HEADLINES

Moscow                1. Russia and China Both Demand Halt of

                                 NATO Strikes as Precondition for Peace Talks

New York            2. New York Times Columnist: POWs Are Not Top

                                 Priority; "We're at War with the Serbian Nation"

Los Angeles         3. Bill Maher's Serb Hate Show

New York             4. Jews vs. "Jews:" Victims Don't Care about Quotation Marks

Boston                  5. "An Open Letter to My Jewish Friends"

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1. Russia and China Both Demand Halt of NATO Strikes as Precondition for Peace Talks

MOSCOW, May 11 - Russia and China now both demand a halt of NATO strikes as a precondition for peace talks, declared Viktor Chernomyrdin, upon his return to Moscow from a whirlwind trip to China. But this New World Order lapdog hurried to assure his masters in Washington and Brussels there was "no alliance of Russian and China against NATO," according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

Yesterday, China's president, Jiang Zemin, also declared that the U.S. Security Council, in which China holds a veto power, could not discuss any peace plans for Kosovo unless NATO first stopped its bombing campaign (see S99-73, Day 49, Update 1, Item 1, May 11).

Chernomyrdin, speaking in Moscow today, did not rule out China's participation in an international security presence in Kosovo under the U.N. authority.

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2. New York Times Columnist: POWs Are Not Top   Priority; "We're at War with the Serbian Nation," Not Only "with One Bad Guy"

NEW YORK, May 11 - Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist, showed an amazing insensitivity toward our men and women in uniform in his today's OpEd piece, "Stay the Course." Consider his opening paragraph:

"Is everybody done now? Jesse Jackson, are you done making a fool of yourself, praying together with the demented Serbian leader and mucking up American policy by flying into Belgrade to get out three U.S. P.O.W.'s -- as if they should be our top priority now? Network and cable television, have you shown us enough footage of the U.S. P.O.W.'s, telling us about each scratch they got and how they spent their days? Will you also keep us posted when they sign their book contracts and announce their Web sites?"

If the fate of American POWs should not be our top priority, what should be? Killing Serb civilians, including women and children?

As if anticipating such a question, Friedman provides a candid answer: Yes! "Can we get back to the war now?" he asks in the next paragraph.

"NATO and the Clintonites need to stay the course," Friedman argues. "Intensify the bombing, intensify the diplomacy. I am sorry about the Chinese Embassy, but we have no reason to be defensive here. We are at war with the Serbian nation, and anyone hanging around Belgrade needs to understand that. This notion that we are only at war with one bad guy, Slobodan Milosevic (who was popularly elected three times), is ludicrous."

Finally the mask has dropped. The preceding comments lets America see what this "liberal" commentator in this "liberal" paper is all about - a hateful, un-American racist, turned armchair bomber.

But in telling the truth about what this war is all about - i.e., a war on Serb civilians - Friedman has also basically called the "Clintonites" liars. For, Washington has been telling the American people that NATO's war on Serbia is a humanitarian mission. The American people should thank Friedman for that piece of candor. Before pouring scorn on him for his racial bigotry.

For, can you imagine anyone, other than a "demented" columnist, justifying bombings of American civilians, including the foreign diplomats who "hang around Washington," because we have a "demented leader" who "was popularly elected" twice?

"Only when they (the Serbs) conclude that their nationalist fantasies have brought them to a very dark and lonely corner will they change. The Balkans don't need a new Serbian leader, they need a new Serbian ethic that understands how to live in 21st-century Europe."

In other words, as a vassal state, under NATO's boot, like the rest of western Europe's Iron Curtain countries.

American patriots should also thank Friedman for this bit of candor. For, there is no room for national pride or sovereignty, including our own, in the "21stcentury world," if these New World Order globalists get their way (Friedman, of course, is a CFR member, as were all the "Clintonites" before being shuffled off into government service through the NWO revolving door). Which means no American "national fantasies," either.

