According to CESID data 59,3 % (i.e. 3.870.000 voters) of population of Serbia voted on the parliamentary elections on December 28th.
Serbian Radical Party (SRS) won 27,7 % or 1.070.000 votes yesterday which would mean 82 seats in new Serbian Parliament – as reported by CESID.
The second place took the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) with 18 % or 695.000 votes (53 seats in the Parliament), and the third is Democratic Party (DS) with 12,6 % or 490.000 votes (37 seats), as reported late last night on the press conference according to more than 80 % of data gathered from all voting places. G17 Plus Party (G17) won 11,7 % or 450.000 votes (34 seats), coalition of Parties SPO & NS won 7,7 % or 300.000 votes (22 seats) and Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) won 7,4 % or 285.000 votes (22 seats). Besides the city of Belgrade where DSS won, Radical Party had the majority of votes in central Serbia, Vojvodina and Kosovo.
Yesterday parliamentary elections were held peacefully and without any incidents, according to all observers’ reports. The voters were more motivated than in previous elections for the President of Serbia held in mid November this year. On this elections 19 parties, coalitions and civil groups competed for its seats and representatives in the Serbian Parliament (total 250 seats) and according to the lists total of 6.511.450 citizens of Serbia had the right to vote.
The majority of total 8.589 voting places opened 7 a.m sharp and was closed at 8 p.m. while in a small number of voting places the openings were late for some reasons. This elections were monitored by about 15.000 observers, majority of them were the representatives of CESID and the rest the delegates of OEBS, EU Mission on Balkan, and British and Helsinki Board for Human Rights.
Democratic block had following results together – total 124 seats (out of 250) – represents the new democratic government that was elected in Serbia from October 5th 2000 with Mr. Kostunica leading party (DSS – 53 seats), the party of late Premier Zoran Djindjic now headed by Boris Tadic (DS – 37 seats) and the group of economic experts (G17+ - 34 seats) headed by Mr. Labus. Mr. Kostunica was the President of Yugoslavia and after that, as well as Mr. Labus, a candidate for the President of Serbia until March 2003 when Yugoslavia became the Union of Serbia and Montenegro and DS leaders are known as the leader of reform (late Premier Zoran Djindjic, Bozidar Djelic, Boris Tadic).
Socialist and Radical Parties together – total 104 seats (out of 250) – representing the previous government of Slobodan Milosevic’s SPS (22 seats) and Vojislav Seselj’s SRS (82 seats) whose leaders are currently accused for war crimes and held at Hague Tribunal.
Coalition SPO & NS won 22 seats which now, as speculated, can prevail to one or the other side in forming the parliamentary voting majority of 126 seats. This coalition is represented by Vuk Draskovic the famous writer and the legendary leader of opposition to Milosevic’s regime since 1991 and one of Vuk’s followers, Velja Ilic who was also very active in throwing down Milosevic in October 2000. These two leaders, joined again, are also standing for the option of Serbia as Kingdom with HRH Crown Prince Alexander Karadjordjevic, who himself is interested to contribute to the welfare o f Serbia.

(Daily news “Politika”, 2003-12-29)

You know when they say “there are day like this” - dull days, slow, inactive, uneventful, not brisk. It seems that some days are completely hopeless, useless, and when they take place you can’t help feeling a loss of some kind, at least – a loss of one day. Wisdom teaches us that we have to learn how to go on and find a way to repel the emptiness of the days like that and finally not to feel bad about them because they will pass. And they pass indeed, but somehow, we never forget the emptiness.

We comfort ourselves with thoughts that these days can happen and comparing to them there is always something worse that destiny can put on our paths, sometimes months, years and even decades of real tragic loss. The time spent in a hospital after some accident that might not have happen at all, but it did, when you recover so slowly that you have to learn to establish new routines and find new joy in your post trauma life trying hard to ‘live from the beginning’. Timeless, countless hours spent after a loss of dear person, when you feel like you can’t stand to live any longer yourself and all your hours are gray and meaningless, like all lights are gone. Tragic years spent in places of destruction, war and poverty where tiniest hope in humanity is the only food you can get, but it fades quickly faced with cruelty and despair.

There are also much more benign hours, days, months and years of waiting for something that you believe you know and after some period of waiting, more waiting and even more prolonged waiting you realize that your time has passed, all clocks have stopped and all that you were waiting for has been irrevocably changed or maybe even lost for good. Then you feel the deepest loss – betrayed hopes, the more painful the more time you were flying high on the wings of hope, where you can blame no one else, not even destiny but only yourself.

