Druže Tito, mi ti se kunemo!

I dedicate this blog post to a man who has long been a legend to so many people across the Former Yugoslavia. A figure of stability, an icon for millions, the life-long leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Socijalistička Federativna Republika Jugoslavija).

This man was a hero to my parents' generation for two main reasons: one, he was a war hero who liberated the entire territory of the earlier Kingdom of Yugoslavia by ridding it of evil Fascist forces and neutralising other collaborating groups, and he even extended that territory ever so slightly to form the borders of his Yugoslavia and form the internal boundaries of its constituent republics; and two, as one of five founding fathers of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War, he opened doors to the whole world for his people, and was welcomed by so many leaders to their countries all over the world.

During his leadership, modernity was brought to every corner of his former great Balkan state. Villages in mountainous backwater regions that were still living in the nineteenth or eighteenth century finally saw and welcomed in the twentieth century. And unlike other communist countries that were under the "Iron Curtain", Soviet "satellite states" like Poland and Hungary, Communist Yugoslavia was a much freer society that eased restrictions on religious expression and freedom of speech, and even allowed private enterprise to function from the sixties onwards.

He inspired generations of Yugoslavs from the end of the Second World War till his death. And yet, even though that Yugoslavia is now gone thanks to idiots who didn't appreciate his achievements but vainly tried to achieve greater things (!), much of his legacy still lives on and his personality and iconic status continue to remind people of comparatively better times.

This blog post is dedicated to a man who, regardless of the many disputed methods he used to achieve his goals, and regardless of how meaningful or even valid his equally disputed legacy is today, achieved more success during his lifetime in both war and peace than any of his "successors" have achieved with their petty spoils of his great work and achievements!

And even after so many wars that have destroyed his Yugoslavia, causing so much pain to its people and ruining relations between the various ethnic groups that lived within its borders, his name and persona are still remembered by all these people. And thus, his memory is an unofficial source of inter-ethnic unity!

In terms of his achievements and legacy, this was a man who in one person, in my opinion at least, was the greatest Croat who ever lived; the greatest Slovene who ever drew breath; all in all, the greatest Yugoslav who ever walked the face of this earth!

Of course, this could be none other than Josip Broz Tito, a.k.a. Marshall Tito!

JOSIP BROZ TITO
7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980

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This is a collection of pictures I found on the internet to add to this page in honour of Tito, a great figure in the history of the Balkan peninsula.

Not everyone can get a picture of their face on the front cover of TIME Magazine! Franjo Tuđman never had his face on it. Slobodan Milošević was on it, but not in a positive light! So what does that tell you? Hmm…



Marshall Tito standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, founded as an alliance of states that sought neutrality from the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact on the one hand, and the West and NATO on the other.

These days, following enormous changes in world politics, this same Non-Aligned Movement no longer holds the same global significance it did for over forty years. But the fact that Marshall Tito was part of the establishment of such a grand alliance of worldwide proportions speaks volumes about this revolutionary man, and casts a massive shadow over his "successors", however successful or unsuccessful they really were!



This is his tomb in the Kuća Cveća, or "House of Flowers" in the Belgrade suburb of Dedinje, which has been visited by an estimated 18,000,000 people over the years since his death nearly 30 years ago!

His funeral was attended by well over a million people lining the streets of Belgrade to bid farewell to their decades-long leader, and by over a hundred heads of states from all over the world, communist and capitalist, kings and princes, premiers and presidents.

Now let's see if the graves of his successors will receive even half as many visitors within 15 years of their deaths!

CELEBRITIES!!!

This blog post is full of my opinions of famous people whom I admire and/or adore.

This page used to contain my opinions of famous people I didn't like as well, along with a third section of opinions regarding other famous people I liked but wasn't a big fan of, or was lukewarm about. I decided to remove those sections, since I wanted this page to be about the famous people that inspire me and/or have enamoured me to them, and not a page on which I would criticise famous people.

Remember not to judge others; be compassionate and understanding; and try as much as you can to share the love!

