Serbian FM: Vatican will not recognize Kosovo

more of the same old Belgrade BS, a mix of misinformation, you can also call it lies, and wishful thinking. Reality is that way above 50% of all states have recognized Kosovo, and more will follow, also from the 5 EU states that Serbia puts most of its cards on. All the money and energy that is wasted with this hopeless effort could be used to make a better live for people in Serbia. Serbia's daydreaming continues, but their will be a rude awakening one day.

No UN means no legitimacy. Ari Gold,

Well Mr. Gold think about Switzerland , which was not a UN member till 2002!!!
Was Swiss less of state then your beloved former Yugo or former USSR???

Lol good luck Serbiya. Btw Greece has practically recognised.

The truth is that it has not gone completely as planned by the Albanian authorities. There is no hope of joining the UN. BRICS countries will not recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Those includes some very powerful economic giants, including China. Your government is filled with narcotics smugglers who will soon probably be behind bars for those crimes. You will eventually lose control of the north, which you really don't have control of anyway. The best thing to do is to work together with Serbia and stop all of your putrid insulting of Serbs and you childish LOLs.

Ivan Mrcic, your and your fellow cronies are a utter disgraces & failures! Nishta Kosova je Serbia!
KOSOVA-JE-ALBANIA, ALBANIA VELIKA!!!

(Willi Pfaff, 21 April 2014 11:02)

LOL "well over half"? Good job pointing out your ignorance with that one. Actually, since Crimea, no country is now in a rush to get into the business of recognizing anything any more. The reality is the Albanians in Kosovo i Metohija will not get UN recognition. That is in this day and age the most overt characteristic of statehood that a territory could have.

The only governments which "recognized kosovo" are the governments that organized the illegal amputation and bombardment of Serbia, and any other countries those gov'ts could buy off. No UN means no legitimacy.

And what Russia is doing in Crimea is a blessing for Serbia's case with Kosovo i Metohija. What will happen in the coming years with Scotland, Catalonia, Veneto, Basque and many many more European regions trying to break apart will also help Serbia's case tremendously. This without Serbia's incompetent elite moving a finger.

All those regions have much different reasons for independence, but if they all do declare and separate, history will judge 2008 as what started it all. And every time angry neo-Nazis such as yourself have to say things like "this is nothing like Kosovo", it actually proves that it kinda is :)

It's funny seeing Serbs happy because Vatican isn't recognizing Kosovo for now. Serbs are known for being devoted anti Vatican. They even compare Vatican to the devil.

Ari Gold,
The fact is that now you have two Albanian states, with their armies and law enforcement entities. In addition you have another country where Albanians are founding component with a self-determination option. The communication between Albanians is at all time highs, with giant infrastructure projects either completed or on their way. The economic, investments and education policies are being coordinated,the trade is flourishing. Albania is a NATO member, Kosovo attending members of NATO's political assembly. Macedonia on its way to full NATO membership. All 3 countries have clear paths to EU membership. And to top it all off, the Albanian population is the youngest in the region with the highest demographic growth. So no, time it's not on your side. Russia's Crimea occupation not only didn't help your cause, but it hurts it. It attracted the attention back to the cold war zones of influence, away from middle east. This means that the American military base is not going any time soon, and that aid will be offered to the new Kosovo Army including modern weapons and logistics.

One has to wonder what announcement is around the corner. Every time a Serbian official comes out to highlight who has not recognized Kosovo, there is a recognition coming.
I doubt that there has been pressure placed on the Holy See, maybe requests, but any pressure would be from outside Kosovo. Unless someone wants to claim that the country that has been able to "buy" countries around the world, in one breath, but then the next day the same people claim that Kosovo only exists on EU and US funds, now has enough money to buy the Vatican. Kosovo has a very small Catholic population.
Of the very strong countries listed only China and Russia matter as per their veto ability.

Ari Gold,
Albanians never moved toward Yugoslavia, they were there for centuries. In 1940s Albania had a population of about 1 million. Today there are 3 million in Albania, 2 million in Kosovo and 1 million in Macedonia. How does your emigration theory explain this? The truth is that not only there was not emigration, but the Cubrillovic doctrine was applied in order to ethnically clean Albanian lands. Investment , jobs and quality of life was much lower in Kosovo and other Albanian populated lands. This was done at purpose, to force Albanians to emigrate (half of Swiss National Team is Kosovo Albanians). You failed again, for good this time.

No UN means no legitimacy. Ari Gold,

you know Kosovo is a very small country it does not need to have relations with every single of 196 countries, Majority of the world has accepted and they can just enjoy that.

If its not legitimate so why you care what the difference you dont even live in Serbia and fighting for portion of land you will never live or visit, it seems to me there is compensation for unjustified hate.

UN UN UN just few years ago it was ICJ , ICJ , then when decision came Serbia did not accept no we did not ask the right question it seems excuses. What does Serbia want do you want Referendum in Kosovo to be held and see what the outcome will be?

I have one question why is Sebia able to keep Vojvodina that it got as spoils of WW1 ? It was Hungarian for centuries. When Serbia returns Vojvodina then you can ask for Kosovo back which you lost in 1999 war, oh YOU DID NOT WIN WW1 it was a present from Russia and France so Kosovo is a present from NATO enjoy dont hate its not good for you.

SJ,
Take a look at the new highways now linking Tirane-Prizren-Prishtina-Skopje. Also take a look at the new High Voltage Interconnection line between Albania and Kosovo in the building.
Peggy,
You can resort to insults as much as you want, It will not change the facts.

your beloved former Yugo or former USSR???
(the truth, 21 April 2014 16:30)

"My" beloved former Yugo? LOL get real, communist Yugoslavia was a paradise for Albanians. As unjust of a state it was, it was still better to live in than communist Albania. That's why Tito allowed hundreds of thousands of Albanians into Kosovo i Metohija and the rest of Yugo was responsible for paying for Albanian welfare until it fell apart.

lol, my beloved Yugo. It's your beloved Yugo, you didn't have to work because others worked for you. All you had to do was live for free, procreate and ethnically cleanse Serbs from Kosovo i Metohija under communist dictation.

ARI GOLD writes
The only governments which "recognized kosovo" are the governments that organized the illegal amputation and bombardment of Serbia, No UN means no legitimacy.
Lets follow your philosophy:
According to the UN website:
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was one of the founding members until its dissolution in 1992. Serbia and Montenegro were admitted to the UN in November 2000 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Then in 2006 with the split, Serbia became the successor state of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, not the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
so according to you Serbia was not a legitimate sovereign state during the years of 1992-2000. Therefore, your claims that NATO illegally bombed a sovereign state without UNSC approval in 1999 does not hold water. At any point NATO did not bomb a UN member, nor did it violate the Helsinki accords because that is only an agreement(not international law) between participating states. Of which Serbia did not exist at the time.
Check the UN website as to membership status at
http://www.un.org/en/
Click on members and scroll down to Serbia and then click on it to get the history.
Also the claim that due to people continually saying something proves it is not right, flows both ways. The fact that you continually have to claim that Kosovo is not an independent state must certainly mean that it IS otherwise you would not feel the need to repeat it daily.

No UN means no legitimacy. Ari Gold,

Well Mr. Gold think about Switzerland , which was not a UN member till 2002!!!
Was Swiss less of state then your beloved former Yugo or former USSR???
(the truth, 21 April 2014 16:30)

Switzerland chose not to be a member of the UN because of its neutrality foreign policy. There is a different from choosing not to be in the UN and not being allowed to join the UN. Just like there's a difference between real states like South Sudan declaring independence 5 years after the Albanians, and receiving full diplomatic recognition and UN membership in a matter of months.

