TiM GW Bulletin 98/7-4 July 10, 1998

Check Out Some Reader Reactions to Our Articles; Some Other Issues, Too TiM READERS' FORUM July 1998

CALIFORNIA - I'm going through four years of material gleaned for (my) book two. My files, comprised of all the material I felt worthy to be saved for later rumination... turn out to be salted through and through with your material.... All this is to say, I owe you a debt of gratitude for being one of the ones who helped educate me... Alas, the waking reality is a nightmare, but forewarned is, one hopes, forearmed.

John Bruni, journalist

California

TOMSK (Siberia), Russia - Hello Bob! I really like your issues of Truth In Media - the most honest information about Serbian events.... Is it possible to go to Serbia and take a part in (her) war against the Albanian bandits, and if necessary, against the NATO soldiers, too?

I.A.

Tomsk, Russia

TiM Ed.'s reply: Guess, it is possible, but it may not be necessary. As far as I know, Serbia has adequate troops on the ground in Kosovo. And in case of the NATO attack, it would probably be by bombing from the air, as they did in Bosnia. So foot soldiers may not be much good in that case.

U.S. (state unknown) - I just wanted to say thank you for everything you do to hold media accountable and shed light where there is nothing. Without persons like yourself we would be ass up to the raiders, wondering why we never smile. I look forward to your next e-mail.

Benjamin Watson

(U.S., state unknown)

LONDON - In a sign of increased frustration with the Kosovo Albanian Army (KLA) guerillas, the special U.S. negotiator to the Balkans, Richard Gelbard, offered both a carrot and swung a stick at the insurgents. Speaking after a conference he had attended in London, Gelbard told Reuters on July 4 that the United States would recognize the KLA's claim for a seat at the talks table. But if the Albanian guerrillas refused to accept a political solution to the crisis, Washington could take direct action against them.

In particular, Gelbard said he had demanded that the KLA stop targeting civilians. Washington had concrete evidence that KLA guerrillas had kidnapped four Serbs last week, including two who were seeking refugee status in the United States. He said the KLA should release them immediately.

"If certain conditions were not met, we would oppose them and could oppose them all through their whole chain of supply," Gelbard said.

TiM Ed.: In other words, at the present time, the U.S. is NOT opposing the terrorists' chain of supply? Doesn't that mean that our government is tacitly aiding and abetting the KLA, which Gelbard himself had called a terrorist organization earlier this year? Shades of the Iran-Bosnia secret arms deal in 1994, when the Clinton administration. acquiesced to it so as to help the Bosnian Muslims, despite the fact that it was thereby violating the arms embargo to which the U.S. was a signatory. "He who remains silent appears to acquiesce," goes an old saw.

NEW YORK - Benjamin Works, executive director of SIRIUS, a Long Island-based research organization whose articles TiM has carried before, forwarded to us a July 9 Reuters report, which said that Richard Holbrooke, the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and a special representative to the Balkans and Cyprus, also played a secret role in negotiations between the Swiss banks and the Holocaust victims.

The World Jewish Congress, a key group in negotiations with the Swiss on the return of Holocaust-era assets, told Reuters that Holbrooke flew to Zurich last year for talks with the Swiss president and the head of Credit Suisse, one of the country's major banks. He also maintained intensive phone contacts, the group said. At the time, Holbrooke was vice chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston, the U.S. branch of the giant Swiss bank.

The WJC spokesman said Holbrooke approached the WJC president, Edgar Bronfman, to offer his assistance in the long dispute over charges that the Swiss banks held on to Holocaust-era assets and traded in Nazi looted gold. He added that Holbrooke talked to the Swiss President, Flavio Cotti, and Credit Suisse President, Rainer Gut, and "was aggressive in warning them that their failure to move rapidly in achieving a just settlement with survivors would lead to disaster.''

TiM Ed.: Holbrooke is clearly a jack of all trades (and a master of none?). But what about his conflict of interest? A man whose fiduciary responsibility as an employee of Credit Suisse was to act in his company's best interests, VOLUNTEERED to represent the interests of claimants against his firm! O tempora, o mores... As a Chinese immigrant-doctor once told this writer, "America has everything except shame!"

And now, a man of Holbrooke's morals is supposed to command the trust of the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo; and of the Greeks and the Turks in Cyprus? No wonder fighting is escalating after his latest "mediation" (or was it "meddling?") in Kosovo.

MASSACHUSETTS - Here is a letter by Dr. Michael Pravica, published in The European, U.K., the 6 - 12 July 1998 issue:

A NUMBER of questions must be raised with regard to Nato's illegal interference in the affairs of Yugoslavia to ascertain the true aims of this organisation ("Flying in the face of bluster and bloodshed," issue 422). First, by provoking the Serbs, Slobodan Milosevic is strengthened and the more extreme elements of the Kosovo Albanian leadership will believe that further fighting will eventually gain them independence.

