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Post by Fender on Apr 20, 2008 3:12:29 GMT -5
“You are declaring that you have fought corruption, Mr. Prime Minister, but nothing has been done,” They need to start with Thaci down, then corruption may have a chance to be defeated. "Thaci responded that “this was a government programme and not the programme of a political party.” He insisted that "the war on corruption is going on and I think it is very successful.” pffft......what a laugh, this man is the most bent person in the Balkans. "Sejdiu, making his annual address to the Assembly, reminded MPs of Plato's maxim that "first, there is the idea," adding that "we have the idea of independent Kosovo that was born.” Whats the point of quoting Plato?, why doesn't he, instead of quoting this great man, come up with a list of initiatives that will tackle this regional problems. This mob are full of propaganda and rhetoric but short on real substance.
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Post by Fender on Apr 19, 2008 21:43:03 GMT -5
Fools no more The government has used propaganda to lead this country into conflicts from Belgrade to Baghdad. Let's not fall for it again Neil Clark
All Neil Clark articles About Webfeeds April 19, 2008 5:00 PM | Printable version The only surprising thing about the news that the British government lied about the whereabouts of the 15 British navy personnel who were captured by Iranian forces last spring is that anyone should find it surprising. For this is a government, which, when it comes to telling porkies, makes Carlo Collodi's famous wooden puppet look like an also-ran.
In December 1998, one and a half years into the shining new era of an "ethical foreign policy", came operation Desert Fox- a four-day bombing of Iraq, which cost the lives of up to 2,000 people. The official reason from Number 10 - and the White House - for the attacks was that Iraq had expelled the team of Unscom weapons inspectors. It was a barefaced lie. As head weapons inspector Richard Butler revealed in his autobiography, it was the US ambassador Peter Burleigh, acting on instructions from Washington, who suggested Butler pull his team out from Iraq in order to protect them from US and British air strikes which had already been planned.
In early 1999, the government's lie machine turned its attention to the Balkans. Slobodan Milosevic's rump Yugoslavia, was, we were told by the British prime minister, "set on a Hitler-style genocide equivalent to the extermination of the Jews during the second world war. It is no exaggeration to say that what is happening is racial genocide - something we had hoped we would never again witness in Europe," Blair went on. But it was an exaggeration to say that what was happening in Kosovo was "genocide". The International Red Cross lists 2,047 persons as missing from the 1998-99 hostilities in Kosovo, including approximately 500 Serbs, 1,300 Albanians and 200 members of other ethnic groups. The "genocide" in Kosovo was a complete fabrication: but it helped Blair and Clinton spin their narrative of a "humanitarian" intervention, to cloak the real economic and strategic reasons for Nato's military intervention.
Four years later, it was back to Iraq. Saddam not only possessed weapons of mass destruction - but ones which "could be activated in 45 minutes". On February 23 2003, Tony Blair, in full Pinocchio mode, told the House of Commons that "I detest [his] Saddam's regime, but even now he could save it by complying with the UN's demands". It was an outrageous fib: the decision to go to war had already been taken. Time after time in the build up to the "shock and awe" campaign, we were told that it was the Iraqis - with their repeated denials that they possessed WMD, who were lying. But the liars were, once again, much closer to home.
Even after the disaster of Iraq, the lies continued to flow, with Iran being the principal target for the government's mendacity. Last spring defence secretary Des Browne repeatedly told the House of Commons that the 15 British navy personnel taken captive by Iran were seized in Iraqi waters.
"There is no doubt that HMS Cornwall was operating in Iraqi waters and that the incident itself took place in Iraqi waters" he claimed. The reason for these statements was clear: to turn public opinion against the Iranians in preparation for another war.
It's said that truth is the first casualty of war; more accurately it's the first casualty in the lead-up to war. Since taking office 11 years ago, the New Labour government has lied us into conflicts across the globe- conflicts which have cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people from Belgrade to Baghdad and beyond, and left the already hard-pressed British taxpayer having to foot the bill. But the lies are at long last catching up with them.
