Croatia

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Heart-Shaped Croatian Island
This lovely heart shaped Croatian island is located in Zadarski Kanal (Zadar Channel) between Zadar and Island of Pasman.





http://www.panoramio.com/photo/394219

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Minister, Protect Dubrovnik’s Police Officers! The Interior Ministry’s Union asks of the minister to protect the two Dubrovnik police officers and enable them to live normal lives.

ZAGREB, CROATIA – The Croatian Interior Ministry’s Independent Union has asked of Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko to do everything to enable a normal life and work of the two Dubrovnik police officers who have been subjected to harassment from Croatian and foreign reporters after their composite pictures were shown in the documentary about Australian backpacker Britt Lapthorne.

- We need not even mention how much damage the airing of the composite photos has caused the two police officers who became possible kidnappers and murderers overnight – the union said in its statement.

Australia’s Channel 7 aired a documentary reconstructing the case of Britt Lapthorne in which they showed the composite photos of two men who allegedly kidnap young women in Dubrovnik.

Croatia’s police chief Krunoslav Borovec said the next day that the composites were of two Dubrovnik police officers who approached one of the three participants of the documentary in an official capacity and submitted a report about that. The union claims that their colleagues are subjected to harassment by Croatian and foreign reporters who keep telephoning them, coming to their homes, disturbing their families and neighbours, demanding statements and photographing and taking videos of their homes.

The facts from the documentary can be easily checked

- We express our support to the Dubrovnik police officers and remind everyone that numerous facts from the documentary can easily be checked – the union said in its statement.

The union is, therefore, asking of Minister Karamarko to do everything to make it possible for the two officers to live normal lives and work normally.

Australian backpacker Britt Lapthorne, 21, was last seen in the night on October 18 exiting a Dubrovnik night club in the company of two men and five young girls. Her body was found on October 6 in the sea in Dubrovnik.

A post-mortem on the young woman showed no signs of violence. The Croatian police say that the Britt Lapthorne case is still open.

[bmwbiker]

Iceland Also Ratifies Croatia’s NATO Accession After Iceland’s parliament ratified Croatia’s entry into NATO, now only Greece, The Netherlands and Portugal have to ratify it.



ZAGREB, CROATIA – The Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Iceland’s parliament ratified Croatia’s NATO accession protocol.

Hailing this decision, the ministry said Iceland has become the 23rd out of 36 NATO members which ratified the protocol on expansion of NATO to Croatia.

Croatia expects the remaining countries – Greece, The Netherlands and Portugal – to also ratify the accession protocol so that Croatia could take part at April’s NATO Summit in Strasbourg and Kehl as a permanent member of NATO, the ministry said in a statement.

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Slovenia Gives up on Veto on Croatia’s Protocol The final ratification of Croatia’s protocol in now only threatened by a possible referendum if 2,500 signatures are collected

ZAGREB, CROATIA – The Slovenian State Council, a sort of upper house of the Slovenian parliament with only advisory functions, has given up on setting a veto on Croatia’s accession protocol for NATO.

The committee on international relations and European issues of Slovenia’s State Council adopted with a large majority the conclusion that the reason for Croatia’s entry into NATO was more important than reasons against its entry, the Council’s chairman, Blaz Kavcic, said.

In line with its powers, the State Council could have set a suspension veto on Croatia’s entry into NATO or ask that a referendum be carried out about it.

After viewing over documents Croatia submitted to NATO, members of the Council became convinced that “there is no justifiable claim that Croatia has prejudged the border to its advantage”, Kavcic told Ljubljana’s daily “Dnevnik”.

The final ratification of Croatia’s accession protocol is now under threat only by an announcement by Slovenia’s People’s party and nationalists that they would collect enough signatures by Monday to submit a request for a referendum to block the parliament’s decision on the ratification of Croatia’s accession protocol. By Monday they should collect 2,500 signatures to block the parliamentary decision on the ratification and then, within 35 days, another 40,000 signatures for the referendum to take place.

[bmwbiker]

PM: Dispute with Slovenia Will Have to Go to Court Sanader and Faymann spoke about bilateral relations, ways both countries are fighting the economic crisis and Croatia’s accession in the EU.



ZAGREB, CROATIA – Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader relayed to Austria’s Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann Croatia’s stance that it is best to solve the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

- Croatia insists on the principle that bilateral issues cannot and should not be introduced in European negotiations – Sanader told reporters in Vienna after a meeting with the Chancellor.

Sanader and Faymann spoke about bilateral relations, ways both countries are fighting the economic crisis and Croatia’s accession in the EU.

