Džejn’s Two Cents

Jedna od “institucija demokratskih izbora” je predizborna tišina. Iako je više nego dobrodošla (ko zna, možda neka emisija na TV počne na vreme za promenu), nikada mi nije bila sasvim jasna njena svrha. Mislim, u čem’ je fazon sa tim? Kao, narod treba da razmisli “u miru i tišini” za koga će da glasa? Iskreno, meni to deluje full potcenjivački. Ako će neko samo na osnovu predizborne kampanje i ružičastih obećanja da opredeli svoj glas, onda je kreten. I šta sad, da bi kreten mogao na miru da presabere utiske, ostavićemo ga da se, kao porotnici u američkim filmovima, povuče u “svoje odaje”, i onda prelomi za koga će da glasa? Pa nije ovo madafakin izbor za “NIN”-ovu nagradu, Mis Ibarske magistrale ili festival kratkog metra, pa da ne znaš sa kim/čim imaš posla.

Jednostavno, u Srbiji se zna za koga si. A, ako predizborna kampanja neke stranke promeni tvoj stav, onda je u pitanju teški oblik naivnosti. E, sad, neki od vas se mogu zapitati što se ja, kao deklarisani i zakleti izborni apstinent, uopšte toliko cimam i tangiram oko tog cirkusa. Biće da me fascinira glupost običnog čoveka, drskost političara i manipulativnost medija. A to troje mu dođe nekako povezano: mediji ne mogu biti korišćeni za manipulaciju da ne uživaju patronažu drskih političara - a, narod je glup zato što godinu za godinom na odgovorna državna mesta bira likove iz jedne te iste političke garniture, i to tako što biva vešto izmanipulisan. Mislite da preterujem? Uđite u bilo koje sredstvo javnog prevoza, kakvu čekaonicu ili štogod slično, odvojite uho i obratite pažnju na političku spiku međ’ običnom rajom. Bez obzira za koga glasaju, rezon odabira im je po default-u posledica direktne manipulacije.

No, što reče Mica Trofrtaljka u svojoj čuvenoj pesmi simpatičnog i pomalo feminističkog naziva “Moja roba, moj dućan”, ja ću reći “Moj blog, moja pravila”, pa ću se drznuti da remetim predizbornu tišinu. Par crtica, ništa značajno.

Priča mi pre par dana jedna poznanica, čij sinčić ide u jednu užičku OŠ, koju je na samom početku predizborne kampanje, posetila delegacija “žutih” (znate na koga mislim), sa sve svitom novinara, reportera, snimatelja, fotografa. Nasmejane face dragih nam vlastelina su sa širokim osmehom i pogledom punim ljubavi okupljenim đacima škole (niži razredi) delili lopte, dresove i još ponešto. Čim su se kamere ugasile, iste stvari su od đaka uzete nazad?! Istina, par klinaca je šmugnulo ranije, ali to nije sprečilo neutešnog đačića da na sopstvenoj koži prvi put oseti šta je to predizborna kampanja.

Kad smo već kod “žutih”, usta su im puna priče o svom veeeelikom uspehu, koji se ogleda u činjenici da će vize za neke zemlje od sada biti besplatne. Jupi. Zaista sjajna vest. Naravno, ako dobijemo vizu uopšte. To mu dođe nešto kao prodaja magle. Neko bez iskustva sa viznim režimom će, zbog namerno nejasne i neobjašnjenje situacije, posmisliti da su granice za Srbe otvorene, što uopšte nije slučaj. A o fabuloznom SSP da ne pričam, skočiće mi tlak.

I još jedna crtica o žutima, pre no što se bacim na ostale - videste li blamažu sa ruskim ambasadorom? Navodno, iz Tadićeve centrale su javili da ruski ambasador podržava DS i SSP, kad juče, na završnom mitingu DSSa, za govornicom ni manje, ni više nego ruski ambasador?! Nije prijatno biti uhvaćen u laži, te ćemo “žute” ostaviti da malo “crvene”. Ako su uopšte sposobni za to.

