING WITH PENGOVSKY

Juan Carlos Janković

A couple of days ago Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković provided us with another juicy remark – this time aimed at parliamentary chief whip of Janez Janša’s SDS Jože Tanko. Namely: Zoki was rather eloquent in his support of Mitja Gaspari and then of Danilo Türk during the presidential campaign. Furthermore, he said that Lojze Peterle is too close to the ruling coalition which is actively seeking to harm Ljubljana.

In the heat of the election campaing SDS of course responded by Tanko demanding a public appology. And on Tuesday last (one decision by the constitutional court and one electoral result later) mayor Janković struck back at Tanko, slamming him pretty hard:

I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself 🙂

Funny thing is though, that Spanish king Juan Carlos did basically the same thing to Hugo Chavez the other day. But he did it in person while his PM Zapatero was unsucesfully trying to be both calming and assertive. Anyone speak Spanish around here? 🙂

Belgium Should Remain United (Or Why Flanders Is More Like Kosovo Than Like Slovenia)

Belgium divided

Thanks to dr. ARF, readers of this blog have been brought up to speed with the ongoing political and state crisis Belgium is experiencing. To put it in a (Serbian) nutshell: “Flamanci bi kao da se odcjepe, a Valonci kao nedaju” (the Flemish like want to separate, but the Walloons like don’t let them). The sentence “they like want to separate and we like don’t let them” was uttered by this disillusioned Yugoslav soldier during Slovene war of independence, and immediately became the definition of a pointless war.

And yes – the Flemsih/Walloons thing does have certain parallels with Slovenian drive for independence in late 80s/early 90s. For example: Flanders is (like Slovenia) the “economic engine” of Belgium. French speaking Walloon region in experiencing high unemployment and is in dire need of total economic restructuring. Which is not likely to happen because apparently the Belgian welfare support for unemployment amounts to €2000 per month. Not a meagre amount, even by Belgian standards. Economy played a big part in Slovenia opting for independence. Namely: Slovenia being the economic engine of Yugoslavia had to (under the slogan of brotherhood and unity funnel ludicrous amount of cash to the undeveloped regions of Yugoslavia where it disappeared rather than being spent on development projects.

Also, there was the language issue. As far as I get it, Walloons (being basically French and all) are highly unlikely to learn Flemish, whereas most people in Flanders are capable of at least basic communication in French. Again, almost the same thing happened in Slovenia/Yugoslavia, where most Slovenes spoke Serbo-Croatian (even had to learn the language in elementary school) but none of the other Yugoslav nations spoke Slovene. Therefore, I think it is obvious that certain parallels between Slovenia and Flanders exist.

However. I do firmly believe that Belgium (unlike Yugoslavia) should remain united.

Odd as it may sound, geopolitically speaking, Flanders is much more like Kosovo than like Slovenia. Both Kosovo and Flanders have a “mother-state” across the border. Economically, socially and culturally Kosovo leans towards Albania rather than Serbia, while Flanders leans towards Nethelands rather than Belgium.

“Aha!” you say, but Kosovo is about to become independent and so should Flanders, then. “Well,” I reply. It is not that easy. If Flanders declares independence, Beglium basically ceases to exist. What happens to the bi-lingual Brussels? Does it become another Luxemburg or Liechtenstein? Belgium was established by its neighbours and if it no more, that means that there are also no more guarantees to its independence, which in turn means that both Walloons and Flemish can seek protection of their “mother-state”, perhaps leaving Brussels to continue as a small enclave, a no man’s land.

Ah yes, but then there’s the small matter of some 70.000 strong German minority in Belgium. What happens if they call to their Vaterland for help? The last time that happened, all hell broke loose.

Belgium should remain united, because its dissolution could very well mean the end of Pax Europeana as we know it.

Where Have All the Farmers Gone?

