TiM Readers' Forum - October 2000 (Oct 16, 2000)

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TiM GW Bulletin 2000/10-6

Oct. 16, 2000

October 2000

TiM Readers' Forum

Your Turn...

WASHINGTON (state), Sep. 30 - We received a copy of the following message that a TiM reader from the state of Washington, John Prukop, sent to his list - Citizens for a Constitutional Washington (state), enclosing the TiM web address:

“Recipients: For those of you who are tired of the lying, controlled media in this, the Land of the Free and Home of he Brave... soon to become the Land of the FEE and Home of the Slave... you owe it to yourself to click on the following website, and read some hard hitting truth about what's really going on in the world, in places like Serbia and elsewhere.

When you get to this website (www.truthinmedia.org), be sure and look down the left side menu and click on "New World Order". This will explain to you what was meant by George Bush in 1990, when he said that out of the Persian Gulf conflict there would emerge a "New World Order".

BELGRADE, Oct. 8 - We received the following letter from a TiM reader in Belgrade, who asked to be identified only by his initials - M.L., but whose full identity is known to TiM:

“Dear Sir, I'd like to express my views of the events in Belgrade and Serbia over the past couple of days, as well as my reactions to some of your articles. I spoke last night to some of my friends who participated in the events. They told me that a great many demonstrators, especially those coming from outside Belgrade, were armed! One of the DOS leaders admitted that they wouldn't come back unless they achieve their goal, no matter what the cost (in human lives).

I kept silent throughout the night. It is obvious that anything I say would create a chorus of hysterical disapproval. Any common sense had left their heads long since. I imagine you experienced the same when you warned about Milosevic 10 years ago.

As for your remark that quislings waste no time, get a load of this: I had just heard on TV that Zoran Djindjic said in an interview to a Zagreb(!!!) weekly "Nacional" that there will be no more Yugoslavia, but an alliance of states of Serbia and Montenegro with a common foreign policy. And that there would be no more federal President, Parliament or Government.

Talking about TV, since the "liberation" of the media, they have been none short of disastrous. Reactions from Clinton, Blair, Chirac on the "democratic changes", greetings from Zagreb, Sarajevo... O, Sancta Simplicitas!!!

I would like to reply to Mr. Alverson, who I truly believe is a dear friend of my people but has obviously fallen under this hysteria (see (see An American at the Serb “Revolution”): He compared this to 96/97 protests. It is, to say the least, inappropriate. In 96/97, the streets were inhabited by people wanting democracy and freedom. This October, it was a mob out for blood (just go and see the movie "Gladiator," and see if there is any difference between the mob in the Coliseum and that in Belgrade).

You say we will never forget the spring of 1999, Mr.Alverson. Well, I'm afraid some already have. And judging by who has taken over the media, in time a great many will.

In spite of everything I still remain optimistic simply because I have to. The only other option is suicide.”

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 9 - We received the following letter from Basile Kotschoubey, a Russian TiM reader who is currently in Azerbaijan:

“Dear Friends, do not forget that "Russia" is already "western", in the sense that she has been overwhelmed by atheistic materialistic idealism and government over the past 80 years. The present leaders, from Lenin, Trotsky to Gorby to Putin ARE of just such a mentality.

So with them on top, or with NATO on top ... what's the difference? At least the NATO guys allow private property, and make Mercedes cars rather than Ladas, and pay wages. In fact, they'd probably run Russia better than would Putin. Those who hang on to Putin’s and Milosevic’s as so-called "nationalists," or "patriots," are in fact scared of their own culture, or personal lack of it, rather.

Russians should have such a degree of confidence in their culture, in their religion, that even if the entire Kremlin was occupied by Germans, the people would still remain Russian. Not only that, those in the Kremlin would themselves become Russian, and Orthodox after a generation or two. The only thing to fear is persecution of religion, and even that mustn't be feared.

I think you should start becoming much more precise in your choice of vocabulary. There is no "West" and there is no "Russia" today.”

AUSTRALIA, Oct. 9 - We received the following letter from Tony T., a TiM reader in Australia:

“Dear Bob, I enjoy reading your columns, and although I usually tend to agree with you most of the time. But I feel you are being a bit unfair towards the new YU president.

I can understand your anger and frustration at the events in Serbia, however what was the alternative ? A few more years of Milosevic rule and pretend that he is a genuine nationalist? Would that have resulted in an union with Russia and Bjelorussia ? I seriously doubt it.

I don't think such a union is possible at this time, no matter who is president of Yugoslavia.

Why not? Because Russia does not want it. By having a formal union or treaty it obliges them too much. In case of "trouble", they would really have to do something, instead of hiding behind the UN, empty words, empty threats and so on.

And realistically Russia is no shape or mood to start a major war over Serbia even if it could do it. Today’s Russia does not have the military muscle of the USSR (most crucially the logistics to fight in the Balkans). I don't think you fully appreciate the military capability needed to undertake such an operation.

I believe that Kostunica is a true patriot and will do his best to protect Serbian interests in unfavorable strategic circumstances. It's way to early to judge him and only time will tell who was right.

SWEDEN - Give TiM’s Voice to People of Yugoslavia Who Resist Globalist Invasion

SWEDEN, Oct. 9 - We received the following letter from Lennart Palm, a TiM reader in Sweden:

“Dear Bob! Now media in our countries are triumphing in hypocrisy and onesidedness again. Just as during the bombings.

As a news anchor here said on TV last Thursday (Oct. 5): "And the most fantastic thing about it all, the Serbs made this change all by themselves, without any foreign pressure what so ever"!

For people who believe in a multipolar world with self-governing democratic national states working together in peace, and all kind of imperialism abolished, it is now important not to give in. We should not even be sure Yugoslavia unavoidably will be taken over by the NWO as you seem to do.

Yugoslavia has been a valiant fighter for peace and independence against fascist occupation and Stalinist blackmail and led the non-aligned movement for many years during the cold war.

We must go on revealing the lies about what happened in Yugoslavia from the beginning of the 90-ties. But now also try to unmask the gangster methods that were used by the West to make this outcome of the elections.

There I think TiM has an important role to play: give us true information about what is happening in Yugoslavia, as we certainly will see a news blackout the coming months - the NWO propaganda will try to take over all information from FRY.

With all your contacts you could give us much info to use in the fight against the upcoming NWO propaganda. Give voice to people from Yugoslavia who resist the globalist invasion!”

CALIFORNIA - Wouldn’t It Be Great for Serbia to Become a Part of NATO and the EU?

CALIFORNIA, Oct. 6 - We received the following letter from Bojan Drobnjakovic, a TiM reader from California.:

“I must deeply and regretfully disagree with you. You can say whatever you want, but the will of the people is far more powerful than any other instrument of diplomacy. My relatives back in Serbia have been fighting 10 years for change and finally it has arrived. I cannot support a man (Milosevic) who sent us to war four times, and lost every single time.

