The Standing Group on Atrocity Crimes published a brief today on threats facing Bosnia and Herzegovina & steps the UK Govt can take to reaffirm the rule of law & human rights, and enable the country to make progress that would benefit its citizens www.atrocitystandinggroup.org/news/special...

I was honored to be on a panel at the NATO Defense College Foundation Conference, “Building bridges: diffusing hybrid threats for regional stability” in Rome yesterday - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtt5...

If you're in or near Sarajevo be sure to stop by tonight for this show- great new talent---

So what happens to these newly employed (mostly) men enjoying well paying jobs if & when the country decides that it does not want a huge federal domestic paramilitary force? Will they be disposed of as easily as lab researchers & educators? www.nytimes.com2025/09/08/us/pol...

Even more importantly, there needs to be a policy on taxing robots / AI labor.... then if they decide to unionize, well, great... www.wired.com/story/model-...

Just saying that this explains my tendency to support the underdog: www.buffalobills.com/video/bills-...

Great chat with Evan Dawson today…. on how independent institutions & civil service are key to good governance, threats posed by the shadow docket & Trump's selective retribution, & future repairs to the US after this hacking of checks, balances & guardrails podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

"For most of the park’s history, Disney was priced to welcome people across the income spectrum, embracing the motto “Everyone is a V.I.P.” In doing so, it created a shared American culture by providing the same experience to every guest." Well those days are over, Mickey.......

Imagine the reaction by POTUS if USAID got it….

As we wait to see what will unfold in Alaska today, beware of Sharpie geopolitics in a world that requires complexity… I explore this idea more in the latest DPC blog: www.democratizationpolicy.org/sharpie-geop...

Very glad to see that Peter Lippman's work is getting attention among Italian audiences too - read a recent interview here: www.balcanicaucaso.org/bhs/zone/Bos...

Excellent live music?At the Ex-Yu Rock Centar tonight! Including some EKV:

What better way to start the week than with some live music!

from the mouths of babes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nDm...

Another reason to check out the EYRC when in Sarajevo - an amazing collection of original artifacts---

Here's an original concert poster and ticket from Dino Dvornik's concert at Dom mladih in Sarajevo on 13 March 1991. The concert was part of the 1990-1991 tour promoting the album "Kreativni Nered" which was released in 1990 on Jugoton.

I picked up this flyer at the Museum of Yugoslavia in Belgrade in May. "The struggle for the University autonomy is becoming increasingly fierce." From a speech by Veljko Vlahovic, 1936. Important thinking at a time when unis are under increasing pressure, everywhere.

The final part of Peter Lippman's six part series on environmental threats and civic activism in Bosnia & Herzegovina is up… It explores the issue through a number of rivers that are being destroyed, a huge loss in a country that has some of Europe's last wild rivers: lefteast.org/grassroots-r...

Pressman suggests Americans learn from the young people who took to the streets in Budapest; they should also learn from the students in Serbia who have been at it since November: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/o...

Come on Wirecutter, expand your horizons.... the best ice cream sandwich is definitely from Plazma....worth every calorie www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

Part 5 of Peter Lippman's extensive field research on extraction & the environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina is now published..... he explores the negative impact of the coal economy in terms of ecological threats, but also stoking corrupt practice: lefteast.org/grassroots-r...

A must visit cultural space whether it's your first visit to Sarajevo or your 10th!

Strong overview, insight and guidance - hope people read and reflect

good point Kurt.... another example of the power of repeated narratives and language, and what happens when that goes unchecked

30 items from the Ex-Yu Rock Centar are on display in Opatija at the exhibition "INDEXI u svemu naj, naj, naj". The temporary expo on the legendary Sarajevo band is part of 'Retro Opatija" & is ongoing til July 27 at the Croatian Museum of Tourism on Vila Angiolina. If in Opatija, check it out!