Second, by preventing the Serbs from combating the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army (and refusing to condemn outright the terrorist actions of the KLA), Kosovo's Serbian civilians will continue to suffer silently as they have been doing for some decades from these secessionist extremists.

Third, by violating the territorial sovereignty of Yugoslavia, perhaps Nato will in the future find ample reasons to intervene to protect the Kurds of Turkey, the Basque separatists of Spain, the northern Italians, the Prostestants of Northern Ireland, and even maybe the Palestinians.

If NATO will not allow countries to combat terrorism in their own borders, then someone must intervene to protect innocent civilians.

Dr. Michael Pravica

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

MARYLAND - Here is a letter by Prof. Alex Dragnich, published in The Washington Post on Wednesday, July 8, 1998:

Jane M. O. Sharp, a British academic, ought to know better than to write: "In 1989, as Serbian president, [Slobodan] Milosevic unilaterally revoked the autonomy granted the province of Kosovo under the 1974 Yugoslav constitution" ["Not Another Bosnia," op-ed, June 18]. This erroneous statement is repeated by many others in the media.

The changes concerning the status of Kosovo followed the procedures of the Yugoslav constitution. After some frenzied efforts (especially at two party conferences in 1987) to find a solution to the persecution of Kosovo Serbs by the Albanians (seizure or sale of properties under duress, desecration of cemeteries and churches, etc.), the Yugoslav Communists concluded that they had failed, but without saying so.

Consequently, in 1988 they amended the Yugoslav constitution, giving Serbia the right to amend its constitution with respect to Kosovo and its other autonomous province, Vojvodina. Their reasoning: The way the 1974 constitution has been interpreted has led to political paralysis in Serbia because Kosovo and Vojvodina are able to veto acts of the Serbian parliament even when these had nothing to do with the provinces.

The consent of the provinces also was necessary to amend Serbia's constitution. Vojvodina gave its consent in February 1989 and Kosovo in March. The new Serbian constitution takes away the right of provincial assemblies to veto acts of the Serbian parliament. But they may give their opinions, and if these are rejected, a six-month waiting period ensues. If at the end of that time their opinions are still rejected, the provincial assemblies may force a referendum.

The new constitution did not revoke Kosovo's autonomy; it reduced it to what it was under the 1963 constitution, which was still considerable. The Albanians rejected the decrease and engaged in civil disobedience. They refused to participate in all governmental institutions -- schools, police, medical facilities -- and set about creating their own informal ones. And they went on strikes in government enterprises, which resulted in firings. These acts are what prompted the Belgrade government to establish in the province, a military presence the Albanians dubbed an "occupation." This is how the present situation came to be.

ALEX N. DRAGNICH

Bowie, Maryland

DECANI, Serbia - If you read the Gospel, you remember that Apostle Paul went even to Rome to defend his cause. Is that not remarkable? A sheep among the wolves, an Apostle in front of the pagan Roman emperor? Nor did the first Christian apologists, such as Justin the Philosopher, and Athenagoras, hesitate to bear witness of their faith and their view of the world in front of the atheists and proud philosophers.

What I want to say is that no matter what anyone thought about it, the presence of Bishop Artemije at the Berlin (July 3-4) globalist conference was a courageous act of a Bishop who is not ashamed to go to the wolves' den in order to bear witness of his faith, and speak on behalf of his flock.

Our Lord said: Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of the wolves: Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Mt 10:16) He also said: And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.... And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. (Mt 10:7-14).

hieromonk Sava

Decani, Serbia

WISCONSIN - Your information about the Spanish inquisition in Bosnia 1998, i.e., the brutal elimination of (Petar Petrovic) Njegos' works from the Serbian schools in Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic) by the occupation forces "Gauleiter" - (Carlos) Westendorp - is the "cultural crime" of the XX-th Century. Protests should be forwarded to the UNESCO. Perhaps first by the present Montenegro government (Njegos was from Montenegro). Unbelievable stupidity...

TiM Ed.: Sorry to interject, but if only it were just "stupidity." Try malice instead. The NWO "Gauleiter" Westendorp doesn't seem to be lacking in his knowledge of the Balkan history or cultures. On the contrary...

As to the current Montenegrin government, they also seem like the NWO stooges. Notice the deafening silence, instead of protests against this "cultural crime of the 20^th century, by Milo Djukanovic, Montenegrin president, and his officials?

When in 1832, Austrian censors in Vienna prohibited the publication of only one of his first works, "Glas Kamenstaka" (because of its anti-Turkish stance), they did NOT ban Njegos altogether, whose many other works were later published in Vienna, including the world-famous "The Mountain Wreath" in 1847. He slightly changed the "Glas Kamenstaka," which was later also published in Vienna under the title "Svobodijada" (in 1835).