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MY FAVOURITE FAMOUS PEOPLE

I like (along with explanation):

Nikola Tesla, the greatest Serb who ever existed

He came from humble beginnings and achieved so much for human kind. He was the son of an Orthodox priest, and although his mother was illiterate, she was very wise and intelligent. He came from the mountainous region of Lika, just like myself, and his mother came from the village of Tomingaj north of Gračac! He discovered so much regarding electricity and invented so many things using it, and yet he died penniless and broke. Unfortunately, he is still not so well known to many people in the West, but that will change in the future and actually has changed already a bit.

Vječna mu Slava!

Josip Broz Tito, a.k.a. Marshall Tito, President of Yugoslavia and Revolutionary

Regardless of any faults or errors on on his part, he was a great leader. None of his sucessors from the smaller modern-day republics that were part of his Yugoslavia have so far been able to match his greatness, or ever will match it. He is an icon and a legend, and in my opinion at least, he was the greatest Croat, the greatest Slovene, and the greatest Yugoslav who ever lived all in one!

Read more about him here.

Boris Tadić, President of Serbia

For being a brilliant politician and showing it off for the world to see!

Čedomir Jovanović, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Serbia

I admire his liberal thinking and realistic opinions. But I haven't always agreed with the things he's said. I found some of his remarks and opinions in the past a little too extreme for my liking back then, even too cynical and pessimistic. Nevertheless, not only have I come to understand the logic of his "extreme" views, but I have actually come to admire them! He's a very good leader for his party, and I definitely like his party. I today respect him as man who wants to change and make Serbia a better country to live in.

(I placed him originally in FAMOUS PEOPLE I'M SO-SO OR NOT SO SURE ABOUT section, but I have moved him to this section 'cause I admire him more than I am critical of him these days!)

Bogoljub Karić, Serbian multi-millionaire

For being rich and Serbian! Serbia and Serbs need more like him.

(Oh, he gets accused of being a "tycoon" and being too close with Milošević. People should remember that he made his wealth long before 'Slobo' came on the scene.)

Serbia's tennis players, Ana Ivanović, Jelena Janković and Novak Đoković

For being such positive people and making Serbia look good in the world!

And let's not forget Janko Tipsarević and Nenad Zimonjić! Though whatever happened to Jelena Dokić?

Jašar Ahmedovski, Macedonian Turbo-folk singer

I love the strength and elegance of his voice and the oriental melody of his songs. He also betrays such handsome vulnerability in his singing too, and he betrays a certian innocence in his manner! He sings with heart and soul, and I feel I can actually identify/connect with his voice and his songs!

Mile Kitić, Bosnian Serb Turbo-folk singer

This man from Derventa in Bosnia is, I tell you, the Robbie Williams of Turbo-folk music! The lyrics of his songs actually tell the listener great stories. And when you listen to his voice, it sounds like the voice of a wise man.

DJ Krmak, aka. Goran Žižak, Bosnian Serb Tecno-folk singer

He is a great entertainer, I love his wacky style! I love the beat and melody of his songs, and he sings in that true folk-music way.

Saša & Dejan Matić, Bosnian Serb singers and musicians

From the ethnic-Serb town of Drvar in Western Bosnia, these twin brothers, both born blind, have made great careers for themselves with their music and songs, particularly Saša. Their songs are great for relaxing to or for dancing to, and are bound to put you in a good mood.

Azis, aka. Vasil Troyanov Boyanov, Bulgarian Romani Chalga (pop-fok) singer

I love his songs (I can sing a few!), and I love his flamboyant personality. He is beautiful, and he's the Gay icon for the whole (oops!) of the Balkans.

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See also:

Who am I?

Britić, The British Serb Quarterly

I received a lovely pre-Chirstmas present today! It's only the first ever edition of a new British Serb quarterly magazine called Britić! A magazine, catering for the Serbian diaspora in Britain, hence the quaint and yet so appropriate name! And as one of its editors writes on page 3, "Britić aims to provide connections between and a forum for all Serbs in the UK". Just what the doctor ordered!

