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| Albanian Video. Enjoy Watching!
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| STATUS OF KOSOVO |
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After the NATO bombing campaign in 1999, the UN Mission (UNMIK) took control over the region of Kosovo. Today Kosovo remains an autonomous province within greater Serbia and Montenegro.
UNMIK established many governmental departments and built infrastructure, such as a police agency, courts, a parliament and local councils. However, in 2004, an annual report released on human rights in Kosovo by a branch of the UN Mission stated that the UN has failed to protect the rights of its citizens, primarily those of the Serbian minority in Kosovo. Furthermore, many human rights organizations and international agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have found the conditions in refugee camps to be severe.
In December 2004, Ibrahim Rugova, who has long advocated independence but was a past opponent of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), was re-elected as president of Kosovo by the parliament. Ramush Haradinaj, a former KLA commander whom Albanians consider a war hero but whom Serbs insist is a war criminal, was elected as the prime minister of Kosovo. Both the political leadership and virtually the entire Albanian population favor independence.
In February 2005, Serbian President Boris Tadic repeated his long-standing declaration of Serbia's right to retain the Kosovo province. Tadic also declared that he would not consent to its independence on any account, and would in fact protect the rights of the Serbs in the region.
In March 2005, Kosovo Prime Minister Haradinaj was indicted by a UN tribunal for war crimes and resigned from his position to face trial in The Hague. He was charged with acts committed against Serbian civilians as a senior commander fighting against Serbian forces during the war. The indictment infuriated Kosovo Albanians, and the region remained tense after his resignation. Though he has since pleaded not guilty to 37 counts of war crimes, he could face life in prison if found guilty of any of the charges.
The day after Prime Minister Haradinaj's plea, President Rugova narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb exploded beside his convoy as he made his way to a meeting with European Union (EU) representatives in Pristina, Kosovo's capital. This was the second attack on Rugova in two years.
The EU plans to keep up its humanitarian and economic aid program, but only if a final status for Kosovo can be reached among political leaders. Discussions on Kosovo's final status will occur later this summer.
In January 2005, the US denied $10 million in aid to Serbia because of its lack of cooperation in the arrest of Serbian war criminals. But since then, Serbia has helped in the capture and extradition of a number of suspects, and in June 2005, the US lifted the ban on aid.
US foreign policy experts believe that Kosovo's precarious standing could potentially lead to more political and economic problems. Its status as a Serbian province under UN supervision impedes its participation in the international banking system and prohibits it from creating independent banks.
Furthermore, experts are wary of ongoing tensions between the Serbs and ethnic Albanians within Kosovo and the potential for another full-fledged conflict, especially due to the delay in finalizing its status. Some experts believe that independence may be the only way to quell violence and establish peace.
US GUN LAWS
In the aftermath of September 11, gun legislation continues to be contested and remains an intensely debated topic.
In September 2004, ten years after the assault weapons ban was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, it expired when Congress failed to renew. The ban had been placed on 19 military-style semiautomatic weapons.
That same month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new law banning the .50 caliber BMG rifle. California is the first state to ban this class of long-range rifles, and it is now illegal to produce, sell, deal or import these guns within the state. Those who already own BMG rifles will have to register their firearms by April 30, 2006 if they wish to avoid facing misdemeanor charges.
On May 25, 2005, the Illinois House of Representatives passed a Firearms Act (SB 1333) which addresses the gun show loophole. The legislation mandates that background checks must be conducted on all gun buyers before the purchase of a weapon at private gun shows. Governor Rod Blagojevich has announced his intention to sign SB 1333 into law.
The issue of how long to preserve records of gun purchases has fueled a debate at the federal level. FBI officials and some lawmakers claim that restricting gun purchase records may hinder police efforts to track down and capture terrorists. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft argued that using records for these purposes would violate the federal law regarding the instant background check system and could lead to privacy and Second Amendment violations. In March of 2005, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) proposed a bill called the "Terrorist Apprehension and Record Retention Act" that would keeping all records of any firearms purchased by a suspected terrorist for at least ten years. It has since been submitted to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Vote 4 Albanian Video
Vote 4 UnikKatiL
Vote 4 Albanian Music
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posted by Drobeshi @ 4:02 AM |
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Albanian Music
Albania is a Southeast European nation that was ruled by Enver Hoxha's communist government for much of the later part of the
20th century; it is now a democratic country. Even before Hoxha's reign began, Albania was long controlled by the Ottoman
Empire and other conquering powers, leading to a diversity of influences that is common in the much-fragmented Balkan region
and resulting in a diverse and unique musical sound. Albanians (and the ethnic-Albanian Kosovars of nearby Serbia) are commonly
divided into three groupings: the northern Ghegs and southern Labs and Tosks. Turkish influence is strongest around the capital
city, Tirana, while Shkodër has been long considered the center for musical development in Albania.