Znam, znam… Neki od vas će posmiti da imam naročit pik na “žute”. Joj, imam. Ne znam zašto, ali prva asocijacija na DS mi je prizor Srđe Popovića kako ljutito, rezignirano mlatara putnom ispravom i avio-kartama u jeku afere Bodrum, i dere se na novinare u fazonu “Kako vas nije sramota da sumnjate u naše poštenje!” Naravno, pre no što se ispostavilo da je Neda Arnerić vrhunska glumica. Uzgred, šta bi sa tim na kraju? Pojeo vuk magarca? Uh, vuk… Sad se setih još jednog Vuka… Ali ne mogu o njemu. Njegov istorijat najbolje govori o kakvoj je osobi reč. Od Šešelja, četništva, kralja i otadžbine, pa do podpredsedničkog mesta u SPS vladi, pa do Tadića. Još samo Čedu i “zelene” nije overio.

Kad pomenuh Čedu… Neću o njemu, a ni o čedistima. Istina, ako se sećate mog starog bloga, u tekstu posvećenom izbornoj kampanji uoči proteklih predsedničkih izbora, primetila sam da je kampanja LDP bila puna mračnih, ljutitih i natmurenih lica. Čedica je rešio da promeni pristup, pa je pokušao da, kampanjom pokradenom od Baraka Obame, pošalje pozitivnu poruku… Slatko, ali ta poruka je suštinski prazna… “Ljubav, poštenje…” Samo fali Ren i Stimpi da zapevaju “Sreća, sreća, radost” ili možda Berger sa “Let the sunshine in”… Ukratko, gomila parola bez ikakvog pokrića. Interesantna stvar oko mitinga LDP… Ma koliko se trudila, nisam uspela da u masi zastava, što stranačkih, što pokrajinskih, što “rainbow” gej zastava, pronađem zastavu zemlje kojom taj isti LDP želi da vlada? Možda je do mene, ali mi se ne dopada poruka koja se šalje na taj način.

Idemo dalje - SPS. “Počnimo ljubav iz početka”… S obzirom da su se ovaj put penzosi priključili Dačićevoj koaliciji, jasno je kojoj ciljnoj grupi se plasira ovako glupa parola. Istina, imam feeling da će Ivica biti jedan od ključnih igrača u sledećem formiranju vlade. Istina, za ovaj blog bi bilo sjajno da se formira vlada DS-LDP-SPS (odavno nisam napisala blog u kome se ponavlja samo jedan slog: “ha”. Hahahaha!), ali nisam sigurna šta bi takav konsenzus doneo Srbiji.

SRS… primetili ste da sam njih najviše štedela na svom blogu. Ne zbog činjenice da nemam šta da im prigovorim, au contraire! Jednostavno, oni čim zinu, rejting im opadne za 1%. Mislim, jeste Šešelj briljantan parvnik, besednik, nenadjebiv sagovornik u svakoj debati, ali lika sa takvim bagažom i političkim stažom staviti kao nosioca liste… politički suicid. Zapravo, on, Vuk i Mićun su jedini preostali od te “stare” ekipe, koja se borila protiv Miloševića. Mićun je blagovremeno skrajnut u svojoj stranci, Vuk još uvek “traži sebe” (hahahahaha), a Šešelj leži u Sheveningenu i preganja se sa haškim sudom. Good luck with that.

Što se DSS-a tiče, u više navrata su se pokazali kao impotentna stranka kada je bilo najpotrebnije zauzeti čvrst i odlučan stav. Iskreno, ne bih im poverila ni nacrtanu ovcu na čuvanje, a kamoli državu.

Manjine su zasebna priča, naročito mađarske stranke. I dok Pastor jednu priču priča u Srbiji, čim utekne preko Kelebije ili Horgoša, zadovoljno trlja ruke “kosovskim modelom” i spikom o “pravu na samoopredeljenje”. A s obzirom na političku polarizaciju srpskih stranaka, manjine su poželjan partner upravo koalicije okupljene oko dragog nam mister Prezidenta… Koja je cena Pastorove podrške?