The first letter of its name is actually written like a Cyrillic Б, but with a round loop as that of the small Roman letter b, thus demonstrating a blend of both Cyrillic and Roman alphabets, which is an appropriate depiction of the integration of Serbs in Britain into British life. (See the website)

Again on page 3 of this Božić (i.e. Christmas) 2008 edition, where on the top of the page you see the Serbian coat of arms with the Serbian crown atop, but supported by the British heraldic lion on the lefthand-side and the royal unicorn on the righthand-side above blank mottos, this magazine claims to be an "extraordinary social experiment", as the reader is informed that they will only receive future publications of this fledgling magazine if they subscribe to it, constituting a real test to see how much of a community we British Serbs really are.

The two main editors of this magazine, Stan Smiljanić and Aleks Simić, are also the owners of Britic Media Limited in Bedford, an English town with a significant Serbian population, while the printing of this magazine is done 18 miles south in Luton of all places! (That's where I live, by the way!) And they also state that they have "no political affiliations that are relevant to Serb issues and will tolerate a variety of views being expressed in these pages", which is excellent, so long as they're not "gratuitously offensive, libellous or just boring".

Britić is "produced by Serbs for Serbs", and is aimed at British born Serbs, descendants of Serbian immigrants from the 1940s and later, whom it claims are the "largest demographic Serb group" in Britain. Because of which - unless you haven't already guessed it - the magazine is written primarily in English. Nevertheless, it is hoped that this edition "will be the start of a long and interesting relationship with British Serbs", which will also "lead to a stronger and better defined community".

As for the contents of the magazine, Britić explores a number of Serb-related issues, be they concerning the Serbian diaspora here in Britain or concerning our people back home in the Balkans. It looks at Culture, Media, Politics, Sport, Property and other current events. It informs the reader with up-coming events such as Church Services in different towns round Britain along with a compact Church Calendar to help remind us of fasting rules, and also includes announcements from friends and family from all over the place wishing their kith and kin wherever they are a Sretna Slava, a Happy Birthday, or congratulating them on some enterprise (such as the very launch of Britić for its editors Aleks and Stan!). There are numerous advertisements advertising services such as lawyers, food products like kobasice & ćevape, and a professional icongrapher with contact details. And towards the end, it has a Kitchen Corner with "Recipes from home", along with a few puzzles such as one wordsearch to find towns and cities in Serbia and a matching puzzle, in which you match Serbian towns to their population size. Precisely what every diaspora magazine should have!

Britić has also made an exclusive interview with Serbian tennis player Nenad Zimonjić by editor Stan Smiljanić, who is now a champion at Wimbledon and an expectant father. It examines Novi Sad's famous EXIT festival, which receives 160,000 visitors and 600 artists performing on 25 stages! Believe it or not, Bob Marley now has a statue of himself in Serbia's Banat region fashioned by a Croatian sculptor! And there is even a review of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, with its hero/anti-hero the fictional Serbian war veteran Niko Bellic!

Subscription is free of charge as is delivery, and if you fill out and send the subscription form on page 30, you might also win a free iPod!

Just to finish this post. When asked what message he would like to give Britić readers in its exclusive interview with him, Nenad Zimonjić answered with the following:

"It is really nice to see our people all around the world when I travel. They stay connected in societies, through Church and like you're doing now with the magazine trying to keep our people together. I think that is important, even if some of them do not live in Serbia. For us athletes like tennis players or other artists it is always nice when we hear support from our own people so please keep it up and try not to forget your backgorund, where you come from."

[My Emphasis in bold]

So you can be sure that I for one will subscribe to this new British Serb magazine, Britić!

Visit the website by clicking here, where you can also subscribe online.

In Memory, STEVO JAKŠIĆ (1938 - 2008)

STEVO JAKŠIĆ

1.10.1938 - 29.6.2008

This blog post is dedicated to my father who passed away this year in June. He was 69 years old and had been suffering from heart problems before he left us. He was a seller of antique watches and was exceptionally skillful at repairing them.

He was born a year before the Second World War began in Europe. He, like his two brothers and two sisters, was born on a hill called Šibulja near the village of Malovan in the Gračac municipality located in southern Lika. During that great war, his father took him and his family many kilometres north to take refuge in a little village in western Bosnia called Mišljenovac in the Cazinska Krajina, and there they managed to avoid the gruesome atrocities committed by the fascist Ustaše that took the lives of many of his fellow Serbs throughout Lika and the wider Independent State of Croatia. Had he and his family not survived that aweful annihilation, I would never have been born! And not just me, but many others!