One is a fake state being propped up by Western tax-payers, the other is a real state being recognized by the UN.

Macedonia on its way to full NATO membership. All 3 countries have clear paths to EU membership. And to top it all off, the Albanian population is the youngest in the region with the highest demographic growth
==============================
It's amazing how you Albanians are always bragging so proudly about being able to reproduce in great numbers.
Guess what? Rabbits and rats have the same instinct and that's why they are declared a pest.

Just like there's a difference between real states like South Sudan declaring independence 5 years after the Albanians, and receiving full diplomatic recognition and UN membership in a matter of months.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 19:00)

Kosovo has no desire to be like South Sudan http://rt.com/news/south-sudan-ethnic-cleansing-848
----------

One is a fake state being propped up by Western tax-payers, the other is a real state being recognized by the UN.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 19:00)

It is much better being a fake state being propped up by Western tax-payers then being a “real state” like this http://rt.com/news/south-sudan-starvation-un-664. Btw, South Sudan has not been recognized by the UN. That is just a lie of yours, even though that is normal for you.
----------

communist Yugoslavia was a paradise for Albanians.

you didn't have to work because others worked for you. All you had to do was live for free, procreate and ethnically cleanse Serbs from Kosovo i Metohija under communist dictation.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 19:03)

Mate, that is a pointless argument. If we want to know if the Albanians were happy under Yugo, we don’t need to know what you think (unless you are an Albanian); what need to know is what Albanians think. Otherwise it’s similar to me saying, after tasting some ice cream, “I don’t like it”, and you telling me “no, no, you are wrong, you like it” :)

(Raisin Scone, 21 April 2014 14:06)
Actually you are very wrong.
1. In 2008 when Prishtina declared independence they knew it was going to be a rocky road.
2. They knew that Russia was opposed to it and would block their UN membership for quite some time.
3. BRICS countries is a very loose knit organization if you really want to call it an organization. It will take another 15-20 years of development before they really have power as a group, if it even continues. Most likely both Russia and China will decide that they can do as much alone without the extra weight.
4.The current govt in Kosovo is just that current. They are the ones most responsible for leading Kosovo to its independence. But they are over their head in leading it to the future. They will be replaced over the next few years with more qualified people. As far as ending up in jail. Some may, but probably not the major players. Even if you are right about the drug smuggling, that will not be covered by any new court created by the EU, it is to be focused on war crime related events.
5. The north, Prishtina has not controlled the north in the past so things can only get better or stay the same, actually it would advance Kosovo to let it break away or grant it a high degree of autonomy.
6. Cooperation with Serbia will require a third party intermediary for several years probably until both are within the EU.
7. Insults? probably will not happen unilaterally, it will have to cease to flow both ways.

A post I read was really outrageous! It said that pristina doesn't have control of he north and that's absurd. Serbia is working aggressively to abolish all Serbia government institutions and orient Kosovo Serbs in north Kosovo toward pristina with no autonomy on any issue in any way. This makes them like Serbs south of the ibar. All Serbs must vote on republic of Kosovo ballots and go throuh republic of Kosovo customs. The pristina law is paramount and Serbs in power are nothing but Serb masks for Albanian law and complete control. Kosovo independence is real and its greatest ally is Serbia. 63% of Serbia says Kosovo is an independent nation and the government is following the people.

The reality is the Albanians in Kosovo i Metohija will not get UN recognition.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

Of course, like all countries in the world, Kosovo i Metohija will not get UN recognition. The reason is simple; not a single country has or will ever be recognized by the UN because according to the UN, the UN does not recognize countries. Sorry dear to shatter your dreams but you are welcome to petition to the UN to change the UN charter and make your dream come true.
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That is in this day and age the most overt characteristic of statehood that a territory could have.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

Btw, in case you missed it, this topic is about Vatican which does not have that “most overt characteristic” but it still has the statehood.
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The only governments which "recognized kosovo" are the governments that organized the illegal amputation and bombardment of Serbia, and any other countries those gov'ts could buy off.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

Ok, and where is the problem with that?! They are just following Russia’s lead which is Serbia’s strongest friend (or so we’re told).
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No UN means no legitimacy.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

You mean Serbia did not have legitimacy from 1992 to 2000?! You mean that Vatican does not have legitimacy?! Do you even grasp the consequences of your bizarre and even unpatriotic statements?! How can you permit to yourself to call Serbia illegitimate for 8 years….

And what Russia is doing in Crimea is a blessing for Serbia's case with Kosovo i Metohija. What will happen in the coming years with Scotland, Catalonia, Veneto, Basque and many many more European regions trying to break apart will also help Serbia's case tremendously.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

I thought Serbia is trying to argue that Kosovo should not have broken apart from Serbia. But if Serbia supports Kosovo breaking apart from Serbia, yeah certainly the examples you mentioned are a blessing for Kosovo breaking apart from Serbia.
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Switzerland chose not to be a member of the UN because of its neutrality foreign policy. There is a different from choosing not to be in the UN and not being allowed to join the UN.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 19:00)

Of course there is a difference from choosing not to be in the UN and not being allowed to join the UN and Kosovo, for now, falls in the former category. Just FYI, Kosovo (like Switzerland before 2002) has not applied for UN membership so the “allowing” part does not apply, yet, the same way that it did not make sense to say in 1992 that Switzerland was not being allowed to join the UN, because Switzerland had not even applied to join the UN.

"Unless someone wants to claim that the country that has been able to "buy" countries around the world, in one breath, but then the next day the same people claim that Kosovo only exists on EU and US funds, now has enough money to buy the Vatican."
(a New Day, 21 April 2014 11:16)

The claim is not that the country (Kosovo) has been able to buy recognitions around the world, but that Mr Pacolli was buying recognitions from tropical island states and corrupt African kingdoms. And it's not only claims, but this gentleman himself said that he was 'responsible' for some recognitions. And, sorry, do you think these countries recognized Kosovo only because of his beautiful face?

Pacolli was later awarded by corrupt Thaci with a minister position (minister without portfolio if I remember correctly, internal name 'bribe minister') because of his 'achievements' for Kosovo.

P.S: The irony of history is that Mr Pacolli's wealth is based on some dubious deals he made with Russia under the corrupt Yeltzin regime.

To all of the delusional Albanians out there. I would suggest we have a discussion concerning recognition percentages in about 2 years from now. After the facts come out concerning your activities in 1999 you will find out how quickly public opinion and support from your "friends" in the west will go away

Ari Gold wrote
If you want to get technical about it, NATO did not bomb Serbia but bombed FR Yugoslavia which was a member state. So no, from the end of WWI to 2006, Serbia was not a sovereign independent state because it was a part of a much larger sovereign independent state.
Wrongo Bucko go to the web site I told at the UN and look at members at click on Serbia and find out how illiterate you really are.
Serbia and Montenegro were admitted to the UN as The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in November 2000, Serbia was not a member of the UN from 1992 to 2000 in any shape or form.
This is not some Wikipedia post where you can go in and change anything you don't like, those are the facts, Of course I believe it was a sovereign state, it is you that claims it wasn't because IT was not a member of the UN!
And the Albanians on here just claim independence each day because you and your lot say it isn't.

sj says
"How influential is the US in the world today? Four of the five BRIC countries abstained voting on the Crimea issue"

Would that not show a lack of support for Russia instead of the US? Instead of voting together as a block against the Crimea issue in support of their member Russia, they chose to abstain.
In other words the great new BRICS is not a cohesive group as anyone who actually is informed knows. By the way it use to be BRIC with 4 countries until South Africa joined and then it became BRICS with 5.
Maybe it is time you stand upwind, as everyone knows that those yellow shirts you wear are not their natural color.

