Why Notre Dame de Paris is important

Gothic cathedrals were the spaceships of their age.

They required polling of the resources of whole societies, both in terms of money, talent and time, at the scale exceeding our contemporary space programs. They mobilized the best scientists and the engineers of the time--forming a network spanning half a continent--to come up with innovative solutions, based on exchange of knowledge with foreign lands.

And--in a quite literal sense for their builders--their purpose was to help people get to Heaven.

Set in chiseled stone, they were also meant to last forever. Or at least until the Second Coming and the Judgement Day.

Their value has far surpassed their initial role as places of worship or edifices of then-established order, and therefore those who survived have been preserved as cultural heritage monuments, and testaments of ingenuity and effort, of sweat and tears of the people who built them.

#NotreDameDeParis is one of the foremost symbols of permanence and continuity of Civilization. Its importance was reinforced by its actual presence over the centuries, and through literature, film and other arts by creators world over, from Paris to Los Angeles, from Milan to Tokyo. Some of them had never touched its stone, or looked up at gargoyle drain spouts from bellow.

The tragic fire showed us how fragile our world is. Nothing lasts forever. This devastating event joins us in solidarity with our sisters and brothers from France, as it is they who--due to proximity--feel the burden the most.

Sharing our common shock and grief goes beyond the sense of being European, 'pro-Western' or 'citizen of the world' - it's simply a reiteration of the fact that it's our shared culture that makes us human.

Moreover, since 1945 Europe had shown that, when cultural values are shared, material damage can be repaired. When humanism and democracy rule, cultural heritage can be reconstructed, its cohesive role reinforced. The process was, is and will be used to heal wounds and build bridges that ensure ability to jointly face adversity. Especially at a time when the whole world can catch fire.

Andrzej Wajda and the "Man of Steel"

Today I found out that the Polish film director Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016) passed away. His movies made big impression on me as a child, especially "Canal" about the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

An episode from his life seems especially instructive as a lesson for artists at a time of political turmoil and totalitarian tendencies.

Less than a year after the first big strike of Solidarity in Gdansk shipyard in 1980, Andrzej Wajda made the movie "Man of Iron" (1981). The Polish Communist authorities censored the film shortly after, as the dictatorship tightened its grip.

Posters for the "Man of Iron" in French, Serbian and Polish.

The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. The award is preserved in the museum of "Solidarity" in Gdansk, along with the posters for the movie from around the world, including from Yugoslavia.

The PAlme d'Or awarded to Andrzej Wajda at Cannes Film Festival for Man of Iron.

New Levies for Freelance Work Spark Protest in Macedonia

People from various sectors of Macedonian society have been raising their voices against the law that imposes new contributions to the state-run retirement and health funds for freelance work, in addition to personal income tax, effective from January 1, 2015.

The chief objection is that the employers will simply pay lower net honorariums to compensate for difference which can be as high as 35%. Another objection concerns the aspect of discrimination, i.e. de facto creation of caste society in Macedonia, as certain categories of citizens, such as elected and appointed public officials, judges, top athletes--whose status depends on the decision of ruling Party--as well as pensioners, would be exempt. Another issue is that those who'd receive even one honoraria larger than a minimal wage would not be able to register as unemployed for the following year. The changes will especially adversely affect the functioning of the nonprofit civil sector and independent media, where the employers have no sources for additional funds.

"Is this personal enough?" Protest meme designs
by MightyCreation Aleksandar Pesevski, CC BY-NC.

Almost 5 thousand people have signed to attend a protest scheduled for December 22, 2014 at noon in the center of Skopje. Online conversations use the hashtag #ПротестХонорарци (Protest of those who receive honorariums). The event, supported by the Macedonian Translators Association and the independent Journalist Trade Union, among others, has been promoted with the following explanation:

Why paying additional contributions to honoraria for freelance work is unacceptable?

The Government’s intention to introduce contributions for freelance work from January 1 2015 will increase poverty unemployment. Besides, exempting state employees from this obligation which the Government imposes on the all other mortals, without any logical explanation, shows the full perversity of the concept.

Our demands are:

1. Stop the implementation of the new regulations… in order to create space for their change and withdrawal.
2. Increase the work of the Labor Inspectorate and detect the actual cases of hidden employment, or the proclaimed issue of working without contracts or not paying of social security contributions…
3. Increase or abolish the highest monthly base for calculating contributions which currently amounts six average salaries.

Who will be affected by these legislative changes?

Large number of Macedonian citizens who have no opportunity for full-time employment are forced to fight for their existence working for honorariums, which most often are neither regular or large. Such freelancers are not entitled to labor rights which come with full-time registered employment. Far from privileged, they are part of the precariat, the most endangered working class. When these legislative changes come into effect, their employers will lower the honorariums in order to pay the contribution benefits requested by the state, thus causing further impoverishment. It is also possible that, with a lower bottom line, that many such people would be fired, increasing the unemployment.

All persons who are employed full-time and all people that will be employed in the future are affected by these legislative changes!

These changes:

1) Affect temporary hidden employees (journalists and others). They should have permanent (full-time) and not temporary employment contracts. But their employers, in order to make additional profit from not paying the salary contributions, annual leave, sick leave, etc. of their employees, give them the status of temporary, instead of full-time employees.

