The State of Things

A banquet at which communist clones shake hands with those considered "world" figures and "independent", is more dangerous than the affairs of folk singers. Folk singers just make out the bills to the dogs of war. I know that it is asking a lot to demand of mere mortals to refuse to shake hands with a politician-racketeer at receptions, but it is a first step. We are witnesses to the fact that spiritual transvestites and show business moonlighters are becoming the so-called victims of a campaign against the little freedom and independence that still remains. The trick is to substitute real victims with lies. It is more difficult to be a free individual today than it was in 1945. Then there was a need to fake equality, executive committees, worker's councils and expert councils all felt the need to build Potemkin villages, but there were still some honest revolutionaries around. There was also a lot of enthusiasm. Things are bare today, and there is no need for camouflage. The administrator or director holds the pharaoh's staff. Or is it a truncheon?

While working in a cultural institutions for many years, I witnessed the country's disintegration. I saw the mechanism on the micro plane, because the formula was the same everywhere. First a scandal, e.g. the director does not have a diploma, then the subjects are given the satisfaction of seeing justice carried out: the arrival of a delegation from the municipal committee. Everything is allegedly done in public, some pawns are sacrificed in order that the whole hoax might look authentic, while assistance in the ring is given by distinguished cultural workers, or rather those with knowledge and no scruples. If necessary they will testify in a court of honor, just to help the sinner buy a favor and save his place on throne. Accounts will be settled later on.

Today practically all cultural institutions (factories and firms go without mentioning) are peopled with clones who have been strengthened by mercenaries in the free-lance professions (including city-level politicians) for whom a place on the executive board of a library or theater is just a small moonlight job.

(An excerpt from Dragan Velikic's article in VREME)

The Electricity Plan

Now that several holidays, Christmases, New Years, feast days and other holidays marking the birth of our new state have come to an end, the state has once again launched its schedule of "planned electricity cuts".

If you live in Belgrade, during 24 hours you can be without electricity from midnight to 6 a.m., from 7 a.m. to noon and from 16 to 20 hours ( a total of 15 hours with no electricity and nine hours of enjoying the advantages of electrical energy. These are "planned shortages". From 7-12 they are "break down cuts" from 16:00 - 19:00 "planned cuts, according to groups" (and from 20:00 onwards because someone just forgot to switch on your electricity supply) and finally, from midnight until 6 a.m. there is no electricity, because nobody needs it during the night.

Those who still believe that the Serb Nikola Tesla invented electrification must be dissuaded. This gentleman invented a magic "purple disc" (according to an advertisment on TV). Planning is the brainchild of communism while electricity was invented by somebody else.

Eggs

When the Serbian government recommended that prices be returned to those of July 1994, directors-ministers promised that they would be the first to do so. Then the ministers spread out through Serbia to get those directors who are not ministers to make the same promise. Vice Prime Minister and C-Market (supermarket chain) director Slobodan Radulovic visited Valjevo. The pertinent directors duly gave their word and adopted all the government's conclusions. But the Vice Prime Minister was also asked to give some answers. "Duvan" director Slobodan Prodanovic mentioned his problem with cooking oil. In spite of his readiness to pay advance-money, the producers said that they could not sell him any oil before the C-Market chain was supplied. One director asked just how much imported juice C-market had sold, even though domestic juice was of better quality, while the director of "Zivinarstvo" (poultry) and C-Market's main egg supplier, told Radulovic that the contract for this year had not been renewed because he had been told that "C-Market had imported eggs". Radulovic was also asked if imports meant the discouraging of production and a sabotage of the program of economic stabilization, and wasn't he, as the director, privileged.

Radulovic concluded that he was happy to hear certain facts on the spot, and answered the expressions of support but not the questions. It is possible that he came up with some answers, later during the informal atmosphere over lunch.

Book of the Year Winner

This year's prestigious Novel of the Year award which is given by the Belgrade weekly NIN went to young Belgrade author Vladimir Arsenijevic (29) for his first novel "U potpalublju" (Under the Deck). Shortly after receiving the award, Arsenijevic signed a contract with "VREME Knjige" publishing house. The second edition of "U potpalublju" came out a few days after the award.

Correction

We wish to apologize to readers for a technical mistake in the last issue (No 172), when the last sentence of Stojan Cerovic's diary wasn't printed to the end. It should read as follows: All it needs are the Army and the Police who will make sure that no one wakes you up.