Take a look at the new highways now linking Tirane-Prizren-Prishtina-Skopje. Also take a look at the new High Voltage Interconnection line between Albania and Kosovo in the building.
Peggy,
You can resort to insults as much as you want, It will not change the facts.
(Brandon, 22 April 2014 16:51)

The highway was built and paid for by the EU for its own reasons and the same can be said for the electricity connections – it’s all part of the EU’s efforts to bring all energy into the one market.

Where is the badly needed infrastructure in Kosovo? Where are the industries to create employment?

(something to think about, 21 April 2014 21:07)

If you want to get technical about it, NATO did not bomb Serbia but bombed FR Yugoslavia which was a member state. So no, from the end of WWI to 2006, Serbia was not a sovereign independent state because it was a part of a much larger sovereign independent state.

I don't repeat anything daily, only reply to blind Albanian ultra nationalists who are proud of their impoverished and drug induced occupation of Serbian territory. All is well though. It's been occupied before, that's what happens when you're constantly an eye-sore for emerging empires and your neighbours are all too proud to jump on board to whichever expansionist empire comes through the Balkans.

(Brandon, 21 April 2014 22:12)


I love this talk of joining the EU as a salvation to all economic ills in the Balkans. Its usually referred to as fools gold.

“with giant infrastructure projects either completed or on their way. “

Where do you get this from? What projects? The EU is going into its fifth year of cutting its budget because economic recovery has not taken place and Brussels has had to borrow billions to shore up the EU from collapse and you talk of giant infrastructure projects. Please wake up and smell the roses.

“…Russia's Crimea occupation not only didn't help your cause, but it hurts it. It attracted the attention back to the cold war…”

And we are all worried that the western media will portray Russia as an ogre. What a surprise!!!

How influential is the US in the world today? Four of the five BRIC countries abstained voting on the Crimea issue. In fact when the Indian PM was asked if he would go to the US, he replied No he will only go to the UN, but he has no interest in meeting US officals. This is the largest democracy

Please stop BSing about a Kosovo army.

NATO is like it head all piss and wind. Putin is playing with Ukraine like a cat plays with a mouse.

Comm. Parrisson, 21 April 2014 18:31
And how many countries do you suppose this millionaire not billionaire was able to buy. You know on the world stage a millionaire is no longer a key player.
He himself claimed to have been responsible for some recognitions, so that was not an admission that he bribed them.
So according to you the ones that Jeremic visited and they did not recognize must have been bribed, because I doubt it was due to his pretty face either.
I noticed a trend in your post "corrupt" so I am assuming that anything you do not like is corrupt.
But if you are going to carry the theory that this man was able to buy a significant number of countries out of his personal wealth in a bucket, don't plan on going too far because that bucket has too many holes in it.
Of course I understand your opinion as you come from a country in a region that all officials can be brought and no one does anything because it is the right thing, only if they are compensated.
I did some work for one of the Embassies in Iraq and I was told to give the visa office at the airport X amount of dollars when I got there the price on the board was less, but I gave the amount the embassy told me and they gave me a receipt for the listed amount. At the embassy they took the receipt and gave me the higher amount I paid automatically. When I asked, they simply said you have to include a bribe.
So I can see if you grew up in that environment you would assume EVERYONE is corrupt.

Why are you lying about your ethnicity ?
(Sam D, 23 April 2014 06:17)
So funny, call me Albanian if it makes you happy, I could care less, where I come from we really do not pay attention to ethnicity. As a matter of fact in my 58 years on this planet, I don't believe I have ever been asked that, nationality yes, ethnicity no. I have filled out many forms and were asked to describe my race, white, nonhispanic is the current box to check. In larger cities you may have Italian neighborhoods, Chinese neighborhoods, even Serbian or Albanian neighborhoods and it may matter there, but outside of that I don't know of anyone I see on a daily basis that could really care.
That's why most people I know do not understand the why of the Balkan wars.

(something to think about, 22 April 2014 12:07)

Serbia was not an independent member of the UN with its own, separate representation until 2006. What there did I say that you don't understand? Yes, it was in the UN as a part of Yugoslavia and later Serbia & Montenegro in the way that Texas is in the UN today because it is a part of the U.S.

Serbia was a state not a country when the UN was founded. Serbia lost its independence in 1918 and did not become independent until 2006. Some say, choosing the Yugoslav path after WWI signed Serbia's death warrant for the next 100 years.

I thought Serbia is trying to argue that Kosovo should not have broken apart from Serbia. But if Serbia supports Kosovo breaking apart from Serbia, yeah certainly the examples you mentioned are a blessing for Kosovo breaking apart from Serbia.

icj1

The Serbian government made the prediction in 2008 that Western recognition of the unilateral deceleration by Albanians in Kosovo i Metohija would open a pandoras box for regions across the world. This has already started and will be expedited with self determination movements sprouting up all over Western Europe.

None of these unilateral decelrations are really legal, not even Crimea (though to be fair, neither was the hostile takeover of a democratically elected govt in Kiev). But all these examples strengthen Serbia's position moving forward because they prove the primary concern at the time and Serbia's prediction to be correct. The world will conclude that unilateral decelerations open the gateways to hell.

Not Albanian but I agree to your challenge of coming back here in 2 years to discuss recognitions.
(a New Day, 22 April 2014 18:12)

Why are you lying about your ethnicity ?

(Brandon, 23 April 2014 14:48)

I understand what you are saying but with what are they going to coordinate their economies/markets? It requires money and neither Kosovo nor Albania have much to spread around.

In a 20th century environment you need to establish industry to create employment and it leads to a consumer society after several decades. Neither Albania or Kosovo have industry let alone a chance of reaching the second stage in the 21 century.

Also, the geopolitical situation is fast changing with the Russians tanking over the Crimea and I can say with 100% confidence that Moscow will tear apart the EU so it never poses a danger to them again. The US is finished.

So you are a white non hispanic American who claims to have read the Marty report and is trying pass himself off as being an objective observer with respect to the Balkans. The question then is; Why are you so heavily invested with the Albanians ? Just curious
(Sam D, 24 April 2014 03:55)
Never said I was an objective observer,I am very much pro independence, as I see that as the only viable option. My interest is that I came to Kosovo in 2006 and left in 2009 following the transfer of duties from UNMIK to EULEX, I was never officially part of UNMIK but my position was a sideline position that was not needed with EULEX.
During that time I traveled the whole of Kosovo and talked with many many people. I read everything I could and followed the news as it played out. When I arrived in Kosovo my thoughts was that someway Kosovo had to be reincorporated back into Serbia but the more I learned it was not possible at least for a generation or two. The Milosevic attitude was still very much the tune from Serbia and the Albanians had a taste of life out of oppression. Some day maybe inside the EU people will learn it is not important whether their neighbor is Serb or Albanian.
But the only rejoining of the 2 can only be as members of the same group as equal members.
To answer your question I gave up 3 years away from my family for a chance to maybe make a difference and that interest stays with me today.
So now what is the driving force of your hatred?

(a New Day, 24 April 2014 12:39)

Reading you response, lad your an Albanian so stop pretending otherwise.

sj,
Ok makes no difference, it is not worthy of an argument as I see no shame in being Albanian.

