Thursday, 12th February!!!!!

Today in 2002...

"Serbian ex-president Slobodan" Milosevic went on trial for war crimes"

BBC Timeline of the trials here:

12th February, 2002:

Chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte opens the prosecution

Ms Del Ponte accused Slobodan Milosevic of causing "unspeakable suffering" in his pursuit of power. She recalled the "notorious events" of the armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia which brought the term ethnic cleansing into existence and vowed to call highranking witnesses to demonstrate Mr Milosevic's responsibility.

I'm not going to dwell on the confusing and barbaric set of circumstances which led to this trial. I just wouldn't consider trying to either a) enlighten or b) lightly mock something about which, shamefully, I know very very little. The wounds are still fresh on this one, too. I'll leave in this quote from wikipedia "discussion page" for Milosevic, though:

Almost everything about Slobodan Milosevic is a matter of dispute. There are credible people and sources on both sides of virtually every issue. We need to be careful not to make assertions of fact in this article unless there is concensus that it is a fact.

There are competing political agendas surrounding Milosevic's legacy. Some people have an interest in demonizing him and others have an interest in canonizing him. Both sides, unfortunately, seem to have their own set of "facts" which are 180 degrees opposite of one another and both sides flatly accuse the other side of lying.

The only way we're going to get through this is by quoting both sides and doing our best to identify whether the source is pro-Milosevic or anti-Milosevic.

To the pro-Milosevic faction, a statement or a finding issued by the Serbian government can be treated as a fact. To the anti-Milosevic faction, a finding issued by the Hague War Crimes Tribunal can be treated as a fact.

Normally statements by governments and courts can be treated as facts, but not in this case. The anti-Milosevic faction will dispute statements and findings by the Serbian government on the grounds that they were "manipulated by Milosevic". The pro-Milosevic faction will dispute the findings of the Tribunal on the grounds that "the Tribunal has no legal authority to make findings of fact". The Tribunal's legality and the Serbian Government's neutrality are matters of dispute.

When writing the article the best course is to say, "The Tribunal says, 'Milosevic did X', but The Serbian Government says 'Milosevic did Y'." The source should always be identified, and identified as pro or anti Milosevic whenever possible.

You see? It's probably best I stay out of it. I could quote more from, say, the BBC or any other major news organization, I could post links to the youtube documentaries claiming Milosevic was a) innocent and b) murdered by the prosecution in the Hague, I could spend all day sifting through each side of the argument but that's not really what this blog is about... I encourage you to do your own reading if you're interested. I know I will.

Instead, here are two other anniversaries 'on this day'....

Happy birthday Charles Darwin!

Charles Darwin

And Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!

Abraham Lincoln (found in /images at http://www.insertfishhere.com/)

AND A QUOTE, yes A QUOTE:

"Conceit may puff a man up but it will never prop him up" - John Rushkin

John Rushkin

You will note that Rushkin here is sporting a fine beard. Today's 'beard top three' is as follows:

3. Abraham Lincoln - normally a well-appreciated beard, he is today under much pressure from the other entrants...

2. John Rushkin - a fine, wispy beard with terrific length but none of the style on the winner...
1. Charles Darwin!!! - A combination of nature and nurture provided our Charlie with fine, full whiskers. Well done Charles!