Normally the beginning of January would be a relatively quiet time in the Balkans. Winter temperatures and a blanket of snow tend to cool passions. Even the Empire and its hangers-on find it easier to adventure in Africa instead. So it seems a bit strange that both...
Having learned nothing from the fallout of its actions in 2011, the Atlantic Empire and the EUSSR continued to sink ever deeper into the quagmire throughout 2012. Nothing seems to penetrate their bunker mentality, and worse yet, every crisis only seems to be an excuse...
Stubborn Balkans Realities "The more things change, the more they stay the same," wrote a French columnist back in 1849 - but the witticism applies just as well in 2012. Recall, for example, that Barack Obama became Emperor in 2008 by promising Hope and Change, only...
Not for the first time, the Hague Inquisition (ICTY) has done something stupid. The quasi-court, claiming nonexistent authority from the UN Security Council to prosecute war crimes during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, last Friday released two Croatian generals,...
After the Afterglow At least one national nightmare finally ended on the morning of November 7, when the media frenzy over the election finally abated. An entire industry devoted to perception management dutifully created the perception that the race was close and the...
In describing Balkans politicians, the Western media have abused the term "extremist" so much, it has just about lost all meaning. What has been extreme lately, however, is the weather: after a Narnian winter with record snowfall, the peninsula was hit by a...
History, Religion and the Great War In October 1912, the Balkan Alliance - Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece - declared war on the Ottoman Empire. At its conclusion in 1913, the Ottomans’ presence in Europe was reduced to a bridgehead in Thrace. To the victors,...
The warmed-over Cold War continues: this week, Moscow booted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), accusing the agency of unacceptable interference in Russian sovereignty. Washington countered with claims that USAID has promoted only "civil...
The obsessive focus of the U.S. media on the upcoming election is evocative of countries where life has the singular misfortune of being dependent on politics. Elections in Serbia this spring were of crucial import for the country’s survival — let alone future — yet...
