Kosovo Independence Day!

The world is changing quickly. Some would say that it is spinning out of control and that 12.21.2012 will be the lst day of existence- or at least until 11:11pm. But, between now and then there's much to do. People want to be free and Kosovo said why not today? And so it is. Kosovo is a self-declared independent republic in southeastern Europe. After international negotiations failed to reach a consensus on an acceptable constitutional status, Kosovo's provisional government unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008.

The Kosovo parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in an historic session. The declaration, read by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, said Kosovo would be a democratic country that respected the rights of all ethnic communities. ALL! No exclusivism here in Kosovo! The US and a number of EU countries are expected to recognise Kosovo on Monday.

Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state". Serbia's ally, Russia, called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting. Whiners!

I'll always remember the fine wine, good good, and great casinos that were once a part of Pula, Yugoslavia. I wsas there when Josip Broz Tito ran the country and my hotel room was bugged. But, since the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1992, Pula has become part of the modern Republic of Croatia. One needs a score card to keep up with which nation is under what control, and even what the name of the country is now.

When news came of the declaration in parliament, the centre of the city of Pristina erupted with fireworks, firecrackers and celebratory gunfire. Red balloons decorated with the black Albanian eagle drifted across the sky. Hundreds of Kosovo Albanians staged noisy celebrations in Brussels, outside the headquarters of Nato and the European Union.

Obviously this increase the likelyhood of more tensions, increased oil prices, and trouble between Kosovo's Serbs and ethnic Albanians is enormous. Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica blamed the US which he said was "ready to violate the international order for its own military interests". Will we ever be able to get past our cultural and religious differences?

"Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state. Kosovo is Serbia," Mr Kostunica said, repeating a well-known nationalist Serb saying. The Albanians beg to differ!

There should be no fear of discrimination in new Kosovo, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, said, vowing to eradicate any such practices - and conveying a similar message in Serbian. Ah were it but that easy, but prejudices run deep and it's not going to be an easy road. So, add another "hot spot" to the world's growing list of difficulties.