The 2016 Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Final Pt.7

This should be read as a direct continuation of Part 6; http://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/the-2016-eurovision-song-contest-grand_23.html

The most interesting opposition to the myriad of problems facing Europe come from the blocs of nations that made up the former Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia and the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

One of the big political developments since the last Song Contest was the conviction in March 2016 of Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for 10 offences of crimes against humanity committed during the wars that brought about the collapse of Yugoslavia. These included the genocide of at least 8,000 Muslim men and boys at the town of Screbrenica in July 1995.

As with the current civil war in Shamali Province and current war in Syria the version of this story you are told on the likes of CNN and the BBC is simply not true.

Despite the short-form name Czechoslovakia was always a federation of two distinct states - the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and therefore the Soviet bloc at the end of the Cold War the two republics decided to bring the federation to an end and each go their own way as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

They did this through four years of peaceful negotiation in which all aspects such as the division of territory, the voluntary relocation of citizens and protection of citizens wishing to remain were considered and agreed. This is sometimes referred to as; "The Velvet Divorce."

As a result whenever the topic of the wars surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union comes up at Eurovision both the Czechs and the Slovaks tend to sit there quietly looking smug. And deservedly so.

Yugoslavia was on course to follow Czechoslovakia's example and peacefully negotiate its own future. The problem from the American perspective was that while Croatia would become an independent state these negotiations would likely leave Yugoslavia more or less intact under a pro-Russian government.

So as they did in what is now Shamali Province the CIA backed Croat Ultranationalists to overthrow their representatives in the negotiations. This triggered the Croatian civil war and the collapse of the wider Yugoslav negotiations.

Through force of arms the US-backed Croat Ultranationalists then set about creating the biggest Croatian state possible by linking up pockets of the Croat ethnic group across Yugoslavia. As they went they ethnically cleansed non-Croats from the areas in between. Obviously the Yugoslav army moved to stop them. This prompted the US to start backing Bosnian Ultranationalists to divide the Yugoslav army and strengthen the Croats.

The hell that followed produced six nations where before there had only been one. The largest of these was the Serb dominated Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which remained under the pro-Russian Presidency of Slobodan Milošević.

So in 1999 the CIA backed the Ultranationalists of the Greater Albania movement to start a civil war in Yugoslavia's southern Kosovo province. This provided an excuse for a US-led NATO intervention which broke Montenegro away from Serbia and stole the Kosovo province away from Serbia.

With that Yugoslavia finally came to an end and Milošević was deposed.

So when Americans declare that the conviction of Karadzic shows that those responsible for the horrors of the Yugoslav wars have been brought to justice while US Presidents George H Bush and Bill Clinton are walking the streets without so much as an ankle-tag it causes a lot of offence to a lot of people. Particularly those who can point to Screbrenica on a map.

The geographic and ethnic fragmentation that US aggression has wrought in the former Yugoslavia is most clearly on display in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH). As befits a divided nation their national flag is a yellow bloc and a blue bloc divided by a line of stars.

Created by the 1995 Dayton Accords Bosnia & Herzegovina is often described as a federation of two autonomous regions - Republika Srpska (Serb Republic) and the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina.  However even that is a mass over-simplification because there's a third federal region - Brčko District - and the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina is actually a loose confederation of 10 Cantons each with their own government and ethnic/religious make-up.

If you take a vague interest in Balkan politics you would know that there has long been a lot of tension between Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH. However there has also been longstanding and seemingly growing tensions between the Federation of BiH Cantons - particularly between Muslim (Bosniak) and Christian (Bosnian/Croat) ones.

As such I think it is fair to say that Bosnia & Herzegovina has longstanding and continuing problems when it comes to ethnic and religious integration. In fact looking at the Screbrenica massacre that sounds like a distinct understatement.

Therefore the notion that you would take a vast number of traumatised, predominately Muslim refugees from the war in Syria and then dump them in Bosnia & Herzegovina is utterly insane.