I kada se na kraju podvuče crta, šta ostaje? Pa ništa. Osim da im se jednim delom smeješ, a drugim delom da budeš duboko zabrinut jer alternative jednostavno nema. U stvari, altnernativa postoji barem u jednoj stvari: dok se naše napirlitane bubašvabe 11. maja budu šetkale u svojim fensi odelcima, okružene mikrofonima znanih i neznanih medijskih kuća (nije lako biti političar… to iziskuje ogromne žrtve, ali eto - Oni su spremni na sve zarad našeg dobra!), ja ću sedeti u svojoj sobici, i gledati DVD sa najsmešnijim kućnim videom…

Znate ono, padovi sa trampolina, pijani svatovi i slično? Ima nešto smirujuće u gledanju tih amaterskih video snimaka. Kada vidiš snimak na kome budala skače na trampolini, pogrešno proceni putanju i padne na metalnu konstrukciju trampoline i to direktno na kičmu, ili čak na vrat - posmisliš u sebi “Bog čuva budale”… umesto da je, logikom stvari i kinetike takvih povreda ostao nepokretan do kraja života, on je ustao satresao prašinu sa sebe i nastavio da se smeje u kameru. A, valjda će Bog imati u vidu i ovaj naš budalasti narod 11. maja. A našem houm videu će imati ko da se smeje.

Ja sam ‘82 godište. Mislim da sama godina rođenja dosta govori o čoveku, a naročito o njegovom odrastanju. Evo, primera radi, šta sa sigurnošću možemo reći o osobi rođenoj 1982. godine? Prvo, da ove godine puni 26 godina (šic!). Da je rođena u SFRJ, dobar deo mladosti provela u SRJ, nešto manje u SiCG, a sada u Srbiji. Da se seća “Kviskoteke” i originalnog “Zdenka” sira. Da je bila pionir. I još koješta. Kao i jednu malecku činjenicu, koji mnogi previde: nikada u školi nije učila veronauku.

Štaviše, mogu da se “pohvalim” da u crkvu nisam ušla do 9. godine. A i taj prvi ulazak ću dugo pamtiti. Naime, imali smo kontrolni iz matiša, i nekoliko nas se ufrkenisalo pošto nismo učili, pa smo na velikom odmoru rešili da odemo u crkvu, “da se pomolimo Bogu za dobre ocene”… Naravno, danima nakon toga smo bili u frci da nas neko nije video kako ulazimo u crkvu… Daleko od toga da bi nadrljali, samo smo imali klinačku nesigurnost o “korektnosti” religije, dok se zemlja u kojoj smo živeli cepala i raspadala.

I sećam se kada smo ušli u crkvu Sv. Đorđa… Polako smo ušli u crkvu, na vrata koja su mi tada delovala ogromno (a zapravo nisu), bojažljivo se osvrćući… Sećam se hladnoće koja je dopirala iznutra… Sećam se sveća. I sećam se da smo ispraznili džepove i ostavili kompletan novac za užinu pored ikone… Niko nas nije učio da to radimo – sve što smo znali o religiji, naučili smo iz filmova. I, tako je mala grupa preplašenih osnovaca bojažljivo zakoračila u crkvu, sa potpuno off konceptom religije… “Što više para staviš na ikonu, veće su šanse da dobiješ dobru ocenu”. Sick. Znam.

Needless to say, nisam bila krštena kao klinče. Krštena sam tek nedavno, pre 2 godine. I na neki način, mislim da je to bilo izuzetno bitno. Imala sam 20inešto godina fore da razmislim da li zaista želim da budem krštena, ali i da shvatim važnost tog čina. Uopšte, moj pogled na religiju, za koji mislim da je specifičan, zasnovan je na klinačkom prelistavanju Biblije pokojnog deke, gledanju “Ben Hura” i “10 Božjih zapovesti”. Nekako, sve one hrišćanske vrline su mi delovale iskreno, pravoverno, ispravno.

Iako pukom činjenicom da sam sve do pre par godina bila “nekrst” spadam u kategoriju “novokomponovanih vernika”, nikada nisam propuštala priliku da se sa istima “koljem” na svakom zgodnom mestu. Kao što je to bilo danas, na dan Sv. Đorđa Kapadokijskog, koji je slavio moj pokojni deda, a moji od skora rešili da praznuju.