Mythology points to us that Icarus, who had to fall deep down, symbolizes not only youthful ignorance, but rather - lost hopes and dreams, lost ambitions and devotion that everyone had once and that we still cherish. Daedalus, a father of Icarus in the legend, is a symbol of wisdom, experience and care of the very same person who used to fly high once (or more than once?) and fall down very painfully, sometimes almost fatal. As someone who is living his “another life” now, Deadalus IS Icarus some time after, somewhat cured, recovered, changed, ready to use the next chance the other way. The middle way.

We will never stop wondering what the point of that mythological flight really is. What the life really is about, that is. Is it simply to move from one point to another, to escape from one place to another or to touch the Sun of love and hope, to extend your wings and reach the highest point of your might and passion? To become a living legend or a legend famous by death? That is the question that this classic legend will impose again and again on new generations, but the decision of choosing between moderate and rational risk-planning oriented approach and a blind wish to fly to the heights that no one has ever reached before bordering with fatal desire to dive into the light and melt by the Sun, is something that can happen in any moment of anyone’s life. That’s what our fragile lives are all about.

My daughter Tina is writing about life as a maze at her 16, most probably trying to master what’s this all about, and I see it as already half abandoned playground at my 43, or at least something that has no charm nor is scary for me any more, and I need new challenges or maybe return to the old ones – the challenges of my own youth? Does it mean that our ambitions are growing, and our needs to touch the base and join our ideals become mightier as we grow older? In other words, do we become more and more prone to act like Icarus when we get older and disobey the voice of reason, ignore the loads of experience, forget the pain and fly again? Only our might is not so powerful as it was in the days of youth. Do we seem to “choose” the middle way in our middle age desperately wishing but not being able to fly high any more? Are we simply making our choices under the pressure of fear being frightened all the time – when young scared by material labyrinth we are not afraid to fly over it towards the light and when old scared by (previous or just eventual) fall we choose to stay in already mastered darkness of the known maze, having no confidence in our, once deteriorated, wings any more?

Even in a moment of a dull day each one of us is both Deadalus - experienced, patient and extremely cautious - and Icarus, the passionate one, trembling of excitement, zeal and ardor to reach new skies, pass all frontiers and do miracles – packed so tight in one person. While one part is trying, with more or less success, to master the maze of material life on the earth (the sooner the better, even to the point of making the maze for the others), the other one never stops wishing to fly away and up to the skies of freedom, love, beauty and total devotion to some higher purpose, or just pure joy of being alive, maybe (making the living legend out of the oneself for the others)? Maybe that desire doesn’t fade, but on the contrary, grows stronger as we approach the last moment of our lives?

The parabola of father and the son means also that both parts are interweaved together, and are BOTH THE BEST PARTS filled with the mutual affection, respect, belonging and love, but also - pride and joy. And personal joy as well as the personal experience gained through painful lessons and discovering new horizons is the only treasure we could ever get in this life. All other material things created and gained during lifetime will be of no use for its creator and mostly a puzzle to inheritors – even the BIG ones that become the myth itself, like culture, art work, pyramids and labyrinths left on the earth.


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Ic-a-rus (ik'uhr uhs) n.
1. a youth of Greek myth, the son of Daedalus, who, attempting to escape from Crete with his father on wings of wax and feathers, flew so close to the sun that his wings melted and he plunged to his death in the sea.
2. an asteroid whose eccentric orbit brings it closer to the sun than any other known asteroid.

Daed-a-lus (ded'l uhs; esp. Brit. deed'l uhs) n.
1. a legendary Athenian who built the labyrinth for Minos and made wings for himself and his son Icarus to escape from Crete.
Derived words
--Dae-da-li-an, Dae-da-le-an(di day'lee
uhn)(-dal'ik), adj.

(There are derived words, but no asteroids :) no big fame, except the maze mastering)

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This reflection is inspired by life of William Bill Vukovich, famous Vuky, legendary car racing champion from Indiana, and his descendants, three generations of Icarus. Sadly, both his grandchild Billy Vukovich III and himself have lost their lives in car racing accidents. Vuky married beautiful Esther, the love of his life. I found them on the internet yesterday and thought it would be interesting to share that with you.

Today is St.Nicholas day, Serbian "slava". Here are few words about it.

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"Krsna Slava - the celebration of the home Patron Saint-is the greatest characteristic of the national and religious life of the Serbian people. It is a beautiful and unique expression of the Orthodox faith that is deeply implanted in the Serbian Christian soul.

Krsna Slava is an exclusively Serbian custom. It is the most solemn day of the year for all Serbs of the Orthodox faith and has played a role of vital importance in the history of the Serbian people. Krsna Slava is actually the celebration of the spiritual birthday of the Serbian people. Our forefathers accepted Christianity collectively by families and by tribes. In commemoration of their baptisms, each family or tribe began to celebrate in a special way to honor the saint on whose day they received the sacrament of Holy Baptism. The mother church blessed this practice and proclaimed Krsna Slava a Christian institution.