2) Affect temporary employees whose profession is freelance by nature (translators/interpreters, project staff, etc.). In most cases such as these no employer would employ them full time and they are forced to become opportunists (opportunities in most cases are little or none), forced to struggle to make a (semi)decent living, and more often than not they fail to do so.

3) Affect full-time employees who also freelance. They are employed full time, but use fees from freelance work as an additional source of income. Although they are least affected, their impoverishment should not be overlooked. Salaries for the vast majority of the population in Macedonia have become insufficient for a decent life. Having said this, the few occasions for freelance engagements for these people should not be seen as opportunities for their enrichment, but as a chance for a slightly more decent living for themselves and their families.

4) Affect all future employees and all current full-time employees. The new amendments will enable employers, having fulfilled all of their financial obligations to the state, to legally employ only temporary instead of full-time employees. It is even possible that they –again, completely legally – transform all current full-employment contracts to temporary employment contracts. Thus, by having fulfilled their financial obligations toward the state and not having it as an obstacle, they will be able to profit by exploiting the employees through not paying them annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, mandatory annual physical examination, severance packages for persons whose employment has been terminated; as well as to deprive employees of the rights guaranteed under the Law on Labor Relations and other laws regulating employment rights.

With these amendments the government wants to overlook the biggest problem of Macedonia – and that is poverty – not the increase in the amount of money it controls! The remedy offered is worse than the disease itself! The poor and the oppressed should not be used as scapegoats and sacrificed so the government can overcome the problems with the Pension and Disability Insurance and the Health Insurance Funds it itself created!

The Parliament adopted these legal changes under urgent procedure during the Summer holiday season in July, without any prior consultations with the relevant stakeholders. The dumfounded public had to wait until October for the authorities to offer official explanation of the many ambiguities in the new regulations to react. The Government has so far been refusing to postpone the implementation of the law, but seems to backtrack on the issue of privileged for the public officials - the relevant procedure has been quietly removed from the website of the state pension fund. Some social media users have commented that the unconstitutional and discriminatory aspect was intentionally placed as a bargaining chip.

 Overall, the Government plays tough in public, especially after the massive student protests sparked hopes for changes in the stagnant society. At base level, the influx of fresh funds (expected EUR 68 million) is direly needed for the depleted health and pension funds, as the bloated state budget has to sponsor the loyalty to the ruling parties of the "army" of estimated 180 thousand state employees, in a country with about 2 million citizens.

Ebola Scare as Distraction from Unflattering EU Report on Macedonia

Issuing of critical EU report on Macedonia coincided with other government activities that drew the public attention: massive spectacular arrest of judges, and over the top reaction to alleged case of ebola. On October 8, 2014, the European Commission (EC) issued its annual Progress Reports, delineating the progress of countries participating in the process of joining the European Union (EU). In case of Macedonia, the report noted significant backsliding in the areas of freedom of expression, media and the independence of the judiciary, apart from the ongoing name issue, as summed up by Enlargement Commissioner Füle in the following video:

Subtitled statement by Füle via 24vesti

Foreign political analysts did not express optimism regarding the Macedonian government's response:

Cvete Koneska: Progress report #Macedonia: Criticism is unlikely to be taken seriously by the government http://t.co/hIhysh4Ymk
— LSEE-Research on SEE (@LSEE_LSE) October 9, 2014

However, on the same day, the Macedonian authorities staged a massive police action leading to arrest of 14 judges and 11 officers of the Skopje Basic Court, in front of the cameras of Sitel TV, which is most influential in the country. The judges stand accused of delaying implementation of sanctions against perpetrators of misdemeanors, resulting in lack of fines. In some media, this occurrence overshadowed the conclusions of the EU report. The second most influential TV station, Kanal 5, decided to devote more time in the evening news to traffic accidents and local political squabbles, with a reporter claiming that the Macedonian public was uninterested in the EU report. The next day, another media blitz followed: a British national who died in a Skopje hotel was suspected of ebola. The authorities sealed the hotel (and the neighborhood) with a heavy police force, imposing strict quarantine to dozens of guests trapped inside. Media buzzed with warnings about the disease, even though its existence was not confirmed at all. The ebola case put Macedonia on the map of world news organizations, thanks to speedy and continuous Reuters coverage. UK media in particular picket up the story, but also many in the US and elsewhere.

• Ebola outbreak fears spread as Briton with symptoms dies
• Ebola crisis: 'British man dies of disease in Macedonia'
• Ebola: British victim suspected of dying from killer virus in Macedonia named
• Hotel In Macedonia Quarantined After Death Of British Man With Ebola-Like Symptoms
• Suspected Ebola Case Investigated In Macedonia

In Macedonia, a continuous stream of news items about the case flooded the media, "revealing" various aspects such as the role of the British businessman, his ties with the government and its efforts to attract foreign investors, etc.

Results whether it is #ebola or not will have to wait 48 hrs as #Macedonia doesn't have laboratory to do that sort of analysis.
— Andreja Bogdanovski (@BogdanovskiA) October 9, 2014

Macedonia health authorities sent samples to a relevant laboratory in Hamburg, Germany, which after three days confirmed that the ebola was not cause of death. Foreign follow up coverage was far less spectacular than with the initial news, even though new details had sensationalist potential.