So now what is the driving force of your hatred?
(a New Day, 24 April 2014 12:39)
The driving force for me is not hatred of Albanians. As an American of Serbian descent how can I hate someone I dont know. My disgust with the situation is the political conditions that caused the 78 day bombing of Serbia. The real reasons for that were not meant to protect Albanians in fact it had the opposite effect. If you recall in 1999 our president Clinton was having difficulties with Monica Lewinsky which required a distraction. We all know that when politicians are in trouble the best way to avoid scrutiny is to create a diversion which in this case it would be to create a phony war with a country unable to defend its self (Serbia). Getting back to my original post which started this dialogue where I stated how quickly public opinion and support in the USA and the EU would
change with regard to Kosovo, when the facts become known, regarding human organ crimes committed by the KLA in 1999. It will made no difference if it was 10 cases or a 100 the media will consider it a "tip of the icberg" . Here is the scenario that would be the catalyst; Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016, in which this information, would be used by the Republicans as evidence as to the dishonsty and incompentance of the entire Clinton administration. By the time the media gets through with it the USA and EU will be accused of covering up this sickening story

After the facts come out concerning your activities in 1999 you will find out how quickly public opinion and support from your "friends" in the west will go away
(Sam D, 22 April 2014 04:58)
Such a fool, you really think this court is going to uncover some huge inhumanities that will cause Serbia to pale in comparison?
If you are thinking organ harvesting, read Marty's report, it says IF these crimes actually were committed they would be in the 10s and not 100s as rumored. Not to mention that over the years no other investigation gathered any credible evidence. The best your own Serbian team could come up with was a total embarrassment. Remember you are catering to educated countries. They will never believe that the KLA was training 19 year olds to do organ transplants in the fields as your "witness" claimed.
Not Albanian but I agree to your challenge of coming back here in 2 years to discuss recognitions.

(Ari Gold, 22 April 2014 18:32)
The point I am saying is SErbia was not a part of the UN in any shape or form from 1992 until 2000.

(pss, 22 April 2014 14:12)

Each of the BRICS has a concern over parts of their country seeking to separate or their policy of non interference in other nations internal politics would have reflected badly if they openly voted for Russia. One of the BRICS did vote for the resolution put forward by the US while 4 abstained.

In these terms to abstain means to covertly support Russia. I can tell you that China and India do support Russia while the others vary.

By the way when I said ‘How influential is the US in the world today?”, this came from an article in your media that asked the question how could Obama have miscalculated and allowed the other BRIC countries to move so far away from the US.

Also interesting was this morning’s news item about the disappearing middle class in the US. The top 10% have grown substantially wealthier since 2000 while the middle class has decreased in numbers and the poor are even worse off than the poor in the EU.

(sj, 23 April 2014 02:01)
Kind of the response I anticipated try to blur the subject.
But it was anticipated that the BRICS would vote together in support of Russia but they did not. I also like the way you tried to cover the fact that the 1 that voted with Russia was Russia. Whatever their internal reasons, the fact is they DID NOT come out and support Russia. They also did not support the US stance either but they allowed the resolution to pass without trying to pass it.
So now I guess you can call it BICS + Russia.
As far as a headline in the Media, there were probably several hundred thousand headlines in the US media yesterday all giving varying viewpoints don't really see the point, other than that you can have the freedom to print a dissenting opinion on the US govt in the US a luxury you do not have in many other countries.

SJ,
You are missing the point. There is a unified effort from all Albanians to coordinate their economies and markets. In the long run it will lead to more trade, investment,jobs. Also,the larger scale of this market will increase the importance of Albanian factor in the region.

So funny, call me Albanian if it makes you happy, I could care less, where I come from we really do not pay attention to ethnicity. As a matter of fact in my 58 years on this planet, I don't believe I have ever been asked that, nationality yes, ethnicity no. I have filled out many forms and were asked to describe my race, white, nonhispanic is the current box to check. In larger cities you may have Italian neighborhoods, Chinese neighborhoods, even Serbian or Albanian neighborhoods and it may matter there, but outside of that I don't know of anyone I see on a daily basis that could really care.
That's why most people I know do not understand the why of the Balkan wars.
(a New Day, 23 April 2014 15:56)

So you are a white non hispanic American who claims to have read the Marty report and is trying pass himself off as being an objective observer with respect to the Balkans. The question then is; Why are you so heavily invested with the Albanians ? Just curious

(Sam d, 25 April 2014 05:51)
You are wrong on so many counts. The Monica Lewiinski theory is popular among Serbs, so is the creation of Bondsteel as the reason, the protection of the planned pipelines, the Trepeca mines, the purposeful dissolution of Yugoslavia. All dreams to try to keep from admitting the truth. Europe and the US were extremely embarrassed that Srebrenica was allowed to happen at this time in the back yard of Europe and NATO. It is one thing to have atrocities like this in Africa, Asia, the Middle East. But not in your own yard. The fear was with information coming out about Milosevic in Kosovo was that there would be a repeat and then they would have to justify why they had not reacted sooner.
The reason your theory does not hold water is Dec1998 Clinton had been impeached but his approval rating then was 73% By Feb the Senate had cleared him and his approval during that time never dropped below 65% verify with Gallup its all there.
These approval ratings are among the highest if not the highest of any 2nd term president in the 2nd half of the 20th century. By the time NATO bombed Serbia, the Monica Lewisky scandal had run its course.
Now as far as if any truth to the organ harvesting does materialize you have several thing playing against you. 1 Non Serbs are not going to have the same response as you. 2 It happened 15 years ago, a lot has happened since then. continued.

a New Day, 25 April 2014 15:14)
Most everything you stated in your post is probably correct however in politics and in life perception is everything. The story of organ extraction is salacious and evil and as you are aware the media loves salacious and evil stories. This activity puts anyone who was remotely involved in this activity one level above being a cannibal
To be successful in politics you have to have a short memory which means you develop amnesia when necessary. In other words the politician will run away from the Albanians in the same they ran from Iraq and Afghanistan

Never said I was an objective observer,I am very much pro independence, as I see that as the only viable option. My interest is that I came to Kosovo in 2006 and left in 2009 following the transfer of duties from UNMIK to EULEX, I was never officially part of UNMIK but my position was a sideline position that was not needed with EULEX.
===========================
You are very much pro Albanian and that's becasue you ARE Albanian.
Why don't you just say it straight out?
Do you think we haven't read enough of your posts to conclude that anyway?

Why are you lying about your ethnicity ?
(Sam D, 23 April 2014 06:17)
So funny, call me Albanian if it makes you happy, I could care less, where I come from we really do not pay attention to ethnicity. As a matter of fact in my 58 years on this planet, I don't believe I have ever been asked that, nationality yes, ethnicity no. I have filled out many forms and were asked to describe my race, white, nonhispanic is the current box to check. In larger cities you may have Italian neighborhoods, Chinese neighborhoods, even Serbian or Albanian neighborhoods and it may matter there, but outside of that I don't know of anyone I see on a daily basis that could really care.
That's why most people I know do not understand the why of the Balkan wars.
(a New Day, 23 April 2014 15:56)
===========================
Wow, so many words and still not answered the question.

The question wasn't do you care about ethnicity but rather which one is yours.
Any reason why you don't want to admit that you are of Albanian stock?
And please don't answer the question with another question or a long saying anything answer.

(Sam d, 25 April 2014 05:51)
CONT:
3 It has been 15 years a lot has happened since then and that will always be yesterdays story.
4 Eventhough Clinton ordered the bombing, it won bipartisan support in both house and senate, so both sides shoulder the responsibility good or bad, remember it was under George Bush that Kosovo was encouraged to declare independence with full support of the United States.
5 This is the biggest factor, as the events in Ukraine play out, depending on how far it goes, the one thing that is in the near future is the reemergeance of the cold war era. A true mistrust and and suspicion of anything Russian. It will be remembered the stand off between NATO and Russia and the fact that Serbia is constantly putting in print the close relationship between Serbs and Russians. Serbs are about to see a huge slide in eyes of the American people as Russian associates.
6 There is the huge possibility that as the US/Nato looks to reinforce Eastern Europe Bondsteel may become the one thing Serbs were afraid of and that is development into a stronghold for the NATO alliance.

more of the same old Belgrade BS, a mix of misinformation, you can also call it lies, and wishful thinking. Reality is that way above 50% of all states have recognized Kosovo, and more will follow, also from the 5 EU states that Serbia puts most of its cards on. All the money and energy that is wasted with this hopeless effort could be used to make a better live for people in Serbia. Serbia's daydreaming continues, but their will be a rude awakening one day.