However not as insane as Germany throwing its doors open to those refugees forcing them to trample through Bosnia & Herzegovina without even a word of warning to the 12 local governments.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: This year they were represented by a foursome - Dalal & Deen ft Ana Rucner and Jala.

They had been put together specially for the competition to represent BiH's different ethnic groups. As a Catholic the female singer Dalal was supposed to represent the Serbs of Republika Srpska while the male singer Deen represented the Bosnians. Born in Zagreb, Croatia the Cellist Ana Rucner was supposed to represent the Croats while Jala represented Bosniaks or Muslims more generally.

The title of the song - "Ljubav Je (Love Is)" - seemed intended as a reference to the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

This centred around a young girl named Lubov (Love) being taken on a journey through Russian history. The intention being that as the ceremony ended and the Olympics began it was up to the rest of the world to help write the future of Love in Russia. It was an open invitation for the world to help further the cause of gay-rights in Russia. Unfortunately the world's commitment to gay-rights only extended as far as booing loudly for the next month.

As such this was a contribution to the discussion about Pinkwashing expressed in a very pro-Russian way.

During the Sochi Olympics and the Eurovision Song Contest that followed the contrast between Russian high culture and US low culture became a convenient metaphor for the difference between the US and Russian positions on a range of issues.

The fact that Rucner is an extremely successful classically trained cellist obviously represents that Russian high culture. A Hip-hop artist with three albums to his name Jala equally obviously represents US low culture or "the black music" as its being referred to this year.

In the both the video in support of the song and the stage performance when he appeared Jala seems be to harassing and aggressively invading the space of Rucner. This seemed to be a clear protest against the US' continued harassment of Russia.

The video itself it set in a Grand Masonic Temple with a Star of David clearly visible in the skylight.

Due to a particularly well timed Israeli cheat-sheet I now know that the Star of David has only been used as a symbol of Jewishness since the 17th Century when the Jews of Prague, Czech Republic were allowed to fly a special Jewish flag after they helped repel Swedish invaders. Prior to that it was commonly used to adorn all sorts of buildings purely as a form of decoration.

The Freemasons began life as a sort of trade union for stone masons - literally Free Masons. These master craftsmen in particular would use the Star of David and other pentagram and hexagram designs to decorate their creations. For example the glass doors at the main entrance to the Freemason Grand Temple in London, UK are adorned with a series of Stars of David.

If you follow Internet conspiracy theories you would know that everything bad that happens in the world is the work of either the Freemasons, the Zionists or the Lizard people and often all three working together. As such this inclusion of a Masonic Temple adorned with Stars of David was clearly intended as a mockery of the fascists of Shamali Province who see all their problems as the result of the Grand Zionist Conspiracy.

The stage setting in BiH's only performance in the first semi-final was much more blunt.

It featured musicians wrapped in the foil blankets that are often given to rescued refugees and the survivors of terror attacks. Down the middle of the stage there was a barbed wire fence like those that have sprung up along the Balkan route for refugees. On one side of the fence there was a man dressed in the black leather of the Nazi Waffen SS and a woman dressed as if she were a refugee from northern Syria/Iraq.

What I found interesting was that unlike on CNN or the BBC it was the Bosnian rather than the Serb who was portrayed as the fascist. However I should point out that with the exception of Ana Rucner the ethnicities of the performers was implied rather than expressly stated. As such that is something that was left open to extensive interpretation and therefore the prejudice of the viewer.

Within the context of the stage performance Jala's - the Muslim - harassment and aggressive invasion of Rucner's personal space was intended as a reference to the Cologne sex assaults and the rising fear of sex-mad Muslim refugees. However I should make clear that this seemed intended to reference the discussion that was already taking place rather than declaring all Muslims to be rapists.

The overall tone of the music was very big, dramatic and ominous to highlight the severity of the crisis that Europe and particularly BiH has been plunged into amid war, terrorism and refugees.

