An observation...

[vicsinad]

So, someone like our dear brother Dragan would willingly leave Macedonia behind for better opportunities abroad. He would readily rank Macedonia lower than USA because of the limited opportunities.

Yeah, I see that. It's why many of our parents left. But I don't think they realize that it's a short term fix to their problems, or that different problems that they never thought of will arise, especially for their children and grandchildren.

Dragan:

but I am yet to meet a macedonian immigrant that has returned from the country he immigrated to saying "I was wrong,Macedonia is better,I'll remain here".

I think that's such a loaded question. First, family: My grandma wants to be back there -- but her entire family is here. So when your entire, or mostly immediate family is one place, it makes things hard. Most Macedonians here look at me and others as crazy for leaving the Detroit area to go to another state, "how could you leave your family behind?" I don't know if it's still true, but in the 60s and 70s, entire Macedonian families would come here. First a son, then the other siblings, then the parents, etc. It's hard to rebuild without convincing your family to come back.

Second, comfort. When you get comfortable with a way of doing things, why change? Life is comfortable here for many of the immigrants. There's no way around this fact for many: "I work from 8-5 placing stickers on a car all day long, then I come home and sit on my couch all day watching TV, or on the internet. On the weekends me and my love might go to the mall, see a movie, stroll in the park, or take a road trip." It's just comfortable.

Third, money. Gocka mentioned this...I know very few Macedonians that don't have some kind of debt (mortgage, student loans, car, credit card). We're all in it. It's just sometimes the government and economists sell it as "good debt."

Fourth, inconsistency and unreliability in Macedonia's institutions. There's no way around it -- countries have corrupt politicians and crappy bureaucracy, but the US's cronies seem to be held just a tad bit more accountable for their actions (probably in part thanks to the justice system) and that makes a huge difference.

Finally, misconception. Many believe -- or actually, put on a front -- that their lives are perfect. "This is my house, my car...my son makes this much money, my daughter has this many degrees." Etc. But as soon as you dig deeper into their minds, especially the ones that have been here a few decades, you find out that most aren't happy despite having everything they could need. Here are some things I've heard: "I've spent 25 years in a factory, for what?" "My kids call me only once every few weeks." "I have x-thousand dollars in bills to pay every month, and I can't keep up with it." Or as you said Dragan:

maybe money can't buy happiness,but it's better to cry in a ferrari than on bare foot.

That mentality of, "I'm never going to be happy, so I'll just keep on buying things." They generally fill these voids by buying more things, or caving in to certain addictions.

[DedoAleko]

Some might find this interesting to read. It is written by Jason Miko

Steady

Observing events unfold in Macedonia from 8,000 kilometers away; reading the news reports daily and watching occasional videos surface; speaking with friends in and outside of Macedonia; and then observing and reading about other events around the world which are very serious and dangerous I feel myself compelled to weigh in with this one piece of advice: steady as she goes.


That phrase – steady as she goes – is a nautical term. It refers to the need of the helmsman, the pilot, to keep a steady course of the ship. In this case, the ship is Macedonia and the helmsman is the people of Macedonia. There is no need for the people of Macedonia to panic because panic,in fact, simply hurts the country. While there is cause for concern – the allegations made by SDSM are serious and the government’s response is equally serious – there is a process to deal with all of this and that process is in the judicial system where it belongs. Unfortunately, it seems as though Zoran Zaev thinks he is in a perpetual campaign with his allegations and press conferences. But what are the facts in this? We really don’t know. All we know is what we have seen and heard in partial recordings and transcripts without knowing context, background and other information. Do those tell the whole story? In Matthew 5:30 Matthew quotes Jesus saying “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away.” Does that mean Jesus wants you to actually cut off your hand? Of course not. You must read the verse in context with the rest of the chapter and in the context of other Scripture. In 2 Corinthians 11:23 the Apostle Paul writes “I am out of mind to talk like this.” Does Paul really mean that he is insane? Of course not; again one must read the whole chapter and understand the context.


I hate to say this but it seems there are some people in Macedonia who want to point to the country and scream “Look at us, we are so dysfunctional!” It seems they want attention, and all for the wrong reasons. Well, I’ve got news for you: Macedonia is no more dysfunctional than any other Western country. When it comes to political machinations you are not that special and you are not the center of the world. Every country has these issues. Don’t believe the falsehood being thrown about that Macedonia is a terrible victim and the world is watching with deep concern. The current state of heightened hyperbole both within and outside of Macedonia only serves to confuse the situation and compound Macedonia’s problems. Macedonia is mature enough to solve this issue on its own and I fully expect for you to do that through the rule of law and judicial process put in place. Is the government perfect? Of course not. Are there problems? Yes. Are these being dealt with? Of course.


Furthermore there are many false rumors being spread designed to cause panic, confusion and anger. One such rumor is that the United States is considering not allowing certain individuals from Macedonia to travel to the United States. This is absurd and false. Another comes from former EU ambassador Erwan Fouere who has his own far-left agenda to pursue. Fouere claims that this is causing an increase in ethnic strife. False again. Fouere, and individuals like him, are using this situation in an attempt to bring about a change in the direction of the country to an old and failed ideology of the left.