TiM Ed.: Imagine that (!?)... The mighty Austro-Hungarian Empire being squeamish about offending the Turks by publishing Njegos even though the Ottoman Empire had laid a siege of Vienna in the late 17^th century, and almost conquered it, too (just as they did to Serbia three centuries before that). Who or what does that remind you of?

Meanwhile, back to the ignorant "Gauleiter" Westendorp, I would strongly recommend to him the book, "Njegos-Poet Prince-Bishop" by Milovan Djilas, published in 1966 in New York by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ). This 500 page-book might open his horizons.

Also, Columbia University (NY) has an established a NJEGOS ENDOWMENT FUND for Serbian Studies and Serbian/Croatian languages. The Pittsburgh University has had for over 70 years a wonderful Njegos Reading Room, the pride of the University of Pennsylvania. Finally, there is no University or National Library in the World without some Njegos' works in Serbo-Croatian or of its translations. No contemporary Slavic or South-Slavic educational program in the entire world could afford to cut NJEGOS from their curriculums as the Bosnian occupation "Gauleiter" Westendorp censorship ordered in Bosnia.

Milan Radovich, Librarian

University of Wisconsin Memorial Library

U.S. - Njegos banned in Bosnia? Because it might offend a faction of the country? Does this sound anything like the reasoning for banning Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" in America? The coincidences that occur in this world of New World Order are truly amazing, aren't they?

Steffan Bertsch

(state unknown)

ARIZONA - (Petar Petrovich) Njegosh is to be removed from school texts because he is the "ideologue of ethnic cleansing?" And all references to Serbia or Montenegro are to be dropped, per (Carlos) Westendorp? By the way, fulfillment of these decrees is tied to a New World Order (NWO) educational grant for the Bosnian Serb Republic in the amount of $8.5 million (the "hush" money).

Westendorp, a Spaniard with a German-sounding name, is imposing on the Serbs in Bosnia what both of his ancestors (German and Spanish) have done so well in the past - some sort of a legacy of the "civilized people." Maybe someone needs to remind him of the Basques in Spain. If they lived in Serbia, the ETA would not be a terrorist organization, and their plight for independence would be an international issue.

If Turkey were Serbia, it would have been ordered many times to withdraw troops from its own territory (unheard of). It would have been sanctioned internationally for waging a war against the Kurds. (Robert) Gelbard and (Richard) Holbrooke (the State Department's Balkan representatives) would have had photo sessions with the Kurdish leadership and fighters.

If Tokyo Rose had been lying for the American side during WW II, she would probably have received a Freedom Award.

If Communists ban books, that's dictatorship. If NATO bans books, that's democracy.

IRA is terrorist, KLA is not. But PLA is. Go figure!

If we were to apply same standards world over which the NWO is applying to the Serbs, NATO would be parked outside of Istanbul, as well Northern Ireland. Britain would be cut off from the EU. Her Majesty's government would be under notice to get the British troops out of Northern Ireland now, or face the NATO air strikes.

See any logic in this pure, unadulterated, NWO hypocrisy?

To subjugate a people you must erase their memory (see "Dumbing Down of America," or "Dancing 'round the Golden Calf," a Washington Times column, 8/31/98). It goes along the "national amnesia" policy practiced in the U.S. People without history have no memory. The only people who remember everything are the "chosen people." Everyone else must forget yesterday.

We are the only country that can put a man on the Moon thirty years ago, but cannot teach our kids how to read and write. Illiterates don’t read. Those who don't read don’t remember and don’t know. Those who don’t know are controllable.

Catholic priests knew the earth wasn’t flat. But keeping people ignorant was better than educating them. Is there a common thread in all this? Maybe NWO isn't all that new?

Dr. M. Vranjican, pharmacist (formerly of the U.S. Navy)

Arizona

PENNSYLVANIA - Just a few words... I am amazed at your capacity to see the WHOLE PICTURE OF THE GEOPOLITICAL WORLD... I will pass this on. Hope they have an open mind. Because a piece like this could shock some people.

Little by little I am accumulating knowledge. Thank you also for your article about the famous Serbian poet (Njegos). One of the things that I loved about Europe was that it was monolithic. It was not watered down the way we are in the US.

TiM Ed.: "Watered down" - sounds like the "Dumbing Down of America," the title of a piece I wrote last year which ended up being published by the WASHINGTON TIMES under the title, "Dancing 'round the Golden Calf" (check out an earlier reference to it).

When I was in Athens, Greece, back in 1976, there was an auto accident. The drivers of the cars and the police were arguing about it. When things started to get of hand, the policeman suddenly made a sign of the cross in exasperation. Everybody fell into line. Just like that. No more arguments. No more bickering. Greeks yell a lot, but that's where it stops.