Slava bi trebalo da bude svečan, lep porodični trenutak, gde će se na skroman hrišćanski način obeležiti dan našeg Sv. Đorđa. I tako je počelo. Došao je sveštenik, he did his thing, svi smo bili merry & happy. Sve do nekih 14 časova… Kada je mojim domom projurilo krdo primata, nekih još uvek u fazi trežnjenja, sa jednom jedinom namerom: da se prežderu i naloču kao raspusne vavilonske svinje. Uh… vavilonske svinje. Čak sam i samu sebe nasmejala. :)

I dok je dvonoga prasad u sebe trpala enormne količine hrane (kojom bi se afrička deca prehranila barem 3 godine), ja sam pokušavala da ubedim svoju majku da barem ona malo iscoolira. Ali, bez uspeha… skoro pa 20 vrsta kolača, 8 vrsta suhomesnatih prerađevina, 5 vrsta sira, 2 vrste kajmaka, 2 vrste pečenja, supa, čorba, 3 vrste pita, 6 vrsta salata, 2 torte… Alooooo… “Za čije babe zdravlje?”

Hranu i cirku na stranu, posebu “čar” celom “hepeningu” (koristim reč “hepening” jer je ono što se u Srbiji danas zove “slava” ništa drugo nego kolektivno prežderavanje i pijančenje – nešto kao Woodstock prehrambene industrije) daju gosti, koji su sve, samo ne uviđavni… Naravno, svi dolaze da se najedu za džabaka, a sa sobom povedu klince koji od svakog iole uređenog i sređenog prostora prave Sajgon i/ili Liban. I onda će jedan od tih primata, da onako, ukrštenih očiju od alkohola, promrmlja “Srećna slava domaćine” i da zavali času viskija u svoju gušu. A “jagoda na torti” je činjenica da ta bagra zaposedne moj stan sve do kasnih večernjih časova, a da sam ja prinuđena da joj titram i da se smeškam. I da bejbisitujem njihove mladunce. E, zajebi.

Jesam puna hejta, neću to da krijem. Ali sam sigurna da me Sv. Đorđe kapira.

Heh, ovo je jače od mene.

Mada opet moram da napomenem, nije toliko do LDP-a, već do neinventivnosti srpskih marketing magova. Skoro svaka kampanja je rip-off neke tuđe. Ovo je samo jedan od primera, i to upečatljivih.

i

… je vešto iskorišćeno i umiksano za ovo:

Ozbiljno, šta se ložite? Što je potpisan Sporazum, koji nikada neće proći u Skupštini Srbije, i koji će samim tim ostati samo mrtvo slovo na papiru? Koji ne da se neće primenjivati samim tim što neće biti ratifikovan od strane Skupštine, već se ne primenjuje ni sad, dan nakon potpisivanja?

Zbog čega trubite kolima? Jel’ mi to imamo neki razlog za slavlje? Šta, to što je Tadić poturio Đelića da potpiše papir iza koga ne stoji većina, kako u Vladi, tako i u Srbiji? I koji će u roku od mesec-dva postati ništavan. Baš kao što je ništavan i sada, pošto je jasno precizirano da se sve te odredbe (inače, strogo deklarativnog karaktera) neće primenjivati ukoliko ne dođe do “pune saradnje sa tribunalom u Hagu”. Čitajmo između redova: sve dok tamo ne završe Mladić i Karadžić. Koji verovatno nisu u Srbiji, jer da jesu, bili bi uhapšeni. Budimo realni, samo budala sa manje od grama očuvane sive moždane mase, a koju pritom jure sve strane i domaće tajne službe, ostala bi u zemlji u kojoj “el loco jode el confundido”, naročito kada su u pitanju stvari od najvišeg državnog interesa. Tj “lud zbunjenog”. Znate šta. Možda grešim, ali mi se Mladić i Karadžić čine kao osobe koje imaju IQ veći od IQ-a zrna grožđa.

Znači, EU nam je postavila uslov koji po prirodi stvari ne možemo da ispunimo. A ispunjenje nemogućeg uslova (a da li je uslov ispunjen ili ne odlučuju oni, a ne realno stanje na terenu) povlači primenu Sporazuma, koji, opet, ne garantuje ništa i ne znači apsolutno ništa, osim “pozitivnog signala”. Mo’š misliti. I, da, umal’ da zaboravim, “usrećićemo 500 najboljih studenata”. E, sad sve ima smisla.