• Ebola: Briton who died in Macedonia did not have deadly virus, officials say
• Alcohol, not Ebola, possible cause of Briton's death in Macedonia
• British 'Ebola victim' in Macedonia did NOT have the disease and died after massive drinking binge, health officials say

Even before the official results were out, Macedonian social media users expressed doubts about the propaganda use of the whole case. As early on October 9, one twitter user pointed out that the victim suffered from chronic alcoholism.

Странските новинари не дознале дека кај нас свински/птичји грип, #ебола обично напаѓа после извештај од ЕК. Али ќе се прошетаат бар.
— марјанот (@MarjanIvanovski) October 10, 2014

Foreign journalists did not know that Swine Flu, Bird Flu, or ebola usually attack Macedonia after each EC Report. No matter, at least they'll enjoy a bit of traveling.

Острите критиките од #ЕУ, причина за "појава" на #ЕБОЛА во #Македонија!?
— Dimitar Azeski (@DimitarAzeski) October 9, 2014

Is the harsh criticism by the EU a reason for "occurence" of ebola in Macedonia?

Сите збореа за извештајот, сеа сите зборат за #ебола. - #Ж likes this
— Џетроу (@i_taka_toa) October 9, 2014

Everybody used to talk about the Report, now everybody talk about ebola. - The Prime Minister likes this.

Вечер на Сител: Македонија со најголем економски раст од сите земји погодени со ебола.
— Igor Trajkovski (@mkrobot) October 10, 2014

Tonight on Sitel: Macedonia with largest economic growth of all ebola-affected countries.

Seasoned journalist Erol Rizaov expressed his outrage in a column entitled "There's no ebola, but there are plenty of idiots:"

It would be mission impossible for a pro-government television to air an unconfirmed news that a man suffering from infectious disease that scares the whole world died in this country, without a blessing from the government. It is unthinkable to continue propagating the same news as prime time for three days and three nights, as if a catastrophic earthquake hit somewhere between the Phillip the Second Arena [the seat of Sitel TV] and the Government building, without political assistance and logistical aid. Somebody sorely needed "ebola in Macedonia," even if that would quarantine the whole country, as they quarantined the "hotel of horror." If a real ebola patient exists in a country, than the procedure is akin to plague epidemics, with hermetic closing of all doors in and out of Macedonia. This is the big accomplishment of these high professionals. They froze the blood of our citizens by spreading the lie of the year, that the Brit who died in a hotel had ebola symptoms. Someone was in a real big hurry to distance the people from the real dramatic news affecting the country's future. This future is jeopardized, according to the European authorities from Brussels. After the news of wholesale arrest of an entire court of law, planting the ebola story came as a cherry on a cake for redirecting the public attention.

"Ebola" graffiti on a wall in Caen, France. Photo by F. Stojanovski, CC-BY.

Macedonia: Media Outlet Mixes Labor Day with Giving Birth

Screen-shot:
Click to enlarge

In line with Macedonian government's campaigns to increase the number of births, a local newspaper declared that the U.S. holiday Labor Day is some sort of celebration of pregnancy and published an article "informing" about many American celebrities who mark it by being pregnant.

http://vecer.mk/zabavna/poznati-dami-koi-se-vo-blazhena-sostojba

Can the propaganda become more bizarre? Yes it can!




PS
Macedonia has declining number of births and increasing rate of emigration due to worsening economic and social conditions, including the decline of freedoms over the past several years. To hide this reality, the Government refuses to conduct a census way past the deadline set by law, which is 10 years since the last one (in 2002).  As a way to "remedy" the situation, the Government invests public money in costly PR campaigns [mk] with a "side-effect" of bribing the complacent media through advertising.

Macedonia State Election Commission Changed Data on their Website

• Овој пост е достапен и на македонски: Променети податоци на веб-сајтот на ДИК за резултати од изборите

This morning some the State Election Commission changed some of the data on their website.

During the night Libertas.mk informed about discrepancies between the actual numbers, sums and percentages shown on SEC website. Incited by the numerous posts on the social networks, as soon as I opened the article I also accessed the SEC Results website and verified that the screenshots published by Libertas are genuine. That was around 9:30 on 29.04.2014.

This is how data on Aerodrom on SEC website looked around 9:30 on 29.04.2014.

Another screenshot of SEC website made around 9:30 on 29.04.2014.

Around 10:30 I returned to the SEC website and saw that it displays different data, with the numbers, sums and percentages which correspond. One hour before, the turnout for the whole country was 64.05%, and the new figures lowered it to 63.93%. Similarly for the municipality of Aerodrom, in the morning it had turnout of 99.76%, and after 10 pm the turnout was 68.49%.

This is how data on Aerodrom on SEC website looked around 10:30 on 29.04.2014.

Another screenshot of SEC website made around 10:30 on 29.04.2014.

I am curious as to what figures are contained within the results provided on paper to the international observers immediately after the counting.

As a public, a people and a state we deserve an explanation from SEC whether this is some sort of error or purposeful changes, and if there was an error, what caused it.

