Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Collective Punishment

There was an article today in an online publication called Inner City Press from NY that talks about the collective punishment system of KEK (Kosovo Electric Company).  Scheduling is done on the collective payment of the area that one is living in rather than individual bill payment.  The explanation for this collective punishment system is because of the old wiring of Kosovo.  C-areas (which Gracanica is a part of) are without power for 16 hours each day.  A-areas enjoy a 24/7 or 5:1 schedule and B-areas will either have 5:1 or 4:2 depending on the power consumption levels.
Yesterday there was a free jazz concert sponsored by the US Office Pristina.  The Agora Latin Jazz Quartet played to a full-house at the Red Hall across from UN MHQ.  The musicians from the US are on a tour of the Balkans, previously playing in Greece.  They are scheduled to play this evening in Prizren.  The quartet is part of the 2006 American Music Abroad program.