And so what if Kostunica received money from the Wes?. The money must come from somewhere. The people of Serbia have a different view than the one you envision. People of Serbia want work and it does not matter who their boss is as long as they are not starving.

I could sort of see what you are getting at about the New World Order, but wouldn't it be great for Serbia one day to become a part of NATO and the EU? I think we need to make friends with the West and not enemies. I do not want to see one million Chinese in the streets of Belgrade, if you know what I mean.”

ZAKOPANE, Poland Oct. 6 - We received the following letter from Marek Glogoczowski, a TiM reader from Poland. He starts his letter with a quote from our subject TiM Bulletin, and goes on to comment about it:

“BELGRADE, Oct. 6… In fact, they lead one to suspect that the entire “revolution” was carefully (and masterfully!) staged by invisible joined hands of both Russia and the West, and with an open or tacit cooperation by the Milosevic regime…”

“I do agree. Everything in last few months (including the "Kursk" accident) is looking this way. The "New Russia" was invited to the "international feast" of partition of Yugoslavia, exactly in the same way as Austria and Prussia were invited to participate in the partition of Poland about 200 yrs ago, during the creation of OWO (Old World Order, at the Congress of Vienna).”

SOUTHEAST ASIA, Oct. 9 - We received the following letter from Karl Eriksson, a TiM reader from Sweden who is presently in Southeast Asia:

“Dear Editor, I honestly believe that you are jumping to conclusions. Kostunica hates US/NATO I have read and he is quoted as saying it last year...”

“Stop, right there! You've just said the key words: "last year." People change. Kostunica has been a personal friend of mine for many years. He has been saying things like that for years, not just last year. But once he jumped into bed with the bought and paid-for western whores in Serbia, it makes no difference what he says. For, "he who pays the piper calls the tune."

“In Der Spigel (Kostunica said), "NATO has committed genocide against the Serbian people for which they will one day be held accountable" (not the exact quote, I cant remember, but very close to this and to this effect).

I think the Russians and Serbs are trying to inflame existing disagreements within the group of major imperialist powers. Reading about Kostunica’s first comment on his immediate goals, it is to normalize Yugoslavia’s relationship with Europe, work on the economy, and something about getting Kosovo back.

From speaking with Serbs, they seemed to believe that if they didn't take the course of action they did, the Serbs were all going to die. It would take Russia too long to be able to save them, and perhaps more passive resistance would be better anyway.

I’m not saying I’m right, and you are wrong at all. I’m just saying that it is very possible you are jumping to conclusions. The general consensus among Serbs I have been in contact with is that this is their victory over US/NATO.”

TiM Ed.: “General consensus?” Sounds like another dirty word in Serbia these days - “democracy.” Oops… not among the ostriches, of course. They thirst such “democracy.”

AUSTRALIA, Oct. 7 - We received the following letter from a TiM reader in Western Australia who wishes to remain anonymous, but whose identity is known to TiM:

“Dear Bob, you write…”As a result, we have now redrawn our geopolitical map of Europe, originally created in January 1999 (i.e., before the NATO bombing - see "New Iron Curtain over Europe," 1999)…”

In your most recent article about Yugoslavia, and the so-called revolution, you sound a little bit demoralized or even depressed, Bob!”

“F., then you don't know me very well. I am the type of a person who never gives up; whom the enemy has to kill in order to shut him up. And even then; even from my grave, my articles and speeches that are now circling the ether would still haunt the enemy. Until God’s truth and liberty are victorious. With or without me.

The paragraph you quoted above is just realism. Everything seems happening according to the script we outlined in our early September "Red October" article (see Toward Another "Red October" ). So why would I be demoralized or depressed? Thanks for your concern, though.”

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 - We received the following letter from Anne Williamson, a New York-based author and a former Moscow correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and other American press, whose name should be familiar to TiM readers from her insightful reports about the Russian “reforms” (see Russia's 'Privatization:' Financial Crime of the Century""- a book review):

“Hello Bob! I can't tell you how much I'm relying on TiM these hectic days to keep up with all the complex and sickening developments in Belgrade! Burning the ballots, NATO MRE’s, suitcases of cash - simply nauseating. But, it's always a relief to spot TiM bulletins in my email, and know I'll soon be "up to snuff". Just tremendous work you're doing - as always!”

WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 14 - We received the following letter from Daniel McAdams, an American who has spent a considerable time in the Balkans as a monitor of the various elections (as member of the British Helsinki Group). McAdams is now based in Washington, DC, where he works as an analyst for an NGO that deals with security policy issues:

“Dear Bob: Your old friend Daniel McAdams here. I am so pleased to see that you have seen through Madeleine's "Demo-farce" in Yugoslavia. Reason should be enough to lead Yugo-watchers to conclude that (Vojislav) Kostunica -- honorable as he no doubt may be -- is nothing more than a front for (Zoran) Djindjic and OUR $77 million.

As you may know, there is a virtual war among Yugo-watchers who otherwise disagreed with NATO bombing. Half of them are as schoolgirls that the "opposition" replaced Milosevic. The other part -- in which I am most certainly included -- seeing Yugo events for what they are: a victory for Washington and the end of independence for Yugoslavia.

It is clear that Kostunica is a front in the same vein as was Demirchyan in Armenia (fortunately the Armenians said "no thank you " to Madeleine's new world order) and Dzurinda is currently in Slovakia. The list goes on, but I will leave it at that.

This is nothing new, I have seen it throughout Central and Eastern Europe in my travels with the British Helsinki Group: to the communists currently masquerading as "the West", democracy means you put in power who we say, or we kill you.

How different than the glorious days of Suslov and Mikoyan? Ah, wonderful progress...

You have my great respect and have had for some time. Glad to see you on the right side on this crucial issue.”

ILLINOIS, Oct. 12 - We received the following letter from Veljko Miljus, a TiM reader from Illinois:

“Dear TIM: I believe that Serbia has finally gotten rid of the worst government ever. Consequently, it is only fair to allow the new government to demonstrate who they are. Please, contain your opinions to facts, logic and civilized way of expression, no matter who or what the other guy is.”

“Thanks for your feedback. Wish you would offer such advice to the Djindjic "brown shirts" (not my expression; it is a term being used by many TiM readers in Serbia who have written to us about the travesties they are committing).

All we try to do is report and analyze the whole truth. Just as we did during the NATO bombing, or since then. Get used to it. Sometimes it will be the truth you won't like. But it will always be the unadulterated truth. If that upsets you too much, let us know and we'll be happy to remove you from the list.”

“Dear TIM: I do not think you got it. I am a Serbian patriot who has probably given more time and personal resources to the Serbian humanitarian and political cause since 1990 than any other single Serb in Diaspora. I believe that you are hurting for Serbia and Serbian people as much as I, and that you think your way of expressing the truth is the right way. However, it is not.