No wonder people like that don't give a hoot about our POWs. And no wonder that, conversely, so many patriots from across the U.S. and from around the world support the Serbs. For, they understand that their freedom and right to a national pride is also being defended in Belgrade, the new Capital of the Free World.

You can catch the rest of Friedman's drivel at: http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinion/friedman/051199frie.html

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3. Bill Maher's Serb Hate Show

LOS ANGELES, May 7 - If Madeleine Albright is secure in her position as Secretary of Hate, several TiM readers have sent us letters which could qualify ABC TV's Bill Maher as her deputy in that post.

"I just have to tell you how disgusted I was to see the host of 'Politically Incorrect,' Bill Maher (tonight at 12:00am, May 8, 1999) make fun of the bombing of the Serb people. He states that the Serbs are nothing, but a bunch of yuppies. That they should not be complaining because they don't have electricity and can not cook. He stated the only hardship endured by the bombing of the television stations in Serbia is that the Serbian people can not watch an episode of 'FRIENDS' (I guess the dead in the rubble of these stations aren't considered a hardship, especially upon the surviving family members).

Does this guy have any idea of the suffering of the Serbian people. The dying, killing, and maiming of men, women, and children is now a joke!

When I was listening to this asshole, I wish I could have put my hands through the screen and strangled his scrawny little neck. We need to boycott this S.O.B. Mr. Maher's disgusting comments cannot go unpunished. Try to watch or get a copy of the episode I am talking about."

Ed. K.

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Another TiM reader from Pennsylvania was just as offended by Bill Maher's program did enclose a URL for the transcript of that show http://abc.go.com/pi/forum/word_index.html :

"Go to the above address and click on May 7 to read what, to date is undoubtedly the most hateful piece of pro-war liberal propaganda: Bill Maher's opening 'comic' monologue for Friday May 7, on his very politically correct show, misnamed 'Politically Incorrect.' This is the finest piece of blanket hate propaganda I have seen against any ethnic group."

A sample (Bill Maher addressing the Serbs):

"Let me be the first to say I am so sorry that supporting a genocidal regime has turned into such a hassle for you. I'm sorry if our bombing has delayed the delivery of your J. Crew catalog or screwed -- [Laughter ] -- screwed up your commute.

And by the way, if I were you, I would write a strongly worded letter to the transit authority, because I've seen your bridges, and frankly, they're a mess. [Laughter and applause]

Believe me, we would never have started bombing them if we realized it was keeping you from getting to Tae-Bo class.

So maybe what you yuppie fascists need to do is stop supporting an evil dictator who is hellbent on eliminating an entire people just because their ancestors kicked your ancestors' asses 600 years ago. Let it go. You're yuppies, get some therapy. [Laughter]

Get your moral clock working. Let me give you a hint. If in your language you have ever used the phrase, 'can I get to the mall if I make a left at the death camp' -- [Laughter] -- you might be a redneck."

"The actual Bill Maher routine -- breezy, smug, self-righteous -- was far more appalling than the transcript can indicate," this TiM reader summed up.

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TiM Ed.: Since we rarely watch TV, and had not even heard of Bill Maher before, we asked Peter Maher, professor emeritus of Northeastern Illinois University, to give us a synopsis of this ABC TV "comedian." Here's an excerpt from Prof. Maher's reply:

"Bill Maher -- 'Politically Incorrect' is an oxymoron. BM [not to be read as Bowel Movement] is a moron. He has professed to be half Irish and half Jewish. [...]

BM is billed as a humorist, but I have never seen him deliver a joke well. I only watch him when I'm tired and need something to put me to sleep. He is 101% pro-Clinton."

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4. Jews vs. "Jews:" Victims Don't Care about Quotation Marks

NEW YORK, May 11 - Given the prominence of Jewish-Americans on the Clinton foreign policy and defense team, ever since the start of NATO's war on Serbia, TiM has been inundated with reader comments blaming the Jews for this assault on Serbia. That, of course, is as inappropriate as is blaming the Serbs for the misdeeds of Slobodan Milosevic's government. Which, as you saw from the above examples, some Jews are doing.