Ivan Mrcic, your and your fellow cronies are a utter disgraces & failures! Nishta Kosova je Serbia!
KOSOVA-JE-ALBANIA, ALBANIA VELIKA!!!

Lol good luck Serbiya. Btw Greece has practically recognised.

The truth is that it has not gone completely as planned by the Albanian authorities. There is no hope of joining the UN. BRICS countries will not recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Those includes some very powerful economic giants, including China. Your government is filled with narcotics smugglers who will soon probably be behind bars for those crimes. You will eventually lose control of the north, which you really don't have control of anyway. The best thing to do is to work together with Serbia and stop all of your putrid insulting of Serbs and you childish LOLs.

(Willi Pfaff, 21 April 2014 11:02)

LOL "well over half"? Good job pointing out your ignorance with that one. Actually, since Crimea, no country is now in a rush to get into the business of recognizing anything any more. The reality is the Albanians in Kosovo i Metohija will not get UN recognition. That is in this day and age the most overt characteristic of statehood that a territory could have.

The only governments which "recognized kosovo" are the governments that organized the illegal amputation and bombardment of Serbia, and any other countries those gov'ts could buy off. No UN means no legitimacy.

And what Russia is doing in Crimea is a blessing for Serbia's case with Kosovo i Metohija. What will happen in the coming years with Scotland, Catalonia, Veneto, Basque and many many more European regions trying to break apart will also help Serbia's case tremendously. This without Serbia's incompetent elite moving a finger.

All those regions have much different reasons for independence, but if they all do declare and separate, history will judge 2008 as what started it all. And every time angry neo-Nazis such as yourself have to say things like "this is nothing like Kosovo", it actually proves that it kinda is :)

Macedonia on its way to full NATO membership. All 3 countries have clear paths to EU membership. And to top it all off, the Albanian population is the youngest in the region with the highest demographic growth
==============================
It's amazing how you Albanians are always bragging so proudly about being able to reproduce in great numbers.
Guess what? Rabbits and rats have the same instinct and that's why they are declared a pest.

To all of the delusional Albanians out there. I would suggest we have a discussion concerning recognition percentages in about 2 years from now. After the facts come out concerning your activities in 1999 you will find out how quickly public opinion and support from your "friends" in the west will go away

Ari Gold,
The fact is that now you have two Albanian states, with their armies and law enforcement entities. In addition you have another country where Albanians are founding component with a self-determination option. The communication between Albanians is at all time highs, with giant infrastructure projects either completed or on their way. The economic, investments and education policies are being coordinated,the trade is flourishing. Albania is a NATO member, Kosovo attending members of NATO's political assembly. Macedonia on its way to full NATO membership. All 3 countries have clear paths to EU membership. And to top it all off, the Albanian population is the youngest in the region with the highest demographic growth. So no, time it's not on your side. Russia's Crimea occupation not only didn't help your cause, but it hurts it. It attracted the attention back to the cold war zones of influence, away from middle east. This means that the American military base is not going any time soon, and that aid will be offered to the new Kosovo Army including modern weapons and logistics.

your beloved former Yugo or former USSR???
(the truth, 21 April 2014 16:30)

"My" beloved former Yugo? LOL get real, communist Yugoslavia was a paradise for Albanians. As unjust of a state it was, it was still better to live in than communist Albania. That's why Tito allowed hundreds of thousands of Albanians into Kosovo i Metohija and the rest of Yugo was responsible for paying for Albanian welfare until it fell apart.

lol, my beloved Yugo. It's your beloved Yugo, you didn't have to work because others worked for you. All you had to do was live for free, procreate and ethnically cleanse Serbs from Kosovo i Metohija under communist dictation.

It's funny seeing Serbs happy because Vatican isn't recognizing Kosovo for now. Serbs are known for being devoted anti Vatican. They even compare Vatican to the devil.

One has to wonder what announcement is around the corner. Every time a Serbian official comes out to highlight who has not recognized Kosovo, there is a recognition coming.
I doubt that there has been pressure placed on the Holy See, maybe requests, but any pressure would be from outside Kosovo. Unless someone wants to claim that the country that has been able to "buy" countries around the world, in one breath, but then the next day the same people claim that Kosovo only exists on EU and US funds, now has enough money to buy the Vatican. Kosovo has a very small Catholic population.
Of the very strong countries listed only China and Russia matter as per their veto ability.

(Raisin Scone, 21 April 2014 14:06)
Actually you are very wrong.
1. In 2008 when Prishtina declared independence they knew it was going to be a rocky road.
2. They knew that Russia was opposed to it and would block their UN membership for quite some time.
3. BRICS countries is a very loose knit organization if you really want to call it an organization. It will take another 15-20 years of development before they really have power as a group, if it even continues. Most likely both Russia and China will decide that they can do as much alone without the extra weight.
4.The current govt in Kosovo is just that current. They are the ones most responsible for leading Kosovo to its independence. But they are over their head in leading it to the future. They will be replaced over the next few years with more qualified people. As far as ending up in jail. Some may, but probably not the major players. Even if you are right about the drug smuggling, that will not be covered by any new court created by the EU, it is to be focused on war crime related events.
5. The north, Prishtina has not controlled the north in the past so things can only get better or stay the same, actually it would advance Kosovo to let it break away or grant it a high degree of autonomy.
6. Cooperation with Serbia will require a third party intermediary for several years probably until both are within the EU.
7. Insults? probably will not happen unilaterally, it will have to cease to flow both ways.

No UN means no legitimacy. Ari Gold,

Well Mr. Gold think about Switzerland , which was not a UN member till 2002!!!
Was Swiss less of state then your beloved former Yugo or former USSR???

No UN means no legitimacy. Ari Gold,

you know Kosovo is a very small country it does not need to have relations with every single of 196 countries, Majority of the world has accepted and they can just enjoy that.

If its not legitimate so why you care what the difference you dont even live in Serbia and fighting for portion of land you will never live or visit, it seems to me there is compensation for unjustified hate.

UN UN UN just few years ago it was ICJ , ICJ , then when decision came Serbia did not accept no we did not ask the right question it seems excuses. What does Serbia want do you want Referendum in Kosovo to be held and see what the outcome will be?

I have one question why is Sebia able to keep Vojvodina that it got as spoils of WW1 ? It was Hungarian for centuries. When Serbia returns Vojvodina then you can ask for Kosovo back which you lost in 1999 war, oh YOU DID NOT WIN WW1 it was a present from Russia and France so Kosovo is a present from NATO enjoy dont hate its not good for you.

No UN means no legitimacy. Ari Gold,

Well Mr. Gold think about Switzerland , which was not a UN member till 2002!!!
Was Swiss less of state then your beloved former Yugo or former USSR???
(the truth, 21 April 2014 16:30)

Switzerland chose not to be a member of the UN because of its neutrality foreign policy. There is a different from choosing not to be in the UN and not being allowed to join the UN. Just like there's a difference between real states like South Sudan declaring independence 5 years after the Albanians, and receiving full diplomatic recognition and UN membership in a matter of months.

One is a fake state being propped up by Western tax-payers, the other is a real state being recognized by the UN.

(something to think about, 21 April 2014 21:07)

If you want to get technical about it, NATO did not bomb Serbia but bombed FR Yugoslavia which was a member state. So no, from the end of WWI to 2006, Serbia was not a sovereign independent state because it was a part of a much larger sovereign independent state.