S.Z.

Pennsylvania

ARIZONA - So, what’s left for Washington to do (to justify a Kosovo intervention)? Simple. Instigate an "incident," in which several NATO soldiers are attacked or even killed. A similar scenario gave Hitler the "authority" to invade Poland. Several German soldiers, dressed in Polish uniforms, fired at German border guards, killing some of them. It was all on film. CNN will dutifully record the "evidence" for us. And then, the national indignation will precede action.

This was done in the Spanish-American war at the end of the century. An American battleship, visiting Havana, Cuba, conveniently blew up (just like, battle ships blow up all the time!). But the Spanish were to blame. Yellow press drummed up war frenzy and the gullible American voters let death merchants and politicians start another war - "to protect our freedom."

So, unless there is some sort of a breakthrough, one possible scenario is as follows:

(a) Kosovo Albanians will intensify their attacks on Serbs (military and civilians) under orders from their Americana advisors.

(b) The establishment press will dutifully fail to report any Serbian civilian causalities as it has during the week-long Decani siege, when even the nuns were fired upon.

(c) The attacks will prompt Serbian military to strike back, at which time a "flood" of refugees will follow, along with escalated calls for action by the U.S. and its major puppet state ­ the United Kingdom (which itself has been unable to solve its Kosovo in Northern Ireland for decades).

(d) This will bring NATO troops to the border of Albania from where an "incident" can be staged.

Serbia is the last obstacle in the plan to complete encirclement of Russia, from the Baltics to well past the Ural mountains. This makes Russia extremely vulnerable. Yeltsin will not last forever, and his successor may not be willing to undermine Russian national interests as easily.

The Serbs stand in the middle of this road and must be neutralized as soon as possible. Montenegro has been bought, but Serbia hasn’t. It now must be broken up into small pieces, first by chipping off Kosovo, and then Vojvodina, making the rest of it land-locked and surrounded by NATO-backed historical enemies.

The wisdom of this policy is something one must question. Foreign interventions in the Balkans have created this very powder keg there. The far-reaching consequences of the NATO-rearranged Balkan borders will only ensure a new ethnic conflict, if and when the political climate changes. Let no one foolishly believe that current Bosnia is something that will last forever, or that Serbs will not take back Kosovo, as they have after 500 years.

NWO's "Drang nach Osten" (eastward expansion, using German strategic term) is intended to pacify Russia for the future conflict with China, which is inevitable. China promised to take back Taiwan. China is ready to suffer casualties. The U.S. is not. That’s why U.S. troops did not go into Bosnia until Milosevic agreed to capitulate on behalf of Bosnian Serbs. The U.S. wanted to make sure that no guerrilla warfare existed once on the ground in Bosnia.

The situation in Kosovo is escalating with "huge amounts of weapons" slipping into Kosovo from Albania, and with Albanian rebels promising a new offensive (read: provocation) that will result in a Serb reaction. Now Serbia has moved up to 50,000 troops into the province. The Albanian government and its NATO advisers look the other way while the weapons are being ferried right in front of their noses into Kosovo to ignite another war.

I hope our officials in Washington know what they are doing. For, one day, they may be held liable for the war crimes they have planned and perpetrated.

Dr. M. Vranjican, pharmacist (formerly of the U.S. Navy)

Arizona

PHOENIX - Our "Ostrich of the Month" award for July goes to a Serbian TiM reader who wrote to us on July 5, possibly in response to this writer's Washington Times column, "Kosovo: Why are we involved?", which was published the same day. This reader said:

Thought you'd be amused with this Associated Press news clip about Bill Clinton's recent trip to Hong Kong, where Clinton, Hillary, the White House Chief of Staff and some secret services agents got stuck in an elevator on July 2 for 10 minutes. Here's an excerpt:

"Apparently a lightning bolt in a thunderstorm triggered a power surge that knocked out a computer at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The loss of power stopped Clinton's elevator after he spoke to a group of business leaders."

TiM's Question A: Do you see God's finger in this? Maybe His reaction to Clinton's speech? (According to earlier reports, Clinton had praised the Red China and sold out Taiwan).

TiM's Question B: Was this Al Gore's only 10 minutes of glory in his six years at the White House? (i.e., the Veep was effectively the Prez without knowing it).

TiM's Question C: Was this a preview of the U.S. government shutdowns? (by the Y2K, not God's lightening). If so, how can the nation ensure that Al Gore is in a computer-controlled elevator on Jan. 1, 2000?

Also, check out other TiM READERS' FORUMS... April 1998, May 1998, Part I,  May 1998, Part II, June 1998, July 1998, August 1998, September 1998, October 1998, November 1998, December 1998, Part I, December 1998, Part II