It has been said time and again, that the EU was made for German bankers, UK accountants and French farmers. Indeed, for more than sixty years almost 50% of EU budget (nearly 1% of the bloc’s total GDP) was spent of farm subsidies. According to this Int’l Herald Tribune piece, next year’s budget will be the first one to have spent more on growth than on farming. The prices of food in Europe were so low that EU farmers rather threw food away than sell it at lower (competitive) market prices in protest. In any case they were heavily compensated by hefty EU subsidies.

Slovene farmers protesting god-knows-what

With the sharp increase in food prices (according to this, the prices in UK could go up 30% by the end of the year, and you already know the situation in Slovenia), one would think that there would be no more farmers’ subidies. No?

Happy cow = happy farmer

So, my (rather rude) question is:

Where are all of you loud sonofabitchin’ fucks who would rather waste food than sell it at a smaller profit?!?! Are you motherfuckers happy now? Are the prices OK with you now? Do you feel that your work is adequatly compensated by me and others like me? How does my money in your pocket feel? I mean, do you realize that you get it twice? First out of my pocket directly and then in form of a subsidy which also comes out of my taxes?

I’m sorry if I’m rude (OK, I am rude), but I just don’t think that you can both have the cake and eat it. I’m OK with subsidising EU farmers if that means keeping them in business and keeping the EU reliant on its own resources. But I’m not OK when all of a sudden farmers get the long end of the stick price-wise and get to keep the subsidy.

It. Just. Ain’t. Fair.

Blame It On Slovenes

The missing Kupska St. in Zagreb, Croatia. (source)

According to numerous reports (including this one), a street in Zagreb, Croatia, has been literally swallowed by the Earth and took several houses along with it. The fact that the street was a construction site of a huge office building might have contributed to the fact that the terrain caved in, created a giant crater which was then filled with hectolitres of water, but hey ❗ why blame idiotic construction companies, when you’ve got weather and – Slovenes.

At least according to Zagreb’s vicemayor Zvonimir Šostar, who – according to reports by index.hr – said that the street caved in because of Tuesday’s freak storms in Slovenia.

What. The. Fuck???

And they wonder why we don’t like them…

P.S.: Ah well – they’ve got tornadoes in Britain now… The world is going bananas.

P.P.S.: If you look carefully at the link above, you’ll notice that the Reuters’ story places Croatia in… Africa…. Well, construction seems to be on a par, for sure

You Have The Right To Remain Silent

Frank Vanhecke, the star of several posts on this blog was arrested in downtown Brussels yesterday.

Busted!

According to this story by the Beebs, Mr. Vanhecke was arrested as he attended an anti-Muslim rally which his Vlaams Belang organised and which the Mayor of Brussels Freddy Thielemans banned.

To put in the words of the infamous “Knindža” (with whom Vanhecke would undoubtetly get along very well): Everything’s got its limits. Even human rights.

P.S.: Knindža: A Serbian ninja rebel from the Croatian town of Knin

9/11 Six Years After

Perhaps today, six years after, it is somewhat more clear why a bunch of Saudis saw it necesary to take Pax Americana out of America’s living rooms and bring it to its doorstep.

Jon Stewart on US policy in the Middle East

Although I recognise the historical inevitability, I just hate it when people die in the name of peace…

Franjo Tuđman of Flanders

or Belgium explained to Croats in one slightly biased lesson

As you might have noticed, dr. Arf has stopped posting his Belgium Explained To Slovenes (And Whoever Else) In Ten Easy Lessons. I will not elaborate further on the reasons, but I’m sure you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out for yourselves.

But as if to prove dr. Arf’s point, Croatian magazine Globus ran an article about Flanders’ drive for independence. Well, to be precise, it ran an article about leader of ~~Vlaam Berlang~~Vlaams Belang, Frank Vanhecke, who is compared to the deceased Croatian president Franjo Tuđman.

And if the comparison is correct, then people should start worrying. Yes, Franjo Tuđman led Croatia to independence, but he also conspired with Slobodan Milošević to carve up Bosnia-Herzegovina and would have been indicted for war crimes had he not had the good sense to die only months before. So I think Mr. Vanhecke should choose a better role-model. Oh, but I forget… He is good chums with Jörg Haider. And in my part of the world that does not look good on one’s resume.