I rarely venture in here, but feel like I'd just pop in to say a little bit about the Kosovo thing.
There are several students that are currently attending TLU that are from Kosovo and were/are adamant supporters of the independence movement, as am I. And all these events just sadden me. I can't honestly say that I can understand how it feels to live in the Balkans under such tense cir stances as these, but my goodness. They just need to have their independence recognized and move on to bigger and better things. It's a horrible situation for everyone involved.
Oh and morepictures
The Hagia Sophia is sacred to the Greeks. Mt. Ararat is sacred to the Armenians. Al-Andalus is sacred to the Arabs. Jerusalem is sacred to Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
I know the answer -- let's settle it by war!
So you support the indpendence of Texas from the United States if a Mexican majority in the state vote to declare independence?
You won't find a Mexican majority in Texas, here legally, that would be that stupid.
Balkans <> North America.
In 1990, Texas was 25% Hispanic. In 2000, Texas was 32% Hispanic. By 2006, 36% Hispanic and rising rapidly. So the day will come when Texas is a majority Hispanic population. At that time, do they as the majority have the right to vote for independence from the US, especially given that the land was part of Mexico before?
I also find it the utmost of hypocrisy for anyone in the US to put themselves on a high pedestal looking down given the history of this country- its own wars to acquire land, its own Civil War, and its own treatment of slaves and Native Americans.
If the United States were a state organized around the nationalism of a single ethnic group, which it is not, and if Texas had a supermajority of Hispanics for centuries, and if those Hispanics were denied basic human rights on account of their ethnicity and religion, which they are not, and if Anglos attempted repeatedly to drive them out by force, then yeah, I think I'd be pretty sympathetic to their plight if they wanted to leave the U.S.
Oh, so I guess we better give up the idea of trying to promote human rights, since every nation has blood on their hands.
You have Slavic ancestors, so you're siding with the Slavs. That makes you a racist.
I think the two northern provinces of Kosovo, which have Serb majorities, should be remanded back to Serbia.
If that vote comes after decades of oppression and killing of innocent Mexican by the white minority with the help of the neighboring states - yes absolutely.
Never in its history were the Serbs the majority ethnic group. The only "sacred" part are the churches and monasteries that the Serbs built in Kosovo to commemorate being defeated by the Otoman empire. During that battle Kosovo Albanians fought side by side with Serbs and never opposed the building of the churches and monasteries - which btw were never defaced by the Kosovars. They were actually living together pretty well until 1912 (albeit under the rule of the Turks).
It is only later that the Serbs started laying claims to Kosovo and enforcing those with violence. Claims to a territory that belongs to the Kosovars as much as it did the Serbs up to that point.
So when the systematic oppression by the Serbs reached new heights under the Milosevic regime, the faith of Kosovo was sealed. The Serbs really don't have anybody to blame but themselves.
I know you like to stir up debates, but that comparison doesn't work.
That you don't know much about European politics would be acceptable (it would be nice of you refrained comenting on it, but again not that surprising). But actually not knowing much about the foreign policies of your own country is just sad.
I'd love to see any proof of what you just wrote.
Actually the US was very much opposed to the current PM being elected mainly because of his Kosovo Liberation Army ties. The consensus was that a militant PM is not the best solution for peace in the region and there were doubts about his behaviour while comanding the liberation army (he has so far proven those fears wrong). The US did all that was in their power to promote the other candidates, but stopped short of meddling with the election process itself (fair enough - wouldn't you say?).
What are you saying? This is a religious conflict? Since one side is Muslim and the other is Christian there is that element. But religion is not at the source of the conflict, ethnicity is - which would make the use of the term "ethnic cleansing" appropriate.
I personally hate that term. Cleansing implies to clean, to get rid of the dirt or filth. It sounds as a positive thing - the act itself doesn't deserve any positive attribute, the act itself if too dirty to be described with the use of the word "clean" in any form.
From what I have read in our media, yes, there is
the religious side to the conflict. I also understand that
AQ or Muslim militants are/were heavily involved in
the conflict. I could be very wrong in my assumption and
will concede to your point of view, since you are there
and know better than anyone else what is going on.
My view of the history of that region is very limited.
Really I was attempting to point out that OUR media
has only given the American people a limited amount
of information on the whole conflict. The ethnic cleansing
seemed to fit their bill nicely. But damn little background
was ever offered. And I must confess I along with
most Americans I didn't make a great effort to learn the
whole of the conflict. I could never understand how
o kept such a tight rein on things and war between
the different elements never "openly" surfaced to my
knowledge.
No, I have friends from Serbia, and I feel for them because they personally have no responsibility for what has happened in Kosovo, but they are hurt by this. I care about individuals who matter to me.
How, exactly, are they "hurt" by this? Do you mean their pride?
As I said in my previous post it is a case where the two sides are from different religions. But this conflict has its roots in the ethnic and historical differences (of course the religious differences also didn't help).
o was a very charismatic leader and a very savvy diplomat. He was a master of the carrot and stick method, which was used a lot in Kosovo. As a result the infrastructure of the region was really on par with the rest of the country in 1991. He also put a lot of people in jails (that's what dictators do), but he was very even in these practices and therefore enjoyed a high level of trust among Serbs and Kosovars. Of course it was very much linked to the person, so when he died things disintegrated pretty fast (the same could be said about the Croats and Serbs living in harmony in one country).
I don't want to label all Serbs as bad. Any blanket statement about any nation or country can only be labeled as racist. I am however very much disappointed in how the Serbs as a nation handled the issue. I worked a lot in Belgrade during the period 1986 - 1991 and I don't remember a single Serb group or individual speaking up against how the Kosovars were treated. If I would have heard such a voice I would be able to sympathize with the Serbs a lot more than I am.
I will assume the numbers are correct and bring up this point. Many of those people are legal citizens and would not vote to succeed. They would be lucky in my view to have half the Latino population want to succeed, that would mean it would need to clime to near 100%.
I would like to thank Slomo for providing a tonic for all the ignorance that has been laid down in this thread.
...annnnnd I was wrong. Here I thought it was a Muslim vs Christian conflict.Slomo
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