--- Update at 15:40 hrs, 29.04.2014 ---

SEC sent the following media release by e-mail at 14:25 hrs.:

    Republic of Macedonia
State Election Commission
                
          29.04.2013.
             Skopje

Media Announcement

Regarding the claims put forward by certain Internet portals about the difference of 20.000 votes between the valid and invalid ballots at the early parliamentary elections in municipality of Aerodrom, the State Election Commission issues the following clarification:

During the input of data in the computer syste of the State Election Commission a typo was made in the field 5.of the registry of the Municipal Election Commission which contains the data about the total number of voters who voted. During the comparison of the recorded data in the system with the records of the MEC Aerodrom it was discovered that the system in the field 5. contains the data item 63,818 instead of 43,818. This error was corrected and it has no influence on the votes won and the mandates by political parties which are correctly input in the system, it only has an effect on the percentage of turnout.

According to the correction made, the turnout at the parliamentary elections in Aerodrom municipality is 68.49%, and at the level of Republic of Macedonia it is 62.95%.

State Election Commission

Underrepresentation of Women as Recipients of State Awards in #Macedonia

Can the only important thing done by women for this state from 2009 to 2014 is to be a well known singer or one-twelfth of the support staff for a male national team?

According to his "Account" („Отчет“), during his mandate as president of Republic of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov awarded medals to 185 individuals. His official explanation why is the following:

"I did all this to send a strong message to the Macedonian public that everything that has been achieved in culture, sport, and social life is valued and noted by the state."

4% of the recepients of these awards are female.

Those 4% consist of 8 persons. Two are citizens of Republic of Macedonia fellow-party member Esma Redzepova-Teodosievska and Iva Chadikovska - member of the support staff of the male handball national team, consisting of a dozen persons, which received a medal in bulk. The other 6 female ricipients are foreign nationals, including one professor of Slavic studies, and 5 members of the ethnic Macedonian diaspora.

The 1% of the medal recipients are female citizens, as opposed to about 50% of the population seems quite disproportionate, especially due to the ambitious declaration that the purpose of the awards was to provide recognition to "everything that has been achieved." Do you think so, too?



PS
Analyzing by areas, for instance taking into consideration which ministers received medals posthumously, "everything" important turns out to mean - the police.

Similar hazy criteria applies to institutions which received medals. For instance, in the priority area of education, only two institutions of higher learning received medals - the Faculty of Law "Iustinianus Primus," in Skopje (where Ivanov was professor) and the SEE University - Tetovo.

How Does it Feel to be Mugged by Bulgarian Cops?

Central Bus Station Sofia. Photo by Nikola Gruev, published on Wikipedia under CC-BY license.

 Political scientist and blogger Anastas Vangeli described his experience of extortion by Bulgarian policemen on his way from Macedonia to Poland. On February 9, 2014, two armed officers "detained" him at a secluded area the main bus station in Sofia, until he gave them some money. In conclusion, he wrote:

This was probably one of the most disappointing experiences in my lifetime. What added to the disappointment, however, were the comments and the double victimization by people when I told them this happened:

• I was asking for it since I look “like a foreigner” and rich
• I was asking for it since I was bragging with my China books and looked rich
• I was supposed to know and expect this kind of things
• I was supposed to hold my grounds better, e.g. not let them take me to a room, not let them get my money
• I am supposed not to complain, as this stuff happens every day and I am not special

These are all statements that not speak only of the reality of omnipresent corruption and abuse of office and power, but about the complete lack of empathy, or even consciousness that one day it might be you. Moreover, it is an indicator that people have given up the hope that things will change; but also the responsibility that they should contribute to such change. At the end of the day, the state holds the monopoly of the use of force; I was mugged by those who are supposed to protect me (even though I don’t have a Bulgarian passport – no pun intended). So all kinds of relativizing comments are completely out of place on this.

These reactions are consistent with one of the key characteristics of "backsliding from democracy," exposed at the Seventh Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy, held in Lima, in October 2012:

"...corruption becomes so widespread that citizens accept is as a norm."

People commenting (in various languages) on Vangeli's Facebook post about the incident reminisced that such "toll for foreigners" was common Bulgarian police practice during the dismal 1990's - but did not expect its resurgence. Some of them related similar experiences from other countries, from Russia to Kenya. Activist Besim Nebiu wrote:

Notice how they immediately asked you if you have a flight to catch at the airport. That gave them the 'upper hand' in dealing with you. A friend of mine who lives in Kenya, once wrote a blog post, in which he describes how corrupt police have "opportunity cost" (8 hours shifts in which they try to maximize revenue). They usually avoid "difficult customers," so any strategy of acting dumb and not too upset should work, after 15 minutes, they give up on you, and move to someone easier to deal with.

Special Winter uniform of Bulgarian Border Police presented [bg] on the website of Ministry of Interior Affairs. According to the victim, the officers in question wore green and carried badges of common police (“Ohranitelna Politsiya”), which according to the Ministry wears dark blue uniforms.

  Bulgarian blogger Komitata translated Vangeli's post within his post [bg] "They protect us and it's no theatre," which includes opinions about the local context of wasted state resources on police actions praised by the relevant minister:

The system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is not reformed. Previous government invested great efforts, but due to lack of decisiveness and political will, the reforms remain modest and far from irreversible.

