Nebojsa Malic

Two weeks ago, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was shot and killed by a sniper bullet. His successors immediately declared a "state of emergency" – in effect, martial law – of undetermined duration, and launched a massive police operation to crack down on alleged crime syndicates suspected of Djindjic’s murder. Djindjic was given a full … Continue reading “The Argument of Force”

"Bosnia is a country of hatred and fear." – Ivo Andric, 1920 It will soon be eleven years since Bosnia was recognized as an independent state, yet it has never functioned a single day as such. Most of its Croats have long since taken Croatian citizenship, and feel comfortable only in the sliver of land … Continue reading “Alley of the Damned”

"I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." – (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene II) Two shots – one in the chest, one in the stomach – abruptly ended the reign of Zoran Djindjic at lunchtime Wednesday, as a yet unidentified sniper assassinated the Prime Minister of Serbia. Djindjic was killed at the … Continue reading “Death of a Manager”

As the frustrated Empire attempts ever harder to justify the unjustifiable and launch an invasion of Iraq with some sort of placating pretext, it was inevitable that the precedent of Balkans interventions would come up again. Richard Holbrooke, former foreign policy hitman for the Clinton regime, complained in the Washington Post on February 23 that … Continue reading “From Kosovo to Baghdad”

Early last week, Belgium, France and Germany challenged Imperial plans for the invasion of Iraq by blocking the deployment of NATO military assets to Turkey. Ostensibly for ‘defense’ of Turkish territory, the deployments of missiles, radar planes and specialist personnel were plainly another step in His Elevated Majesty’s preparations to invade Iraq as soon as … Continue reading “Genocide Games”

Being the most destructive endeavor humanity has ever practiced, it is difficult to comprehend why wars seem like such a common phenomenon. That is, unless one realizes that the very root of the civic religion permeating the modern world is in human gullibility, and through it the vulnerability to the sort of mass hysteria war … Continue reading “Excuses and Justifications”

This Tuesday, the parliament of the last Yugoslavia decided to lay the name and the idea to rest, abolishing the country in favor of a new, ill-defined entity called "Serbia and Montenegro." The new Constitutional Charter and the bill governing its implementation had already been passed by the Serbian parliament on the 28th, and by … Continue reading “Yugoslavia’s End”

If there were any hopes in the past few weeks, what with the rising tide of antiwar sentiment, that the Empire might turn back from the brink of invading Iraq, the Emperor’s annual speech should have dispelled them. Within a few short weeks, before the weather window closes, there will be war. Baghdad via Belgrade … Continue reading “Balkanizing the World”

If there were any hopes in the past few weeks, what with the rising tide of antiwar sentiment, that the Empire might turn back from the brink of invading Iraq, the Emperor’s annual speech should have dispelled them. Within a few short weeks, before the weather window closes, there will be war. Baghdad via Belgrade … Continue reading “A Chauvinistic Farce”

The year that is about to end has again left the Balkans a bit worse for wear. Of course, the entire world is substantially worse for wear since the shocking attacks of September 2001, and the Empire’s resulting announcement of its quest for global domination. However, the War on Terror has had remarkably little impact … Continue reading “The 12 Months of Christmas”