To be effective and helpful in the right place, and with the right people, one must do it differently from the doings of Milosevic, Seselj and yours truly, Bob Djurdjevic. The only unadulterated truth is that the Serbian people and what remains of their country are in worst economic, cultural, spiritual and political position ever.

Therefore, as I said, "Serbia has finally gotten rid of the worst government ever. Consequently it is only fair to allow the new government to demonstrate who they are." The new government may not be much better than that of Milosevic, but it is impossible for any new government to be worse or even as bad.

As far as the expressions used by TiM readers in Serbia, you should not hang onto their wisdom because how wise we all Serbs have been in this century has been clearly demonstrated, especially in the last 10 years. I am not saying this because I dislike the Serbs. I am a Serb. How can one dislike himself? I am saying it because I a sick and tired of our own illusions.

It is time for every Serb to wake up and joint the reality because the reality on this earth is the only one we got. It is time for proven atheists to stop misleading us that we are Heavenly People (Nebeski Narod). We are not. We are more corrupt than average. We are less religious than average, etc. The beliefs of Car Lazar's time are outdated. So you get used to it and start being practical for the benefit of the Serbian cause.”

BELGRADE, Oct. 12 - We received the following letter from Aleksandar Radulovic, a TiM reader from Serbia, evidently a Belgrade student who has not fallen under the NWO spell:

“Dear Mr. Djurdjevic, First, I would like to express my admiration on your persistency in doing such an honorable and humane work.

This letter is an attempt to communicate with someone who understands the situation we're currently in. Trust me, it's very, very hard to find such a person here. Let me give you an example.

My colleagues-students, who should be open-minded and progressive, keep telling me that I should "enjoy the freedom we've just obtained" and stay calm!

Morbid euphoria has overwhelmed this country. People are drunk on “freedom", and don't understand a single part of what has happened to us. We, with both feet on the ground, are going through the toughest moments of our lives. The feeling of final and complete "freedom" seduced the nation, so no one can see what is happening before their eyes.

The first thing done by new "democratic" authority was that to invaded Federal Customs Department, the National Bank and the other institutions involved in money market in Yugoslavia. Mind you, the new Federal Government hadn't been formed yet, and those things are in their jurisdiction!

Deutsche Mark exchange rate was knocked down by more than half. This is glorified in all media (naturally, totally controlled by the new "democrats", provisionally barring YU info. channel) as a tremendous success. This exchange rate reduction was not followed by a correponding price reduction.

Frankly, foreign goods are cheaper now, but only when you pay in Dinars. Domestic goods have the same price, or at most cheaper for 10%. Isn't this the first step towards elimination of domestic goods from the market?

This discrepancy with the exchange rate in Montenegro (1 DM = 42 Dinars, officially) is a bit odd. Can this be interpreted as a beginning of introduction of German currency as our national one?

I'd like to applaud your answer to a TiM reader from Belgrade (the one who asked you why Kostunica is your ex-friend). Unfortunately, the majority here think the same way: "Kostunica talks wise".

Yes, I agree, he talks wisely, but what do Djindjic & Co. do? And as for the critics such as that reader from Igalo, I would suggest to him to watch Montenegrin Milo's TV a bit less, and to look around and to see what is happening in the once used-to-be-heroic Montenegro.

Mr. Bob, is there any hope for us? According to your last comments, I can't see a single ray of light, but... Can something stop this rapid decline? Can we expect a soon breakup of DOS coalition (which doesn't seem possible to me in near future)? What if the West finishes its job here? Is then any chance for us to get out, no matter the price?

Believe me that my heart is tearing apart these moments, and the most tragic thing is that people celebrate "victory". This makes me very restless and disappointed because I considered our people wiser and more cautious. But we appear to be too single-minded and too exclusive.

Is Belarus next? Should we expect similar events there? If it happens, I don't know which European country I could escape to - which wouldn't be under the claws of the Great beast (or should I say: where Uncle Sam couldn't find me).

I'd also like to ask you a question I've been doubtful about for some time: What is a position (I avoid to say "role") of our Orthodox church (or our priesthood) since it supported Kostunica? I cannot understand such attitude considering who is backing Kostunica and that he is supported by the West. And we know what are the Western intentions towards our Orthodox Christianity.

It seems that nothing else I can do, but to hope the future will show that you were wrong, and that I was a paranoid fool that trusted people like you. Until that happens, I will support you and your work and read TiM as an oasis of common sense.”

TiM Ed.: As to this reader’s question regarding the Serbian Orthodox Church’s unusual Serbian Orthodox Church’s endorsement of one political candidate, we replied that we were disappointed with it. Not only because it was done before the vote count was known. But because the Church decided to meddle in politics and take sides in the elections.

This is not about Kostunica. This writer would have reacted the same if they had endorsed Karadjordje (the man who led the Serbian 1804 uprising and the subsequent liberation from the Turks). My disappointment was due the principle the Patriarch and the Holy Synod violated - that the Church ought to be the father and mother to all Serbs regardless of their political affiliations.

After all, even the DOS polls acknowledge that over 40% of the Serb electorate voted for Milosevic or other non-DOS candidates. These people have now been alienated by the Church. Which is why we are afraid that the Serbian Orthodox Church’s reputation and credibility will be seriously eroded as a result of this rash move.

AUSTRALIA, Oct. 11 - We received the following letter from Ian Campbell, a TiM reader from Australia:

“It is good that we have a free, underground press operating. We now are subject to the media which is the capitalist version of the Soviet Union. So congratulations!”

“Thanks for your support, Ian. Just a point of clarification... We consider ourselves to be VERY visible and HIGHLY ABOVE ground media. J

FYI - TiM is read in over 80 countries around the world every month, and in nearly all U.S. states.”

U.S. (state unknown), Oct. 11 - We received the following letter from Mrs. Pat Scott , a TiM reader from the U.S.:

“Dear Truth in the Media: Love your site! It is so refreshing to get the TRUTH and not a newsman's biased report. How I wish I had the tools to be employed by your organization. THANKS for you excellent coverage and honesty in the news. We need you!

(I also wish to) thank you for the stirring and truthful article about what Clinton and his minions have done in Serbia. After reading it I was ready to go to battle for them. Our country has lost all decency with the rotten leadership of Clinton, a wicked and evil man.

One day MAYBE history will finally give us the truth about him. Your article was excellent and I can only be ashamed of our government that constantly chooses the WRONG side. What can you expect of supporters of abortion and RU 46 and all the other evils they back? If they kill babies with no conscience then why should they stop at anything?

We have become an evil empire too, yet we mistakenly call it a democracy. I wonder when the tide will return and if it is going to take God's intervention? God have mercy on us.”