My concern is that the opposition has finally and fatally, injured themselves to the point of no return. Many of the allegations brought by Zaev have been contradictory and confusing. If it was the intention of SDSM to bolster their credibility by making these accusations,they have failed and failed spectacularly. We can all agree that Macedonia needs a credible opposition party. A republic needs this. VMRO-DPMNE has said this numerous times. But, combined with their boycott since last April’s elections and bombastic rhetoric since then,the opposition has proven they have no plan. Who, within the opposition, can come forward and, while loving Macedonia, be a loyal opposition, loyal to Macedonia? I have no doubt that most of our friends on the left of the political spectrum love Macedonia. I am reasonably sure that in arguing for a leftist, socialist agenda their intentions and motives are for what is best for Macedonia – they simply believe that Macedonia would benefit from a far-left socialist form of government. On those issues we can have an honest debate because I, for one, do not believe that a far-left socialist form of government is good for anyone.


Ultimately,all human problems come from spiritual problems – problems that relate to our selfish nature as sinful human beings – whether we are Believers or not. Problems such as these cannot be solved by press conferences, courts, parliaments, international interventions or anything else. They must be solved at an individual level. But that is the subject of a future column – and Easter is coming.


Back to my “steady as she goes” thought: keep moving on, Macedonia. Don’t let these events paralyze you. Don’t let them distract you from living and living life to the fullest. Spring is coming soon and there is much more to life than politics. Too often, in Macedonia, I have seen all of the oxygen sucked out of the room because everyone focuses on politics. Enough!Get on with your families and your lives.

[Tomche Makedonche]

haha if your an enthusiast you''ll be disappointed, I have a green Kawasaki Ninija 1000.

Nothing wrong with a Kwaka there bud, the current model is quite the gun , I'm assuming ZX10R? what year model?

I need to get rid of it before it gets rid of me if you know what I mean.

Sounds like the perfect relationship

[Gocka]

2013 ZX10R. The adrenaline rush is unbelievable, its such a nimble perfectly balanced bike. My only complaint is that they now have a 300hp Ninja H2 A 300hp four cylinder car is very fast, 300hp on a bike is suicide.

What kind of bike do you have?

Nothing wrong with a Kwaka there bud, the current model is quite the gun , I'm assuming ZX10R? what year model?



Sounds like the perfect relationship

[Risto the Great]

2013 ZX10R.

WIKIPEDIA:
According to data published in 2007 by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety in the USA, the ZX-10R has the country's highest collision damage loss claim rate of any motorcycle registered between 2000 and 2006

I drive my "widowmaker" 930 on some weekends. It's nice to be scared sometimes.

1st world problems.

[Big Bad Sven]

Great article by Jason Miko, just reminds me how pathetic SDSM is. Im no VMRO cheer leader but SDSM is much more worse then VMRO. There needs to be another alternative to SDSM.

But going back to the poverty in macedonia. I dont want to be seen as a 'typical arrogant australian' but i find it hard to believe there are people in macedonia starving, close to death with no access to food.

I just had bit of look at some peoples profiles from macedonia and it seems like a lot of younger people (especially the girls) wear new modern clothes, go out a lot to bars and clubs, and dont look like famine victims.
Even young people from what looked like the village had good clothes and were going out.

Talking to a few relatives a few months ago all they complained about was how the young people in macedonia just go out every night and sleep all day.

Like i said earlier i am not seeing macedonian women getting married to foreigners in large numbers, while we are seeing macedonian men going to albania and ukraine to get wives.
We are not seeing a mass exodus as like what is happening in kosovo.

From my observations people have no issue with getting food in macedonia, or getting clothes, or even going out to enjoy themselves for a social drink.
The real issue is that there is no future job wise or career wise, or there is no real chance to become 'rich' and just be stuck in your 'class'. There is also the issue of 'brain drain' and poor education but thats another story.

I dont blame young macedonians leaving the country to go to western europe to make some real money and get a real career. And i really do feel sorry for macedonians in the republic.

A bit off topic; i notice a lot of macedonians are going to live and work in germany and switzerland a lot now, and still come back to macedonia regularly. I wish these people would invest in the country like how the albanains in macedonia have. But from my observations it seems like the macedonians who live and work in western europe would never return back to macedonia if it wasnt for visiting their families and have negative views about macedonia. Its a shame and contributes to the albanization of macedonia.

[Tomche Makedonche]

2013 ZX10R. The adrenaline rush is unbelievable, its such a nimble perfectly balanced bike. My only complaint is that they now have a 300hp Ninja H2 A 300hp four cylinder car is very fast, 300hp on a bike is suicide.

What kind of bike do you have?

Nice, Kwaka definitely pulled out the goods with that model, it was a much needed return of their “A” game if you ask me, I know at my last outing I was struggling to keep up with a fellow at the top end of town (much to my personal dismay), they’ve certainly added some extra ponies there.

Right now I’ve only got my beloved GSXR1000 – K7, used it mainly for the odd track day and occasional weekend run through the twisty’s, however since I recently (and reluctantly) had to depart with my old daily commuter, as impractical as it might be for the street, we’ve been enjoying some more regular outings here and there.

As for the H2R, I think Kawasaki just took the game to a whole other level with that rocketship, I believe the first ride reviews should be coming out this month.