Sung as a duet the lyrics about how much she wants to be with him and he wants to be with her this was obviously a song of unity. You could interpret that as a call for unity amongst BiH's 12 regional governments or a more general call for unity amongst European states be they members of the European Union (EU) or not. You might even interpret it as an expression of BiH's yearning to join the EU.

However amid the pro-Russian overtones, the criticism of Shamali Province and the highlighting of the problems Germany has caused I took it as BiH going;

"If being part of the EU means supporting the Nazis in Shamali Province and taking in all these refugees f*ck that. We're reforming Yugoslavia. And then we're going to rejoin the Soviet Union!"

This seemed to be a sentiment shared amongst all the former Yugoslav states. I've already explained how Montenegro took a very pro-Russian, anti-Shamali Province stance.  

Slovenia's "Blue & Red" made a bit point of how they share the red, white and blue of the Russian flag. However their mockery of the notion that Russia are the racists of Europe was so well done I'll be including them as one of my stand-outs. If you want a taste of the sort of silliness we've come to expect from the Song Contest do an Internet search for "Taylor Swift Aryan Goddess." It's all true.

 Macedonia made a point of how of all the small things the US smashed Yugoslavia into they are the most deserving of help when it comes to refugees. They also savagely mocked Turkish President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip who is often referred to as; "The Kebab."

Even Croatia seemed to be craving the safe-harbour that Yugoslavia used to offer before the all the refugees turned up. The big motif of their video in support of "Lighthouse" was space and interstellar travel. According to the lyrics of Neoconservative anthem "Close" by Nick Jonas space is "Just something made up." A claim about as credible as the claim that Shamali Province's problems as due to "Russian Aggression."

Through it's mockery of the US and its black music even the Czech Republic seemed to be going to the former Yugoslav states; "Seems like the only sensible plan. We're about to drunk dial Slovakia. Even if she doesn't want to be in the room this year."

At around 17:30 on 24/5/16 (UK date) I'll may be back to talk about Serbia in more detail later. However if this has seemed like a scratchy read than it is only a fair reflection of the feeling in my throat at the moment.

Edited at around 13:55 on 27/5/16 (UK date) to add above and below;

NATO's 1999 war against Serbia is particularly relevant to the current migration crisis. After all it started life as a migration crisis.

Towards the end of 1996 the Albanian economy which had literally been run as a giant pyramid scheme imploded. In January 1997 the Albanian people took to the streets in protest demanding that the government reimburse the savings they had lost.

On March 1st 1997 (1/3/97) the Prime Minister resigned and on March 2nd (2/3/97) a nationwide state of emergency was imposed. If anything this made the situation worse and widespread rioting spread throughout the country. On March 28th (28/3/97) the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed resolution 1101 (1997) authorising a 7000 strong peacekeeping mission to restore order in Albania.

In order to flee the shortlived disorder and the much longer lasting economic hardship a large number of Albanians swarmed across the border into Serbia's southern Kosovo province. In 1998 the Greater Albania movement declared that the significant demographic change this created meant that Kosovo was now part of Albania.

It was the Serbs attempts to deport these large numbers of illegal, economic migrants along with a terrorist campaign by the Greater Albania movement that provided US President Bill Clinton with an excuse to launch a 'humanitarian intervention' to tear Kosovo and Montenegro away from Serbia collapsing Yugoslavia and bring down Milošević.

As such amid Balkan nations there is a very real concern that the flood of refugees and economic migrants making their way along the Balkan route to Germany will trigger a similar conflict. With US President Obama's seeming utter commitment to continuous war everywhere there is a very real worry that NATO forces could soon be sent to Macedonia to tear away it's south-western provinces the same way Clinton tried to tear Kosovo away from Serbia.

Even without such a dramatic US-led re-drawing of the borders of Europe through force the Greater Albania movement is made up almost exclusively of Sunni Muslims. As such across the Balkans there is a general perception that "Muslim" means "Albanian" and "Albanian" means "Thief." As such dumping millions of these 'Thieves's across Balkan nations - particularly Macedonia - is likely to lead to large scale civil unrest and disorder.