In his post, Komitata also referred to Twitter discussion [bg] in which Bulgarians ask whether the police has the right to search them at the bus station, and pointed to a info on citizen rights during police searches [bg].

What is Backsliding from Democracy? - Return to Authoritarian Rule

Backsliding from democracy is experienced by nominally democratic countries world over. An early discussion about this phenomenon took place at the Seventh Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy, held in Lima, in October 2012. During the discussions the following four signs of backsliding were identified based on experiences from South East Europe:

• "The first is a shrinking space for freedom, a process which creeps up and often goes unnoticed by the public. Decline of Freedom of expression, for example, often starts with self-censorship. Public information becomes increasingly incomplete, inaccurate and hard to access; consequently, the government stops letting people know what it is doing. 
• Second, corruption becomes so widespread that citizens accept is as a norm. 
• Thirdly, trust in institutions declines, as their legitimacy is replaced with legality. 
• The final indicator is the selective application of justice, most poignantly illustrated in... selective prosecution of opposition leaders."

(I actually attended this discussion, and was impressed on how the speakers were able to concisely synthesize a very vast and confounding subject. The quote above is based on the transcript from the Seventh Assembly's bulletin.)

Pre-Christmas Fires Indicate Survival of Ancient Slavic Rites in Macedonia

Ancient custom of lighting fires around the Winter Solstice, originally in honor of the Slavic sky god Svarog, is alive and well in Macedonia, as presented by this great pictorial [es] by Robert Atanasovski and Gorgi Licovski, published by Miami Herald.

Most of the participants consider it part of the Orthodox Christian Tradition, even though some Orthodox Christian priests regularly denounce this practice as "pagan" (in a very pejorative sense), reminding that it's not related to church cannons. Some, but not all, as the celebrants also invite orthodox priests to bless the fire. Such priests charge various kinds of material compensation for these acts.

In the past, the solstice and Christmas coincided. However as Earth plows through the universe and also turns, the imperfect Roman calendar required readjustment, done in XVI century by Pope Gregory. In Macedonia, most Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas according to the old calendar, so today it's removed from the actual solstice (December 21) by about two weeks. 





In Skopje, these fires are built within neighborhoods, gathering residents of a single alley or of an apartment complex. Neighbors prepare the wood and chip in to buy food and alcohol. Often the chief person of the celebration is deemed godfather or godmother of the feast, an annual honor that includes preparation/bringing of some special type of food, like the customary pie. 

In order to win favor with the voters, authorities keep a blind eye on the ecological aspects of these fires (normally it is not allowed to build fires within urban areas) and even use public funds to supplement much of the fuel.

Boza and Kebabs in Sarajevo

Compared to the boza from Skopje (from Apče as benchmark), the boza in Sarajevo is of lighter colour, with a hue approaching yellowish. The taste is a bit sour ans sharp, but does not go in the direction of corny aftertaste as the Bulgarian boza. The texture is similar to Skopje boza, but not as thick. Price of a glass which can be labeled as medium is 1,5 marks - around EUR 0.75.

Boza in Baščaršija

Kebabs in Sarajevo are pretty similar to the ones in Skopje. Most famous kebab place (bos. ćevabdžilnica) in the Baščaršija (the Old Bazaar) is called Željo. According to area people it is also most expensive. Numerous others in the neighborhood are allegedly pretty OK too, however, the kebabs a bit smaller in them.

Outside of the center, the most recommendable kebab place is Zmaj (Dragon), next to the Train Station. The price of a portion of ten kebabs in a characteristic bread with onions and yogurt is 7 marks, or EUR 3.5.

Kebabs in bread with onions and yogurt at "The Dragon"

Quasi-history: As if Aristotle Taught Alexander about Democracy

 This article is also available in Macedonian | Овој напис е достапен и на македонски
- на Блогерај: Квазиисторија: Аристотел демек го учел Александар за демократија
- на Блогспот: Квазиисторија: Аристотел демек го учел Александар за демократија

In the city of Skopje, by the Vardar River, under the lion of the type called “Cringer” which is nearest to the Kale fortress, there’s a relief which seems to portray the philosopher Aristotle holding a lecture for the young prince Alexander. Aristotle holds a scroll with the inscription “ΔEMO КРАТИYАТА Е ОСНОVA НА СΛОBOΔATA” which can be translated as “The Democracy is the foundation of freedom.”

An ancient student who looks like the future king Alexander II and
an ancient teacher who resembles philosopher Aristotle on a Skopje 2014 relief.
Nine muses in the background.

I found out that the author of this propagandistic work from the Skopje 2014 project is the artist Koki Janev. However the messages of the relief are totally out of sync with the historical data. Based on my general knowledge, it seemed illogical to attribute teachings about freedom and democracy to the king Alexander of Macedon, whose whole career consisted in establishing and maintaining absolutist rule. On top of his perception that he is the absolute earthly ruler, he also considered himself to be a god. Or, in his more modest mood, he only thought of himself as a son of a god.

To obtain more information on Aristotle I addressed prof. Katerina Kolozova, PhD from the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities in Skopje, considering that her academic work also covered analysis of that historical period. For instance, in 2000 she had published the book “Hellenes and Death” („Хелените и смртта“). She responded:

“If the teacher on this relief indeed represents Aristotle, then I would advise the author to read anything by Aristotle, or at least to make an internet search. Aristotle based his political thought on critique of democracy and defended the idea of aristocratic/monarchist rule.”