Zvuči zapetljano? Jebiga, jeste. Namerno su ga tako zamrsili. Prodali su nam maglu, i to jasno i glasno stavili do znanja. Naročito “prijateljske zemlje” poput Holandije. I to je korektno sa njihove strane. Kudikamo korektnije od naših “Evropejaca” koji u ovome vide “istorijski uspeh”. Kakav, bre, uspeh? Ovo čak premašuje i prodavanje magle. Magla barem sadrži ugljen-dioksid, čestice sumpora etcetera, a ovo što nam je uvaljeno nema ništa. Ič. Zero. Niente. Nada. Samo je naš voljeni predsednik praznu kutiju zavio u svetlucav ukrasni papir.

Na stranu činjenica da je gledanje većine beogradskih TV stanica tokom jučerašnjeg dana bilo ravno posmatranju snimka kolonoskopije (na ekranu samo govanca), malo ko se setio da reemituje izjavu našeg dragog nam Oli Rena od pre nekoliko dana, koji je izjavio da svaka zemlja koja pretenduje da postane članica EU mora da ima rešene i prijateljske odnose sa susednim državama, pa samim tim i Srbija, što znači da našem prijemu u EU mora predhoditi uspostavljanje prijateljskih odnosa sa Prištinom. E, sad, to nije rekao kakav ćata nekog departamana u EU, niti kafe-kuvarica Havijera Solane, već Oli Ren, glavom i bradom, koji samom svojom pozicijom u EU predstavlja glasnogovornika te organizacije. Neki ljudi, koji sebe nazivaju pravnicima, smatraju da bi to de facto i de jure predstavljalo priznavanje nezavisnosti Kosova. Ali, šta oni znaju? Psiholozi znaju bolje.

Pa ipak, ovaj put se neću baviti pitanjem da li je ovaj potpis čin izdaje ili sitno političarenje, u cilju ućarivanja još par procenata glasova na izborima. To ćemo ostaviti istoričarima. Iako uporno odbijanje demoNkrata da se jasno i glasno izjasne o Kosovu i EU ukazuje da će pre po sredi biti ovo prvo, koje nikako ne isključuje ovo drugo.

Long story short: ako želite da se veselite ovom fijasku u najavi, ja vas svakako ne mogu, niti želim sprečiti. Ako neko sa uživanjem pase travu, pravo je da ga nazovem “govedo”. A ako to govedo od trave tripuje da su špagete bolognese ili cordon bleu, to je već “delusion”. Zabluda. I to kao psihijatrijsko stanje. A, zna se, od zabludelih goveda nema bolje glasačke mašine. Zato, svi trk 11. maja na biračka mesta. Već sada počnite sa oštrenjem olovki. Ako se u vama javi i klica sumnje, onda će vas jedan od čobana Mlađa zaplašiti batinom u vidu neisplaćivanja besplatnih akcija i “povratkom u devedesete”.

PS Čujem da je za teranje dosadnih mušica super mlataranje repom. Samo napred. Nema stajanja, zar ne?

Oni koji često vršljaju po mom blogiću, zasigurno su primetili da od  samog početka, blog Džulije Gorin (Julia Gorin) zauzima počasno mesto u mom blogrolu. A, evo i zašto. Za gospođu Gorin sam prvi put čula čitajući njenu kolumnu sa jednog od uticajnijih e-zine američke jevrejske zajednice Jewish World Review, koji je u celini preveo i preneo beogradski “NIN”, a ticao se Srebrenice i reperkusija svih dešavanja na Balkanu (izuzetno bitan tekst, koji bi valjalo pročitati).

Nedugo potom sam imala tu čast da pročitam i ostale tekstove gospođe Gorin, koji su objavljivani kako na njenom blogu, uticajnim geopolitičkim e-zinima, poput FrontPage Magazine, ali i u uglednim dnevnim novinama kao što su Washington Post i Washington Times. Malo je reći da je bilo izuzetno zdravo pročitati nešto potpuno drugačije od uobičajene anti-srpske propagande, na koju smo navikli da nas zapljuskuje svih ovih godina.

