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Re: Why Not Serbia? ..., Re: ICC ..., U.S. Elections ..., Global Reflections ..., Albanians & Jews ...
Friend forwarded me your article titled “Why not Serbia”, and I read it couple of times in disbelief. I could not believe, after all these years, that I am finally reading something truthful about Serbia.
For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Sasha Logan
Me Markiewicz,
I just read your article “Why not Serbia”, and found it interesting, to say the least.
Why is there no RSS-feed on your blog? Would be easy to keep posted on new articles...
Thanks,
Milan P.
This page has been on the web since 1995 (before blogs!) and up to now I haven't looked into adding this convenience to the page. Thanks for the suggestion. WM
i wish the 'cia operatives' in belgrade would read this and follow through with it ........well said....thank you.
George Terzic
Dear Mr. Markiewicz,
I read your article and I cried that there was someone in this world who believes that we are not the most horrible people in the world. It has not been easy being a Serb in America. Thank you for being a friend.
With greatest affection
Ann E.
To date, the International Criminal Court held investigations into these five situations:-
DRC
Central African Republic
Sudan ( Darfur)
Kenya; and
Northern Uganda
I ask a few questions of all:-
A. Is there equality of international justice when the likes of Blair and Bush, who have advanced wars of aggression, are excluded from answering for their war crimes?
B. Since heads of state from the African continent can so readily be indicted and/or put in the international dock – why when equal or larger crimes against humanity are committed by Western leaders aren’t they too held accountable.
C. Forget questions A and B above and accept that the makers of the rules manipulate and exclude themselves from justice –they laugh and thumb their noses at the very thought of any subjugation to the very courts they have created.
Would be great to hear from all on the prevailing international justice system and have views shared. I humbly offer my little parody on the topic :-
“Criminal’s Accomplice”
(A one act/one scene play with a potentially horrific end.)
Setting: A War Crimes Tribunal, somewhere in Europe.
Actors: Three Judges; an international war crimes Prosecutor; a Court Clerk; two armed court officers; Donald Rumsfeld
Act 1 Scene one. A black curtain is slowly drawn to reveal a somber setting. Three Judges ( A President of the Court; the Judge on the President’s right; The Judge on the President’s left); two armed guards; a Court Clerk who reads the charges; the Prosecutor; Donald Rumsfeld, standing as an accused before the Tribunal. (continued here)
They’re still counting the votes in the U.S. election. Nobody doubts that the Democrats will be battered. I have to say that, being in Canada, I haven’t followed the campaigns with great attention. It’s a blur of tea party this and that, some Republican women campaigners who are suddenly famous. Is it more Sarah Palins coming along? The only connection I’ve ever been able to get riled up about is the health care issue because living in Canada I have never had to worry about being covered and it has been an issue for my family in the States. I hoped they would get real health care, even better than what we have here. So far it looks confusing but maybe it will work out. And this health care issue is one of the big dividing lines in the U.S. Isn’t that odd? I mean with so many people jobless, so many more people with minimal or no coverage why are they so afraid of ‘socialist’ health care? The Tea Party people are preaching no government takeover. Does that mean that they all have jobs and health coverage? If they lose their jobs would they still fight against a health care plan? I was flipping radio stations a few days ago and I heard a talk show host say, “Health care is a privilege, not a right. I have health care on my job and if I lose my job and my health care, I’ll get another job with health care.” That is practically word for word what he said. Unemployment is given as another reason Democrats are getting kicked out. Is he really going to get another job “with health care”? Will Obama’s version of health care be a boon or a bust once the whole thing kicks in? There seems to be so much meanness in all this. I have had moments when I feared that the U.S. really wouldn’t hold together. These elections are an anticlimax. I want to see what happens in the next two years: what will Republicans do when they have to do something besides say “No.” Will my friends and family get real health care? Will the unemployment situation change? Will Americans (and Canadians!) finally stop spending their money and stop sending those young kids to fight in Afghanistan?
There are two situations we might consider, essentially opposite sides of the same coin as follows:-
Situation A – the responsibility is local responsibility
Congo – the country now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo is at war. Millions have died. In 1997 Laurent Kabila, after Mobutu’s demise, declared himself President. The Congo is probably the world’s single richest area on the planet with the mineral and natural resources that it possesses. Its people are poor, the leadership is corrupt and undemocratic – it is the locals fault – let them sort it out.