I don't repeat anything daily, only reply to blind Albanian ultra nationalists who are proud of their impoverished and drug induced occupation of Serbian territory. All is well though. It's been occupied before, that's what happens when you're constantly an eye-sore for emerging empires and your neighbours are all too proud to jump on board to whichever expansionist empire comes through the Balkans.

(Brandon, 21 April 2014 22:12)


I love this talk of joining the EU as a salvation to all economic ills in the Balkans. Its usually referred to as fools gold.

“with giant infrastructure projects either completed or on their way. “

Where do you get this from? What projects? The EU is going into its fifth year of cutting its budget because economic recovery has not taken place and Brussels has had to borrow billions to shore up the EU from collapse and you talk of giant infrastructure projects. Please wake up and smell the roses.

“…Russia's Crimea occupation not only didn't help your cause, but it hurts it. It attracted the attention back to the cold war…”

And we are all worried that the western media will portray Russia as an ogre. What a surprise!!!

How influential is the US in the world today? Four of the five BRIC countries abstained voting on the Crimea issue. In fact when the Indian PM was asked if he would go to the US, he replied No he will only go to the UN, but he has no interest in meeting US officals. This is the largest democracy

Please stop BSing about a Kosovo army.

NATO is like it head all piss and wind. Putin is playing with Ukraine like a cat plays with a mouse.

Ari Gold,
Albanians never moved toward Yugoslavia, they were there for centuries. In 1940s Albania had a population of about 1 million. Today there are 3 million in Albania, 2 million in Kosovo and 1 million in Macedonia. How does your emigration theory explain this? The truth is that not only there was not emigration, but the Cubrillovic doctrine was applied in order to ethnically clean Albanian lands. Investment , jobs and quality of life was much lower in Kosovo and other Albanian populated lands. This was done at purpose, to force Albanians to emigrate (half of Swiss National Team is Kosovo Albanians). You failed again, for good this time.

"Unless someone wants to claim that the country that has been able to "buy" countries around the world, in one breath, but then the next day the same people claim that Kosovo only exists on EU and US funds, now has enough money to buy the Vatican."
(a New Day, 21 April 2014 11:16)

The claim is not that the country (Kosovo) has been able to buy recognitions around the world, but that Mr Pacolli was buying recognitions from tropical island states and corrupt African kingdoms. And it's not only claims, but this gentleman himself said that he was 'responsible' for some recognitions. And, sorry, do you think these countries recognized Kosovo only because of his beautiful face?

Pacolli was later awarded by corrupt Thaci with a minister position (minister without portfolio if I remember correctly, internal name 'bribe minister') because of his 'achievements' for Kosovo.

P.S: The irony of history is that Mr Pacolli's wealth is based on some dubious deals he made with Russia under the corrupt Yeltzin regime.

ARI GOLD writes
The only governments which "recognized kosovo" are the governments that organized the illegal amputation and bombardment of Serbia, No UN means no legitimacy.
Lets follow your philosophy:
According to the UN website:
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was one of the founding members until its dissolution in 1992. Serbia and Montenegro were admitted to the UN in November 2000 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Then in 2006 with the split, Serbia became the successor state of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, not the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
so according to you Serbia was not a legitimate sovereign state during the years of 1992-2000. Therefore, your claims that NATO illegally bombed a sovereign state without UNSC approval in 1999 does not hold water. At any point NATO did not bomb a UN member, nor did it violate the Helsinki accords because that is only an agreement(not international law) between participating states. Of which Serbia did not exist at the time.
Check the UN website as to membership status at
http://www.un.org/en/
Click on members and scroll down to Serbia and then click on it to get the history.
Also the claim that due to people continually saying something proves it is not right, flows both ways. The fact that you continually have to claim that Kosovo is not an independent state must certainly mean that it IS otherwise you would not feel the need to repeat it daily.

The reality is the Albanians in Kosovo i Metohija will not get UN recognition.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

Of course, like all countries in the world, Kosovo i Metohija will not get UN recognition. The reason is simple; not a single country has or will ever be recognized by the UN because according to the UN, the UN does not recognize countries. Sorry dear to shatter your dreams but you are welcome to petition to the UN to change the UN charter and make your dream come true.
----------

That is in this day and age the most overt characteristic of statehood that a territory could have.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

Btw, in case you missed it, this topic is about Vatican which does not have that “most overt characteristic” but it still has the statehood.
----------

The only governments which "recognized kosovo" are the governments that organized the illegal amputation and bombardment of Serbia, and any other countries those gov'ts could buy off.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

Ok, and where is the problem with that?! They are just following Russia’s lead which is Serbia’s strongest friend (or so we’re told).
----------

No UN means no legitimacy.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

You mean Serbia did not have legitimacy from 1992 to 2000?! You mean that Vatican does not have legitimacy?! Do you even grasp the consequences of your bizarre and even unpatriotic statements?! How can you permit to yourself to call Serbia illegitimate for 8 years….

And what Russia is doing in Crimea is a blessing for Serbia's case with Kosovo i Metohija. What will happen in the coming years with Scotland, Catalonia, Veneto, Basque and many many more European regions trying to break apart will also help Serbia's case tremendously.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 16:08)

I thought Serbia is trying to argue that Kosovo should not have broken apart from Serbia. But if Serbia supports Kosovo breaking apart from Serbia, yeah certainly the examples you mentioned are a blessing for Kosovo breaking apart from Serbia.
----------

Switzerland chose not to be a member of the UN because of its neutrality foreign policy. There is a different from choosing not to be in the UN and not being allowed to join the UN.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 19:00)

Of course there is a difference from choosing not to be in the UN and not being allowed to join the UN and Kosovo, for now, falls in the former category. Just FYI, Kosovo (like Switzerland before 2002) has not applied for UN membership so the “allowing” part does not apply, yet, the same way that it did not make sense to say in 1992 that Switzerland was not being allowed to join the UN, because Switzerland had not even applied to join the UN.

Just like there's a difference between real states like South Sudan declaring independence 5 years after the Albanians, and receiving full diplomatic recognition and UN membership in a matter of months.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 19:00)

Kosovo has no desire to be like South Sudan http://rt.com/news/south-sudan-ethnic-cleansing-848
----------

One is a fake state being propped up by Western tax-payers, the other is a real state being recognized by the UN.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 19:00)

It is much better being a fake state being propped up by Western tax-payers then being a “real state” like this http://rt.com/news/south-sudan-starvation-un-664. Btw, South Sudan has not been recognized by the UN. That is just a lie of yours, even though that is normal for you.
----------

communist Yugoslavia was a paradise for Albanians.

you didn't have to work because others worked for you. All you had to do was live for free, procreate and ethnically cleanse Serbs from Kosovo i Metohija under communist dictation.
(Ari Gold, 21 April 2014 19:03)

Mate, that is a pointless argument. If we want to know if the Albanians were happy under Yugo, we don’t need to know what you think (unless you are an Albanian); what need to know is what Albanians think. Otherwise it’s similar to me saying, after tasting some ice cream, “I don’t like it”, and you telling me “no, no, you are wrong, you like it” :)

Take a look at the new highways now linking Tirane-Prizren-Prishtina-Skopje. Also take a look at the new High Voltage Interconnection line between Albania and Kosovo in the building.
Peggy,
You can resort to insults as much as you want, It will not change the facts.
(Brandon, 22 April 2014 16:51)

The highway was built and paid for by the EU for its own reasons and the same can be said for the electricity connections – it’s all part of the EU’s efforts to bring all energy into the one market.

Where is the badly needed infrastructure in Kosovo? Where are the industries to create employment?

