Thursday, December 07, 2006

 

again brrrrrr

Yesterday's late news after the dotted line today's news:
Kosovo's Missing Mostly Accounted For

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20863&Cr=kosovo&Cr1=missing



Story on Jasenovac

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/world/europe/06croatia.html?_r=1&partner=MW_CUSTOM&oref=slogin

Long Article on Seselj


More yet on Seselj

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6214862.stm

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BiH terror suspects deny charges

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/12/06/story288204.html



Serbs, Albanians End Boycott

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6213606.stm


BiH eyes top firms for aluminum firm sell off

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=newIssuesNews&storyID=2006-12-07T130922Z_01_L0771087_RTRIDST_0_ALUMINIUM-BOSNIA-TENDER-UPDATE-1.XML


Bulgarian Pensioners Protest about Medical Care

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=73744



Macedonian Press: Macedonian Parliament Preoccupied with “Rights of Macedonian Minority in Bulgaria” (Round-up)


http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=73744

Croatian Man Survives Attack By Two Bears

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=iol116543947353B263


Some Say Statement Against Islamist Extremism Comes Too Late in BiH

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/analysis.asp?dismode=article&artid=1563219139

I'm just glad something is being said. Now it's time to do something. BiH is the place the extremist ideology can be rolled back most effectively, so there is no excuse not to roll it back.

It's been pretty damn cold here, and I was out in it. A friend of mine just moved, and although I've told her she doesn't need to buy me a present, she did, lovely Turkish delight, and I went and got her some amaretto, since that's her favorite drink. She has a lot of stairs and I had a time getting up all of them. I brought music to listen to, and we sat and had coffee, watched the sunset and listened to music. She's on one of those wierd streets where it's very hard to find an ice free sidewalk, but I found some, and was not lucky about busses. Finally got one going close to home. Stopped in at the Arab owned store near home for some sodas, since I was nearly out. I ration soda, I'm down to only having one in a day, and definately not every day. Anyway I was glad to get in since it was face-freezing cold. Today I am going to stay in.

Yesterday they found poor Mr.Kim. He and his family took a wrong turn onto a road usually closed in Winter. His wife and daughters were found alive in their vehicle, he however went for help, and wasn't at all adequately dressed for this errend. 1.it is seldom a good idea to leave one's vehicle in this sort of emergency. A vehicle is shelter, 2. and is ig enough to see from the air. 3. it's way too easy to get lost in the woods. 4. Hypothermia, he obviously got hypothermia and lost his reasoning ability. I've had hypothermia and one initial symptom is very like the worst hot flash you ever had in your life. The immediate impulse is to take off some clothes. That is the WORST move. You need to get to shelter, get warmer, and then it's ok to take off some clothes. I was in Santa Fe when it happened, and I went into a place to get coffee, and sit down before heading home. I took my coat off once inside, because it felt radically warmer, and I fainted, Two people I knew came to my help, and called a friend to take me home to my mother. She was from another area of the U.S. that is gulag like, and knew what to do. I was alright.

I wonder if Mr. Kim weren't so afraid for his family, if he wasn't so afraid he was going to see them die, that he couldn't face it, and that that made him go into the snow?
I don't go places if I can avoid it. I am glad classes are over for the year and I don't need to go to school again until January. I got into my biology class, and the math class I need, and i'm now only #8 on the wait list for the other class, I was #27 only a week ago, so I have the chance to get in. Both those classes are online, and the math class is on campus. I don't usually like on-line classes, but I don't need to be out and around right now either, so it's good.

Comments:
I really didn't follow Mr. Kim's story, but my heart goes out to his family right now.

Re: on the subject of Islamic fundamentalists in Bosnia. I do think that it is very important that the Bosnian religious authorities deal head on with this situation, even if it is a situation that is hard for them to deal with head on.

On the one hand, I think that some in Bosnia are reluctant to admit that there are ANY Muslim fundamentalists in their country, because of the way fundamentalist Christians (both Serbs & Croats) and their apologists in the West have misused and abused the notion of Muslim fundamentalism to justify the genocide against the Bosniaks. One element that crosses both native revisionists, and Western leftwing & rightwing revisionists/apologists regarding Bosnia is a notion of Bosnia as a religiously fundamentalist state, and the Bosnian Muslims as religious extremists. It seems that some of these people have a field day every time they read story of alleging an Al Queda presence in Bosnia, because it justifies their negative views towards the Bosniaks; and it justfies their beliefs that all Bosniaks are Osama bin Ladens in training.
Furthermore, while people frequently talk about the presence of the religious fundamentalist fighters from the Arab world, especially as evidence of how "dangerous" the Bosnian Muslims are; the very same people do not talk about the religious fundamentalist fighters who came from Greece or Russia.

So, I understand why some in the Muslim religous community might feel awkward talking about the problem of religious fundamentalism within elements of their own community. Or feel as if by doing so, they are justifying the racial/religious/ethnic hatred some Christian fundamentalists/extermists have had towards the Muslims in Yugoslavia.
But even though it is difficult, it still has to be dealt with. Pretending that there are no religiously fundamentalist Muslims in Bosnia in just as dangerous as pretending that there are no fundamentalist Christians. Furthermore, it ignores the very real, and very serious current efforts of Al Queda to recruit from the Bosniak community.
Exactly because of the unique form of Islam practiced in Bosnia, Bosnia is (like you mentioned) a place where Islamic extremism doesn't have to take hold; but first people need to openly talk about religious fundamentalists within their own society, and admit that there are Muslim extremists living in Bosnia.

I also think a key of solving religious extremism in Bosnia, is to help the economy. I think many people get attracted to these extremist groups not so much because of ideological reasons, but because they give them an outlet for their anger & a sense of belonging.
 
The fundamentalists don't just give them an outlet for their anger, sorrow and frustration, they give them food. This is something that happens with Christian fundamentalist recruiting as well, although that recruiting is more often of Protestant extremists than of either Orthodox or Catholic extremist elements.

A lot of the attitude toward Bosnian Muslims outside comes from the idea there might be extremists among them. A lot comes also from Communism. If you look at the most vehement Western revisionists, most of them are at least sympathetic to Communist ideas. Some have been Communist from back when it meant something to be a Communist.

It's almost like they are using the 'threat' of Islam as a recruiting tool.

People often become more observant of their religion in times of personal or national crisis. The same thing happens with Christians, and the same mechanisms to mobilize people for war are at work among all religious communities.

We saw a growth in vocal Christian extremism after the Sept. 11th attacks in the U.S. Rhetorically it was very similar to Islamist extremism and most Americans failed to percieve it at all, and of the few who percieved this extremist rhetoric, most tended to excuse it.

No one has any idea how many Russians and Greeks went to fight for Serbia. Their numbers may never be known. It is known that Greeks protested regularly against the bombing of Serbia.

Actually I think Muslims might be doing as a group a better job lately of countering extremism. Part of the effort does need to be economic, and this is where the moderate Muslims could make a difference, and where the West should make more effort as well.
 
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