Something entirely different.

[kyanited]

It's still not a zuka-only journal.

As every morning I checked the news (CNN) while having my first cup of coffee. Death, deceit, rape, corruption... the usual.
Then a report on the Kosovo issue caught my eye. "Kosovo defiant as U.N. talks fail."

The appointed troika of Russian, US American and European delegates admits that 2 years of talks have reached a dead end and it capitulates.
None of the parties involved is interested in any sort of compromise. Kosovo wants complete independence, while Serbia and Albania both claim Kosovo as their territory. It seems almost worse than the Middle East conflict.

Both sides use religious and historical reasons to justify their claims. But as I've been told and taught by my parents, I tried to look at the economical side. ("Follow the money," politics' version of physics' "follow the energy".)
So I googled Kosovo's economy.

- It's the region with the lowest per capita income in Europe,
- it's one of the most corrupt regions in the world,
- economy itself is weak,
- unemployment is high,
- black market for cigarettes and petrol is thriving.

So why are Serbia and Albania fighting over a region that seems more like a burden than a gain? Religious reasons after all? That would make it like Balkan's own little Jerusalem, eh, with Serbian christians and Albanian muslims fighting to have it all to themselves. o.O
The Czech Republic got rid of Slovakia as soon as possible. It was a burden: Slovakia's economy was weak and... AH! it had no resources! I google Kosovo and oil and get nothing. What else could be of such importance that they risk another war?

It's COAL and metal ores. Kosovo has the biggest resources of lignite coal in ALL EUROPE. (Funny thing being that this means "energy" again, so in a way it's "follow the energy"... :P)

Usually CNN articles are written in a way that nudges you toward an opinion and then add a jibe at the end, giving in two sentences all the information that forces you to reconsider.

So I was waiting for them to tell me what's really going on. Do they mention coal? Ores? No. In their article, Kosovo is "defiant" and Serbia and Albania have religious reasons. Yeah, right. "It has been estimated that Kosovo's coal, natural gas and metals are worth in total $500 billion [~$625 by now, rising]." (Pravda, 2006)

Unfortunately I don't have the time to research every headline on my own. :(

Comments

[tjlo.livejournal.com]

It is sad how in every conflict it seems that 'the powers that be' cloak their economic agenda under the guise of religion or human rights. As you say though, no matter what the news says or what the leaders say, once you start digging a little deeper it always comes down to money.
What a world.

TJ