Spring is coming

Finally, weather is worming up. It took some time. Usually, in this period of year, all have already flourished, leaves on the trees and plants are out, birds song can be heard. But now seams that we are one month late. I am not complaining about this, at opposite I am happy for longer winter, because last years it was very worm, and this is not good for environmental balance. Maybe this winter was some sort of temperature balancing.
This reminded me, a film about new Ice Age, called: “Day After Tomorrow”, where entire north hemisphere gets frozen due to temperature balancing of atmosphere overheating caused by humans.
Here the nature teaches us that balance is very important, and that everything, before or after, has to be balanced. So the man should maintain balance between words and deeds, balance between taking and giving, balance between our possibilities and desires, balance between family members, balance between work and rest… We could list many more things. Maybe the balance could be observed also as a rule of action and reaction: if we are careful we could notice this. For example, if we do something bad to others, a reaction could be that something bad happens to us also, in order to balance our action.
Last 100 years we are doing much harm to nature and earth, we are not respecting her and we are overusing her resource, without caring much for natural balance, caring mostly for our comfort. This way, the nature could react in unfavorable way for us, not as a revenge but in order to balance subtle environment. This way more tsunami’s, tornados or other natural calamites could happened, as way to prevent total environmental disaster.
Off course, it is only my theory, I’m not a scientist, so things could easily go some other way, and probably will, because man very rarely guesses about his own life, so this should be taken as my vision on how man should manage his life: to be in balance.

No “cash”, no Europe!

In Croatia “Gotovina” means “cash”… It is known that on march 17, Croatia hopes to begin the negotiations for joining the European Union. Ante Gotovina is name of Croatian fugitive who is requested by international court for war crimes in Haag. Seams that extradition of Ante Gotovina is only obstacle to the process of Croatia joining to European union. This is the meaning of post’s title: Without Gotovina there will be no negotiations, “Without “cash”, there is no European union. It is funny that wherever you go to buy or pay something in Croatia, they will always ask you “Gotovina?” (cash?), so maybe this is the cause why Carla Del Ponte and other International instances thinks that Gotovina is still somewhere in Croatia. Even more, on every bill you pay with cash, there is written something like:
Gotovina: 100,00 Kn.
So to the foreigners(or foreign secret agents) it may seam as total conspiracy, in which all country, men and women, young and old has joined together to hide Ante Gotovina, praise his name, and help him to make fool from International Court… And more, in this total conspiracy, from every bill you pay some amount goes to Gotovina, it is even explicitly written (remember? Gotovina: 100,00 Kn.) as some kind of legal tax!

Gotovina in Croatia?

European instances may state with reason that “Gotovina” is still in Croatia! Fortunately there is still some “Gotovina”(cash) left in Croatia, in peoples tiny pockets and bank accounts… But what will happen if we send “Gotovina” to Haag? Will also cash from our pockets leave same way (which direction is already going), or is it kind of trade: “Gotovina” for cash! The most funny thing is that name of the main suitor is Carla Del Ponte(from Italy), which in Italian means something like “Karl of Bridge”. So, Mrs. Del Ponte (Mistress Of Bridge) is standing on the “bridge” that takes Croatia to European Union demanding for cash! “Give me Gotovina or you cannot pass”, she says! And poor people in Croatia are thinking: “Do we have to give all our ‘cash’ to join?”, “They took us all, and now they want even ‘cash’?”, so they came to conclusion: what is use of this European Union anyway?

And what is so funny in this?