Macedonian kings, who later become Persian shahs, practiced their power in totally undemocratic manner. Alexander and his father openly acted in despotic and tyrannical fashion, and their kingdom of Macedon lacked any tradition of rudimentary slaveholding democracy as some Greek city-states or Rome. For instance, while freedom of speech ranked among the basic values of ancient democracies (part of the Roman concept of libertas), on one occasion Alexander murdered one of his closest friends, Cleitus, for daring to talk back to him.

We should believe that in ancient times the people spoke the modern Macedonian language but used a combination of contemporary and future scripts to write in it? Cyrillic alphabet was invented over 1000 years later.

In addition, even more illogical is the representation of the “educational” inscription with a mix of three scripts: Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek. The relief also presents a Sun resembling the ancient symbol used in Macedon which featured 16 rays. This one, only has 8 rays.

View of the front side of the basis of the lion statue.

Relief on the opposite side, with a view from the Goce Delchev Boulevard.

Brian K. Sullivan: Design Like Da Vinci

Brian K. Sullivan gave this intriguing and enlightening presentation at SXSW 2013. He wrote:

In this talk, you will learn about five sketching secrets of Leonardo Da Vinci, four rules for generating ideas, and four rules for refining ideas. I call these lessons from Leonardo. You might find a few stories about Leonardo Da Vinci that you did not know. 

Here's the presentation and the recorded audio embedded together in one package, in the style pioneered at e-Society.mk conference website back in 2007, so you can listen to the talk and browse/follow up through the slides simultaneously.

Design Like DaVinci -- SXSW 2013 from Brian Sullivan

Remark: The reproduction of "The Last Supper" in the presentation does not look like the photo...

"The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Wikipedia.

Anti-Fascist Poster from Serbia

AFA - Anti-Fascist Action Novi Sad published the following photo collage [sr] on their Facebook page in the form of a medicine commercial (Wikipedia links added). In a few hours it received hundreds of shares.

No girlfriend? No job? You were beaten by father (/a cop)? You are not handsome, smart, witty? In general, your life sucks? Looking for someone to blame for your personal failures? Try! neoFascism (Available to former "lower races" too!) Our satisfied users: [Logos of 7 Serbian right-wing organizations]

^neoFascism  has all the characteristics of Fascism^tm but is additionally adapted to 21^st century losers. Specially designed for the uneducated, angry young man, capable of redirecting his anger towards stupidities and helping perpetuate the system forever. ^neoFascism  differs from classic Fascism^tm by its allowance of even greater mental acrobatics. Connecting Hitler, Jesus, Russia, Germany, Emperor Dušan, Karadjordje, Battle of Kosovo, SS Divisions, Hip-hop, use of drugs and fight against drugs. It offers unlimited opportunities for lifelong navel-gazing and removes all chances for personal and spiritual development.

Macedonian Anti-Fascists Protest Harrasment

Anti-Fascist Protesters “Proud of the past that actually happened.”
Photo by V. Dzambaski (CC NC-SA)

Vanco Dzambaski published a photo-gallery from the gathering that took place February 16th in the center of Skopje, commemorating the February Campaign of 1944, when partisans from Macedonia, Greece and Kosovo marched through the snowy mountains to strike decisive blow to fascist forces in Macedonia and Northern Greece. World War II veterans and their supporters [mk] protested forced neglect of Allied achievements (including the founding of Macedonian state), and continuous harassment of the veteran organization by the current government at all levels.


In December 2012, the veteran organization [mk] was thrown out of their premises through a controversial court order, with help from out-of-town security agency [mk], after a local one failed [mk] to deal with the old fighters.

City government tried to stop the February protest [mk] by denying permission for use of the public square. They claimed other events were scheduled in the area at the designated time, but could not reveal what. The protesters decided to do it anyway, continuing the tradition of the original February march, commenced against the will of the then-authorities.

On the day of the protest, it was the only event there. Instead of covering the protest [mk] major pro-government media propagated Government's communique [mk] that they respect the heritage of the Second World War.

Why Nobody Uses the Expression "European Proverb"? But "African" is OK to Some.

Photo of three dark-skinned women holding hands and walking a dirt road in the tropics, with the words "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. - African proverb" from the Facebook page Being Liberal.

The above saying sounds nice, but "African proverb" sounds a bit broad. In Europe and Asia we use more precise designations based on language or ethnicity such as "Macedonian proverb" or "Chinese proverb" etc. I've never heard of anyone saying that a proverb is European or Asian. And Africa has much greater diversity of genes, peoples, cultures, and languages than both these continents. Hard to generalize, unless the proverb is generally used by all cultures across the whole continent.

Otherwise, this sounds like colonial mentality. Maybe this is a Fulani or Xhosa proverb, and by taking that part of its identity methinks we go into direction of reinforcing the opinions such as "all Africans are the same," and there's no need to concern ourselves with acknowledging their cultural diversity. 

If you know of a more precise source of this much-quoted inspirational saying, feel free to share it, so we can start correcting all instances of its appearance - together, cause it's a long road.

Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia: UK Must Fulfill Conditions to Exit the EU

Njuz.net, the Serbian equivalent to The Onion, relayed the following faux news [sr]:

Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, BiH: UK Must Fulfill Conditions to Exit the EU

Great Britain is impaitently awaiting the decision of the "Great Five"

Skopje, January 24, 2013, (Njuz) – The Council of Ministers of the countries of the Un-European Union stated today in Skopje that a long road lies ahead of United Kingdom in order for it to join this international organisation.

By way of reminder, the United Kingdom of Great Britain expressed its intent to step out of the European Union (EU) yesterday. However in order to do that it shall have to fulfill a range of preconditions. "Great Britain will first have to sign a Stabilization and Association Pact, and then start a comprehensive process of harmonization of its legislature with the regulations of all countries that are not European Union members. Key priority areas are the regulations on freedom of the media, judiciary, human rights protection and corruption. Only afterwards we shall be able to talk about getting a candidate status, while it is too early to talk about the date for the start of negotiations," said Nikola Gruevski, Prime Minister of Macedonia, the country that currently chairs the Un-European Union.

According to unofficial allegations, significant discord exists among the "Great Five" about whether the time is right to enlarge this organization.

"Some members, like Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina for example, consider it too risky to accept a former European Union member-state as a member, due to concerns that the wave of unemployment and poverty could spill over from the EU to the Balkans. However, majority agrees that Great Britain deserves a chance, considering that this country was not a dedicated European Union member, anyway. Supporting this argument is the fact that Britain never abandoned its national currency, which would ease its entry to the Non-Euro Zone," stated a high official from Skopje, on condition of anonymity.

British Prime Minister David Cameron stated today that he feels encouraged by the positions of official Skopje, and that his country will do everything possible to fulfill the conditions as soon as possible.

Bojan Ljubenović

Peru: Inca Ritual of "Golden Shovel"

I recommend the book Realm of the Incas by Victor W. von Hagen to all interested in understanding how the Incas--the last dynasty of ancient Perú--managed to create, manage, and lose their empire, which they called Tawantinsuyu - "The Four Quarters of the World." 

Von Hagen presents and interprets archeological and historical evidence in comparison with other ancient and modern cultures in a very accessible and unconceited manner. For instance, an excerpt from pages 64-66: 

Agriculture was the soul of the Inca Empire; it determined everything. The Andean farmers' year was divided into two seasons: wet and dry. The wet season began in October and extended to May; the dry season, starting in May, although subject to considerable caprice (hence the Inca's preoccupation with obeisance to the unseen powers), continued into November.

In the autumn the lands of the commune were divided fairly between the members of the ayllu, the earth cell which controlled the communal land tenure. First the lands (chacras) assigned to the Inca, that is state lands, were cultivated communally (part of the Indians' mitta tax of service), then the lands of the sun, the state religion. The fruits thereof were harvested and stored for the use of these agencies. These state granaries were stocked, so the early Spaniard remembered, with maize, quinoa, chuñu, charqui (dried llama meat), fish, cords, hemp, wool, cotton, sandals, and military arms, stored in hampers, each item in its appropriate warehouse. They were seen by Francisco de Xerez, the first soldier-chronicler of the conquest of 1533, who remembered these storehouses as being "pilled to the roof, as the Merchants of Flanders and Medina make them."

The work of tilling these fields done, the puric then turned to his own.

August was plowing time, and work in each other's field was--like all else-communal. It began with a festival. The nobility took it all most seriously and always participated. "If," wrote the Jesuit historian Padre Cobo, "the Inca himself or his governor or some high official happened to be present, he started the work with a golden digging stick which they brought to the Inca, and following his example all the other officials and nobles who accompanied him did the same." (No different in idea today than some state official turning the soil with a gold-plated shovel or else laying a cornerstone with a golden trowel.*)

Men and women plowing the fields together. The men use the foot plow, called taclla;
the  women break up the clods of earth. Another woman brings corn chicha to drink.
From "El Primer Nueva Corónica Y Buen Gobierno" by Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala.

They had no plow as such, and no draft animals. Men used, as they still do, the taclla, or foot plow, which was a thick pole six feet in length with a fire-hardened point; sometimes it was bronze-tipped. There was a footrest near the tip and it was driven deep into the soil by a thrust of the foot and shoulder pressure. The digging stick, like all else in the realm, was a group tool and was seldom used by only one man. His kinsmen of the ayllu formed a long line across the field to be plowed, and with a rhytmic chant "Jailli" (pronounced "whaylyi," which means "triumph"), "...they triumphed over the soil, writes Garcilaso "the Inca plowing it and disemboweling it."

QHARICUNA:
Ayau jailli, ayau jailli
Kayqa thajilla, kayqa suka!
Kayqa maki; Kayqa jumpi!

WARMICUNA;
Ajailli, qhari, ajailli

              

Free translation
THE MEN:
Ho! Victory, ho! Victory,
Here digging stick, here the furrow!
Here the sweat, here the toil!

THE WOMEN (answering):
Huzzah, men, huzzah!

