Two decades of New Optimism
The New Optimism movement celebrated two decades of existence last Thursday and awarded awards at a ceremony in Belgrade's Dorćol Square. The already traditional "Dušan Mitrović Plaque" for a good example of New Optimism was earned by the non-governmental organization Civic Initiative, and the newly established "Big thanks" award went to our colleague Teofil Pančić.
As stated in the explanation of the award, which has been awarded since 2009, Civic Initiatives are a good example of New Optimism because "with their work for almost three decades, they represent a bright example of the fight for civic values, freedom and human rights in Serbia."
And "Big thanks" symbolizes gratitude for dedication, perseverance and support in creating a better society, and New Optimism expresses deep gratitude to journalist and literary critic Teofil Pančić because "his work, integrity and dedication to the values of free and critical thinking were an inspiration to many". Along with the plaque, Pančić also received a caricature of Dušan Petričić, specially made for this occasion.
New Optimism was launched in Zrenjanin in 2004, and the founder and leader Branislav Guta Grubački also promoted the "New Deal" on the jubilee about new formats of the struggle for change and the future of Serbia after Vučić.
Coalition for Media Freedom
Journalists have decided to support journalism students with a joint action, and so on Friday, December 20, from 11.52:15, they will stand for XNUMX minutes in front of their faculties in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš. As announced by the Coalition for Media Freedom, journalists provide support to all other students in the fight for democracy, justice and freedom of speech in our society.
"Although we should be in the amphitheaters teaching them about the importance of freedom of speech, they are now giving us a lesson in the basic postulates of journalism - ethics, courage and solidarity. After the Novi Sad tragedy, they prove to us that media freedom and freedom of speech are the basic pillars of every democratic society. Journalism is one of the key branches that this government is trying to usurp in order to implement its policies more easily. Although there are still many shining examples in our profession, they have largely succeeded. We fail to get answers to the questions we ask, and those who can ask them do not do so. The students are now asking the right questions for us and, in the style of excellent journalists, they will not give up until they get the answers", says the Declaration of the Coalition for Freedom of the Media and expresses the belief that the students will adhere to this forcefully learned lesson tomorrow, when they perform your profession.
The coalition for media freedom consists of the Media Association, the Online Media Association, NDNV, NUNS, Local Press, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation and the "Nezavisnost" trade union, and ANEM joined the proclamation.
Trade unions on new price increases
The United Trade Unions of Serbia "Sloga" are demanding an urgent report from the Commission for the Protection of Competition on the progress of the proceedings initiated on October 10 against four large trade chains, which, as it is assumed, colluded on market prices. Trade unionists believe that the new increases in the prices of basic food practically nullified the legal increase in the minimum wage, which will arrive in January.
"We consider this request to be extremely urgent and important, especially in light of the significant increase in the prices of basic foodstuffs on the eve of the New Year and Christmas holidays. Instead of reductions, as is usual in the European Union and the surrounding area, we are faced with unjustified price increases that directly affect the standard of the majority of citizens", says the press release of the trade union "Sloga" and concludes that "citizens, who already suffer constant inflationary pressure and pay the most expensive basic foodstuffs in Europe and the surrounding area, have the right to know how far this procedure has come and why specific measures have not been taken."
The RSZ survey on household consumption, which "Politika" reminds us of, shows that households in Serbia spent an average of 88244 dinars per month last year, of which the most money was spent on food and drinks - 32416 dinars.
A newborn in a container
The baby found on Monday in the village of Malošište near Doljevac is in good condition and is being cared for at the Pediatric Clinic in Nis. Bojan Zlatković found the newborn girl and then informed the police, and soon the team of the Doljevac Health Center arrived.
"I couldn't reach her because the container was empty, and then I stopped the car so that someone could help me knock down the container." I took the baby and put it in the jacket and brought it into the store. When I saw that it was okay, it was much easier for me. In the first moments, I was really shaken and I was only focused on making sure the child was okay," Zlatković, who turned out to be the neighbor of the mother who left the baby, told RTS.
The 22-year-old girl lives in the house with her parents, who, according to the father, did not know that their daughter was pregnant. She is under the supervision of doctors at the Gynecology Clinic in Niš, and by order of the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, she will undergo a psychiatric examination. Her crime was characterized as the attempted murder of a child during childbirth.
According to the legal procedure, the care of the child will soon be taken over by a foster family trained to receive babies.
Business club KK Partizan
Two of our biggest basketball clubs have survived in recent years on a strong European stage thanks to the great help of the state through ministries, public enterprises and related companies, but Partizan is clearly on the right track to become self-sustainable in a few years.
President Ostoja Mijailović announced last week that the club has settled all tax debt, which amounted to over 800 million dinars, as well as salary debts that were found seven years ago. In the current season, over 50 percent of the anticipated costs (24,4 million euros) will be covered by own income (tickets, membership fees, compensation, Euroleague...), over 27 percent will be paid from sponsorships, and the state will cover the remaining 22 percent with donations.
And in order to strengthen the financial structure for the coming years, the Business Club of Partizan was launched, so last week the first conference was held, "spiced up" by joint monitoring of the transmission of Partizan's visit (and victory) in Berlin. Along with President Mijailović, Prof. Dr. Marko Mijić, dean of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Vojislav Lazarević, president of the Executive Board of Addiko Bank and member of the club's board, and Žarko Paspalj, the famous basketball ace.
Members of the Business Club will have numerous privileges, starting with travel with the club, and the plan is to increase the number of members from the current 60 to several hundred next year.
Arrests out of the blue, banishment from the country, beatings... All this happened to us in the last week alone. The Serbian Progressive Party, born from the foam left behind by their spiritual father Vojislav Šešelj, is returning to its roots. I can't escape from myself
"The levers of power are not in their hands," said Bishop Grigorije. "But there is something in the Holy Scriptures that I like very much, and that is that the power of God is revealed in weakness. So, all worldly power is on one side. And on the other side, in the hands of these young men and women is the weakness of this world. But in their weakness, the power of God or God's justice appears. That is why they are at such a great advantage."
The regime and its media have been trumpeting the "civil war" for months, and the government is the only one that has a patent for peace and stability - of course, with the help of the propaganda machine and the use of force. "It is a propaganda tactic of SNS that says: 'violence is everywhere, terrorists surround us, but we are here to save you,'" explains communication professor Jelena Kleut for "Vreme".
Students and citizens who accompany them on these walking feats, were welcomed as the most native together with those who came the day before from other places. A dove of peace was also released on the stage next to the promenade along the river - this symbolic gesture of the two students is the most impressive gesture of understanding and respect between the Bosniak and Serbian peoples since the end of the wars in the former Yugoslavia
The three-day parliament for the promotion of Aleksandar Vučić and his Movement for the People and the State was realistically a fiasco. But it was first of all conceived as a media spectacle for regime television directed by court promoter Željko "DJ Žeks" Mitrović, with scenography and iconography adapted to the Serbian political market.
Anyone who condemns the regime's targeting of people from the media, the non-governmental sector, the opposition and universities, must not agree to this targeting of RTS editors and journalists either.
The government of Đur Mazut is "counter-revolutionary", focused on retaliation and state and street violence against opponents of the regime
Depriving Dejan Ilić, an intellectual with an impeccable life and work biography, of his freedom, without the slightest meaningful reason, is just one of the brutal indicators that the regime has turned against its own citizens and is entering a phase of terror
Vučić and Šešelj: Where I stopped, you continue
The return of radical violence subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
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