James Lyon's blog

Kako se sto bezbolnije poroditi u Srbiji

James Lyon — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:17:00 -0500

Hello Baby!!Moja prijateljica M.F. je nedavno dobila bratanca. Radosni dogadji u jednom beogradskom porodilistu je bio prilicno traumaticno za celu porodicu. U mesto da ja to komentarisem, zamolio sam nju da nesto pise o tome. Sledi njen integralni tekst. A pitaju ljudi zasto izmedju ostalog pada natalitet.....

dalje

Partition of Kosovo?

James Lyon — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 06:23:19 -0500

Belgrade’s Kosovo status endgame is increasingly clear. Plan “A” seems to consist of trying to delay an independence decision as long as possible. There are two reasons for this. One is an outside hope that somehow Belgrade may be able to actually win a reprieve from “losing” Kosovo. The other far more important reason is that Belgrade hopes delay will cause the Albanians to take unilateral action without Security Council approval thereby permitting Belgrade to achieve its real goal: partition.

dalje

Is Serbia Guilty Of Genocide?

James Lyon — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 12:03:23 -0500

Serbian MUP About To Kill Srebrenica CiviliansSince the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague many in Serbia have rejoiced that the Serbian state was not found guilty of genocide. The failed, however, to note that the ICJ found Serbia guilty of violating the Convention on Genocide. Many have also failed to actually ask the question as to whether -- the ICJ verdict aside -- Serbia did in fact commit genocide.

dalje

Karić vs. Telenor

James Lyon — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 09:09:50 -0500

Bogoljub KaricI never thought I would say this, but as I examine Telenor, I now wonder if Bogoljub Karić was really all that bad. Since the Norwegian company Telenor bought the 062/063 provider Mobtel from its previous owner Bogoljub Karić -- a Milošević-era tycoon -- I feel as though service seems to have gotten progressively worse for me, the customer. And many of my friends have told me they feel the same way.

dalje

I Want To Be Premier: Here Are My Principles!!!

James Lyon — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 13:10:22 -0500

The New Tito!!The other evening I was at one of Belgrade’s new, hip night spots with a friend. The place is located down near the Sava River in a refurbished warehouse, and the interior was worthy of any western capital. The music was loud to the point of causing pain, but we withstood it, due to the fact that this place is “IN”, and after all, we were there not to talk, but to engage in Belgrade’s favourite sport: posing. As we shoved our way through the crowd towards the VIP section, we noticed a prominent politician from a prominent political party who has been mentioned as a prominent candidate for a prominent post in the new government, accompanied by an attractive woman with prominent… uh.... contours. We greeted the prominent candidate prominently, engaged in brief chit-chat, and then moved on to our table and began talking about the latest candidates for government posts.... All the while posing. It is an art form, trust me. The conversation went something like this:

dalje

Contemplating Ahtisaari's Visit

James Lyon — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:53:49 -0600

Martti came and went today, his motorcade causing the usually congested Belgrade traffic to become even worse. He met Tadić and his serious-looking group of advisors, presented his proposal, and then flew off to Priština, where he repeated the process with the Albanians. So what did it all mean? I have a copy of the entire proposal and all 12 annexes. I will not discuss it in detail here, as I am still reading it and trying to digest its 59 pages. Rather, let me share a few first impressions.

dalje

Another Can Of Worms

James Lyon — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:21:58 -0600

Can Of Worms

I expect that this blog will open a can of worms. I expect you all to write nasty responses and tell me what a bad person I am and how wrong I am and that I should leave Serbia immediately. But really, who cares? Chill out. :-)

Serbia just had an election. Has anything changed? Here are a few thoughts that I jotted down as I visited the different party campaign headquarters Sunday night.

dalje

Šešelj’s Liposuction: Vidoviti James' New Year’s Predictions for 2007

James Lyon — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 21:25:27 -0600

LiposuctionI have a friend from Bosnia who is very good at predicting the future. She uses beans, coffee cups and tarot cards to look into people's future and see what will happen. She has always been very accurate and almost everything she has predicted has come true. Because of her gift as a seer I have often used her skills professionally, particularly when it comes time to write reports. I decided that we should give the people of Serbia the benefit of our great wisdom and insight and that we should compare our predictions for 2007 and see whose are the most accurate. First are Fata’s predictions, followed by mine. Read below to see what will happen in Serbia in 2007.

dalje

Deck The Halls With Šljivovica!

James Lyon — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 14:09:51 -0600

Yuletide SpiritsChristmas has come early to Serbia this year as Santa Claus packed Belgrade’s stocking with all sorts of things. But did the Jolly Olde Elf fill the stocking with candy and gifts? Or did he decide that Koštunica had been a naughty boy and bring coal and sticks instead? Hmmm, let’s take a look in the stocking and see what we can pull out…..

-Membership in Partnership for Peace? A large gift.

dalje

Belgrade and Baščaršija

James Lyon — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 17:12:22 -0600

Sarajevo CentreI am writing this from Sarajevo. I haven’t been in Sarajevo from some time, and every time I return, the changes always surprise me. This isn’t the same Sarajevo I first saw in the spring of 1980, when the main pedestrian street (today’s Ferhadija) and the entire Baščaršija were dug up as the city feverishly prepared for the 1984 Olympic games. It certainly isn’t the same Sarajevo whose war-ravaged streets I walked in early 1996, watching the smoke rise over Hrasno, Ilidža and Stup as withdrawing Serbian forces burned the neighbourhoods the Dayton Peace Accords required them to abandon. It isn’t the same Sarajevo I left behind in October 2000, a city then still overrun with international organisations and armies and diplomats and aid workers.

The number of foreigners has diminished sharply. No longer does one see foreign military vehicles everywhere, nor the ubiquitous jeeps driven by the international organisations parked haphazardly all over the sidewalks. Things appear orderly, cleaner than in Belgrade, and certainly far more relaxed.

dalje