Džulija je bila više nego ljubazna, i izašla mi u susret dajući svoje odgovore na neka od pitanja, vezana za aktuelna dešavanja u SAD i oko Kosova. Njen stav, koji je dosta specifičan, najbolje ilustruje autentični način razmišljanja Amerikanke jevrejskog porekla, i to republikanke, sa kojim možemo da se složimo ili ne, ali kojoj moramo odati priznanje da je ipak rešila da zagrebe po površini i shvati da nije sve onako kako nam se servira. Takođe, Džulija Gorin je autor knjige “Clintonisms”, koja predstavlja svojevrsnu kompilaciju lupetanja bračnog para Klinton.

When did you become interested in Balkan crisis?
In March of 1999, when there was suddenly talk of America bombing a European country, I became very suspicious. Particularly because the president was a clown named Bill Clinton who had gotten into trouble too many times. It was obvious to me that this was being done against national interest and in Bill Clinton’s interest.
I couldn’t believe that this was actually going to happen, that it was unstoppable. Everything started to feel surreal; my husband and I were going through life day to day as if just existing, just going through the motions: shower, work, eat, sleep—but our souls were somewhere else. We were completely disoriented; it felt like the bottom fell out from under the earth and America was slipping away. I knew that this would come back to haunt America. I also knew that America had turned a very dark corner. The fact that our usually anti-war, mainstream Left supported this war was even more proof that this was probably very bad for America. Given that the person in the Oval Office spent his life working against American interests, I sensed there was something anti-American about this “war”.
I wrote my first article on the subject about one month into the unimaginable bombing, but because I still knew so little about the conflict, the article worked from the premise that it was just an ancient ethnic rivalry with moral equivalence between the two sides—certainly nothing like the “holocaust” it was being portrayed as. Soon it became apparent that we were bombing Christians on behalf of Muslims who were as usual claiming that they were being “oppressed”. That’s when my suspicions began to be confirmed.
I expected the farce of this war to be exposed at any second, and all the lies revealed—especially after the bombing, as the news reports coming from the region showed what the Albanians did next, such as moving on to Macedonia—like clockwork. But months passed by, and then years, and there was nothing. Not from the liberal media, and not from the right that usually distrusts the liberal media. Only from the radical Left was any reporting being done, and I realized that a great lie had been built around the Serbs. So as the silence about this recent “war” continued, I kept digging, and researching, and writing, and the truth got uglier and uglier with every stone I looked under. It became my mission to spread the truth. I thought that the trial of Milosevic would help; I expected it to be front-page news every day that it was happening, because it was called “the Second Nuremberg”. But there was silence even on that, so my interest in the subject intensified. It was a phenomenon unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was sometime in 2002 that this went from being about America and American security for me to being about the Serbs and the great injustice that they were the victims of—by America’s hand. At this point, it was still all about Kosovo for me; midway through the Milosevic trial it became evident that Kosovo was simply a repetition of what was done to the Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia.

Your voice is quite dissonant to what we hear on White House press conferences. What is your opinion on US policy on Balkans? Is there a hidden agenda?
What started out as simple non-understanding of the region, aided by a paranoia of post-Soviet “communism”, and the paid-for disinformation being disseminated by Croats, Bosnians and Albanians, has turned into a hidden agenda by now for America and the West—because we realized in around 2000 that we “really stuck our foot in it.” But foreign policy is very forward-moving; it never stops to look back and reassess and change course. It only says, “Ok, we screwed up here, shouldn’t have done this. But now that we did, how do we make it work for us?” So that’s where you get all the geostrategic, geopolitical, long-term conspiracy flavor to the whole thing. America is responding to the threat of violence by Albanians, but sees a benefit to having a “pro-American” Muslim population—even if the pro-American people are gangsters.
Truthfully, there was a long-term, dastardly plan on the part of some interested operatives, but things like Clinton’s 1999 war literally fell into their laps; everyone was surprised by it. It wasn’t part of “the plan”, but it certainly fit very nicely into an ongoing pattern. There is what I would call a “cosmic” conspiracy against Serbia, with no earthly command center that’s neatly pulling all the strings. It all seems to come together on its own, thanks to a convergence of common interests between government, media, military, humanitarian organizations, NGOs, and even artists and archivists. Although early in the German reunification, there were high-level people who attempted to implement precisely the grand plan for which I say there is no command center. But too many unexplainable things have been done by other countries and unrelated parties to forward that agenda—often by American policy makers who don’t even know there was a “grand plan” but who are either indebted to Albanian money; terrified of Albanians; covering up that the U.S. made a gross historical mistake; have a long-nurtured, biased hostility to Serbia; or simply are guilty of buying into the disinformation that 99% of the rest of the world bought into.
I answered a related question this way: Starting with Bush Sr., we were sold on PR propaganda, and mentally we were still in the Cold War. Clinton used the bombing of Serbia to distract everyone from his numerous scandals and to leave a legacy. The current president Bush, because of his desire to appease Muslims, has made the Serbs expendable, like other leaders before him. Because Serbia is not a threat to Americans but is a natural partner for security, it’s a safe sacrifice to throw under the train in order to try to make friends out of dangerous people and natural enemies.

