How not to politically promote oneself

This video is from a recent Slovak newscast, depicting the (angry) leader of the far-right (i.e. neo-fascist) 'Slovak National Party,' Jan Slota, pontificating his views in a Bratislava outdoor bar.

Even if one cannot understand what is being said, his belligerence and bigotry is quite apparent. It is also -- or so I read -- not the first time that he has chosen to promote himself whilst under the influence of booze.

The man is an embarrassment to Slovakia; why he is in the current coalition government of Prime Minister Robert Fico is beyond me.

Fear and loathing

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. I have constantly been thinking about this book, by the late Hunter S. Thompson, which started out as an article for Rolling Stone magazine in November 1971, as well as the enjoyable 1998 film of the same name. Apparently, it was based on real-life experiences, and the roman à clef's chief protagonists, Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, were based on the figures to the left.

I started reading it on the subway and bus ride home one afternoon recently, but had to stop because two well-dressed, and evidently sophisticated, ladies stood next to me. They could see straight over my shoulder. I suspect that their pauses of silence were not solely owing to the banality of their conversation. I devoured it soon thereafter, and it was the type of book that I seldom come across.

This beginning is absolutely ingenious! "We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like, 'I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive . . .' And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about 100 miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'"

Thompson left more literary output where this is concerned, and I sure as shit will be picking up more of his offerings!

Independent Kosovo and Israel's recognition

Just came across this editorial, in the online pages of Ha'aretz, one of Israel's biggest and most influential newspapers. It makes a nice case for Jerusalem's recognition of the fledgling European state.

In particular, it states: "The struggle of the persecuted Kosovar people for independence is reminiscent of struggles by other nations for the right to self-determination. The State of Israel, which was established in the wake of the Jewish people's struggle for a national home, should stretch out a hand to other nations seeking self-determination." And later still: "Israel maintains diplomatic and economic relations with Arab and Muslim countries around the world. The government has a unique opportunity to stretch out a hand to the new state, and to prove that the Jewish state is not an enemy of the Muslims."

Win-win would be the nature of such recognition, and most especially for Israel. Particularly now, as Israel and the Palestinian Authority are in some kind of negotiating status over the future, and there are those who still continue to pontificate the "real intentions" of the Israeli leadership in this regard.

Portrait of a self-made lunatic

This, truly, is a political abomination. Dirty Harry, in the now-classic Magnum Force, once quipped that "a man's got to know his limitations." Stretching this line all the way to Zimbabwe, and we have here the caricature of a man who is at once belligerent, dangerous and stubbornly clinging to the last political lifelines of a country that he has essentially destroyed.

The inflation is at 100,000 percent; this will likely change within a matter of days, for the worse. Up to one-third of the adult population is HIV-positive, and after government-sanctioned stigmas and silence, trickles of aid are but scratching the surface. Policemen are jailed for professing sympathies to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change -- yet they must uphold the President's rule. Food, fuel, water...all necessities, are in acute shortage.

But Comrade Mugabe thinks it is all Britain's fault. His next election promise: "[The British] still have companies here and we have not yet touched them...Four hundred British companies and so they must take care. After elections we will look into that." The only hope lies in the fact that these upcoming presidential elections -- slated for this week -- will be the most contentious and serious threats to the man's rule. Let us, therefore, do just that, and hope.

Nearing the forty percent mark

Last night, I felt so burned out from events of this week, compounded by the grind of completing assignments, summer plans, et-cetera, that I vegetated before the screen with the original Twilight Zone series. I am nearing the end of the second season, and have seen the evolution of the series, episode by episode, up to now. When I have the time, I want to put something together about the series and its creator, whose portrait adorns this blog on the top-right corner. Taking a trip into the human mess called politics is akin to taking a trip into The Twilight Zone itself...