We've also received some letters from our Jewish readers who are arguing that some "Jews," like the "converts," Madeleine Albright, William Cohen, or Wesley Kanne Clark, aren't real Jews.

"Their parents or further ancestors forsook their Judaism," one such Jewish TiM reader said. "Such former Jews are typically the worst Jew-haters of all, as if they are repudiating what they perceive as a taint in their blood by hating those who are proud to be Jews. The non-religious Jews have substituted the Democratic Party for the synagogue and (Bill) Clinton for G-D."

And you have also had an opportunity to read thoughtful contributions from Barry Chamish, a fine Israeli journalist, who similarly argued that such "Jews" are only loyal to the globalist (CFR) interests. And that Jerusalem may well become one of their targets after Kosovo (see Day 7, Update 3, Item 1, Mar. 30).

Similarly, the Jewish lawyers among the Canadians and others who have recently filed the war crime charges against the NATO leaders (see S99-71, Day 47, Update 1, Item 1, May 9), are certainly shining examples of the fact that not all Jews are like the New World Order "Jews." And that castigating Jews en masse because of the likes of Albright, Cohen, Clark, Friedman, etc., is just as wrong as is blaming all Serbs for alleged misdeeds of the Milosevic regime.

That having been said, it is a FACT that when we (TiM) contacted dozens of Jewish organizations some seven or eight years ago, urging them to protest the similar travesties which were then being done to the Bosnian Serbs, scant few of them even bothered to reply. NONE of the organizations, and only a few individuals, showed any concern at all about the demonization and defamation of the Serbs.

As a matter of fact, some such "Jews" or Jews (take your pick), displayed outright hatred, despite the Serbs' having saved many Jews from the fascist pogroms during WW II - risking their own lives in the process. Like the nearly 100 Serbophobes who signed a letter published in the Wall Street Journal on September 2, 1993, which called (then!!) for air strikes against the Serbs. George Soros, George Shultz, Natan Sharansky, Eli Wiesel, Henry Siegman, Morton Abramowitz... were among them.

But so were Margaret Thatcher, Frank Carlucci, Zbigniew Brzezinsky, Prince Aga Khan, Jean Kirkpatrick... and many other professed Christians or Muslims. And even two "Serbs."

To all of which we say, do the victims really care about quotes? If the assailant is a Jew or a "Jew?" Or a Catholic, or a Protestant, for that matter? Or a "convert" from and to any of these religious permutations? Or an atheist?

The answer, of course, is no, they don't. Which is why it is counterproductive to try to assign the blame for crimes committed by governments and individuals to any ethnic group. Just as the NWO warmongers are wrong when they wage war on the entire Serbian nation, as Friedman urged today in his column.

"Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they are doing," would be a Christian response to such "dementia." For, in the end, God will sort us all out - the "Jews" and the Jews, the "Serbs" and the Serbs, the Protestants, the Catholics, the Muslims... And administer His justice in His own inimitable way - in this world, or in His world.

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5. "An Open Letter to My Jewish Friends"

BOSTON, May 5 - As if to underline our above editorial comment, just as we finished it, we received "an open letter to my Jewish friends," written by David Mladinov, the Cultural Arts Director of the Leventhal-Sidman JCC, and Artistic Director of the Jewish Theatre of New England. Here are some excerpts from it:

"Since the beginning of the attack on Yugoslavia, the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress in Boston gave their full support of the NATO's bombings. It is hard to tell whether their endorsement is an act of opportunism or ignorance. It is definitely not the expression of high moral standards they would like us to believe.

I am not familiar with the decision making process of their main offices in New York. For that reason I will limit my remarks to the actions of their Boston representatives in this open letter.