SERBIA, Oct. 13 - We received the following comment from Charles Alverson, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, an American married to a Serb woman whose piece about his firsthand experiences during the Oct. 5 “revolution” you’ve had a chance to read in a recent TiM Bulletin (see An American at the Serb “Revolution”):

“Bob: I think you have been going a bit crazy with your anti-Kostunica stance. Read this. Charles.”

“I already have, Charles. And this is what I wrote about it two days ago to Srdja Trifkovic, who posted this at the Rockford Institute site:

Hi, Srdja. When did Voja actually write this? I don't see any references in his piece to current events, so my hunch is it might have been before the elections? Or maybe even before he had become a DOS candidate? Or maybe even before that, when he was still the "good old Kostunica?"

If so, why did you not publish the dateline, instead of making it seem as if it was written on Oct. 10, 2000? Also, why is there a Rockford Institute copyright shown at your web site, if Kostunica did indeed write this - whenever he may have done it?

TiM Ed.: Now, it has been more than five days since we posed those questions to Srdja Trifkovic. We have still not received a reply, even though we’ve received other mail from him. We’ll let the TiM readers draw their own conclusions about why not.

CANADA - What Will Happen to These “Revolutionaries” When They Are No Longer Needed?

OTTAWA, Oct. 13 - We received the following letter from Geoffrey Wasteneys, a TiM reader from Ottawa:

“Thanks. And I agree. But as George Burns (?) once said, "I don't aim to please; I just aim." To which I can add, "I just aim for the truth".”

Mr. Wasteneys continues with his comments about the “revolution” and the looting in Belgrade:

“What on earth is going on? You can't run a nation this way? I read your report on the "staged" revolution with great interest and concern.

I recall that Hitler rose to power by providing brown shirts, arm bands and soup kitchens to the three million or so unemployed German men. He got the money from the industrialists who were afraid of the Communists.

After he became Chancellor, Hitler didn't need the SA anymore, but Roehm, who was their leader, wanted them taken into the army. The result was the famous Putsch (coup) in which many hundreds, including Roehm, were shot.

In the West we were told that Hitler had acted because Roehm was in a nest of homosexuals, and that Hitler's action "was a good thing".

Separately, my impression is that the US peacekeepers in Kosovo are running out of patience with the Albanians. The honeymoon is almost over. But Camp, Bondsteel is a permanent establishment. They will never see the end of the US: like Guantanamo in Cuba.”

TiM Ed: Indeed. A very good analogy. And if the German Bundeswehr does set up shop in Serbia, they will probably do it in the North (Vojvodina), while the Brits take over Montenegro. Sooner or later the Serbs will wish the Ottomans were back. J L (I've made two opposite faces because this is truly black humor for any Serb who VOTED for this!).

SPAIN, Oct. 13 - We received the following letter from a TiM reader in Spain who goes by the name “Arga:”

“Bob: maybe your polls are not reliable, but you are telling very ugly things about Kostunica... Brave!

On Saturday (Oct. 14), Kostunica will meet in Biarritz with the 15 EU leaders: Did he not say he wouldn’t accept western aid? He is a western pet.

I agree with you... this ‘evolution’has been set-up. Much like every other revolution in Eastern Europe in the last few years.

Do you remember Yeltsin’s revolution? Do you remember the picture of "Yeltsin against the tanks"?

Hahaha... It was clear that those tanks were set up as a prop - to obey Yeltsin. Otherwise, they would have crushed him like a worm (he is a worm, in fact... a drunken worm).

The western countries backed Yeltsin!!! Hahaha!! How coherent!!! They will support their pet Yeltsin at any cost!!

Do you remember Yeltsin’s maneouvre to steal General Lebed’s votes (TiM Ed.: in the 1996 elections) and thus get the majority against the communists? How democratic again!!!

Do you remember the "democratic" Romanian revolution? They killed the Ceausescu couple without a proper trial. They were assassins!!!

But the new "democratic" president, Petre Roman, got the blessings of the western leaders. And the new "democratic system" "won’t let the people starve again"... But when you see the change now on TV... and you see the homeless children of Bucharest, wandering by the streets, you realize the kind of change that has really happened there.

Do you remember the former DDR president? Eric Honeker? He spent the rest of his life in prison and he was terminally ill!!!! He had cancer... and he died from that illness. Honeker was another victim of the western bulldozer that runs over anyone, for the sake of "democracy and human rights".”

BELGRADE, Serbia., Oct. 15 - We received the following letter from Elizabeth Chung, a (foreign) student of Serbian history who has spent the last three years in Serbia:

“Dear Bob, I completely agree with you about the need to get the anarchy under control. I will tell you that it is not as bad as I expected. I am a student of history, Serbian History to be exact. The professors back home that I exchange e-mail with, as well as myself, expected much worse chaos. However, there are problems. For example, the old government confiscated many transmitters and a great deal of television equipment from independent stations. Now people want those things back, but when they go to the local state television station, they find that their old equipment is no longer there (probably moved to another city), so they are debating whether to take what they find or how to compensate themselves?

Television Cacak (pronounced “Chachak”) is consulting an attorney about equipment they found there which is not theirs and what they should do, plus debating the legal and moral questions at this time. They have the equipment but they are not sure whether they are entitled to it or not.

I also fear that the old guard is going to make as much use as possible out of these incidents. I was referring to the game last night. I saw what happened on television and it was about anger. There is so much anger under the surface that is now coming out. We have two situations here in my opinion. First there is the internal situation, stemming from the trail of corruption from the old government. The new government is trying to manage the chaos of this. Secondly, there is the external situation of trying to locate the position Yugoslavia will take as the country is thrust out of isolation. This creates terrible pressure on the whole infrastructure, which has not been this delicate perhaps since King Alexander Obrenovic and his wife exited via window (TiM Ed.: Meaning, they were assassinated by a military coup in 1905).

Complicating matters is euphoria from most of the really good citizens who do not realize that a new ordeal is just beginning. The Serbs have a very promising but very fragile new republic on their hands. I can only hope and pray that it all works out for the best. The funds that are pouring in are so far without strings, at least the ones I have read about, but I am also afraid that this influx of money is going to overwhelm people and that much of it is going to be wasted in the chaos. After three years here, for the first time I find myself wishing that events could just slow down. We waited and prayed that something would happen, but now we are moving at warp speed or something.”

U.K., Oct. 15 - We received the following letter from William Spring, a TiM reader from the U.K. and director of the British-based Christians Against Nato Aggression (CANA) organization:

"The Biarritz gathering of political deadbeats, loathed leaders of the new Europe, got a much needed boost by the appearance in their midst of the representative of a country they had most recently bombed.