A post I read was really outrageous! It said that pristina doesn't have control of he north and that's absurd. Serbia is working aggressively to abolish all Serbia government institutions and orient Kosovo Serbs in north Kosovo toward pristina with no autonomy on any issue in any way. This makes them like Serbs south of the ibar. All Serbs must vote on republic of Kosovo ballots and go throuh republic of Kosovo customs. The pristina law is paramount and Serbs in power are nothing but Serb masks for Albanian law and complete control. Kosovo independence is real and its greatest ally is Serbia. 63% of Serbia says Kosovo is an independent nation and the government is following the people.

After the facts come out concerning your activities in 1999 you will find out how quickly public opinion and support from your "friends" in the west will go away
(Sam D, 22 April 2014 04:58)
Such a fool, you really think this court is going to uncover some huge inhumanities that will cause Serbia to pale in comparison?
If you are thinking organ harvesting, read Marty's report, it says IF these crimes actually were committed they would be in the 10s and not 100s as rumored. Not to mention that over the years no other investigation gathered any credible evidence. The best your own Serbian team could come up with was a total embarrassment. Remember you are catering to educated countries. They will never believe that the KLA was training 19 year olds to do organ transplants in the fields as your "witness" claimed.
Not Albanian but I agree to your challenge of coming back here in 2 years to discuss recognitions.

I thought Serbia is trying to argue that Kosovo should not have broken apart from Serbia. But if Serbia supports Kosovo breaking apart from Serbia, yeah certainly the examples you mentioned are a blessing for Kosovo breaking apart from Serbia.

icj1

The Serbian government made the prediction in 2008 that Western recognition of the unilateral deceleration by Albanians in Kosovo i Metohija would open a pandoras box for regions across the world. This has already started and will be expedited with self determination movements sprouting up all over Western Europe.

None of these unilateral decelrations are really legal, not even Crimea (though to be fair, neither was the hostile takeover of a democratically elected govt in Kiev). But all these examples strengthen Serbia's position moving forward because they prove the primary concern at the time and Serbia's prediction to be correct. The world will conclude that unilateral decelerations open the gateways to hell.

Not Albanian but I agree to your challenge of coming back here in 2 years to discuss recognitions.
(a New Day, 22 April 2014 18:12)

Why are you lying about your ethnicity ?

Comm. Parrisson, 21 April 2014 18:31
And how many countries do you suppose this millionaire not billionaire was able to buy. You know on the world stage a millionaire is no longer a key player.
He himself claimed to have been responsible for some recognitions, so that was not an admission that he bribed them.
So according to you the ones that Jeremic visited and they did not recognize must have been bribed, because I doubt it was due to his pretty face either.
I noticed a trend in your post "corrupt" so I am assuming that anything you do not like is corrupt.
But if you are going to carry the theory that this man was able to buy a significant number of countries out of his personal wealth in a bucket, don't plan on going too far because that bucket has too many holes in it.
Of course I understand your opinion as you come from a country in a region that all officials can be brought and no one does anything because it is the right thing, only if they are compensated.
I did some work for one of the Embassies in Iraq and I was told to give the visa office at the airport X amount of dollars when I got there the price on the board was less, but I gave the amount the embassy told me and they gave me a receipt for the listed amount. At the embassy they took the receipt and gave me the higher amount I paid automatically. When I asked, they simply said you have to include a bribe.
So I can see if you grew up in that environment you would assume EVERYONE is corrupt.

SJ,
Take a look at the new highways now linking Tirane-Prizren-Prishtina-Skopje. Also take a look at the new High Voltage Interconnection line between Albania and Kosovo in the building.
Peggy,
You can resort to insults as much as you want, It will not change the facts.

(something to think about, 22 April 2014 12:07)

Serbia was not an independent member of the UN with its own, separate representation until 2006. What there did I say that you don't understand? Yes, it was in the UN as a part of Yugoslavia and later Serbia & Montenegro in the way that Texas is in the UN today because it is a part of the U.S.

Serbia was a state not a country when the UN was founded. Serbia lost its independence in 1918 and did not become independent until 2006. Some say, choosing the Yugoslav path after WWI signed Serbia's death warrant for the next 100 years.

(Ari Gold, 22 April 2014 18:32)
The point I am saying is SErbia was not a part of the UN in any shape or form from 1992 until 2000.

(pss, 22 April 2014 14:12)

Each of the BRICS has a concern over parts of their country seeking to separate or their policy of non interference in other nations internal politics would have reflected badly if they openly voted for Russia. One of the BRICS did vote for the resolution put forward by the US while 4 abstained.

In these terms to abstain means to covertly support Russia. I can tell you that China and India do support Russia while the others vary.

By the way when I said ‘How influential is the US in the world today?”, this came from an article in your media that asked the question how could Obama have miscalculated and allowed the other BRIC countries to move so far away from the US.

Also interesting was this morning’s news item about the disappearing middle class in the US. The top 10% have grown substantially wealthier since 2000 while the middle class has decreased in numbers and the poor are even worse off than the poor in the EU.

(sj, 23 April 2014 02:01)
Kind of the response I anticipated try to blur the subject.
But it was anticipated that the BRICS would vote together in support of Russia but they did not. I also like the way you tried to cover the fact that the 1 that voted with Russia was Russia. Whatever their internal reasons, the fact is they DID NOT come out and support Russia. They also did not support the US stance either but they allowed the resolution to pass without trying to pass it.
So now I guess you can call it BICS + Russia.
As far as a headline in the Media, there were probably several hundred thousand headlines in the US media yesterday all giving varying viewpoints don't really see the point, other than that you can have the freedom to print a dissenting opinion on the US govt in the US a luxury you do not have in many other countries.

SJ,
You are missing the point. There is a unified effort from all Albanians to coordinate their economies and markets. In the long run it will lead to more trade, investment,jobs. Also,the larger scale of this market will increase the importance of Albanian factor in the region.

(Brandon, 23 April 2014 14:48)

I understand what you are saying but with what are they going to coordinate their economies/markets? It requires money and neither Kosovo nor Albania have much to spread around.

In a 20th century environment you need to establish industry to create employment and it leads to a consumer society after several decades. Neither Albania or Kosovo have industry let alone a chance of reaching the second stage in the 21 century.

Also, the geopolitical situation is fast changing with the Russians tanking over the Crimea and I can say with 100% confidence that Moscow will tear apart the EU so it never poses a danger to them again. The US is finished.

So funny, call me Albanian if it makes you happy, I could care less, where I come from we really do not pay attention to ethnicity. As a matter of fact in my 58 years on this planet, I don't believe I have ever been asked that, nationality yes, ethnicity no. I have filled out many forms and were asked to describe my race, white, nonhispanic is the current box to check. In larger cities you may have Italian neighborhoods, Chinese neighborhoods, even Serbian or Albanian neighborhoods and it may matter there, but outside of that I don't know of anyone I see on a daily basis that could really care.
That's why most people I know do not understand the why of the Balkan wars.
(a New Day, 23 April 2014 15:56)

So you are a white non hispanic American who claims to have read the Marty report and is trying pass himself off as being an objective observer with respect to the Balkans. The question then is; Why are you so heavily invested with the Albanians ? Just curious

So you are a white non hispanic American who claims to have read the Marty report and is trying pass himself off as being an objective observer with respect to the Balkans. The question then is; Why are you so heavily invested with the Albanians ? Just curious
(Sam D, 24 April 2014 03:55)
Never said I was an objective observer,I am very much pro independence, as I see that as the only viable option. My interest is that I came to Kosovo in 2006 and left in 2009 following the transfer of duties from UNMIK to EULEX, I was never officially part of UNMIK but my position was a sideline position that was not needed with EULEX.
During that time I traveled the whole of Kosovo and talked with many many people. I read everything I could and followed the news as it played out. When I arrived in Kosovo my thoughts was that someway Kosovo had to be reincorporated back into Serbia but the more I learned it was not possible at least for a generation or two. The Milosevic attitude was still very much the tune from Serbia and the Albanians had a taste of life out of oppression. Some day maybe inside the EU people will learn it is not important whether their neighbor is Serb or Albanian.
But the only rejoining of the 2 can only be as members of the same group as equal members.
To answer your question I gave up 3 years away from my family for a chance to maybe make a difference and that interest stays with me today.
So now what is the driving force of your hatred?