I believe that the opinion of the American public is shaped by the most influential media, such as CNN, Fox etcetera. Needless to say, Serbs enjoy quite a bad reputation in those media. Are US Administration’s policy and opinion of the American public on the same page when it comes to Serbia?
Yes, see No. 1 above. But to add to that, the media has its own dirty secrets in the Balkans, crimes as co-belligerents, as Peter Brock calls them in his book Media Cleansing, which made it not only complicit with government policies in the Balkans, but even the stimulus for those policies. The government knows that the corporate media have their own skeletons to hide in the closet, and so our policy makers and bureaucrats easily rely on the media’s silence while they continue to operate in the shadows. This keeps the public purposefully and permanently confused. The only thing we’re starting to see a little bit of in the way of media change is that many from the 90s have retired, and new reporters are out there, so the agenda to keep the truth hidden isn’t as stiff and scripted, and some truth is leaking out. For this new crop of journalists, the barrier has more to do with guilt in questioning the official truth, and the difficulty and confusion of working from the wrong premise, since they don’t have any background or understanding of their own in this region but still have to write about it. So the truth will be slow coming, as the new journalists deconstruct and reverse a long-term brainwashing not only of the public but of themselves. It also requires working through their own confusion and intellectual laziness.

American presidential elections are just around the corner. It does sound oversimplified, but Democrats bombed us in 1999., and Republicans gave Kosovo independence. Who should Serbian Diaspora in US support this time?
It’s hard to say who Serbs should support in the American election, since for Serbs there is really no America. The only candidate out of the three freaks who are running, who does not have Serbian blood on his hands is Barack Obama—but that’s only because he hasn’t gotten the chance. Besides, Obama is not much of an option anyway. On the other hand, America needs a wake-up call to its own multi-culturalist nightmare, just as Europe has had. So since things always seem to have to get worse before they get better, a Barack Obama presidency could be a better shake-up for American thought and politics than another 9/11. Personally, I’m going to vote only for state and local candidates, and skip the vote for president. I can’t morally go on record with a vote for any of the three.
I answered a related question in a Vesti interview this way: Unfortunately, most Republicans forgot that Republicans in Congress opposed Clinton’s 1999 bombing of Serbia by more than nine to one. They even forgot that it was a Clinton war. So since conservatives moved on and didn’t dwell on the war once it was “over”, the people who still had a vested interest in how it turned out (as well as pressure from paying Albanians)—Holbrooke, Albright, Lantos, Dole, Clark, McCain, Engel, Lieberman, all the Soros NGOs—these were the people who stayed on top of the situation, guiding it to make sure things continued in the same direction. They served as the keepers of the narrative, and when the Republican administration needed a compass on Kosovo (and Macedonia) after ignoring it for as long as possible, the administration turned to the people who did care and who were active and interested in the region—the above-named architects and “experts” of our disastrous policies there. So the Democratic position became the default Republican position.