Gratitude for support

Austria has always supported Croatia in its path towards the EU, Faymann said.

Sanader thanked his host for Austria’s support to Croatia, stressing the ties between Croatia and Austria “in the past, the present and the future”.

The Croatian prime minister informed the chancellor about the state of Croatia’s negotiations with the EU and everything Croatia is doing in the context of Slovenia’s blockade of the negotiations.

There is no fairer approach than arguments

Asked about the current phase of the dispute between Croatia and Slovenia, Sanader said consultations were underway between Brussels, Ljubljana and Zagreb and stressed that law is a good basis for solving border issues, since he believes political negotiations are not a good way of solving problems.

Faymann stressed that Austria was supporting Croatia as much as it can, but he recalled that the said issues were easier to be solved away from public eyes.

- There is no fairer approach than arguments – Sanader said, adamant that the dispute between Croatia and Slovenia should be solved before the ICJ in The Hague.

All meetings are planned in advance

- Croatia is prepared in advance, as should the Slovenian National Assembly should be, that our parliament makes a decision in advance to accept the verdict of the ICJ – Sanader said.

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Seks Dismisses HHO Accusations about Perjury This is a filthy attack on the freedom on the judiciary and an attempt to take justice into their own hands, Seks said.



ZAGREB, CROATIA – Croatian parliament’s deputy speaker Vladimir Seks today dismissed accusations made by the Croatian Helsikni Committee (HHO) that he committed perjury in the trial against Branimir Glavas for war crimes in Osijek in 1991.

He stressed this was “an attempt of a group of people to take justice in their hands”. Seks told reporters in parliament that the court would rule on the truth, not the HHO.

- This is a filthy attack on the freedom on the judiciary and law-based state, an unbelievable attempt to take justice into their own hands and make assessments, judgements and verdicts on their own – Seks said.

‘He brought shame on Croatia’

Because of his testimony in the trial against Branimir Glavas for war crimes in Osijek in 1991, Vladimir Seks, who testified that traitors about whom he knew nothing about committed the crimes, should no longer perform the function of deputy parliament speaker or any other functions in authority, the Croatian Helsinki Committee (HHO) said at a news conference on Friday.

According to the HHO’s Mladen Godek, with his false testimony and his attitude towards justice, Seks brought shame on himself and Croatia as a whole.

Unqeustionably interesting posts.

Thank you for informing us about the situation in Croatia, comrade.

[bmwbiker]

Love In The Streets Of Zagreb Lovebirds enjoyed the attention of their soul mates and were presented with gifts on St. Valentine`s Day.



ZAGREB, CROATIA – Lovebirds proved on St. Valentine`s Day that they don`t really need fluffy hearts to show that they love each other. Many Zagreb citizens decided to take a walk, go sightseeing as the shop windows were decorated and exchanged tenderness with their partner.

However, it was hard to avoid all the alluring small tokens of affections, from red roses, jewellery, heart-shaped pillows to stuffed toys. Therefore, the “weaker” ones bought their partners a present. Take a look in the attached photo gallery to see if there were any original ideas: Love In The Streets Of Zagreb.

[bmwbiker]

World`s Longest Sausage Made In Croatia As part of the `Come to Vinkovci` project, the world`s longest sausage was made, measuring at 530 metres



Croatian cooks prepare to fry the longest (530 meters) sausage in the world in eastern Croatia`s town of Vinkovci some 250 km (244 miles) east of Zagreb, February 14, 2009.


VINKOVCI, CROATIA – The longest sausage in the world, measuring at 530 metres, was presented in the Eastern Croatian town of Vinkovci by the members of the `Slavonian Home Kulen-Kulin` association, as part of the `Come to Vinkovci` project. The sausage was fried in a vast 2.5-metre pan and was distributed to Vinkovci citizens once it was done. Other treats were available for the gathered crowd to enjoy, such as home wine and doughnuts.

Vinkovci citizens are planning to contact the Guinness book of records in order to break the current Romanian record, who prepared a nearly 400-metre long sausage.

You can see the giant sausage in the attached photo gallery: World`s Longest Sausage Made In Croatia (530m).

[George Witzgall]

Originally Posted by Adolf Croata

Love In The Streets Of Zagreb Lovebirds enjoyed the attention of their soul mates and were presented with gifts on St. Valentine`s Day.



ZAGREB, CROATIA – Lovebirds proved on St. Valentine`s Day that they don`t really need fluffy hearts to show that they love each other. Many Zagreb citizens decided to take a walk, go sightseeing as the shop windows were decorated and exchanged tenderness with their partner.

