Listen to my latest podcasts

There are two sites that feature my podcasts. People who support them on the Web - find my palavering real fun. I jibe at politicians and others - whenever they deserve it. The podcasts here are separated into those in Macedonian and the few in English. There is "About me" page too and some family pics. I plan to run conversational Macedonian chats, but need experience. This is on an OSX platform produced on a GarageBand and featured by iMac on iWeb. This is yet another, my all-Macedonian language podcasting facility put together and maintained by my friend George Zafirovski, an interface Merlin who builds (quickly) his reputation in London, UK. He is quite professional. So

Saturday, November 27, 2010

DUTCH OMBUDSMAN MUST DEFEND THE CITIZENS



OUT OF WHIM, A CAPRICIOUS CLERC
DECIDES TO MALTREAT A SENIOR (DISTINGUISHED)
CITIZEN OF THE WORLD
AND NOT A SOUL MOVES A LITTLE FINGER
AGAINST SUCH A MALPRACTICE





In my very modest opinion this is an urgent case for the Dutch national ombudsman. The director of the CBR (drs R.A.L. Verstraeten) allows his medical counsel (X.H. Nguyen) to maltreat me while processing the extension of my driving license. I am 71 of age, have a license for the past 45 years or so, had two STAAR operations on my both eyes this summer, have a document from an eye-surgeon (d-r Floris Hageman) that my eyesight is fine and that the driving license should be extended for 10 (ten) years.

I still do not have it.
That is the caprice of the clercs of the CBR.
Such behavior is intolerable.
I am under medical treatment and must drive every workday for radiotherapy in the AMC, I have explained all that, and the director of the CBR continues to allow his medical advisor, who is NOT an eye-surgeon, to stall the processing of the extension of the driving license.

It is unhuman.
Such a chicanery of people may not be allowed in this country.
There is no point having an ombudsman who does not act upon complaints like this. The bureaucrats feel bolstered and become intolerable. That in turn undermines the legal state.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Why is "The Girl from Macedonia" pissed off?

Tanja Milevska is a journalist.
Her mother is one, a very well informed and sharp correspondent for Macedonian media from Brussels.
Her grandfather and her grandmother were also big time journalists.
In her latest article she sort of whines for the missed opportunity to drag the attention of her colleagues during the recent NATO summit in Lisbon to the "Macedonian question" there unanimously pushed under the rug.
Of what I gathered, she was not given the chance to air her well prepared question at the joint press conference of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon and President Karzai of Afghanistan. Since everybody around her knew that "the girl from Macedonia" will have a rhetoric question about Macedonia - she was skipped, her risen hand disregarded.

She felt frustrated.
Eventually, latter, she had seen the light. This is how she tries to declare she is turning a new page in her work.

"There I was in a huge press room with prominent journalists from all over the world fighting to put questions about the new global security challenges, while outside the venue peace activists were demonstrating against nuclear weapons and Portugal was readying for massive protests against poverty…. and all I could think about was the negotiations about Macedonia’s name.

I’m not saying the name issue is insignificant. But it would surely be a good thing if the country were to get out of that narrow hole and take a look at what’s going on outside. If nothing else, it would take some of the drama about the inevitable change to the name of our country. "


Interesting.
I sincerely hope that she will prove with the stuff she files that Macedonia has what to say and discuss with the world apart of the issue with Greek absurd and self-destructive intransigence. She may indeed help many to follow her example.

SESELJ TRIUMPHS IN THE HAGUE

THE SECURITY COUNCIL MUST SUPPORT THE TRIBUNAL
AND THE PRONOUNCEMENTS OF THE JUSTICES
IF THE UNITED NATIONS WANT TO HAVE A LEGALLY FAIR SET OF TRIALS

THE REGISTRAR OF THE TRIBUNAL IS NOT A JUSTICE,
HE IS A CLERC WHO QUESTIONS THE REASONING
OF A TRIAL CHAMBER OF THE TRIBUNAL
AND HE HAS TO BE FIRED RIGHT AWAY


The Registrar (Griffier, Bursar) an ordinary bureaucrat, a public servant of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, the ICTY, REFUSED to obey a court order of the Trial Chamber composed of three judges of the Tribunal appointed by the Security Council of the United Nations. Further to his refusal to disburse 50% of the funds otherwise allocated to all the penniless defendants brought for trial before the Tribunal - the registrar, in a brazen demonstration of arrogance QUESTIONED before the Appeal chamber the reasoning of the Trial Chamber.