With everyone acutely aware of the intense pressure that Macedonia is currently under it fell to Serbia to carry the warning sign about the Greater Albania movement in the Grand Final. After all Macedonia is merely under threat from the Greater Albania movement. Serbia has already suffered at their hands.

Serbia: This year they were represented by the female singer Sanja Vučić. This is an area where I have to be extremely careful about how I phrase what I say next.

This year a lot of the female singers resembled Kim Kardashian to some extent. This is because Armenia made Kim Kardashian's Armenian heritage a large part of their entry. As such is became a convenient shorthand for nations to show their support for Armenian over Azerbaijan in the latest upsurge in fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh Region (NKR).

Kim Kardashian is extremely aesthetically beautiful. This means that she has a very symmetrical face in which all the features such as the eyes, nose, cheekbones etc are very much in proportion with each other. However the more intangible term "attractive" is more complex then that. For example Rihanna is widely considered to be a sex-symbol despite the fact she has quite a large, out of proportion, forehead. A "Fivehead" as she sometimes refers to it.

Sanja Vučić face doesn't have the symmetry of Kim Kardashian instead having some pronounced, out of proportion, features such as her nose and her chin. This is what I would refer to as; "A Strong Face." It belies a personality of a woman who knows exactly what she wants and doesn't take any crap from anyone. At the risk of oversharing this is something I actually find quite attractive.

If I was looking for someone to compare Sanja Vučić to as a sort shorthand to explain her look I would probably have gone with the Aunt Polly character from the UK TV Show "Peaky Blinders." She is the head of the Shelby crime family and part Roma gypsy. There are a lot of Roma in the Balkans meaning that the Roma look is often confused with a Balkan look. Aunt Polly is played by Helen McCrory who is married to Damian Lewis of "Homeland" fame.

Liberally interpreting the rules the UK's Song Contest entry this year was the TV Show Peaky Blinders. What I found interesting is that during the semi-final and final stage performance the Serbian team caked the make-up on Sanja Vučić to make her resemble Kim Kardashian as much as possible in order to avoid being interpreted as giving support to the UK.

In her biography Vučić is said to have worked with opera singers to develop a voice that is superior to both Beyonce and Aretha Franklin. This not only references the American black music but makes clear that she is entitled to look down and laugh at it.

Probably the most interesting detail from Sanja Vučić's biography is that she is studying Arabic at university level. Across northern Europe for Poland to Germany the concerns about the migration crisis is about how to integrate a large number of Muslims. In those nations Muslims are still viewed as a bit of an exotic novelty meaning there is a great fear of the unknown.

By highlighting that Vučić is fluent in Arabic at an advanced level Serbia was making the point that in the Balkans being a Muslim really isn't a novelty. They have large Muslim populations of their own and the region is emerging as a skiing holiday destination from rich Arabs in the Gulf States. Therefore the objections from the Balkan nations are not driven by a fear of the unknown but extensive experience of the problem.

In the performance video in support of the song Sanja Vučić seems to be channelling her inner Amy Winehouse who was of course Jewish. This seemed to be a direct insult to Shamali Province. After all nothing is likely to antagonise a nation led by former members of the Nazi Waffen SS as reminding them they failed in their task of wiping out all the Jews during the Nazi holocaust.

Featuring lyrics such as; "Gotta fight my way out of your hands,//find the shelter from the pain" the song Goodbye (Shelter) supposedly tells the story of one woman's personal experience escaping a domestically violent relationship. During the final performance Vučić sung this song in a grand black, feathered gown. This made her look just like the black eagle at the heart of the Albanian flag.

So although no overt reference was made you should have been left in no doubt as to who was the perpetrator of the domestic violence in this case.

If Shamali Province had wanted to be eligible for competition this year that is the sort of thing they should have done.

15:30 on 27/5/16 (UK date).