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Vagabond ..., Re: Extracts of Existence ..., Israel, Israel ... ..., Character Assassination ...
J.L.V.
Thank you.
Matt W
Matt -- Thank you for your opinion. WM
I myself am very upset at the way Israel reigns in Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. The ’freedom’ they gave the Palestinians in Gaza was poisoned with bad will, limitations, check points, everything to make the initiative fail. I got into a hot discussion with an engineer friend of mine who justifies everything the Israelis do. He said, "You know how Israel GOT that land don’t you? They took it after being attacked and winning the war." Well, of course I know that that is the ostensible reason. I don’t remember what my response was but I look for precedents – for instance – in other wars. For instance, Germany – they lost the war, they were occupied and today they are better than ever. I don’t know too much about the border disputes; they did lose something for attacking the whole world but then they got most of their country back and the Palestinians have never got anything back. How would you explain all this?
History was built on conquests; new upcoming tribes built their niches on the niches of their weaker predecessors. Populations, in great part, were assimilated or annihilated. In modern conquests the populations are displaced rather than assimilated. The remaining local populations sooner or later regain their independence. Israel is not powerful enough to displace the Palestinians, and itself remains a minority in the vast sea of hostile neighbors. Israel will not conquer peace by power only; it is condemned to negotiations. Conditions for peace are quite simple: give back what belong to others and keep your prestige through your defensive rather then offensive power. WM
Once the Great Powers have finished cutting Serbia in pieces in order to give it away to its favorites, they will be able to forget about the Serbs. Oh yes, they do need generic evil doers and villains for their action movies and novels, so there will be little objection when they place Serb characters here and there in their mega buck dramas. Meanwhile I sit here still wondering, how did it all happen? I was reading Julia Gorin’s article on a similar subject, "Ending the Balkan Quagmire." She says that as each accusation against the Serbs was demolished she was sure that NOW they would get it. After all, the Americans have pretty well accepted that there were no WMD. If they can finally admit that in the middle of a war that is costing them trillions of dollars, how hard would it be to face up to the reality that a people far away who never did you any harm aren’t the bad guys? The accusations were horrendous; they have been demolished. They are listed everywhere but just take two exposes of propaganda:
It was reported that the Serbs burned thousands of ethnic Albanian corpses in the Trepca mine during the Nato war on Serbia. A short time after the war ended, NPR radio broadcast hourly teasers about a witness interview to be aired that evening. I listened intently, waiting for the 'facts' to come out and I could still be waiting but the program only lasted a half hour. The interview took place in a smoky Montenegro café where the two anonymous "witnesses" reported that yes, trucks had been heard pulling up to the mine shaft and that clothing was stacked outside the entrance because the Serbs had wanted to make those people disappear as if they had never existed. Where had I heard that before? It was all a recreation of WWII Holocaust language. But the whole thing was such a drama that I couldn’t believe that NPR had fallen for it. At that time I still thought the station had some standards. I don’t need to tell you that a thorough forensic examination of the mine revealed nothing at all -- not a tooth, not a bone. The researchers ridiculed the idea that victims would be cremated and their clothes carefully preserved.
The German Ministry of Defence sent out the message that bombing the Serbs was saving ethnic Albanian lives because the Serbs had a plan in place called Operation Horseshow to brutally expel the whole population from Kosovo. This propaganda message was fleshed out with other wild accusations. After the bombing, a German TV report came out, “It Began with a Lie”, that detailed the lies of Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, Minister of Defence Rudolf Scharping and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.
I had to go back in my files and other sources to refresh my memory of the particular false reports that were rampant and that had been disproved. In fact, I planned to write a long letter detailing every lie and its corresponding debunking that I knew about. Yes, I knew it had been done by others but there’s more than enough of this *@#!!! to go around. As a matter of fact, I got no further than rereading the March 2001 article about this German expose by Dietmar Henning before the breath was knocked out of me by his concluding paragraphs. I’ll repeat, I planned to write about the accusations and about how the accusations were proved to be lies. I and those like me who have a need to at least attempt to get justice have a delusion. We believe that if everybody knew the facts they surely would call for a correction or at least an apology to the wronged party. But here, in Dietmar Henning’s article, available for all the world to see or at least for all the press and media to see was the cynical response to the lies told in order to gain support for the attack on Serbs. When asked about the lies told by the three aforementioned German officials, Nato spokesman Jamie Shea, who is featured in the report, said this:
"Not only Minister Scharping, but also Chancellor Schroder and Minister Fischer provided an outstanding example of political leaders who don’t just run behind public opinion, but know how to shape it. It makes me optimistic to see that the Germans have understood that."
Well, Vagabond, after reading that I went to bed clothed in sadness. We can make our lists of false accusations and wait for history to set the record right. But while the attackers and their mouthpieces live out their lives congratulating each other for how well they fooled us and since our media let them get away with it, we’d better use our energy to help the Serbs get back on their feet.
NikoleRegarding the situation of the Serbs: Individuals or groups whom you don't like, or whom you don't care about, have in common that you'll believe anything negative about them. Their vulnerability depends on their power; if they are weaker than those they have to confront, their existence may be miserable and extinction a matter of time. In the animal societies the outcome is fast: individuals are excluded from herds, even killed, mothers abandon their cubs... With humans the process is usually slower, from slavery to extermination. In so-called democratic societies, the slandered become victims of mesquinerie, isolated, accused, to the extent that they themselves end up with an inferiority complex. So the proud and valiant may become passive, falling into cowardice. The poison is usually slow to act; they may not feel their fall unless they're lucky enough to be awakened by somebody of their own stock. But most of the defeated are led by mini-machiavellis who push submission and patience thinking that this will overcome the negative atmosphere engendered by the entanglement of lies. They are wrong; it’s never happened. Only the strong and/or defiant survive and finally win. The enemies will accuse them of bullyism because it suits them. As long as you know you're not a bully, that you represent no danger, as you never represented a danger, just follow your line, be ready for sacrifice, and finally you'll win respect for yourself and for coming generations. WM
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William Markiewicz