After the war was over and the Partisans had won, his family returned to Šibulja, and life was tough living there surrounded by wild untamed nature and far from any sign of civilization! The Winters were ice cold with snow a metre to two metres high, and the Summers were scorching hot. My dad went to school in another nearby village called Vučipolje and later finished 8-year school in Gračac, following which he did his conscription service for the Yugoslav people's Army ('Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija') in his early twenties. And for four to five years after that, he was a postman serving Gračac and the wider municipality. Even now he is known to many from the Gračac area as Stevo Poštar ('Postman Steve')!

He left Lika for England in 1965, settling in Bedford, where there were quite a few Serbs who settled there following WW2 and others who came in the 50s and 60s like himself. He lived with his brother Adam and his wife Vida, and worked in the brick factory there.

In 1968, Adam died aged only 44, while later in the year my father married his first wife Persida, a woman from Niš in Serbia. They moved to London and later settled in Acton, where they had three daughters, my half-sisters. He spent many a Saturday on the world-famous Portobello Road Market in Kensington, London, selling antique watches and mingling with other antique dealers. He met many people there from all over the world and he himself was known to many people. While at home, he would mend, repair and even paint the dials of the many pocket watches he sold through the years, that themselves travelled the length and breadth of the world with their buyers!

Unfortunately, his marriage to Persida did not last and they divorced in 1985. After the divorce, my father went back to Gračac, where he met my mother Milica from the nearby village of Štikada. They married in November of the same year, and in February 1986 I was born in Zagreb, the capital of the then Socialist Republic of Croatia ('Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska') in the Yugoslav federation.

When I was five months old, they moved into a flat in Greencroft Gardens, London, and stayed there for two years, eventually buying a house in a town called Luton, 31 miles north of the city of London and 18 miles south of Bedford. My father continued to travel to London every Saturday to sell antique pocket watches to the passers-by of Portobello Market, until 2001 when he switched to ebay, and continued his profession on the internet super-highway! And the pocket watches he sold on ebay were packaged and sent to all the four corners of the world. Some of them are even in museums.

I grew up living with both my parents in Luton for twenty years. I and my mum also travelled far and wide with my dad across Europe in a number of Volvo estate cars! But he used to have two Vauxhall Senators many years ago before the Volvos.

Religiously speaking, my dad was an atheist, because he hated the religious conflicts that caused so much suffering to humanity, especially religious division that created deep hostilities between nations that are culturally and linguistically the same, such as the Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. And politically speaking, he was a left-wing socialist, supportive of workers' rights and dignity and resentful of wealthy, selfish Western capitalists. And just so you know, Marshall Josip Broz Tito was definitely one of his heroes!

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On the 29th of June of this year 2008, my father Stevo Jakšić departed this world following a deterioration of health, which made his daily life very difficult to live. He is sorely missed by many of his closest relatives, and fondly missed by many more who knew him from Portobello market and back home by his fellow countrymen and extended family.

Počivaj u miru - Neka ti je vječna slava!

Edited 28th December, 2008

Elections, Elections, EUROVISION!!!!!!

I haven't been writing much recently. I know.

Of course, there was another election in Serbia recently. It has been said that voting has become a national pasttime in Serbia! Boris Tadić's Democratic Party did very well, but the pro-Europe parties, among which are parties representing Serbia's various ethnic minorities, did not win enough seats in the national parliament to form a majority in government!

But I'm much more interested in the Eurovision Song Contest that Serbia is presenting this year! As you remember from only a year ago when I started this blog, Serbia won last year's Eurovision in Helsinki with Marija Šerifović's song Molitva! This year, Serbia's entry will be Oro sung by the lovely Jelena Tomašević along with flutist Bora Dugić, and who knows, we might win it again!