Not only that being a Serb is hard enough, speaking for Serbs is quite a struggle as well. What kind of problems are you facing because of your strong determination to spread the truth about Balkan conflicts?
There are occasional threats from Croats and Albanians. Also, I’ve had some people with more successful careers tell me that I’m not doing myself any favors professionally by taking this side on this issue, but my career never really went anywhere anyway, so I don’t believe I’m losing anything by handling this issue. But I did encounter nothing but resistance when I wanted to write about this for big magazines and newspapers; everyone turned away from the topic—until now, because it’s in the headlines again. But still no one wants to publish that the Serbs didn’t do what they’re blamed for. I’ve also been accused of racism, for example when I explained that it is not a coincidence that four of the people behind the Fort Dix massacre plot were Albanian. I also ran into trouble with some public relations officers at Camp Bondsteel, who tried to disprove my accusations about the “mission” in Kosovo. They tried to paint me as being anti-soldier, and as crying “wolf” over nothing. (Here is that story)

Albanian lobby is one of the strongest in US. It seems that Serbs stand no fighting chance against narco-dollars. What would be your recommendation on how to improve our position? Is it too late to turn the tide and win the propaganda war?
It should really have become a lot easier after 9/11, but apparently the West is too wedded to the official narrative it laid down in the 90s. Still, Serbs do have the Christians vs. Muslims thing going for them, which is what caused many members of the American public—with no help from the media or government, of course—to scratch their heads after 9/11 as to why we helped Muslims over Christians in Bosnia and Kosovo. Serbs need to talk to the people behind HonestReporting.com. That is a very effective tool to combat propaganda. The American Council for Kosovo is a nice start, but there needs to be either more money behind it or more organizations like it. It does seem that Serbs aren’t as vigilant about telling their story the way the other Balkan players are in telling their lies. A lot more money goes into the lies than into the truth. Israel for many years faced a similar situation—thinking that good versus bad would be easily apparent. Instead of narco Albanian dollars, Arabs pumped oil money into the PR until finally, and only recently, Israel started getting the truth out.

If you were in the shoes of Serbian president, Mr. Tadic, what would you do?
Making concessions to the West only leads to the next kick in the teeth for Serbia, and gives yet another precedent to base the next kick on. Unfortunately, the US has forced Serbia into a predicament where only Russia is in a position to defend the Serbs. And this is coming from a Russophobe who doesn’t like even one thing about Russia. Of course, any relationship with Russia comes with its own price, but the Serbs know this. Serbs shouldn’t sell out for EU membership, which in the end could merely officialize its subservience to larger powers.

Your message to Serbs that have given up all the hope and faith?
First of all, only a fraction of countries are recognizing Kosovo independence. Many others are seeing it as a problem.
The reason that you can’t give up is that God visibly helps those who don’t give up. It’s at the point where all seems hopeless (as with the biblical Job) that god makes himself known. I know he’s been trying to give America a clue: the very year before independence was to be “decided” on (2008), the first clue came in the form of a Bosnian jihadist shooting nine Americans in the heartland–in Salt Lake City, Utah. Less than three months later, the next clue came: four Albanians were arrested for plotting to massacre American soldiers at Ft. Dix. Additional clue: one of those Albanians had been sheltered at Ft. Dix when he was being resettled from Kosovo in 1999. Unfortunately, America didn’t heed the clues; the U.S. likes to pay attention only after maximal damage, so we’re apparently waiting for a bigger clue.
But when god sees men pursuing the right path and remembering that he is with them, he drops not only divine clues, but divine intervention. He will help the Serbs as long as there are Serbs who are helping themselves. And there will be painful blessings in disguise that will work to steer America back on course even as it tries to steer itself toward the Axis of Evil that Bush decried before he joined it.
This is the Year of the Rat, according to the Chinese calendar. I looked up the Year of the Rat, to see what its significance is, and I found this: “Chaos.”
Indeed, America has the worst candidates in history running for leader of the no-longer-free world (‘no longer free’ is a reference to the Islamic infiltration of Western nations and therefore widespread censorship). And this is happening with a very undetermined election (when was the last time things were this unclear in American politics?). We have every separatist group on the planet now talking about independence, thanks to the Kosovo model—which came to fruition in the Year of the Rat. And most symbolically, we have the Olympics taking place in China in the year of chaos. This is a repetition of the historical mistake of holding the 1936 Olympics in Germany. Guess what 1936 was: the Year of the Rat. In other words, all hell breaks loose this year, and when that happens certain truths are illuminated and god’s hand becomes visible.