As a former US president once said: "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
Thank God for that.
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Post by Fender on Apr 19, 2008 21:35:28 GMT -5
"UNMIK, Belgrade, in confidential meeting" 19 April 2008 | 16:46 | Source: Beta PRIŠTINA -- UNMIK's Belgrade office head Richard Wilcox and Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardžiæ met earlier this week, a Priština daily says.
The Albnian language Zeri newspaper reports that the two officials allegedly discussed possible cooperation between UN police and the Serbian government.
The daily is quoting unnamed diplomatic sources as saying that the "confidential meeting, held on April 16 in Belgrade", mentioned six possible areas of cooperation "in the near future".
Those reportedly include the province's judiciary, police, customs, healthcare, railways and transportation.
The sources also said that the UN Peacekeeping Operations Department initiated the meeting, and authorities UNMIK's Belgrade office to conduct the talks.
The Priština daily claims that official Belgrade is looking to "bring back Samardžiæ's idea of some kind of joint management over certain sectors in Kosovo by UNMIK and Serbia".
"Belgrade's goal is to reach a deal with UNMIK similar to the Haekkerup-Èoviæ agreement from November 2001," Zeri wrote, and added that Belgrade further wishes to "extend UNMIK's life beyond June 15, and bring back the subject of Kosovo's status".
The paper went on to quote another unnamed Western diplomat who said the meeting in Belgrade last Wednesday "discredited UNMIK's role, and jeopardized the security and stability in Kosovo".
The same diplomat told Zeri that Hashim Thaci and Fatmir Sejdiu have been informed of the development "via some diplomatic sources", while the paper described the alleged meeting as "very problematic for Kosovo".
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Post by Fender on Apr 19, 2008 9:39:09 GMT -5
Kosovo MPs Slam Government's Performance
18 April 2008 Pristina _ Kosovo leaders have been criticised in the Assembly over the performance of the government in its first 100 days; issues raised have included corruption and the final status of Kosovo.
Defending their record, President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci stressed in their remarks to the Assembly what they described as the “success over independence.”
Sejdiu, making his annual address to the Assembly, reminded MPs of Plato's maxim that "first, there is the idea," adding that "we have the idea of independent Kosovo that was born.”
He went on to talk about the problems Kosovo is now facing, including problems related to economic development and energy, noting that “these areas need priority in our commitment.”
Prime Minister Thaci presented the government’s programme and the development challenges foreseen by the cabinet.
Deputies from the opposition parties in particular severely criticised the programme, describing it as unrealistic. They also complained that the government's efforts to secure international recognition for Kosovo had been insufficient.
“Only 37 countries have recognised us so far,” Ardian Gjini of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, said. He warned the Prime Minister not to give false numbers regarding recognition and not to exaggerate the level of recognition that has been secured.
“He [Thaci] speaks on Macedonia’s government's behalf that they will recognise us,” Gjini said, “but he is in fact just harming the process.”
Melihate Termkolli of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, criticised the government's programme.
“You are declaring that you have fought corruption, Mr. Prime Minister, but nothing has been done,” she said.
Thaci responded that “this was a government programme and not the programme of a political party.” He insisted that "the war on corruption is going on and I think it is very successful.”
The debate was to continue until late on Friday afternoon. Topics such as rule of law, the economy, education and status proposal implementation were to be discussed.
Kosovo’s Assembly declared independence on February 17.
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Post by Fender on Apr 18, 2008 0:31:10 GMT -5
Is that to eat in or take away?
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Post by Fender on Apr 17, 2008 10:36:28 GMT -5
Ah yes, donnie with the bullsh!t rebuttle. Don't get to cocky sunshine, you know what happens to people that are get ahead of themselves, they think they have a souverign state which is not really souverign but fake in all manner of reality.
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Post by Fender on Apr 17, 2008 10:30:20 GMT -5
Croatia entered the first Yugoslavia willingly. They were not a prize in any spoils of war.
