HEADLINES

Phoenix                 1. Prague, Aviano, London... Protests

Belgrade               2. An American B-2A Shot Down over Serbia?

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1. Prague, Aviano, London... Protests

PHOENIX, June 8 - Who would have thought it? As reports poured into TiM from all over about the various weekend protests around the world, guess where the most violent demonstrations took place? In Prague, a nouveau-NATO country!

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of anti-war protesters also marched this weekend at NATO's Aviano base in Italy and in London, England.

Here are some excerpts from the reports by the TiM correspondents and participants in these rallies:

PRAGUE, June 6 - Hundreds of demonstrators chanting anti-NATO slogans threw stones at the U.S. Embassy late Saturday, breaking windows and injuring several policemen.

The crowd marched to the embassy in downtown Prague after gathering in another part of the capital to protest the impact of multinational corporations' on the environment. Police spokesman Josef Sulcek said 34 demonstrators had been detained.

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AVIANO, June 6 - We received the following report from a TiM reader in Croatia, whose name we're withholding considering the last sentence in this report. You may also check out a photo posted at our Web site from the Aviano protest about which this TiM reader and participant in the anti-NATO demonstration is writing:

"This is just a short note to let you know that I enjoyed your Special Bulletin on the June 5 protest at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. Bravo-bravissimo for another good and effective speech to the 30,000 Americans who were present.

At this end here, the very next day (Sunday, June 6) the biggest protest so far against NATO was held in Aviano. So, my friends and I got into two cars and were off to Italy on that hot and sunny Sunday (35 degrees Celsius), to help the wonderful Italian people that came out to express their feelings and opinions about the beastly bombings of Yugoslavia.

The march from the town of Aviano (where we had to leave our cars) to the NATO air base is some 7 or 8 kilometers. The road that goes to the air base soon turned into a river of people, mostly young. I don't know the exact number, but I'm certain that there were more than 10,000 people attending, plus the 5,000 heavily armed police with their guns and shields and vehicles. (another participant in the Aviano rally told TiM that over 25,000 marched in protest).

This time, the NATO NAZI'S set up huge concrete blocks of cement behind the fence that encircles the airport, so that the planes that sow death could not be seen. And probably as an additional protective shield (just in case things get out of hand).

In any case, the protest was a bracing and encouraging experience especially in light of the fact that the vast majority of the protesters were Italians. They had come here from all parts of Italy. It was good to see that there were also quite a few Slovenians.

As far as we know, we were the only small and private group from Croatia, apart from Mr. Stipe Suvar who was present with some of his own friends from Zagreb. Stipe's head was still bandaged from the recent assassination attempt that took place on Thursday in the center of Zagreb!"

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LONDON, June 6 - We received the following report from a TiM reader in Manchester, England, who traveled to London to participate in this weekend protest against the NATO war on Serbia:

"Half a dozen buses left for London from various parts of Manchester at 7AM. Ditto re. the buses from the various other British cities, such as Birmingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol...

We arrived in London an hour earlier than planned, which gave us a chance to visit with the protesters at 10 Downing Street (the seat of the British Prime Minister). They confirmed to us that there are several hundred people outside Tony Blair's official residence - day or night, rain or shine - protesting Britain's bombing of Serbia. And that they have kept it up 24 hours a day.

Meanwhile, the BBC, just like CNN (see http://www.truthinmedia.org/Kosovo/day74.html), tried to played down the significance of the anti-war movement in Britain. The country's national TV network reported that "3,700 people" took part in the protest.

By contrast, our sources report that a column of London demonstrators was 2.5km (1.6 miles) long. Assuming 10 people abreast at about a meter's distance between the rows, that's 25,000 people," the TiM correspondent reasoned.

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2. An American B-2A Shot Down over Serbia?

BELGRADE, June 1 - When we first received a report from Belgrade about a supposed downing of an American B-2A Spirit strategic stealth bomber in which its crew perished, we chose not to report it, figuring it was another case of the Serb war propaganda.

Now, we have received a second, independent confirmation of the hit which apparently took place on May 20, 1999 at about 1PM local time, near Belgrade's civilian airport, Surcin. Our second source, evidently familiar with the U.S. Air Force markings, thinks that the Serbs may have shot down the AV-8 88-0329 - Spirit of Missouri.

Here is what this U.S. source said:

"The aircraft crashed near the village of Dec (Detch), Pecinci county (in the field between Simanovci and Kupinovo; map 1; map2; map 3). The flight of three B-2As (normally B-2A fly in pairs, one acting as a backup for another) entered Yugoslavian airspace from the northwest and was escorted by several fighter aircraft (B-2As are usually escorted over Yugoslavia by F-15C fighters and F-16CJ fighter/bombers in SEAD role; every mission of B-2As requires about 50 escort and support aircraft). The B-2As were detected by long-wave early-warning radars. The bombers reduced altitude and attacked its targets in Belgrade. One of the B-2As was hit by a SAM in the area of the cockpit and crashed shortly after. Crew was killed in the crash. The incident was reported by Ilustrovana Politika magazine on 06-01-99."

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TiM Ed.: So take it, or leave it... But at least now you know some of the things our Draftdodger-in-Chief and his armchair "generals," like Madeleine Albright, may have been withholding from us.

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

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

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