It was insensitive to the highest degree for Dr. Vojislav Kostunica to field questions about the possibility of handing over Mr. Slobodan Milosevic to Carla del Ponte's so called Court@TheHague, without at the same time referring to the indictments issued by the Serbian Public Prosecutor's Office of 29th August 2000 against NATO leaders (TiM Ed.: See Washington Funds Serb Opposition Efforts and other Balkans stories, Item 11). Nor to the application made by the Yugoslav Government to the International Court@The Hague for condemnation of the NATO aggression. Nor to the proceedings of the Association for Legal Theory & Practice @ Novi Sad last year, where NATO was condemned by internationally eminent lawyers. Nor to the many other initiatives (across Europe) aimed at getting NATO into the dock.

Confronted with the enemies of Yugoslavia gathered in conclave, Kostuncia should not have given them absolution quite so readily. Perhaps he had to go and say what he said, as his paymasters wanted their reward. Still it gives a bad impression for Dr. Kostunica to be so pally (palsy) with the EU. Couldn't he have insisted at least upon one expression of regret by someone at the Conference, as a pre condition for attending?

Money makes the world go round. But the Serbs should have held out for a higher price.

Couldn't the UK Government have used the £1 billion ($1.8 billion), it had spent on the NATO bombing, for less destructive activities? If the EU had dispersed its funds earlier, most people in Belgrade by now would be driving Mercedes, and casualties and deaths would have been avoided."

FLORIDA, Oct. 15 - We received the following letter from Mladen Vranjican, a TiM reader from Florida:

“The September 24 Yugoslav elections were for a largely ceremonial post of the federal head of state and for a federal assembly (legislature). In countries with respect for the rule of law, the outgoging president is usually allowed (actually obliged) to finish the term in office. Instead, Vojislav Kostunica and his thugs forced not just Milosevic to concede that he lost the election (for the NEXT term), but extorted his resignation by threats of further mob violence, thereby making all Kostunica's pronouncements for the respect of the rule of law, democratic ideals, blah, blah, blah… a farce!

Then, his thugs continued to dismantle the state, not federal, elected and appointed institutions as if the loss of an election on a federal level somehow affects the existing elected terms of the current state legislature, etc.! This unthinkable thuggery is happening on Kostunica's watch -- a man ready to give lip service to the rule of law, democratic ideals and who happens to be a constitutional layer expert, or so it is claimed.

Imagine if G.W. Bush wins in November, and then proceeds, using paid thugs, to fire all the Democratic governors, state legislatures, judges, etc. And then, using the same mob, forces the sitting president to resign immediately, and give up his office before January 2001? And forces new extraordinary elections for state legislatures in all states.

Can anyone imagine that? Well, THAT is what the Administration in Washington and their paid DOS thugs in Serbia are calling "democracy!"

Meanwhile, Kostunica meets all the emissaries and accused war criminal elements of the NATO countries to shake their hands and "kiss and make up," while establishing a new brand of abolitionist "democracy," trying to return to the values of Serbia 150 years ago, or so he says. Now that the election is over, his anti-Western rhetoric is slowly subsiding as he realizes that the trick has worked.

Some time ago, I asked you if he was naive, stupid or just acting. And you answered with high degree of certitude that he was just plain naïve (see Toward Another "Red October" ). I think you read him wrong, as many have as well. I think he was just plain acting.

I also wrote that the road to political success is not for nice guys, since an honest politician is an oxymoron, and a naive one is food for more aggressive ones. The fact that Kostunica has not been eaten (yet), must mean that he is a true politician - neither honest, nor naive.

As the Yugoslav election fades ever more into distant history, Kostunica's election-era statements are ever more morphing into those from whom he (directly or indirectly) accepted millions of dollars of bribes and is now accepting political and monetary favors.

Before and immediately after the elections, Kostunica was adamant that he would not, that it is indeed unconstitutional to, extradite Milosevic to the so-called International War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ITCY) in the Hague. He even made it clear that it was an American-run political institution, essentially a kangaroo court, bent on persecuting Serbs -- echoing the opinion of many, if not most Serbs -- and that he did not recognize is as a legitimate court.

Well, now that the ‘demo farce’ is over, and that the opinion of many, if not most, Serbs doesn't really matter any more, what does Kostunica say to his Western friends he had chastised so vehemently during his fake election rhetoric?

Wined and dined at the EU meeting in Biarritz, France, by the very NATO leaders who bombed his country - an act Kostunica had called criminal, he changed his tune on Oct. 15, and accepted an obligation to co-operate with an institution he had called earlier by its real name - a ‘kangaroo court’ and Washington’s political tool.

After shaking hands with people he had accused of criminal acts against the Serbian people, and contradicting his own statements from not so long ago, Kostunica is also changing his tune on another issue: Yugoslavia.

It is well known that the current American administration never recognized "rump" Yugoslavia (Federal Republic of…) as the successor of the former (Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia). Instead, it was referred to as Serbia and Montenegro.

One of the first things Washington's bell boy and Serbia's No. 1 traitor, Zoran Djindjic, Kostunica's second in command and -- by many accounts -- the real power behind Kostunica, echoed his master's state of mind when he suggested that Yugoslavia be dropped as the name for the joint state between Serbian and Montenegrin republics.

Kostunica, on the other hand, maintained throughout the campaign and shortly thereafter - while his and his unholy coalition's survival was questionable - that he would work on strengthening Yugoslavia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Not once did he mention anything about possible changes to the name or status of the country until now.

Yet only two days ago, he said he wasn't opposed to Montenegro's independence. Some guarantee of the Yugoslav integrity and sovereignty that is! And now, in the blitz of Biarritz, Kostunica falls in line with his political commissar, Zoran Djindjic's, and his bosses in Washington, as reported by the CNN on Oct. 15:

"Kostunica also confirmed that he was ready to drop the name of Yugoslavia and have the state he led renamed 'Serbia and Montenegro.' "

Once again, every reason exists to believe, as evidence points to the inevitable conclusion, that concerted efforts are being made to dissolve Yugoslavia, reduce and neutralize Serbia (even occupy by German troops!), and install and maintain a regime there that will work for international and not national interests. Such a regime has already been established in Montenegro and in the Bosnian Serb Republic -- much to the delight of its NWO architects, such as Senator Joseph Biden who has nothing but high praise for it.

Every day, new news reports confirm the impression many of us have had - that Kostunica is not the honest naive fool he was portrayed to be, but a willing accomplice in the dissolution and destruction of his own country, which will undoubtedly earn him a special place in the Serb Quisling Hall of Fame, alongside Zoran Djindjic and his soulmate Biljana Plavsic, of the Bosnian Serb Republic.”

U.K., Oct. 15 - We received the following letter from Stelios Stylianou, a TiM reader from the U.K.:

“Dear Bob, sorry I doubted your story about Kostunica. You were right!!! He's a sack of bull! What is worse, he wants to change the name of Yugoslavia into SERBIA-MONTENEGRO because he feels the name has lost its meaning.”