Uzbekistan – The IMF reports that over 50% of Uzbeks live below the poverty line. President Islam Karimov is the dictator in an oil and gas rich nation. Its people are poor, the leadership is corrupt and undemocratic – it is the locals fault – let them sort it out.
Afghanistan – There are a number of tribes across Afghanistan and central government does not exist in actuality. There is nothing by way of government operating in the country that equates to Western democracy. People deserve the government they choose. Its people are poor, the leadership is corrupt and undemocratic – it is the locals fault – let them sort it out.
Iraq – Three main groups exist in Iraq – the Shiites, Sunni and Kurds. There are real points of division between the three factions. The country is in shambles. The people are facing a chaotic situation despite the country’s large oil reserves. The leadership is corrupt and undemocratic – it is the locals fault – let them sort it out.
Situation B – the responsibility is international
Congo – Between 1998 and 2002 the war death toll was 3.3 million up to beyond 5 million at last count. This, for the past 50 years, post World War 11 is the highest war death toll in the world. There has been relentless looting of the Congo’s natural resources. Uganda and Rwanda have played roles in Congo – and on the other side there is Kabila’s friendship with countries such as Cuba, Libya and Sudan which does not endear Kabila ( Jr. after Dad was assassinated) to the US. In consequence despite official assertions about the need for foreign troops leaving Congolese territory, the World Bank and US lending agencies continued lending to Uganda and Rwanda, foreign interests control large areas, the looting of natural resources continued and the people of the Congo suffered in a war torn region. Part of the US global play was China’s involvement by way of deals with Kabila’s government for mining rights. British, German, Belgian, American, Canadian companies are involved in the plunder of Congo’s resources. The West has turned a blind eye to the numbers dead and little is reported in the mainstream Western media about the conflict in Congo.
Uzbekistan – The Central Asian capital of Tashkent has been important for America’s “War on Terror”. Operation Enduring Freedom got air bases in Uzbekistan and Karimov got a free hand with human rights abuses, western money, avoidance of free elections, and much more. The Karimov family is central in the entire nation’s economic life. The oil and rewards from it remain sweet. Little is reported in the mainstream Western media about the Uzbek’s government’s excesses and abuses.
Afghanistan – The official story is that Osama bin Laden hold up in some remote part of Afghanistan masterminded the attack on the World Trade Towers and used some 15 Saudi suicide attackers and some 4 other Middle Easterners and brought down 2 ( actually 3) Towers. That attack was relied on to carpet bomb Afghanistan. US and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan and now for almost a decade have fought a war that does not seem to have any end in sight. From a Western perspective, it is the “Taliban” who are the enemy that must be defeated. Upon closer scrutiny, there are several tribes and factions in Afghanistan. It seems a bit simplistic to assume that the length of the war is not significantly attributable to the fact that many tribes in Afghanistan genuinely want to see the back of the invaders.
Iraq – Lies were told to the United Nations Security Council by then Secretary of State Colin Powell. Then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, signed off to attack Afghanistan a year before the actual 2003 invasion took place and the document known as the “Downing Street Memorandum” ( i.e. minutes of a July 23rd, 2002 meeting of the British PM with senior ministers. N.B. President George Bush signed off on overthrowing Saddam Hussein in Summer 2002) confirms the facts. There have been estimates of as high as a million Iraqi war deaths. The invaded country has been devastated. There continues to be resistance to the US occupation. There is no focus in the US mainstream media that the invasion violation Article 2 of the United Nations Charter and the occupation continues to be a violation of international law.
Conclusion
Put all of this together, both the local and the international dimensions. Explain as you will. Attribute as you must.
Courtenay Barnett
WWW.GLOBALJUSTICEONLINE.COM
Yes, Albanians are mostly Muslims. Are you joining the general anti-Muslim trend, by attacking news that states that Albanians risked their lives defending Jews? Where did you get the certitude that it wasn't so?
All that may be written about me is not necessarily written by me or with my knowledge. I like to follow controversies coming from opposing journalistic sources but I try not to participate in them. I like an overview of general history that allows conclusions to pop out by themselves; not necessarily an easy and fast job. Who is stronger and who is weaker, who could get maximum advantages from the situation, that's what interests me. I love truth, justice, morality, "love," but I don't like sophisticated demagogy. How things really go may be more important then to debate where they should go; this I prefer to leave to the readers' conclusions and there is a place for them on the Communication page. WM
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William Markiewicz