I have known Ms. Sheila Decter the Director of the American Jewish Congress in Boston for more than 20 years. We collaborated on many occasions on the variety of cultural programs. I cooperated frequently with Lawrence Lowental, the Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee. Together we introduced the film "The Righteous Enemy." A segment of the documentary deals with the Italian occupation of the Croatian province of Dalmatia where my entire family was killed during the Second World War.

As a child of the Holocaust survivors and with my own personal history of victimization, when at 12, a group of Croatian youths almost killed me and tried to burn me in a school stove, I am very sensitive to any kind of religious or racial intolerance. I am opposed to persecution of civilians, as much as the directors of the American Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee are. Still, I do not hold all Germans or all Croatians responsible for the fate of my family, or for my personal experience.

Since the beginning of the ethnic fighting in Yugoslavia eight years ago, both the American Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee have taken one sided and partial view of the conflict. The organizations have distorted the truth, have refused to hear the grievances of the other side, and have suppressed information they possessed, all in order to support their preconceived notion of who the innocent victims are, and who the murderers in the civil war. It might have been easier to sell this black and white picture to their members, but the picture in no way reflects the facts. Throughout the conflict militias and paramilitary forces belonging to all sides have committed atrocities against civilians and other ethnic groups. To single out only the Serbs, and especially all Serbs is not only incorrect, but immoral.

I strongly believe that all those responsible for the war crimes should be brought to justice by impartial international courts, regardless of their nationality. I also believe that international order should be upheld by the UN and World Court to prevent the small and weak nations from being destroyed by either evil or self-righteous empires. I also believe, as naive as it may sound, that all nations and all conflicts should be judged by the same standards while ethnic strife should be resolved peacefully, through negotiations and not ultimatums and bombs.

After reading that the American Jewish Committee was a strong supporter of the bombings, I called Mr. Lowental. When I asked him why his organization did not endorse an intervention in Sudan where two million people have been killed in a civil war, or Rwanda where 600,000 were killed, as compared to 2,000 in Kosovo, Mr. Lowental responded that we (Who are we? Jews? Americans? NATO?) did not have any strategic interests in Africa.

How about East Timor (250,000 dead) or Sri Lanka (80,000 dead)? No strategic interests. How about China (1,500.000 dead), Kashmir (300,000) or Chechnya (250,000 dead)? His answer was that those countries had atomic weapons. We have been repeatedly given similar explanations by the US media and the US Government.

This means that our high moral standards apply only if the victims are Europeans, and if the perceived perpetrators do not have atomic weapons, or are not the American NATO friends, like Turkey. If that is the case, then it is understandable that the NATO attacked Yugoslavia.

Mr. Lowental pointed out to me that the American Jewish Committee could not stand silent while the ethnic cleansing was going on. Why was the Committee silent when 200,000 Krajina Serbs (out of total of 900,000 ethnically cleansed Serbs from Croatia and Bosnia) were expelled from Croatia four years ago? Mr. Lowental could not remember the incident.

Well, let me remind him. While the 150 miles long column of refugees in tractors and cars was harassed in Croatia, the US government sent a stern statement to Yugoslavia warning them not to settle the expelled refugees in several Serbian provinces with large minorities in order not to tilt the ethnic balance there. We have had a chance to hear many cynical pronouncements during the civil war in former Yugoslavia, but this one definitively tops them all. It would be pity for Mr. Lowental's checkered memory not to remember it, despite the fact that there is nothing the American Jewish Committee can do about that incident of ethnic cleansing now. [...]