Music has always been a potent means of national expression for Albanians. Under Hoxha's regime, this was channeled into
songs of patriotic devotion to the party; since the arrival of democracy in 1991, lyrics have come to focus on long-suppressed
traditions like kurbet (seeking work outside of Albania) and support for various political parties, candidates and ideas[1].
Pop musicians have developed too, long banned under the socialists, with Ardit Gjebrea being foremost among them. Albanian
popular music (këngë popullore) is generally based on Italian models
Folk music was encouraged to some degree under the socialist government, which promoted a quinquennial music festival at
Gjirokastër provided that the musicians expressed frequent support for the party leaders. After the fall of socialism,
Albanian Radio-Television launched a 1995 festival in Berat that has helped to continue musical traditions
MUSIC GENRE
A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or
"basic musical language".
Music can also be categorised by non-musical criteria such as geographical origin.
POPULAR MUSIC GENRE
Blues - The Blues is a vocal and instrumental music form which emerged in the
African-American community of
the United States. Blues evolved from West African spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants and has
its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. This musical form has been a major influence on later American and Western
popular music, finding expression in ragtime, jazz, big bands, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and country music, as well
as conventional pop songs and even modern classical music. Due to its powerful influence that spawned other major musical
genres originating from America, blues can be regarded as the root of pop as well as American music.
NOTES
Blues - The Blues is a vocal and instrumental music form which emerged in the African-American community of
the United States. Blues evolved from West African spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants and has
its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. This musical form has been a major influence on later American and Western
popular music, finding expression in ragtime, jazz, big bands, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and country music, as well
as conventional pop songs and even modern classical music. Due to its powerful influence that spawned other major musical
genres originating from America, blues can be regarded as the root of pop as well as American music.
Hip Hop/Rap - Hip hop music (also referred to as rap or rap music) is a style of popular music. It is made up of two
main components: rapping (MCing) and DJing (audio mixing and scratching). Along with breakdancing and graffiti (tagging)
these are the four elements of hip hop, a cultural movement that was initiated by inner-city youth (mostly minorities such
as African Americans and Latinos) in New York City in the early 1970s. Typically, hip hop music consists of one or more rappers
who tell semi-autobiographic tales, often relating to a fictionalized counterpart, in an intensely rhythmic lyrical form making
abundant use of techniques like assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. The rapper is accompanied by an instrumental track, usually
referred to as a "beat", performed by a DJ, created by a producer, or one or more instrumentalists. This beat is often created
using a sample of the percussion break of another song, usually a funk, rock, or soul recording. In addition to the beat other
sounds are often sampled, synthesized, or performed. Sometimes a track can be instrumental, as a showcase of the skills of the
DJ or producer.
Rhythm and Blues - Rhythm and blues is a name for black popular music tradition. When speaking strictly of "rhythm 'n' blues",
the term may refer to black pop-music from 1940s to 1960s that was not jazz nor blues but something more lightweight. The term "R&B"
often refers to any contemporary black pop music. Early-1950s R&B music became popular with both black and white audiences, and
popular records were often covered by white artists, leading to the development of rock and roll.A notable subgenre of
rhythm 'n' blues was doo-wop, which put emphasis on polyphonic singing. In the early 1960s rhythm 'n' blues took influences from
gospel and rock and roll and thus soul music was born. In the late 1960s, funk music started to evolve out of soul; by the 1970s
funk had become its own subgenre that stressed complex, "funky" rhythm patterns and monotonistic compositions based on a riff or two.
In the early to mid 1970s, hip hop music (also known as "rap") grew out of funk and reggae. Funk and soul music evolved into
contemporary R&B (no longer an acronym) in the 1980s, which cross-pollinated with hip-hop for the rest of the 20th century and
into the 21st century.
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