According to the words of St. Paul (Phil. 1:2), every Christian family is a small church, and, just as churches are dedicated to one saint, who is celebrated as the protector of the church, so Serbian families place themselves under the protection of the saint on whose holiday they became Christians and to whom they refer to as their intercessor to God Almighty. To that protector of their homes, they pay special homage from generation to generation, from father to son, each and every year.

Slava is a day not only of feasting, but also a day of spiritual revival through which the Serbian national soul is formed and crystallized. To these celebrations, customs, and traditions, our nation owes its existence, and, therefore, deserves to be appreciated and perpetuated by all grateful Serbian sons and daughters all over the world" (http://www.istocnik.com)

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"Slava is a day of great rejoicing. Relatives, kamovi, and friends begin arriving the day before the Slava and many remain until the following day. An important aspect of the celebration is the religious observance of the patron Saint. In a Serbian Orthodox home one finds the icon of the patron Saint of the family illuminated by the flicker of a votive light. This in a sense is a place of prayer for the family. A Slava candle is lighted on that special day and the Slavski Kolac (Slave Cake) is presented for prayers of blessing, along with a glass of wine. Each of these items has symbolic meaning: the candle represents the light of life in God; the bread symbolizes Christ our God, who said, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven" John 6:51); finally, there is a dish of boiled wheat (koljivo), which is blessed and served in memory of deceased family members. The candle is never blown out but is extinguished with wine. The same glass is then handed around the family circle and each member takes a sip of it, thereby symbolizing the perpetuity of the Slava. The scent of the incense binds together the emotions of all present on this unique and festive occasion.

While the festive meal is in progress, the host does not sit but remains available in service to all. He serves his Krsno Ime, then many beautiful and well-wishing toasts (Zdravice) are offered for the health and prosperity of the household. Music is provided by a one-stringed instrument called the Gusle, accompanied by the voice of the Guslar. The favorite subjects of these ballads are drawn from the rich heroic history of the Serbs. The Slava has remained as one of the proven values and customs of the Serbian people." (http://www.suc.org)

Finally, here is a delightful link for all who would like to master the traditional art of baking a "prosphora" (sacred bread) for "slava" http://www.prosphora.org/page1.html

Next year is going to be a better year, maybe even the best year – the year of the Ape, by Chinese horoscope, may bring a chance for new humanity! Are we going to become more flexible and innovative next year? Is the world, on global level, going to change into a more playful, more forgiving, less dangerous and generally more friendly and interesting place to live in? What do we think when we say that we want a better world - tomorrow? What does the word “better” stand for? The year of the friendly and sensitive Ape may help us discover our true, simple wishes and even may help us achieve new levels and fresh standards of being happy and – making the others happy, or to be more precise, feeling better and making the others feel happier than before.

Waiting for the winter to trigger this change seems strange as it is the period of calmness, inactivity and the death, symbolically speaking. It would be better if New Years would begin somewhere in spring, like it is the case with the Chinese New Year starting at the beginning of February, shifting from date to date each year, but always getting right there – at the beginning of a new circle of birth. Each time new expectations, new promises, new hopes and new plans - which might as well all be old and even inherited from previous generations’ tradition – are gathering from all sides and focusing to one date to be articulated with the new strength and new meaning, empowering both the wishes, wishers and worshipers, inaugurating a new season of life content, new page in history books. How much celebrity and joy will it bring no one can tell until the whole year passes and closes its gates opened, at the last moment, so tightly just for one more option: the next year to come.

The New Year always comes as a new possibility, the carrier of all unsettled and unsorted issues, promise of all promises, even of those that everyone else stopped to believe in, the ruler of the immediate future, sometimes so much more important than the Eternity. That’s why we should think about our immediate future like we think about Eternity. To all those who care about it – the daily routine would become more meaningful and its practicing ritual would lead to personal enlightenment. To the others that do not care for Eternity neither the immediate future would seem appealing and important. They would turn and toss their daily actions and choices to be cast by four winds and, with God’s help, would sail easily wherever they might go, since – having no goal is no sin. It’s easier to go and feel you belong anywhere if you don’t have a particular place where you really want to be.

There would always be the third ones, the ones that are neither heading to somewhere, nor failing to get it right what exactly they should do on this planet at the moment. They, like us, the observers, would participate in life by giving comments, understanding, writing notes, telling stories and singing songs, looking at, and waiting for a voice and a smile of old and new friends, exchanging messages to and from any friendly community to communicate and feed on as many feed backs we can get.

For a Happy New Year may a HAPPY NEW FEEDBACK
Come as the most beautiful and joyful gift from all sides!
Let us all make one single wish at midnight:
Wish for the WORLD of PEACE from the heart!
MAY PEACE AND LOVE BLESS ALL!