The Twilight Zone stands the test of time, and its influences seep into the here and now of film, television, stories and symbolism. It is a show that, as it did in the past, offers a twisting view through the imagination prism, of our world, and Everyman-like characters that stand out for not only their banality but their neighbourly-like qualities. Anyone can relate to them, because they are us, and we are them.

Call it, then, entertainment with a purpose; something that not only thrills and chills, but tells us something more about the cyclical and enduring nature of our human conditions. Mr. Serling's art will stand the test of time...for some time to come, I say.

Ottawa's Kosovo recognition - finally!

The news in the Balkans just keeps on changing! Just a short time ago, Ottawa officially announced that it had recognized the independence of Kosovo. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, at left, must be happy. Serbia's ambassador to this country, Dusan Batakovic, is set to return to Belgrade, ostensibly only temporarily, awaiting further instructions.

Fledgling news reports have been pointing out that Japan was one of the recent countries that had recognized Kosovo's independence -- leaving Canada as the last G7 nation remaining officially 'on the fence.' Out of solidarity with this body, far more important for Canadian economic and security interests than any other(s), Ottawa finally threw in the towel. Whatever the reason, it was inevitable. Personally, I am delighted to hear this news.

What is ridiculous, however -- and here, this is coming from dissenters, Serbian, Canadian and others -- is the allusion to Quebec, and the implications that the recognition of Kosovo will mean that Quebec will have a greater incentive to separate. Nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, I would venture to say that such equations just obfuscate ground-level realities and situations.

Why? First, the last time Quebec held a referendum, and the separatists were only narrowly defeated, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard hammered out the 'Clarity Act,' which clearly outlined specific conditions and procedures to follow in the event of a successful future referendum. It ensures, to this day, that the conditions for Quebec's separation from Canada must be clearly mandated, concise, and heavily structured -- with limitations on what Quebec can expect from Canada in the get-go period of independence, and with the likelihood of territorial changes being made.

As a National Post column points out, and here I quote: "Under Canadian law, as set forth in the Clarity Act, Quebec can legitimately achieve independence, but only on the strength of a clear referendum victory on a straightforward question and after negotiations with the rest of the country for a mutually acceptable settlement that could include the partition of some of Quebec's present territory." Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe himself pointed out, as quoted in this same piece, such rules, and backed Kosovo's independence. "The right of peoples to govern themselves is a universal principle...The proof has been made that the people of Kosovo have decided for themselves to stand upright, that Kosovo should be an independent country." Comparisons to Quebec, therefore, fail to hold any water in such a comparison.

Second, and here again Canadian precedent is clear, circumstances change when gross human rights violations have taken place. Canada's Supreme Court is in clear agreement on this as well. This was the norm in Kosovo following 1989, and only ceasing until NATO's bombing campaign drove Serbian forces out of the territory. It was followed, shamefully but predictably, by revenge against Serbs (and Roma). Kosovo, under UN Resolution 1244, has existed as a de facto independent state since its passing, an international protectorate existing in a state of economic and strife-ridden limbo ever since. The wheels have finally begun to plow forward, though the Kosovans will hardly have an easy or fun time of it.

There has been no Clarity Act equivalent in the Kosovo case, as a combination of stonewalling, stagnation and outright deadlock have characterized negotiations on a final settlement of the Kosovo case. The Serbian (and Russian) side refused to relinquish anything beyond Kosovo's "autonomy," never clarifying just what this would mean, while the Kosovans refused to stay in any arrangements that would involve being part of Serbia. Can one blame them, given the recent past?

Indeed, some of the quieter ho-hum in Serbia has questioned such a position from Belgrade, and the prospects of having an unstable territorial and ethnic underbelly of instability and hostility with no resolution in sight. Would all of this be really worth it in the long-term, all for the sake of a smattering of monasteries, identity and sentimentality in the region, which is already predominantly Kosovan/Albanian, and which will only continue to be so?

Many people are going to be pissed for the foreseeable future, but the long-term will be very different. Tempers will subside, slowly but surely, even though the international rules of the game have been drastically altered by this chain of events. As for now: talley-ho to Kosovo!