Macek who was the leader of the Croatian Peasents Party, being the largest party in Croatia at the time, refused to side with Hitler. Pavelic who had at best maybe 20% support, became the proxy government by default. So your unfounded alegations that Croatia welcomed the Nazis as liberators, does not hold water.
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Post by Fender on Apr 17, 2008 10:20:24 GMT -5
So, basically my post has been deleted. Nice Job Fender! If your reply was to an off topic remark, then yes. Don't feed the troll next time.
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Post by Fender on Apr 17, 2008 10:11:56 GMT -5
Donnie i never said you looked like Arabs, or even passed comment on what albanians look like at all, it would be ludicrous to generalise like that, i just said that i didn't think we looked alike, i agree with your comments totally otherwise. Don't worry about donnie, he thinks his facts are facts. This is for you donnie, if you acuse one more person of being a liar without proof, your gone.
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Post by Fender on Apr 17, 2008 9:58:57 GMT -5
"Jasenovac more important than Bleiburg" 17 April 2008 Stjepan Mesiæ (FoNet, archive)
Stjepan Mesiæ has criticized the Croatian parliament’s decision to spend more money on the commemoration for Bleiburg victims than Jasenovac victims.
“The fact is, not one Jasenovac victim was to blame for the Bleiburg victims, but a lot of Bleiburg victims were guilty for a lot of victims at Jasenovac,” said the Croatian president, stressing that the excuse that Jasenovac had received money earlier and Bleiburg had not, did not wash.
A commemoration for Second World War war crimes in Yugoslavia should be held in Jasenovac because it was the biggest death camp in the region, said Mesiæ, adding that Bleiburg, where the victims included many members of the former pro-Nazi quisling authorities, should nonetheless be commemorated too.
The parliament’s decision was also criticized by the Anti-Fascist Council.
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Post by Fender on Apr 17, 2008 3:19:41 GMT -5
Thats a first.
Want fries with that?
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Post by Fender on Apr 17, 2008 3:17:24 GMT -5
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Post by Fender on Apr 17, 2008 3:12:41 GMT -5
Only a week earlier, they reviewed our restaurant in the Epicure section (The Age), then I read this govno. The Ustasa and Deseti Travanj day was implemented long before the horrors of WWII. Illyria, there's no escaping the truth. My dad went there once and he said that they saluted Pavelic with the Hitler salute. Its a fact. This club is a blight on Croatian society in Melbourne.
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Post by Fender on Apr 16, 2008 18:13:20 GMT -5
Melbourne eatery hails leader of Nazi-allied Croatia By ETGAR LEFKOVITS Print Subscribe E-mail Toolbar Shape public opinion: What's this?
Melbourne's Katarina Zrinski restaurant held a celebration this past weekend to honor World War II Croatian leader Ante Pavelic, whose genocidal policies led to the deaths of 400,000 Serbs, Jews and Gypsies.
The restaurant is attached to the local Croatian club.
The event honoring the head of the Croatian fascist Ustasha movement and the leader of Nazi-allied Croatia was an "outrageous affront" both to his victims and to any persons of morality and conscience who oppose racism and genocide, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter and Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff said on Wednesday.
According to local press reports, a large photograph of Pavelic was hung in the restaurant, T-shirts with his picture and that of two other commanders in the 1941-1945 Ustasha government were offered for sale at the bar, and the establishment of the "Independent State of Croatia" was celebrated.
Zuroff noted this was not the first time that Croatian émigrés in Australia had openly defended Croatian Nazi war criminals.
"It is high time that the authorities in Australia find a way to take the necessary measures to stop such celebrations, which clearly constitute racist, ethnic, and anti-Semitic incitement against Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies," he said.
About 30,000 Croatian Jews - or 80 percent of the country's Jewish population - died during the Holocaust.