However, it was hard to avoid all the alluring small tokens of affections, from red roses, jewellery, heart-shaped pillows to stuffed toys. Therefore, the “weaker” ones bought their partners a present. Take a look in the attached photo gallery to see if there were any original ideas: Love In The Streets Of Zagreb.

please, this is consumerist shit of the worst kind. I don't want it to spoil your country. stay away from it and all things western or you will perish.

[Kind Lampshade Maker]

Not only that. It's also simply downright silly

[bmwbiker]

Valentine day is good for "score" something...i remember that i meet my wife, and first date was on St. Valentine day....it was good day for me...

[bmwbiker]

Croatian Military Lending Tanks for 1,140 kuna The Croatian Defence Ministry is lending military equipment, but also soldiers, to production companies for filming purposes. that is about 240$



ZAGREB, CROATIA – The Croatian Defence Ministry is lending certain military equipment for a fee to production companies. Any film projects connected to the 1990’s Homeland War requires no fees, the defence ministry said.

The most wanted pieces of equipment sought are the medical tent, soldiers being extras, a tourist and inter-city bus, military vehicle BOV-3, BOV-1, military vehicle OTM-60 and the T-55 tank, the 24 sata daily reported.

Although he planned the Defence ministry’s logistic support for his film “Konvoj Libertas”, renowned director Veljko Bulajic, says he prolonged the project for next year due to the crisis in the country.

- In these times of economic crisis it is difficult to make films, so we will consider making “Libertas” next year – Bulajic explained.

Directors and Ministry have excellent cooperation

All directors stress they have had excellent cooperation with the Croatian Defence Ministry. The military helped them in every project and gave them the equipment necessary for filming.

Director Vinko Bresan, who used the defence ministry’s services in his awarded hit “Svjedoci” (Witnesses).

Apart from the military, the police also lend out their equipment and manpower. The fees are similar and also depend on the type and needs of the film.

[bmwbiker]

Fourth Suspect For Cozma’s Murder Arrested In a conversation with suspects, the police gained new information on the attack, so another suspect was arrested.




The Hungarian police have arrested a fourth person for the murder-by-stabbing of the Romanian handball player Marian Cozma, and the serous injuries to two of his fellow players from the team Veszprem in the city with the same name, reports the MTI agency.

Police spokesperson Agnes Beleznay said that after Gabor P was questioned he was kept in custody under suspicion that he participated in the murder.

The Romanian Marian Cozma, who played for the Hungarian handball club Veszprem, was killed on February 8 in a hooligan attack in front of a night club, in the city of Veszprem. In the attack the Croatian handball representative Ivan Pesic (23) was injured so seriously that doctors were forced to remove his kidney, and the Serbian handball player Zarko Sesum (22) was also injured.

The police were initially searching for two suspects, but then announced an APB for a third.

During the same night the Austrian police arrested two men suspected for the attack, and the Hungarian police later confirmed that Sandor Raffael and Gyoz N. were in question, and that Ivica Sztojka is still in hiding.

However Sztojka has been in custody since Thursday, when he handed himself in to the police, and it was considered that they arrested all of the attackers. But obviously the police came across new information about the tragic attack in a conversation with him, so a fourth suspect was arrested and placed in custody.

[bmwbiker]

Slovenian Parliament Against Referendum on Croatia Slovenia’s Foreign Minister stressed that the ratification of the agreement which allows Croatia entry into NATO was adopted in parliament.



ZAGREB, CROATIA – The Slovene parliament’s Upper House’s Foreign Affairs Committee, comprised of 13 MPs, voted against a suggestion by Zmago Jelincic’s Slovenian National Party with ten votes against three, Slovenia’s 24ur reported.

The parliament decides on the text about the protection of Slovenia’s interests and if it is adopted, Marjan Podobnik, president of the Zavod 25 junij party, will not, as he announced, submit the signatures of citizens who signed a petition for a referendum on Croatia’s accession into NATO. After that, the process for carrying out a referendum is started by law.

Agreement Already Ratified
Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar stressed that the ratification of the agreement which allows Croatia entry into NATO was adopted in parliament with a large majority of votes, which clearly showed their political opinion about the ratification.
MP Darja Lavtizar-Bebler told the Delo daily she was unclear why the above mentioned text was at all necessary, but that she would vote for it to avoid a referendum.