Kudos to Bulgaria National TV for doing this story - the tour represented Ex-Yu Rock at a time of peak creativity

This was a good discussion on EU security & enlargement perspectives that considers both the Western Balkans as well as the countries in the Eastern Partnership. Comprehensive security underpinned the spread of human rights, good governance & economic opportunity – the EU should remember this.

Part 4 of Peter Lippman's series takes the reader to the Majevica part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the north-east, where lithium prospecting has raised citizen concern that has echoes of the protests in Serbia: lefteast.org/grassroots-r...

In part 3, Peter Lippman writes about the people he met in Maglaj & other towns and villages around Mt Ozren, where people are resisting a nickel mine that would impact eco-tourism & other initiatives:https://lefteast.org/grassroots-resistance-to-environmental-destruction-bosnia-herzegovina-ozren/

Part 2 of Peter Lippman's series on environmental destruction in Bosnia and Herzegovina dives deep into resistance in the beautiful towns of Šipovo, Jezero, and Jajce: lefteast.org/grassroots-r...

Peter Lippman has written a comprehensive and carefully researched series on the environmental and social impact of often poorly regulated mining and HE activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while also giving a voice to the citizens who are resisting. Part 1 is here: lefteast.org/grassroots-r...

Here is just a taste of what you can see at the Ex-Yu Rock Centar! Stay tuned here for more teasers, and better yet stop by to see it all for yourself!

My film Looking for Dayton is finally on YouTube..... As people consider the 30-year anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement coming up later this year, it's worth looking at lessons we learned (and ignored) at the 20-year point: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ_Q...

There is a definite warp in the time-space continuum when Inzko is focusing on the 2 post-Dayton years before the Bonn Powers were granted to BiH's Hi Rep, rather than on a) the way they were effectively used until 2006, and b) how OHR wasted years from 2007 til today n1info.ba/english/news...

As Dayton, Ohio gets ready to kick off the NATO Spring Parliamentary Assembly it's a good time to think about the peace talks that put Dayton on the map almost 30 years ago...... check out my film to remember what happened and why it matters: lookingfordayton.org

Another great event supporting rock in the region - come to the promotion to hear about the book, check out the exhibits and get ready for the show!

1/ At the @ex-yurockcentar.bsky.social, the first permanent exhibit as visitors round the corner is dedicated to Sarajevo’s New Primitives wave of bands in the 80s – with emphasis on Zabranjeno Pušenje, Bombaj Štampa, and Elvis J. Kurtović and his Meteors. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Yj...

The Ex-Yu Rock Centar in Sarajevo is now on Bluesky.... a site not to be missed on your next visit or when you just want to hear some great music

"The administration appears not to be able to attract the caliber of federal officials to which Americans have become accustomed." heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-9-2025

1/ Another sign that voters in the democracies are repelled by what they see in the US under Trump. Democratic solidarity is not hubbed in Washington anymore. apnews.com/article/aust...

So May 8 would be “Victory Day for World War II.....” why dos this sound familiar...https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/us/politics/trump-veterans-day-world-war-i.html

So “market driven capitalism” in the intentional absence of the transparency and basic information people need to make buying decisions….. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/u...

For an excellent book on 3 women who opened up new perspectives on war reporting in Vietnam read Elizabeth Becker’s book: www.goodreads.com/book/show/53...

As a native of Buffalo NY growing up just across the river from Ontario, I’m so proud of Canada…. Hope they finish the hockey season strong too

Having a hard time not thinking of Skopje 2014 when reading about Trump's plan for a "Garden of Heroes:": integrityaudit.org/blog/skopje-...

So Sec State Rubio wants to gut the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, claiming such work may "conflict with the president’s goals" www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/u...

Remember this? "Mattis once said if State Department funding gets cut 'then I need to buy more ammunition'" finance.yahoo.com/news/mattis-...

Extremely useful tool to measure the local impact of decisions being made in DC: theimpactproject.org/the-impact-m...

Americans overseas are experiencing DC-driven global disruption through a unique perspective... here I describe some of the questions I'm both pondering and hearing, reaching out to an audience in Rochester, NY: www.democratizationpolicy.org/the-destruct...