“No. He wants to do it because that's what Washington has been calling Yugoslavia "Serbia and Montenegro" ever since 1992, in order to deny it the succession rights (embassies, money, etc.) to the former Yugoslavia, while saddling "Serbia and Montenegro" with their share of the old Yugoslav debt (about $5 billion plus interest compounded since 1992).

These rights of succession and associated debts are also the REAL REASON the outer sanctions are still in force against Kostunica’s ‘democratic’ Yugoslavia, not his delivery of Milosevic to the Hague, as the western public has been told by our lamestream media. The latter is a snow job and a distant secondary issue.”

“Don't worry, NATO may think they have won for now but the war is not over, not by a long shot. The traitors are in for quite a battle with the Serbian parliament because is disapproving the fools moves to colonisation of Yugoslavia. Thus even if the NWO establishes its bases in Yugoslavia it has to finish the job to rid Russia of the face of the earth which could bring a possible WWIII. Even if Russia (for now that is!) cast Yugoslavia into the hands of the EU/NATO she will eventually change her mind about what she done. They need to tame the bear first for world domination and they haven't the guts to even try.

CANADA, Oct. 15 - We received the following letter from Chris Soda, a TiM reader from Canada, who comments about Vojislav Kostunica’s turn about face, after having been wined and dine by the EU heads of state in Biarritz on Oct. 15 (see the Latest News Flash at the TiM front page on the Web):

“Hello, Bob: which of the following paraphrases can be attributed to Kostunica?

(a) "The ICTY is a political court, not a judicial one; I will never extradite a Yugoslav to the Hague."

(c) "The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will co-operate with all international institutions including the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia."

Furthermore, no one in the mainstream media ran (Bernard) Kouchner's threatened re-implementation of sanctions, and I doubt any of them will run a story about an obvious fraud artist in action either.

But I can see why 'Former Yugoslavia' (in more ways than one) has been on Kostunica's lips recently. Not content to sell out his own soul to the highest bidder, he now embarks on selling out his country's name-and his countrymen-as well.

'Democracy' lost its meaning when Kostunica’s guys stormed the Parliament and burnt the only evidence to support DOS mathematical imagination, i.e. the ballots.

This guy is so full of s… It should be obvious that rather than defend the heroic struggle of Yugoslavia against NATO, Kostunica prefers historical revisionism.

Maybe since he wants to change the name of his country, we should all believe the mainstreams that call him a 'Serb patriot'; better still, since 'Yugoslavia' no longer exists in his mind, then his 'election win in Yugoslavia' no longer exists either.......

When the Germans walk in and make themselves at home, we will see accomplished what Appendix B (TiM Ed.: of the Rambouillet agreement - Milosevic’s rejection of which led to NATO’s bombing) could not - the military occupation of all of Yugoslavia.... excuse me, Serbia-Montenegro.

U.K., Oct. 9 - We thought the following ominous warning to the Serbs, which we received from M. Harrison, a TiM reader from the U.K., is an appropriate “closing statement’ to what has just transpired in Serbia:

Peoples, once accustomed to masters, are not in a condition to do without them. If they attempt to shake off the yoke, they estrange themselves even more from freedom. By mistaking for it an unbridled license to which it is diametrically opposed, they nearly always manage, by their revolutions, to hand themselves over to seducers, who only make their chains heavier than before." (Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1754)

By ridding themselves of the tyranny of Milosevic the Serbian people will not find freedom and liberty. They have instead placed themselves and the future of their nation in the hands of an even greater evil - the NWO of the International Community.

They may have been quite honest in their intentions, but they have been duped and, like the citizens of the former Stalinist Eastern European nations, will pay a heavy price for their choice of new masters.

Meanwhile, behind closed doors, the NWO vultures are laughing at the Serbian people, overjoyed that all their intrigue and scheming of the last 10 years has finally paid off. Over the last few days I've seen Serbs at each other’s throats, beating each other in the streets; brother turned against brother. The minions of the NWO revel in their work and the misery they have caused.

CHARLOTTE, NC, Sep. 4 - We received the following letter from Frank Adams, a TiM reader from North Carolina:

“A very insightful message. It reminds me of the Boer War, when the NWO (headed by Great Britain, at that time) decided that it wanted the South Africa, and would take it by force. Headed by Cecil Rhodes (yes, of the Rhodes scholarship fame), the British used a "scorched earth" policy of burning Boer's farms and putting their women and children in concentration camps.

The Boer's fought courageously, using guerilla tactics, almost capturing a town that Rhodes was holed up in, but eventually fell to the overwhelming force of the British.

WASHINGTON (state), Sep. 5 - We received the following letter from Gerald Adkins, a TiM reader from Washington (state):

“Wow, Bob, terrific articles on the mess in South Africa! I love your coverage of what is really going on in the world, not what the multinational media conglomerates want me to hear. Thanks for being there for us.”

SOUTH AFRICA, Sep. 6 - We received the following letter from Konrad Koornhof, a TiM reader from South Africa:

Dear Bob, I’ve been reading your articles for some time and find them very informative.

I read with surprise, your above article. Being a middle-class, white South African male, probably classifies me as a previously advantaged individual, and does not put me in a very advantageous position to find a job with any big South African company in a hurry.

However, I believe that SA offers tremendous opportunities for the creative and innovative individual. I have my own financial services business in a Northern suburb of Gauteng, and find that the comments of your source.

The Daily Mail claims (TiM Ed.: the source quoted by TiM), are truly exaggerated, as I have many contacts all over the region and in other parts of the country, and find that the majority of citizens in business (of all races) and other spheres of life are working towards getting this country back on its feet.

I do not believe that all the decisions of the ruling government are correct, and it is therefore, vital that we create a strong political opposition in this country to keep those in power in check. What concerns me more is that we are kept in the dark about what agreements with the IMF, WTO, the USA, etc. are taking place and how it will affect us. The last thing we need is to be pulled into a debt-trap like so many other African countries.

CALIFORNIA, Sep. 6 - We received the following letter from Angie Carlson, a TiM reader from California, who had spent a considerable portion of her life in Africa:

"Built on the largest seam of gold ever discovered, this was once the richest city in Africa, a gleaming steel-and-glass citadel rising out of the brown ocean of the Veld, a testament to the economic power (and perhaps the innate character? of the white community that built it, but also an example of what can be achieved by hard work and individual enterprise." (a quote from the TiM Bulletin).

“Bob, but this is precisely why South Africa was demolished, literally. All the rules for revolution were employed in that nation in a very short span of time. These rules of course include releasing violent prisoners to wreak mayhem and fear, destroying the judicial system to protect the new status, making depraved the society, i.e. prostitution, rampant and legalized homosexuality, abortion, the massive importation of illicit drugs. Now, crack cocaine, it was just announced this week, has made a huge entry. And this is why the Islamic movements have taken hold, are building quite a militia, are engaged in vigilantism, to protect neighborhoods and interdict drugs, since the local police are so corrupt and criminal themselves, just like in Mexico or Colombia, and we see the signs clearly in the cities of the US.