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Post by Fender on Apr 16, 2008 18:10:24 GMT -5
B92 News Business & Economy Business & Economy "Croatian firms to continue investing" 16 April 2008 | 12:29 | Source: B92 BELGRADE -- Croatian ambassador to Serbia Tonèi Stanièiæ says companies from his country will keep investing in Serbia, and that there is interest in greenfield investment.
“Croatian capital in tandem with domestic feels ‘most comfortable’, is legally the most secure, is best received, and the corporate results achieved by such companies are impressive,” Stanièiæ explained.
Asked about the paucity of Serbian companies present on the Croatian market, the ambassador told Belgrade magazine Preduzeæe that there had been few serious attempts by Serbian firms to buck this trend.
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Post by Fender on Apr 16, 2008 5:14:49 GMT -5
"Beyond any reasonable doubt" 13 April 2008 William Montgomery
It is hard to know just where to begin when writing about the acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj on 37 counts of war crimes. On so many levels and for so many reasons, the whole process has been a travesty of justice and a stain on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Kosovo Albanians celebrate the Haradinaj ruling (FoNet)
The direct result of the verdict is to widen, not narrow, the gulf, which exists between the two major ethnic groups involved. It also reinforces once again the bitterness, which the Serbs feel about the Kosovo process and their treatment by the Western International Community.
To begin at the beginning, the primary reason why Carla del Ponte ordered her investigators to come up with indictments against the KLA in the first place was to respond to Serbian objections that ICTY discriminated against them and did not treat crimes in which they were the victims with equal concern. It was part of her effort to secure Serbian support for the transfer of Serbian indictees such as Mladiæ and Karadžiæ to The Hague.
Her prosecutors warned from the beginning that reaching the level of proof needed for a conviction in this case was going to be extremely difficult. Not because of any lack of effort on their part, but due to the difficulty of proving responsibility "beyond any reasonable doubt" in a guerilla warfare situation far different than anywhere else in the former Yugoslavia.
There is a huge difference between what might be conventional belief/certainty about a crime and drawing up a precise indictment upon the incident charging a specific offense to a specific person and then proving it "beyond a reasonable doubt" in a court of law. The Haradinaj case is a classic example of that dichotomy, but both the U.S. and European legal systems are filled with similar examples.
Reading the 274-page judgment is painful, as the convoluted reasoning by which the judges dismiss one count of murder or torture after another as "not proven beyond a reasonable doubt" seems so often to defy common sense. It will be interesting to see if the Prosecution appeals the judgment. Certainly the judges set an extremely high bar for "beyond reasonable doubt." Many may well say an impossibly high bar for the specific circumstances…
The KLA by its very nature was a much more difficult target for investigators than the organized military/police forces of the governments of Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and even wartime Bosnia. One of the most important pillars of convictions for ICTY has always been documentary evidence showing orders, chains of command, and reports on activities of military and police units. Because of the very nature of the KLA, there was almost no such documentary evidence.
Communications among units of the KLA were poor, records nonexistent or destroyed, and considerable range of initiative and responsibility was left to individual commanders in different parts of the country. Recruits received only a couple weeks of training. While it was easy to find victims of crimes, it proved very difficult to firmly identify the perpetrators and even harder to prove they received direction from higher elements. Positive witness identifications were usually weak or non-existent. Family members and friends may be absolutely certain (and correct) about who did what to their loved ones, but proving it in a court of law was a very different matter.
While all the ethnic groups facing indictments of their members have responded with threats and violence against anyone willing to speak out "against their own," the specific environment of Kosovo, including its size and cultural attitudes, amplified that problem to an extreme level. The prosecution and the judges both expressed officially their frustration at the level of fear of potential witnesses, citing it as higher than in any other trial that ICTY has ever conducted and a major impediment to their work. Many witnesses had to be forced to testify and some refused to do so even threatened with potential imprisonment.
While accounts differ as to how many key witnesses against Haradinaj and his two co-indictees were actually murdered to prevent their testimony, everybody agrees that at least some were. How many other witnesses were dissuaded from testifying fully and honestly is unknown, but obviously very large. Many of the charges in the indictment, which seemed strong and rather clear-cut, had been based on witness testimony, which during the trial itself was conspicuously absent.
