Grand Pristina Plans

A group in Pristina is making grand plans following Kosovo's independence.  The website Pirgu.org does not really identify the organization but what I gather is that the group along with the Pristina municipality and Kosovo government will build what is called the Tower of Independence near the Skenderbeq statue that resides next to the government building.  The statue combines ideas from famous landmarks around the US and Britain such as Big Ben and Times Square.  The organizers believe the tower will become a tourist destination in Kosovo as well as provided large companies with an opportunity to advertise to the masses.  Planned to be 20 meters high, the tower will feature a digital clock that counts the time from Kosovo's declaration of independence.

It appears that the UN Security Council has reached an impasse and is deadlocked on Kosovo following closed door consultations yesterday where Russia again rejected attempts by Western countries to get a resolution to vote.  Western diplomats now are trying to figure out whether or not they want to press the issue of a vote but with Russia's ambassador commenting on the possibility of the measure passing by saying "the chances of that are zero" things are not looking good.

Stepping up pressure on the international community, Kosovo's president Fatmir Sedijiu has stated that Kosovo is prepared to take "alternative steps" while opposition leader Hashim Thaci is quoted as saying the "role Security Council has weakened".

MTCowgirl's Interesting News Articles....Now don't be writing to me and saying that you don't like what I've posted.  These are real news articles published in international news media outlets and I'm just posting them for everyone to read and form their own opinion!!!

• Editorial titled Kosovo conundrum requires new thinking
• Julia Gorin Letters from the (Kosovo) Front -- While I do agree with some of what the author states from time to time, sometimes the author comes off a bit too strongly.,,
• Italian magazine focuses on Kosovo with pretty pessimistic views...I didn't see the article (and it's in Italian!) but here's a link to Limes Plus
• Putin: From US Ally to Global Tyrant...while the article is not about Kosovo, I think it has some bearing on the situation here :)  Overall I found it a very good read.