Bob, none of this in South Africa came about because of leftist failures, though they certainly would have occurred gradually were they solely due to the inefficient form of Marxist government, no doubt. However, the downfall of South Africa is by no means whatsoever is an accident, nor the usurpation of powers by Marxists. It was all very carefully and systematically planned by the Anglo-American establishment.

The enemy of liberty, fairness, lawfulness, anything decent, had to devise a means to rid the solid country of its white, powerful, government, its established institutions, its hegemony, not only in their nation, but in Africa as a whole. Just as they did in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

This occurred so that the same old enemy of mankind, the international banksters, would move in and loot its natural wealth at slave labor prices and with hardly any regulatory agency over them. Creating the ANC some forty plus years ago, elevating Mandela, then giving him a huge media splash to create a hero out of him when he was "eased" out of jail, was a brilliant piece of theater. The pawns today, Mbeki et al, are pawns, the foolish and greedy pawns of the day.”

TiM Ed.: Funny how Ms. Carlson’s story has a familiar ring to it, doesn’t it? Anybody thinking of Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia…. right about now?

NEW YORK, Sep. 16 - We received the following letter from Jack Johnson, a TiM reader from New York:

“The congratulations of Clinton to a black athlete, and the rebuke of a white one, does not surprise me one bit. One of the things I have been seeing in this New World Order is the constant friction being generated by those in power to keep people occupied with more mundane things. Keep the races unequal by providing favoritism to one at the expense of the other.

This is just another form of bread and circuses. If the masses of sheeple aren't preoccupied enough by sports or Hollywood gossip, then create tension in the classes. Give the blacks preferential treatment.

Class warfare is the easiest way to keep these poor misguided fools away from real issues. Phony wars against like the one against Serbian people is just an escalation of this same principle.”

AUSTRALIA, Oct. 6 - We received a copy of the following letter from John Wilson, a reader from Australia, who sent a sobering message to his countrymen about what comes after all the Olympic fun and games are over:

“Dear Fellow Australians, The TV news said the Australian dollar was worth $0.5324 US dollars (TiM Ed.: Now, it has dropped to $0.5230. Five months ago, it was about $0.60; a year ago, it was about $0.65 US).

I phoned the Reserve Bank of Australia (tel: 02 9551 8111) to ask what was Australia's foreign debt. They said they would phone back when they had the figure.

The figure for the current "Net Foreign Liabilities" stands at $A 404 billion - which approximately works out at $A 21,263.00 for every man, woman, child and newborn baby.

TiM Ed.: Montreal hosted the Olympic Games of 1976. They were also lovely. Even the Queen arrived for the opening ceremonies, even though her yacht “Britannia” didn’t meet Canada’s water pollution standards. After all the loveliness subsided, the Montreal (and other Canadian?) citizens kept paying for the Olympic Games debt for years and years.

IOWA, Sep. 3 - We received the following letter from Bill Slawson, a TiM reader from Iowa:

When you make a law against something, selective enforcement is the absolute result. If some "sin" is targeted by law and funding, the natural process is for the enforcement to first target the easy offenders, learning more as they progress, finally learning how much real profit there is in actually "controlling" the serious offenders . . . even to the point of protecting the most protectable: gaining influence, funding and perpetuation.

When "aid" is being sent, the flow has already been "controlled". Actually, the "aid" is milk money arranged for forces with established conduits for armies that have no allegiance to any "public".

If you make a law against something, you are mandating sub-clinical corruption. For that matter if you make a law for something, the funding of such will confound the works. If there's funding for a fight, soldiers are always available for the worst generals. If you send arms or other electrifying influences to an area, an area that already has its own natural balance, then you add to the "field strength" of the polarizing currents. It will tend to create stress and eventual fracture of any internal structure. (Read infrastructure, when contemplating civil machinery)

There's nothing mysterious or metaphysical about speaking of physics when referring to natural forces that bear on all systems, even "civilized" ones. Whether it's Tokomak or Ladies' Aid: if you send in sufficient forces, something's going to blow. All pre-existing balance will restructure around the new developing polarities.

How could any autonomy or dignified sovereignty resist the influence of 3 or 4 percent extra from an outside force almost instantaneously? Colombia's $30 billion economy, ($9 billion international reserve), will reel from this sort of influx.

Actually, what's probably happening is that the electrons that show up in the Colombia books will be on a short stop of a round trip ticket, quickly routed to the pockets of the American/international ledgers almost immediately. It's an advanced pick-pocket scheme where the hand-off is quick and brutal; often the final bagman is a cutout. From the working man's pocket to the tax man, to the autocrats, to the dumb mules, around to the perpetrators. And there's a new "rake" at every transfer. All the skimming is under the watchful eye of the inventory man -- allowed, but strictly limited and compartmentalized.

We've seen this happen in Brazil, Indonesia, Korea - - everywhere that resources are "handled". Having produced the "field effect", the chase will be on to harness the wild. Only those at the switch will know the vectors of the force, and the new poles of the mechanism. All the buffers and isolators are hired screens. Everything is natural.”

OKLAHOMA, Sep. 3 - We received the following comment from a TiM reader, who attributes them to a Columbine high school student. We have no way of verifying that, but regardless of who the author is, we think you will find this interesting reading:

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom;

OTTAWA, Sep. 17 - We received the following comment from Geoffrey Wasteneys, a TiM reader from Canada:

“Congratulations on an excellent well directed article. You have hit the nail on the head! There was a Britain, once, that was highly compassionate to those in distress; that put down the world slave trade almost single-handedly.

This was the land where the Wesley's preached moral behavior and saved the nation from the gin mills. It is simply a matter of getting the public properly informed.

Britain has presently the worst Government since St John and the Earl of Oxford ousted Marlborough, betrayed Prince Eugene and The Dutch Republic to Louis XIV, and earned the title of "Perfidious Albion".

I gather, however, that it is the farmers who may unseat Tony Blair. It couldn't happen to a better guy.”

GREECE, Sep. 27 - We received the following comment from Amphiktyon, the pen name for a TiM reader from Greece, who is a philosopher and a writer himself:

“Dear TiM Publisher, I would like to make a comment concerning the God's Truth you are reffering in your e-mails.

The greatest physic philosopher of all times, Heracletus from Efesus(ancient Hellenic Ionia) said about the Genesis of Universe the following:

"This cosmos (universe) was created neither by gods nor by human beings .IT WAS, IS and WILL BE FOREVER, lighting up or extinguishing (oscilating) according to the law."

Think how many wars took place until now for the sake of god. And even in 2000 ad, this bloodshed is continuing due to the cosmopolitican religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam)

If we had followed the Heracletus and other Hellenic physic philosophers thinkings, surely the world would avoided form the phanaticism, the dogmatism, the disputes and the destructive wars and now the humanity would have entered the epoch of civilization.