As they proposed the referendum, Jelincic and Podobnik justified it by Croatia’s prejudging borders in the documents it submitted to NATO. Jelincic wants Croatia’s joining blocked until the border issue is resolved.

The contentious borders are those defined on June 25, 1991, which is the left bank of the Dragonja river, the left bank of the Mura river, and, of course, the Piran Bay, as well as the sea which would allow Slovenia exit out into the open sea.

At the extraordinary session, Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar stressed that the ratification of the agreement which allows Croatia entry into NATO was adopted in parliament with a large majority of votes, which clearly showed their political opinion about the ratification.

Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ivo Vajgl supported the foreign minister saying that approving the referendum would be counterproductive with regards to the relations between the two countries.

[bmwbiker]

How an Englishman Made it in Zagreb During the 9 years Joe has been in Croatia he has done more things than most people do in their entire life.


In 1999, Joe Whitfield left the U.K. with his Croatian wife and daughter to set up home in Croatia.

With some help from his new family Joe had managed to find a full time job as a chef at the Sheraton within 48 hours of arriving! However, a terrible salary and 12 to 14 hour days put strain on his marriage and he moved on to the Inlingua Language School.

Pitted against qualified teachers, having little support, he managed to pick up the unusual teaching methods with ease and began teaching.

Bad Decisions and Divorce

Having been self reliant for so long, the cultural and family differences came as a massive shock, in his own words, “every family is the same; dictating what you can and can’t do”.

Taking the job was a turning point in Joe’s marriage but shortly after he divorced his wife. However Joe insists that he and his ex-wife are now very best friends.

While at the language school Joe managed to build a huge network of friends from across the entire spectrum of the business community in Croatia which has been invaluable in helping side projects.

Meeting with a New Zealander, who at the time was trying to import alcopops to Croatia, was one of Joseph’s biggest mistakes, not on his part however but Joe’s latest employer hadn’t done his homework on Croatian import laws, as a result lost his investment and was unable to pay Joe for seven months' worth of organising parties, marketing and promotion.

As well as teaching, Joe managed to get into real estate, in fact he founded the company, the partnership he had forged with another Brit turned sour and Joe moved on.

Losing a great deal of income and being the showpiece at parties, for being British, Joe was lonely and needed something to spur him on.

- Once the novelty of being the English man at the party wore off, the locals would drift back into Croatian, and I felt lonely. – He says.

Expat Beginnings

One day while Joe was sitting alone in an internet café he met a “loud American guy” who he became firm friends with and after getting to know each other came across the idea to start an ex-pats night at Iguana, a bar on Tkalciceva, one of Zagreb’s most well known streets.

The bar, run by an Australian-Croat couple, was already a meeting place for many expats. Joe organised a proper expats night on a Thursday evening. Joe was now the key figure in the expat community, again building a huge network of contacts.

The expat community was great for Joe. However, it didn’t pay the rent, so after the collapse of his relationship with the real estate firm’s boss he set up his own real estate and legal advice companies under JWR, faced with even more bad luck: when the JWR websites and database went offline and the designer disappeared, Joe moved on to writing a magazine.

Not just writing but advertising, editing, proofreading and producing were in Joe’s remit, after setting up his team he was let down by the publishers and the magazine folded after just 3 issues.

While all of these main projects in his life were going on Joe still found time to organise fund raisers, set up independent business deals which were quashed by the local authorities, a t-shirt design and sales website and even found time to write for Transparency International.

During the 9 years Joe has been in Croatia he has done more things than most people do in their entire life, he has met Terrence Howard, his music idols Sonic Youth, appeared on stage with Iggy Pop and even had a walk on part in a movie with Richard Gere.

Joe left Croatia for around a year and a half when the country had taken its toll on him and he had had enough. This period was filled with managing Microsoft training programs and a team of 8 as well as a stint in recruitment.

New Beginnings

In February, just a few days ago in fact, Joe, now 34, was offered a job which was to start later that week. But missing his daughter Amy too much, he decided against it and instead jumped on a plane back to Croatia. When he arrived he called his daughter, pretending to be in the U.K., just to ask how she was. His next move was to knock on the front door of the apartment and be smothered with kisses.

Thus began a new chapter in Joe’s life.

Thanks to Joe's adaptability he is close to fluent in Croatian so managing the Hop Devil Bar in Zagreb’s Branimir Centar is no problem, Joe has big plans for the future and he is getting back to what he loves, networking. In addition the bar will host expats nights and live music, things that have been missing from the beautifully gothic bar of 103 beers.

He describes himself as "a brain that doesn’t stop ticking" and with this in mind and his return to Croatia, he has high hopes for the future.

