Today is June 28th, June 15th on the Julian Calendar, and it holds a great historical significance to Serbia.
posted on Jun 28, 2008 - View this thread

One rather strange minor cultural phenomena you experienced as a kid growing up in 60s and 70s Britain was a number of television programs that originated from beyond the Iron Curtain. Most infamous was the downright scary The Singing Ringing Tree from East Germany (Radio4 doc), later spoofed by the Fast Show but there were several others...
posted on Mar 13, 2008 - View this thread

In a small town in Central Serbia called Guca, the "Festival of Brass Music" takes place since 1961. The main event is an epic trumpet competition which Boban Markovic has won 5 times. (You might have heard his playing in several films by Emir Kusturica, most notably The Underground.) Now there is also a film about the festival , which begins this year on the 30th of August.

The festival is an insane mixture of Oktoberfest, Carnival of Rio and folklore show with a Serbian twist.

Some examples of the music to be heard on the festival. And if you like those, you'd better check out Fanfare Ciocarlia and Taraf de Haidouks too.
posted on Aug 19, 2006 - View this thread

Please, do mention the war. Really, it's hard not to. After all, in a sense football is war, as the General famously joked. Sometimes it's peace. Same goes for that other football, by the way.
posted on Jun 3, 2006 - View this thread

Hello to the Krilcic family. Ten years after we last saw you we are alive and well. And I hope you are. We would like to hear from you and see you. Goodbye.
In each episode of Videoletters, two former neighbors, friends or colleagues separated by the Bosnian war exchange video messages. Since 1999, two filmmakers have been helping people from across the former Yugoslavia find and reconnect with one another in this way, often with heart-breaking results. Watch a sample episode here about two young men, Vlada (a Serb) and Ivica (a Croat), whose families were close friends when the war began. [Bit more inside]
posted on Apr 29, 2005 - View this thread

Bosnia's horrific war memories There were countless horrors in the wars which led to the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. A Serbian army general has now surrendered to the authorities and will go to the United Nations tribunal in The Hague to answer war crimes charges dating back to 1999. But what happens once camp guards have served their sentences? Dragan Kolundzija (Kole) stood trial in The Hague in Holland in 1999 Dragan Kolundzija, Kole to his friends, is sitting at the bar of the Hotel Prijedor when we enter....
posted on Jan 30, 2005 - View this thread

This is a small homage to hundreds of performers who covered themselves with sombreros to become Slavic Mexicans. (via memepool)
posted on Dec 23, 2004 - View this thread

The Case Against Milosevic (flash)
posted on Dec 2, 2003 - View this thread

Serbian premier assasinated
He was shot in front of government offices at around 1300 local time, (1200 GMT). I know some people are going to cry Newsfilter, but I believe this is worth posting.
posted on Mar 12, 2003 - View this thread

Yugoslavia chapter closed: The Archduke, the Maverick Communist, and the War Criminal. After a storied, and often violent, 20th century, the (nearly) all-encompassing Balkan federation is no more, and what remains may not survive. Even in the shadow of a violent breakup, though, some former republics are moving on, though others remain a concern.

The roots of the region, of course, lie much deeper.
posted on Feb 5, 2003 - View this thread

The Devil's Bridge. For Halloween, tales of bridges where the devil took a hand in the building: "If I help you, I'll have the soul of the first who crosses the bridge!" But the devil gets fooled... [more]
posted on Oct 31, 2002 - View this thread

In the midst of all the talk of possible terrorist deployments of Weapons of Mass-Destruction, this seems like a somewhat dramatic, if effective, approach to pre-empting the threat of blackmarket nuclear proliferation. The co-operative approach adopted by the U.S and Russia - and presumably the Yugoslav Government itself - also seems encouraging. Should this 'surprise-attack' approach now be used to negate the threat posed as nuclear facilities are decommissioned worldwide??
posted on Aug 23, 2002 - View this thread

Yugoslavia. Serbia-and-Montonegro.
posted on Mar 15, 2002 - View this thread

Apologies from the Left. Journalist Matt Welch compiles a few and opines: "Which "dictator" were we supporting when bombing Yugoslavia? Oh yeah, none. In fact, last I remember, Yugoslavia's dictator is now facing a trial for War Crimes, and tentative democracy is gaining a foothold in Belgrade and Zagreb." (via Ken Layne)
posted on Sep 17, 2001 - View this thread

Taliban, take note A silly charge for vengeance or a global desire for ethical and moral justice?
posted on Apr 14, 2001 - View this thread

Wow! Got to give it to the people in Yougoslavia... This is damn impressive and it looks like the end of Milosevic. Europe is almost completely democratic now!
posted on Oct 5, 2000 - View this thread

Not with a whimper, but a bang... The Belgrade parliament is in flames. The State television building is broadcasting for Free Serbia. If you can get a stream, FreeB92 is the place to be listening. The revolution may not be televised, but this it has its own weblog
posted on Oct 5, 2000 - View this thread

West steps up threats against Yugoslavia -- "The Democratic Opposition of Serbia has signed up to the platform of the G17, a think-tank of market economists again funded by National Endowment for Democracy [an adjunct to the CIA]. This economic blueprint calls for the adoption of the German mark as the main currency for all of FRY, following in the footsteps of the Montenegrin republic last year. Other proposals include reduction of public spending, ending subsidies on food and other forms of social protection. The continuation of US and European economic sanctions on the FRY is being cynically exploited to bludgeon the population into accepting these terms as the condition for ending their economic isolation...." [more...]
posted on Sep 25, 2000 - View this thread