The short-term future of Kosovo and Serbia?

While perusing the New York Review of Books, I came across this concise and to-the-point article by Charles Simic. His key argument, to quote, is that, "As is almost always the case when it comes to the Balkans, a local dispute has been used by the great powers to advance their own national interests, which have little to do with the desire to have justice done."

Emotions and stances aside (including, I admit, my own), it makes Canada's bizarre wait-and-see approach to recognizing Kosovo seem rather prudent, but only if Canada is willing to carry the responsibility that comes with keeping the diplomatic link with Serbia intact. Somehow, though, I don't expect the blue suits in Ottawa to do any such thing. Makes one wonder just how much Canada really matters in this crazy world of ours.

Tomorrow is yesterday

Nice to know that, Kosovo's declaration of independence aside, that little else by way of news trickles from the Balkan region. Milo Djukanovic, a man who has served as either President or Prime Minister of Montenegro since 1991, stepped down in the summer of 2006, after the republic became a sovereign state. He stayed on in parliament, and was dogged by plenty of scandal and allegations of criminal links -- especially in cigarette smuggling, which is endemic to the region.

It seems, however, that as of February 2008, the veteran politician is back. President Filip Vujanovic declared: "I'm convinced that (Djukanovic) will be fully devoted to the economic development of Montenegro ... and the government will be devoted to continuation of the process of European and Euro-Atlantic integration."

I am due to visit Montenegro for a second time this coming early summer, so it should be interesting to see things transpire from the ground-up. It's also intriguing, and highly amusing, that Balkan politicians are like chameleons: changing colours and political persuasions when need be, but always staying put in their positions come hell or high water.

A sad and sorry chapter closed

It was eight years ago, as of this coming September, that the Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Ruslanovich Gongadze, disappeared in Kyiv, Ukraine; two months later, his headless body was found buried in a wooded area outside of the capital city. The protests that stemmed from the scandal that came to quickly be known as 'Kuchmagate,' named after the-then President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, and his suspect involvement in the affair, evolved into the same energy that culminated in the country's 2004-2005 Orange Revolution.

Indeed, President Viktor Yushchenko promised that one of the keys to his mandate would be a resolution to the Gongadze murder. Some key personalities, as this BBC report states, fled abroad, while others, like former Interior Ministry chief Yuri Kravchenko, killed themselves a few years after the affair. The true masterminds may never be unearthed, but the three convictions for the actual killers -- former policemen Mykola Protasov, Valeriy Kostenko and Oleksandr Popovych -- have broken the state of immobility and stasis in the case.

Given events in Ukraine since his death, Gongadze's passing may not have totally been in vain, as his dream of press freedom in the country have been significantly boosted since the 2004-2005 events -- themselves spurred not insignificantly by his own online paper, Ukrayinska Pravda. While political crises appear to be blighting the new government of reformists, the changes that evolved from the protests surrounding 'Kuchmagate' are a small step towards progress and change.

Call me naive and overly optimistic, but I hope and believe that time is Ukraine's ally. As for the deceased journalist, who should be an inspiration for all who share in such a profession, may he rest in peace.

Welcome to the new blog!

For some time, I have been contemplating moving my old blog, also entitled The End of the Line, from its old location on LiveJournal. It had been there since 2004, give or take, with no problems or hassles encountered.

However, as blogs gradually have come to be more mainstream and opportunity-laden for reaching broader numbers of people, it was difficult to get such exposure from the blog's old location. It would not, for example, appear in basic online searches. Several of my blogging friends have opted to use Blogger.com for their needs.

Alas, The End of the Line has been given a new lease on electronic life. Apologies, in advance, if it appears to be rather patchy for the next few weeks, as I still need to get my way around such a new atmosphere, as well as to upload more graphics, pictures, and put further people onto my links' section. I hope that all readers will enjoy what they find here, and learn a little more into what makes me 'tick.'