If you are new to Croatia and need some help or just want to meet up with expats head over to Hop Devil on a Thursday night and see for yourself.

[bmwbiker]

Bullet Left At Inspector`s Door Supposedly, the air traffic inspector received threats over investigating the crash of the Mi-8 helicopter in Vukovar.


A bullet was left at the door of air traffic inspector Dinko Vodanovic, the Croatian Radio Television reports. According to unofficial information, the bullet was a “warning” over investigating the crash of the Mi-8 helicopter in Vukovar.

Because of the danger he is in, i.e. the bullet left at his doorstep, Vodanovic is currently at a meeting at the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure.

Four employees of the Velika Gorica Air-Technical Institute were reported because of the helicopter crash. They are suspected of being responsible for some alterations on the helicopter, which caused it to crash in 2007 in Vukovar, killing three persons.

Anonymous sources tipped off the Croatian State Attorney`s Office and the Defence Ministry that the reported persons were two army officials and two civilians.

he must be very careful now...

[bmwbiker]

Student: I Was Beaten By Police From Photo-Robot H.S, a student from Dubrovnik, claims he was beaten by Dragan Palmeta and Ivica Rudinovic after an argument with a taxi driver.



DUBROVNIK, CROATIA - The 22 year old student from Dubrovnik H.S. claims that he was attacked by the police officers Dragan Palmeta and Ivica Rudinovic from the photo-robot in the Britt Lapthorne case, as well as Matko Klaric, writes the Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija.

In November 2008, N.S. filed reports with the County State Attorney’s Office against the police officers Dragan Palmeta, Ivica Rudinovic, Matko Klaric for “non-conscious work in the service”.

Student winks to police officer, so they beat him

H.S. went to the disco club “Factory” with his friend M.B. When they were heading home, the 22 year old accidently caught a rear view mirror of a taxi with his hand, but did not damage it. The taxi driver got out of the car and slapped him, and then a conflict with pushing broke out. Soon the police officers arrived and then the incident occurred.

“The angry taxi driver slapped me, after which there was pushing, and the quick arrival of the police officers. After I jokingly winked at one of them, they punched me in the head five-six times whilst I was sitting on the pavement” said H.S. He said that his only complaint to the police officers was by saying that it would be better for them to catch real criminals.

Criminal report against police officers dismissed

After the police officers hit him, they took him to the hospital, where they determined that he had a concussion and scratches, as well as a contusion of the face and ears, then took him to the police station for processing. After 9am he was taken before the judge for offences Dubravka Djivanovic, who after giving his testimony, was released to freedom.

The Dubrovnik student was later questioned by the internal control of the Dubrovnik police department. The County State Attorney’s Office rejected the report that was filed by H.S. against the three police officers who beat him, and for them the case is closed, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.


pussy

[bmwbiker]

President Pardons Skinhead Who Killed His Friend Milo Crnjak beat up Tomislav Krmek when he was 16 years old, wit a 2.3 blood alcohol level.



Croatian President Stipe Mesic pardoned Milo Crnjak who beat up his 27-year-old friend Tomislav Krmek to death in 2004.

Crnjak was a skinhead sentenced to seven years in prison. President Mesic reduced his sentence by six months.

Crnjak previously socialised with his victim and on the fateful night, he bludgeoned him to death with a blunt object, inflicting several blows which resulted in death. The police caught him and tried to stop him, but the blows were fatal.

Milo Crnjak was 16 at the time of the crime and he was intoxicated with alcohol, measuring 2.3 blood alcohol level. He will be released in a year and a half.

[bmwbiker]

Presidents Omaba and Mesic at Masked Party Babanas, monkeys, Obama, they could all be seen at Zagreb’s Cvjetni Square on Saturday morning. The fun masks thrilled the youngest

ZAGREB, CROATIA – The time of the masked carnival called “Fashnik” is still ongoing, so the residents of Zagreb had fun watching various masks parading down Cvjetni Square in Croatia’s capital on Saturday morning.

The loud parade passed from Cvjetni Square, to Kvaternikov Square and Vlaska Street. People, intrigued by the fun masks, decided to follow in order to see what they are preparing this time.

Most looks got “Pim-Pek” bananas which, in a funny way, demonstrated what it’s like when you’re bananas, then there were monkey in g-strings and a bare-bottomed monkey on a bicycle. President Mesic and Obama, as well as the Ukrainian Prime Minister were also present at the Fashnik.

There were also girls in traditional folk costumes riding rag horses.