The men worked backward, the women followed facing them and breaking up the clods with a sort of hoe called lampa. Sara (corn) was planted in September, potatoes when the rains began to fall, i.e. between October and November. After plowing the fields of the Inca, the Sun, and their own, they next turned to those fields of kinsmen who were serving in the army, and then finally to those of the sick and the halt. Their principal tribute (it was part of their tax), said Garcilaso, was "the working and cultivating and harvesting of the lands of the Sun and the Inca."

Von Hagen asserts that the Inca dynasty based its absolutist power on superb organizational skills using and upgrading the great achievements of conquered cultures, creation of religious personality cult, and control of the culture by perpetuating a myth that they were the sole civilizing force. Their empire was low-tech totalitarian welfare state which fostered dogma, group-think and isolationism, as ultra-conservatives they could not cope with new concepts such as the notion that other civilizations may exist across the sea.

* Modern example from Macedonia: Top religious authorities auctioning a golden shovel while consecrating a new building. While the state is nominal secular, the politicians and leaders of religious institutions often benefit from combining their areas of competence. All construction activity paid by the state is subject to rituals involving religious blessings and obligatory photo-op of politicians throwing the first shovel of dirt &/ cutting red ribbons. 

No Memorial Service for the Victims of "Donkey Assasinations," Again

Once again, Macedonia has failed to commemorate one of the darkest days in the history of Štip: On December 4, 1911, as a consequence of the so-called "Donkey Assassinations," dozens of citizens lost their lives, and hundreds were wounded.

The goal of this terror campaign (which also included Kichevo and Dojran) was to incite inter-ethnic and inter-religious hatred resulting in physical violence - mutual slaughter of the population of Macedonia. The primary targets were Muslims, who would took revenge on the Christians, which supposed to create chaos that would invite intervention by the neighboring states, with an end result of complete division of Macedonia. Along the way, those who incited the strife would end up as feudal owners who would privatize and "independently" rule whatever piece of territory they can scoop up from Macedonia.

Štip by the end of XIX century. Photo: Wikipedia.

The Wikipedia in Macedonian article on the "Donkey Assassinations" („Магарешки атентати“) references the book "Treason and Assassinations in the Macedonian History" („Предавствата и атентатите во македонската историја“, 2004) by the state historians Violeta Achkovska and Nikola Zhezhov. They point out that the primary motive for the assassinations involved racketeering. The operations involved members of the pro-Bulgarian, "Autonomist" IMRO disguised as peasants bringing time bombs on donkeys, and leaving them in markets or near religious objects. An excerpt from the article follows, while the quotes in brackets are from the book, which covers this topic from around page 143:

As a result of such terrorist activity on December 4, 1911 in Štip in less than an hour, 20 Christians were killed by angry Muslim mobs, and hundreds were wounded. Initial reports by the Kaymakam of Štip to the Wali [Ottoman governor] of Kosovo Villayet  justified this act of violence with an alleged bomb planted near the mosque wall, which injured three Muslims, with one of them dying from the wounds.

[...]

Citizens of Štip suffered the most due to this event, regardless of their complete innocence regarding any participation or approval of the initial crime. In fact the assassination "was inspired by the desire to punish them, and to provoke an incident." British Consul noted that after the shocking "murder of six Muslims near Kiliseli, and the legal consequences and other processes in Štip, ...last year, the local elders decided to terminate any relations with the organization lead by Todor Aleksandrov, refusing to pay contributions to his funds--which they did until then--and to receive and smuggle his emissaries upon their visits to the city." After that, Aleksandrov announced his intention "to bring them to their senses."

Several months ago, several right-wing political parties including the ruling party running the Government of RM paid respects to the organizer of these assassinations, Todor Aleksandrov.  They organized several Orthodox Christian memorial services in his honor, attended by at least one governmental minister. They even built an EUR 73.000 equestrian monument dedicated to him in Skopje (unnamed at the time of erection, then amended with an inscription of the name), and sang а song about him during party celebration. However, not a word about the victims. So when authorities in Macedonia talk about honoring tradition, remembrance of the hardships of the common people does not come into play. Citizens of Štip did not make a peep.

PS
Several years ago, Zarko Trajanoski asked the same question. Sadly, in recent times, 101 years after those loathsome events, similar modus operandi was used for several incidents to incite inter-ethnic and inter-religious hatred. History should be thought as a way to avoid repeating past disasters, not as a list of models to imitate...

New Kind of "Russian" Spam on Twitter

This article is also available in Macedonian | Овој напис е достапен и на македонски
- на Блогерај: Нов вид „руски“ спамови на Твитер
- на Блогспот: Нов вид „руски“ спамови на Твитер 

I came across a new kind of "Russian" spam - I use the term provisionally because the senders all have Russian names. What they do is make mentions of other twitter users and include text of older tweets sent to them. I assume this is a way to make the tweets look more "legit."

I document through photos, as I also reported them to Twitter for spam, which will hopefully lead to their removal.

The first round of such tweets also have retweets from their "pals."

The text was taken from a tweet by RubinBt, who responded to my question five days before prior (related to a Global Voices post).

@razvigor Здраво боби беше успешен тролинг проект на твитер заедницата инспириран од поздравот на една селебрити кон својот најголем фан
— Брзи Рабин Рубин (@RubinBt) November 24, 2012

Possibly the sender/s who controls those profiles is not proficient in Macedonian language at all...