Finally, the indictment and potential conviction of the Prime Minister of the Kosovo Provisional Government was politically explosive. During his limited time in office, he had impressed the International Community with his practical approach to problems and willingness (at least from their viewpoint) to reach out to the Kosovo Serbs.
Moreover, the indictment alone could well have set off violent demonstrations all around Kosovo. That it went so smoothly in the end was solely because it had been fully discussed with Haradinaj in advance and he agreed to cooperate. The verdict, whatever it would be, would unquestionably have significant implications for the stability of the region. It went to the very heart of two radically different views of events in Kosovo in 1998-99, that of the Serbs and Kosovo Albanians.
Given all of the above, one would think that the International Community would have bent over backwards by its words and actions to ensure that everything connected with the trial would be perceived by all parties to be handled with the highest possible standards of credibility. But in a triumph of myopic vision over logic, exactly the opposite happened.
-A depressing number of representatives of the International Community in Kosovo at the highest levels continued to praise and visibly show support to Haradinaj after his indictment. This sent a message both to potential witnesses and to the Serbs that he had the support of the International Community.
-The ICTY, totally contravening its standard restrictions on the actions and movements of indictees given provisional release while awaiting trial, permitted Haradinaj to engage in limited political activity. This again showed a double standard in treatment. No other indictee has ever been given anything similar. A Croatian indictee on provisional release (Mladen Markaè) was abruptly ordered back to The Hague merely for going hunting.
-The problem of witness intimidation and the lack of documentary and other forms of evidence were well known. Yet in contrast to the conditionality and pressure put on Croatia, Bosnia, and Serbia to fully cooperate with ICTY, no such pressure was put on Kosovo or on Albania (there were reports of KLA war crimes being committed there against Serbs, as well as certain knowledge that it was a source of weapons and a major transfer point for personnel and resources for the KLA). No threats were ever made, for example, that the independence process of Kosovo could be delayed due to failure of the Provisional Government and all its members to fully cooperate with the ICTY.
We are now tasting the bitter fruit of this process and how the International Community handled it. Those participating individuals in the International Community who read this criticism will shrug their shoulders and say, "he doesn't understand how explosive the situation was in Kosovo and how violent a reaction could have taken place here if the Haradinaj situation had not been handled so delicately."
My answer to that is pretty simple. Similar concerns did not prevent the International Community from blocking Croatia's admission to NATO and the EU because of failure to turn over Gotovina or from insisting on extradition of others in that country in spite of huge protests and political turmoil. It did not stop the International Community from applying continuous pressure on Serbia which has led to the growth of the Radical Party and also at least in part to Prime Minister Ðinðiæ's assassination.
So, what we have, clearly, is a double standard. Those responsible for it should think long and hard of the consequences of this policy. We might not have too long to wait for one sample. May 11 (Serbian election day) is only a few weeks away.
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Post by Fender on Apr 16, 2008 1:31:36 GMT -5
"Having another country monitor the airspace of Croatia would defeat the purpose of purchasing these aircraft. " Having another nation patrol your waters would defeat the purpose of having an Independant Croatia. Joining the EU would defeat the purpose of having an Independant Croatia. Handing over Ante Gotovina would defeat the purpose of having an Independant Croatia. Having your most famous Star sing a Turbo-Folk song infront of the World would defeat the purpose of having an Independant Croatia..... Notice a trent? Please do not derail this topic.
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Post by Fender on Apr 16, 2008 1:28:50 GMT -5
Off topic posts and replies have now been deleted.
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Post by Fender on Apr 16, 2008 1:18:00 GMT -5
Are they playing in Croatia ? No idea.
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Post by Fender on Apr 16, 2008 1:17:06 GMT -5
Does anyone know if the Police are playing in Croatia ? This should answer your question.
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