Specifically now that the real democracy and humanism are in stake, we have to revise our thoughts under the prism of the Ancient Hellenic Values, i.e. "Metron" (the moderate path), "do not be excessive", "know Yourself" (self-conscious) , the "center all man" (Humanism) and of course the respect to the Mother Earth (Ecology)

All these values are badly violated at the present time for the material profit, the super-consumption and power. I think that most of the present problems and deadlocks have their causes to the present way of thinking. They would have been solved if we had introduced the Classic Studies in our educational system.

NEW JERSEY, Sep. 26 - We received the following comment from Jill Starr, a TiM reader from New Jersey”

“Dear TiM: You have an definite way with words; direct and to the point! I like it! Keep up the good work!”

PHOENIX, Oct. 16 - We received a number of reader responses on the subject of capital punishment, some of which we are running in this TiM Readers Forum. But first, here are results of our own poll:

Are you in favor of the death penalty as an instrument of justice?
(of 133 respondents)

In other words, as unscientific as our informal polls are, the results nevertheless conform with national trends discussed in the subject article, which indicate that a majority of Americans is in favor of the death penalty.

GEORGIA, Sep. 27 - We received the following comment from Sandra Whittington, a TiM reader from Georgia (U.S., not the former Soviet Union republic):

“The Bible provides for capital punishment, and God's word is good enough for me. There is a real good reason why many states without it have lower murder rates -- they have predominantly white European population. Not so for those with higher murder rates -- they have disproportionately higher non-white population.”

ARIZONA, Sep. 28 - We received the following comment from Bill Haynes of Arizona:

“Bob, It's not often I disagree with your Bulletins, but this one cannot go unanswered.

First, it is irrefutable that capital punishment prevents homicides. While capital punishment may not lower homicides rates, a criminal convicted and terminated cannot kill again. When you consider the multiples homicides many individuals have committed--and many after having been released from incarceration--there lies the reasonable logic for the death penalty. Life is so precious that a life taken wantonly cries out for retribution. Call it revenge if you want, but a civilized nation respects life taken innocently.

Second, the statistics on total imprisonment are meaningless as related to capital punishment. Something like two-thirds of U.S. prisoners are there on drug related charges. Want to lower prison population? Legalize drugs.

CALIFORNIA, Sep. 28 - We received the following comment from Dee Finney, a TiM reader from California:

“Hi: I put up a page about the death penalty back when Gov. G.W. Bush of Texas had the opportunity to stop the execution of Gary Graham. I was shocked to find that this page is one of my LEAST READ pages I've ever put up. Does this mean that people really don't care?

I hear of the polls on television on this topic and it seems most people are FOR the death penalty even though it looks like way too many innocent people are being put to death.

Personally, I don't believe that the death penalty is a good thing. Committing murder as revenge to murder is certainly not a good thing. When you add in the cases of innocent people dying just so the cops can convict someone, I don't see how anyone can justify continuing this way of punishing people.

Since when does dying become a penalty. It's actually a release from punishment because in death there is no pain. Only in prison, would these people suffer for what they did.

I don't see that prison or the death penalty does anything to prevent murder either. Most murders are done in passion, OR as an added adjunct to robbery. The death penalty wouldn't even enter the minds of these kinds of people.

AUSTRALIA, Oct. 3 - We received the following comment from Bill Whitney, a TiM reader from Australia:

“I strongly agree with your sentiments about the effectiveness of capital punishment. It certainly does demean society. We have not had it for a long time in Australia (the last hanging was 40 years ago).

In litigation there are always questions concerning factual evidence and sanity that cannot be answered with absolute certainty, so an absolute sentence is inappropriate.

TiM Ed.: Asked by the TiM editor if Australia still had the death penalty, Mr. Whitney replied that it did not. And when it did several decades ago, “it was only applied for murder,” he added.

GREECE, Oct 1 - We received the following comment from James Lilly, a TiM reader from Greece. After you’ve read his letters to us, you will see why the following introduction was also necessary to fully comprehend his life’s philosophy:

Mr. Lilly was born in Newcastle, England. He had a scholarship to RMA Sandhurst (Britain's Westpoint, but rather better, we like to think). He married his wife, Ann, who was at Oxford. They became Orthodox (Christians) at Oxford. Left the British Army. They moved to Greece because they wanted to live in an Orthodox country. Now the couple run a small (“too small!,” Mr. Lilly says) school of English, and do translations.

“Bob, great piece on capital punishment! Of course it's absurd to say "Killing is wrong, so I'm going to kill you".

Violence is never an answer to anything, particularly violence as revenge. Our beautiful, talented 21-year-old daughter and her fiancé were killed by a drunken hit-and-run driver who had no licence and no insurance. We remember him daily in our prayers. As a Christian, I really fear for the soul of people like George Bush who are, in effect, cold-blooded serial murderers themselves.

Pat Buchanan is right. America shouldn't have become involved in World War II. In the end, it's just made things worse. And look at the 'moral' bombing of Yugoslavia. As you point out, it's all of a piece.”

Prior to running the TiM piece on capital punishment, the TiM editor had no idea, of course, about the terrible tragedy that had struck the Lillies. Nor that they have taken so nobly and stoically. So we asked our reader if he cared to elaborate some more about what happened. He did. Here’s his second letter:

“Soon after Katherine was killed, while we were still trying to come to terms with her not being here, God, in His mercy, sent us the opportunity to look after Dragan and Nada, two little refugees from Bosnia.

Since then, I've been up to Serbia and baptized Darinka, the youngest of Milan and Rada's three children. It's not "compensation", but it's a whole lot better than sitting on your backside doing nothing.

And, needless to say, we'd have done the same if the kids had been Croats or Muslims. And we'd have taken them to their own church or to a mosque.

As it was, Dragan served in the altar with our son, John. You should have heard him reading the Lord's prayer in Serbian at the Liturgy on a Sunday morning. Not a dry eye in the church!”

“As the years go by, we increasingly realize that you have a fairly stark choice in life: are you going to be a builder or a destroyer? Every time you're faced with something bad, are you going to try and make it better or worse? And trying to make it better means listening as well as acting?

If the West had done the Serbs the courtesy of listening to their justified fears at the beginning of the 1990's, it could not merely have avoided the horrific mistakes it made, but might actually have contributed to a genuine resolution of the tensions that arose post-Tito.

Where was the goodwill that could have provided funds and expertise to Albania following the downfall of Hoxha (TiM Ed.: the former communist dictator)? Instead, we preferred to watch the pyramid-selling scam spawn the KLA, and then attach them to our "agenda".

Watch out for people with "an agenda", Bob. It's a substitute for a heart.” Very best wishes.”