Well, I think all this story is very funny, and not complete senseless. Countries with less developed democracy and economy than Croatia, already joined European Union. How can be that only one man can deny one country to join European union? Especially if everything else mach the criteria? Excuse me, but I see this as complete nonsense. If Croatia is not ready, if democratic standards doesn’t match: this is valid reason (but then say it), but if everything else is OK except Gotovina, there is no sense at all. Is Gotovina used as mean of achieving better positions in negotiations? Some kind of blackmailing? So there are two possibilities: Or our leaders are laying to us about Gotovina, and Gotovina is their excuse in front of people for incapability to setup European standards, or Europe is using Gotovina to blackmail Croatia. Funny story above may be some illustration of this case. Sincerely, knowing our situation, our democratic standards are far below European, so story about Gotovina doesn’t surprise me at all, it is only that we in Croatia lack of complete picture. What is to be concerned about, is wont that democratic standards continue to fall if we don’t join EU?

Every day remains the same

Every day remains the same
All that change is shadow’s game.
Nothing comes and nothing goes,
No one wins and no one looses.

And nothing ever changed:
All that was has remained,
While people lost in shadow's play
Spend their life in foolish game.

Exchanging the shadow for what is real,
They cause the pain that won’t pass,
They cause the sorrow that won’t fade,
Until the light reveal: the shadow’s game.
-----------------------------------------------
Well, I’ve not been around for a while, and with this song want to say, that little is changing. And more, that people are foolish to cause sorrow or pain in any way, when all is so transient., as shadow’s game.
The last period (3 – 4 weeks), was extremely cold. Seams like snow was fallen asleep, and then, suddenly awaken is trying to catch up missed. But, in any way sun and spring are coming.

US vs. Croatia, Davis Cup

So this night Croatia has attained most valuable victory, those over US in first round of Davis Cup. Croatian no1 Ivan Ljubicic has shown it self as very strong and stabile player, winning Agassi in 3 sets, an Andy Roddick in titanic 5 set (almost 4 hours) match. I was amazed by his persistence and stability, steadiness in play and positive respect for opponent. He said that he was breezed by Agassi’s congratulation after the match, expressing al his respect to Agassi as player and person, and setting him up as real example to younger generations.
Mario Ancic, Croatian No2, played also excellent tennis, he shows great potential, regardless he is even now one of the best world players. As a conclusion, this US loss is maybe unexpected, but it cannot be surprise because of Croatian’s team quality.

Bale as example

Those who read my blog sometime, has noticed that I often write about tourism, and tourist infrastructure development in Istria. It is because the interests associated with tourism are so strong, that are causing most environmental, social ,cultural and political problems in Istria. Building lobby is ruining the coast with non environment friendly constructions that will bring fast profit bat long term problems to people, shady brokers are making profit on all this, and our loved peninsula is every day becoming opposite of those marketing slogan: “Adriatic that was once”. Unfortunately our leaders are not making enough to put some order, to build people-friendly society, and even worse, some of them are engaged in such businesses also. They are building profit-friendly society, where small number of people will be extremely wealthy, while others life standards will low, regardless all wealth and glow around.
As opposite to this, Bale, small and traditional city gave until now unseen example, where most political parties has joined together in interest to keep one of the last authentic coasts safe from deterioration, and to bring prosperity to citizens and common people not only to “big pockets”. The plan is to revitalize all potentials already present derived from historical and cultural heritage, to include citizens as part of project, to save natural potentials and shape them in order to become available and profitable to tourists. There are many detail in this plan, so it would be out of scope to present them all here, but lets say that plan is fully compliant with tradition and environment, that does not implies radical changes but evolution of existing, which will ensure continuity in life and tradition as easy integration in existing structure.
What an opposition to hotel and apartment resort that was planed before, that would bring some profit in city budget, and employ some people, but that would also destroy valuable historical and natural resources forever. Essentially, people from Bale, by this scenario, would be left aside from any vital circuits in their own homeland. Without talking that development of continental part of Bale would be left out of systemized plan, slowing its development down, and leaving it to random circumstances for years. So congratulation to people who fought this battle to save Bale and transform them to real and authentic tourist oasis, “Adriatic as before”, and not to deteriorated copy of Spanish or Italian massive tourist resorts. If they made mistakes, do we have to repeat them? I hope not, for sake of all…