I am already impressed with what Serbia is offering for this year's Eurovision! I'm really happy for Serbia, and other media have noticed how the Serbs are doing a great job of showing themselves in a good light. I like the presenters of this year's show Željko Joksimović and Jovana Janković (see her Chickipedia page). Both are glamorous, pristine and buzzing with confidence and positivity! In fact, this year's entries are full of glamorous women, like Greece's American-born Kalomoira with Secret Combination, and the Ukraine's Ani Lorak, who's singing Shady Lady! Yikes!

But I do like Britain's song Even if sung by ex-binman and X-Factor contestant Andy Abrahams! And I like Israel's song Ke'ilo Kan (The Fire in your eyes) by Boaz Mauda.

Unfortunately, three songs I liked didn't make it pass the semi-finals. Specifically, Malta's entry Vodka sung by the hot and fabulous Morena (who is known as a "mediterranean volcano"!), Estonia's Leto Svet by Kreisiraadio (which has a bit of Serbian, German and Finnish!), and who wouldn't like Ireland's Dustin the Turkey with Irelande Douze Pointe (that Eurodance beat in that song sounds a bit Serbian to me, don't you think?)!

But here's the song I think will win!

Serbia has signed the SAA!

YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!! But Koštunica and co. can't help themselves!

Serbian deputy prime minister Božidar Đelić signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union yesterday. The signing was attended by Serbian president Boris Tadić and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić. Both Božidar and Boris spoke in Serbian to show that the language is part of Europe.

I think it's brilliant that Serbia is officially on its way to joining the European Union. Getting closer to the EU will help Serbia economically and politically, and so it can only be a good thing for the country. Of course, the EU itself is not some kind of "Garden of Eden", but Serbia is not a big country and neither is it a very rich one. So joining the EU is indeed the best option for Serbia.

But there are people like Serbian prime minister Vojislav Koštunica and coalition partner Velimir Ilić that have been speaking out against the upcoming - now completed - signing of the agreement, saying things like it will only be signed in Boris Tadić's name not in Serbia's, and since there will be an election next month, how when they get into govenment they will abolish it. And now that it has been signed, Velimir Ilić has yesterday in front of a rally attended by Koštunica himself, openly branded President Tadić a "traitor". That's just outrageous and so reminiscent of Radical rhetoric!

Their problem lies in the fact that in the agreement itself, it does write that, "This agreement does not apply to Kosovo". And because of this, they claim that the agreement that Serbia would sign - and now has - would recognise the Kosovo Albanians' unilateral declaration independence.

And so Koštunica and co. have been speaking out against an agreement that will only lead the way to improve Serbia's economy and position in the world. What fools!

Anyway, there will be elections in May in Serbia, a general election and a mayoral election for Belgrade. And guess which party I'm strongly supporting? I'm strongly inclined towards the Liberal Democrat Party of Čedomir Jovanović, and for Belgrade Biljana Srbljanović, believe it or not! I like their party's liberal ideology, their appreciation of reality which includes acceptance of the past and their all-round positivity. Čedomir has impressed me with his speeches, while Biljana would make a great mayoress for the capital! Definitely like them.

Edited: 1st May 2008

Another catch-up!

Sorry for not writing in over a month!

I'm spending much of my internet time on the Gračac forum (link on the left) and have only been checking my Sitemeter profile to check the number of visits to this blog and page views. I have done some editing on the Who am I? page, though.

Also, I've noticed that my eyes are hurting more the longer I'm on the computer. Me and my dad have changed the position of my computer at least a couple of times. But, nevertheless, if I stay for too long, they hurt. Therefore, I need to spend much less time on the comp!!!

Still, back to the Balkans. Kosovo Albanian politician and former KLA fighter Ramush Haradinaj was found not guilty of crimes against humanity by the Hague Tribunal this month. This news was not taken well in Serbia, as was Naser Orić's acquittal of many charges a couple of years ago (Orić was nevertheless convicted of failing to prevent the murder and inhumane treatment of Serb prisoners).

Also, a few famous Ex-Yu people died recently: Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian president, died aged 57 in February; Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor from Split, starred in famous series like Velo Misto and films, died aged 68 in March; Staniša Stošić, Serbian singer from the Vranje region, famous for singing many beautiful Serbian songs from his home region, died aged 63 this month.

Next month, Serbia will go through another general election! AAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!

See ya!