Liechtenstein
A wide degree of autonomy
Last fall I traveled to Kosovo to write a series of articles for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad.
Kosovo had slipped away from newspapers, CNN and the occasional magazine. Another forgotten and discarded place.
Now with the looming independence Kosovo is back in spot light, well spot light, more or less.
The International Herald Tribune reports today:
“The UN's special envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, recommended last week that Kosovo move toward independence despite objections from Serbia and Russia.
Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia's acting prime minister, has adamantly refused to accept independence for Kosovo, still legally a Serbian province. He has proposed a wide degree of autonomy. Serbia's president, Boris Tadic, has opposed Ahtisaari's plan as well.”
Nevertheless many years before we are going to see an independent Palestinian state we will witness an independent Kosovo. Or independent, something very close to that, almost independent. See under: Liechtenstein.
Putin remains very populair thanks to the oil-driven economic boom. No change from that side I'm afraid.
I must have been 14 or so. I enacted a new religion: Tjitzendom. It was not an act of despair. It was an act of boredom in the classroom.
I got no followers. I quickly forgot about it. Your reaction reminded me of it.
You too!? How strange things worked out in those damned classrooms! At the age of 15 I declared myself the Messiah and my friend, nicknamed Breast, was the Enlightened Spirit.
I admit, I started reading Grunberg because of his novel ‘The Jewish Messiah’ and now I am hooked.
Interesting. Why was your friend nicknamed Breast? And did you have a nickname too?
Speaking about damnation and classrooms: my sister once told her religion class teacher to go to hell "loop naar de hel." When he later called my parents up to tell them about it, they thought it was quite funny, unlike the teacher himself.
Well, my friend had a chicken breast (and an IQ of 197 by the way). Of course my nickname was ‘Rosten’, because of the colour of my hair. I thought I was sick or a freak of nature until I read that the fierce Celtic people all had red hair, a long time ago. Identity sometimes is useful to bolster some self confidence.
Not to mention that my mother thought she had given birth to the second coming of Christ, but that is another story, hence the Messiah.
I was envolved in many new (often racist) parties and religions at school. One of them, I created it with my best friend and fellow redhead last year, is about the rights of redhaired people. Someday we want to start a commune where only redhaired people are allowed to live. Maybe you should join us?
Thank you, but then you will have to hurry, my dear, I am almost ready to join the final commune of the grey hair creatures. Maybe I can become the Godfather of your club.