The demonization of the Serbs and Yugoslavia by these two Jewish organizations extends to the Yugoslav Jews as well. During the sanctions, I suggested on several occasions that something should be done for the Yugoslav Jews so they would not feel completely isolated. The suggestion was met with complete indifference, even hostility. Not a single time did they speak to Aleksandar Singer, the President of the Jewish Federation in Belgrade, an Auschwitz survivor who also spent three years in a labor camp under communism, to find out what his views of the conflict were. Had they called Mr. Singer recently, they might have discovered that one of the first bombs dropped over Yugoslavia by the NATO, destroyed the old bridge in Novi Sad and the Holocaust memorial commemorating killing of 1219 people, 809 of them Jews at the site in 1942. They also might have heard that Yugoslav Jews feel perfectly safe in Belgrade, as do the other minorities, except for the NATO bombings. [...]

There is a Jewish saying that one who saves a human life, has saved the whole world. In contrast, to the humanitarian activities of the JOINT Distribution Committee, the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress have become vocal advocates of bombings and further killings, without helping anyone. [...]

Considering that prior to the NATO attack on Yugoslavia, there were no refugees outside of Kosovo, it is clear that it is the bombings that provoked a horrific outburst of ethnic cleansing by Serbian forces. This in no way absolves those committing the crimes from their responsibility.

The alliance's lofty pronouncements that it has nothing against Yugoslav people sound rather hollow in view of the mounting civilian casualties damaged cities and completely destroyed industry. The ecological disaster caused by the oil spillage into the Danube from the repeatedly hit refineries, poisonous fumes released from the chemical plants, use of the cluster bombs and low grade uranium, will be felt in the area for generations to come. Is this what we are supposed to support?

It is no coincidence that the countries closest to the conflict, Greece, Italy, Macedonia and the democratic government of the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, all oppose the NATO bombings as counterproductive.... It is equally understandable that the Yugoslav Jews, along with all other citizens of Yugoslavia, do not see the NATO action as a fight against Milosevic, but as a destructive war with an aim to destroy their country and their very existence. It is hard to fathom the blind arrogance and callousness of those living 5,000 miles away, with no understanding of the area, wishing to perpetuate the killings, in order to justify the disastrous and misguided decision by the US government and its NATO pawns. Is this what Jewish moral response should be according to the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Congress?

It is difficult to believe that only a month has passed since Mr. Lowental and I introduced to over six hundred people at the JFK Library in Boston the film "The Righteous Enemy." The documentary tells a story about courageous Italians, both military men and civilians, who during the Second World War defied their government in order to save thousands of lives. As we all know, it is always safer, more opportune and much more profitable to jump on a bandwagon. I can only wish that the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress might have learned something from this historic example. It is useless to honor the heroic deeds from the past, if we are, by following the stampede, unwilling to show the same compassion and concern for all victims of the conflict."

David Mladinov, Boston

Also, check out... Truth in Media Statement on Kosovo Crisis, "Wither Dayton, Sprout New War?", "On the Brink of Madness", "Tragic Deja Vu's," "Seven U.S. Senators Suggest Ouster of Milosevic", "Biting the Hand That Feeds You", "A Balkan Affairs Potpourri", "Put the U.N. Justice on Trial", "International Justice 'Progresses' from Kidnapping to Murder", "Milosevic: 'A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery'...", "Kosovo Lie Allowed to Stand", "New World Order's Inquisition in Bosnia", "Kosovo Heating Up", "Decani Monastery Under Siege?", "Murder on Wall Street",  "Kosovo: 'Bosnia II', Serbia's Aztlan",  "What If the Shoe Were on the Other Foot?", "Green Interstate - Not Worth American Lives", "An American Hero or Actor of the Year?" (A June '95 TiM story) and/or "Clinton arme secrètement les musulmans bosniaques"

Or Djurdjevic's WASHINGTON TIMES columns: "Chinese Dragon Wagging Macedonian Tail,"  "An Ugly Double Standard in Kosovo Conflict?", "NATO's Bullyboys", "Kosovo: Why Are We Involved?", and "Ginning Up Another Crisis"

Or Djurdjevic's NEW DAWN magazine columns: "Washington's Crisis Factory,"  and "A New Iron Curtain Over Europe"