(a New Day, 24 April 2014 12:39)

Reading you response, lad your an Albanian so stop pretending otherwise.

sj,
Ok makes no difference, it is not worthy of an argument as I see no shame in being Albanian.

So now what is the driving force of your hatred?
(a New Day, 24 April 2014 12:39)
The driving force for me is not hatred of Albanians. As an American of Serbian descent how can I hate someone I dont know. My disgust with the situation is the political conditions that caused the 78 day bombing of Serbia. The real reasons for that were not meant to protect Albanians in fact it had the opposite effect. If you recall in 1999 our president Clinton was having difficulties with Monica Lewinsky which required a distraction. We all know that when politicians are in trouble the best way to avoid scrutiny is to create a diversion which in this case it would be to create a phony war with a country unable to defend its self (Serbia). Getting back to my original post which started this dialogue where I stated how quickly public opinion and support in the USA and the EU would
change with regard to Kosovo, when the facts become known, regarding human organ crimes committed by the KLA in 1999. It will made no difference if it was 10 cases or a 100 the media will consider it a "tip of the icberg" . Here is the scenario that would be the catalyst; Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016, in which this information, would be used by the Republicans as evidence as to the dishonsty and incompentance of the entire Clinton administration. By the time the media gets through with it the USA and EU will be accused of covering up this sickening story

(Sam d, 25 April 2014 05:51)
You are wrong on so many counts. The Monica Lewiinski theory is popular among Serbs, so is the creation of Bondsteel as the reason, the protection of the planned pipelines, the Trepeca mines, the purposeful dissolution of Yugoslavia. All dreams to try to keep from admitting the truth. Europe and the US were extremely embarrassed that Srebrenica was allowed to happen at this time in the back yard of Europe and NATO. It is one thing to have atrocities like this in Africa, Asia, the Middle East. But not in your own yard. The fear was with information coming out about Milosevic in Kosovo was that there would be a repeat and then they would have to justify why they had not reacted sooner.
The reason your theory does not hold water is Dec1998 Clinton had been impeached but his approval rating then was 73% By Feb the Senate had cleared him and his approval during that time never dropped below 65% verify with Gallup its all there.
These approval ratings are among the highest if not the highest of any 2nd term president in the 2nd half of the 20th century. By the time NATO bombed Serbia, the Monica Lewisky scandal had run its course.
Now as far as if any truth to the organ harvesting does materialize you have several thing playing against you. 1 Non Serbs are not going to have the same response as you. 2 It happened 15 years ago, a lot has happened since then. continued.

(Sam d, 25 April 2014 05:51)
CONT:
3 It has been 15 years a lot has happened since then and that will always be yesterdays story.
4 Eventhough Clinton ordered the bombing, it won bipartisan support in both house and senate, so both sides shoulder the responsibility good or bad, remember it was under George Bush that Kosovo was encouraged to declare independence with full support of the United States.
5 This is the biggest factor, as the events in Ukraine play out, depending on how far it goes, the one thing that is in the near future is the reemergeance of the cold war era. A true mistrust and and suspicion of anything Russian. It will be remembered the stand off between NATO and Russia and the fact that Serbia is constantly putting in print the close relationship between Serbs and Russians. Serbs are about to see a huge slide in eyes of the American people as Russian associates.
6 There is the huge possibility that as the US/Nato looks to reinforce Eastern Europe Bondsteel may become the one thing Serbs were afraid of and that is development into a stronghold for the NATO alliance.

Ari Gold wrote
If you want to get technical about it, NATO did not bomb Serbia but bombed FR Yugoslavia which was a member state. So no, from the end of WWI to 2006, Serbia was not a sovereign independent state because it was a part of a much larger sovereign independent state.
Wrongo Bucko go to the web site I told at the UN and look at members at click on Serbia and find out how illiterate you really are.
Serbia and Montenegro were admitted to the UN as The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in November 2000, Serbia was not a member of the UN from 1992 to 2000 in any shape or form.
This is not some Wikipedia post where you can go in and change anything you don't like, those are the facts, Of course I believe it was a sovereign state, it is you that claims it wasn't because IT was not a member of the UN!
And the Albanians on here just claim independence each day because you and your lot say it isn't.

sj says
"How influential is the US in the world today? Four of the five BRIC countries abstained voting on the Crimea issue"

Would that not show a lack of support for Russia instead of the US? Instead of voting together as a block against the Crimea issue in support of their member Russia, they chose to abstain.
In other words the great new BRICS is not a cohesive group as anyone who actually is informed knows. By the way it use to be BRIC with 4 countries until South Africa joined and then it became BRICS with 5.
Maybe it is time you stand upwind, as everyone knows that those yellow shirts you wear are not their natural color.

Why are you lying about your ethnicity ?
(Sam D, 23 April 2014 06:17)
So funny, call me Albanian if it makes you happy, I could care less, where I come from we really do not pay attention to ethnicity. As a matter of fact in my 58 years on this planet, I don't believe I have ever been asked that, nationality yes, ethnicity no. I have filled out many forms and were asked to describe my race, white, nonhispanic is the current box to check. In larger cities you may have Italian neighborhoods, Chinese neighborhoods, even Serbian or Albanian neighborhoods and it may matter there, but outside of that I don't know of anyone I see on a daily basis that could really care.
That's why most people I know do not understand the why of the Balkan wars.

a New Day, 25 April 2014 15:14)
Most everything you stated in your post is probably correct however in politics and in life perception is everything. The story of organ extraction is salacious and evil and as you are aware the media loves salacious and evil stories. This activity puts anyone who was remotely involved in this activity one level above being a cannibal
To be successful in politics you have to have a short memory which means you develop amnesia when necessary. In other words the politician will run away from the Albanians in the same they ran from Iraq and Afghanistan

Never said I was an objective observer,I am very much pro independence, as I see that as the only viable option. My interest is that I came to Kosovo in 2006 and left in 2009 following the transfer of duties from UNMIK to EULEX, I was never officially part of UNMIK but my position was a sideline position that was not needed with EULEX.
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You are very much pro Albanian and that's becasue you ARE Albanian.
Why don't you just say it straight out?
Do you think we haven't read enough of your posts to conclude that anyway?

Why are you lying about your ethnicity ?
(Sam D, 23 April 2014 06:17)
So funny, call me Albanian if it makes you happy, I could care less, where I come from we really do not pay attention to ethnicity. As a matter of fact in my 58 years on this planet, I don't believe I have ever been asked that, nationality yes, ethnicity no. I have filled out many forms and were asked to describe my race, white, nonhispanic is the current box to check. In larger cities you may have Italian neighborhoods, Chinese neighborhoods, even Serbian or Albanian neighborhoods and it may matter there, but outside of that I don't know of anyone I see on a daily basis that could really care.
That's why most people I know do not understand the why of the Balkan wars.
(a New Day, 23 April 2014 15:56)
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Wow, so many words and still not answered the question.

The question wasn't do you care about ethnicity but rather which one is yours.
Any reason why you don't want to admit that you are of Albanian stock?
And please don't answer the question with another question or a long saying anything answer.