For my ignorant in judicial matters - this behavior is unheard. The man, was he somebody called Holthuis or not is irrelevant, litigates the decision, the ruling of the Trial Chamber claiming that the justices trespass their authority, he also publicly belittles their reasoning, their acumen, their concern for fair justice and so on and so forth. In short, he refuses to provide the accused Vojislav Seselj the funds badly needed to cover parts of the costs for his defense.

Vojislav Seselj in turn refuses to cooperate with the tribunal untill the arrogant registrar is forced to obey the court order and disburse the allocated funds.

This situation is very indicative of the general climate within the ICTY.

Thousands of millions of dollars (that is billions) have been spent by the UN for the establishment, upkeep and the work of the ICTY. The Tribunal was scheduled to wind up its sittings and one of the reasons for its extended activity (and the fat big monthly salary plus expenses and perks for the haughty registrar) is the speedy wrap up of the trial of Vojislav Seselj. There is no doubt that the longer this trial goes - the longer will Mister Registrar collect the salary from the Tribunal.

Instead of pranking the registrar with a fine for contempt of court, the appellate justices will deliberate now (they have done so) whether the registrar or the Trial chamber were right.

The registrar claims that Mr. Vojislav Seselj refuses to provide SUFFICIENT documentation that he does not have the funds to pay for his defense counsels. The Trial Chamber overruled that excuse extended by the registrar. He has to obey and pay. But he further to refusing, enters THE REASONING of the justices. He behaves as a bully and he has to be brought up to the book. He has to be fired because he is not a justice. He is an administrator. The Security Councul MUST support the Tribunal and the pronouncements of the justices if the United Nations want to have legally fair set of trials. Screw the administration.
The reasoning of the international justices of the Tribunal is above reproach.

It quite another story how openly provocative is the registrar in his reasoning about the defendant's financial status and treshold above which a defendant cannot get financial help by the Tribunal. The registrar provides a "formula" that is composed as to insult the individual, a formula devised to mock the level of cultural and social standards of all the defendants from former Yugoslavia, a formula that is a red rag in front of the eyes of a capable, intellectually and legally literate raging bull like d-r Vojislav Seselj.
The registrar has to resign or be fired.
Right now.

BANANA AS AN ALL-ROUND CURATIVE

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber.
A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. 


Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. 


Depression
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier. 


PMS: 
Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood. 


Anemia
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia. 


Blood Pressure
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert. 


Constipation
High in fibber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives. 


Hangovers
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey.. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system. 


Heartburn
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning SickneSs
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness. 


Mosquito bites
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation. 

style="font-weight:bold;">Nerve
s: 
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady. 



Ulcers: 
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach. 



Temperature control: 
Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): 
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood Enhancer tryptophan. 



Smoking &Tobacco Use: 
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal. 



Stress: 
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack. 



Strokes:
Accord ing to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%! 



Warts: 
Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Serbs join Greeks in attack on Macedonia

The alert against the Serbian kitsch in Macedonia does not have anything racial
as Latas implies because the Serbs and Macedonians are same white race.
There is kitsch everywhere all right, but Serbian kitsch is something different
The Serbian kitsch is, eh, the king of kitsch.
So why did Latas made this up?


There is no doubt that the peaceful and through the course of time stoically enduring Macedonians are again harassed, exposed to a brutal, joint, aggressive pressures and intimidations emanating from the political dens in Athens and Belgrade. This harassment is dangerous for both the region and for Europe as whole. The aim of the intentionally lightly veiled plot is to question the international legality of the Macedonian language, culture and ethnicity, the right of the Macedonian people on their hearth and home, albeit the legality of the otherwise internationally recognized territory of the sovereign countries that 129 UN member-states address as the Republic of Macedonia.

The implications of this synchronized attack on Macedonia are deadly serious.

THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL MUST EXPLAIN, IN PAINFUL DETAIL,
HOW WAS THIS "MISTAKE" POSSIBLE, WHO'S DONE IT, WITH WHAT
EXCUSE AND AUTHORITY AND WHAT MEASURES WERE TAKEN


The Greek diplomacy and money-laden lobbying groups have succeeded to involve the United Nations administration into a dirty, illogical, losing gambit of sacrificing every single principle of the Charter of the World organization only and only to eradicate the term "Macedonian language" from the UN official ID of Macedonia absurdly referred to as FYROM. The eradication was annulled after the lightning intervention of Mr. Miloshoski, the foreign minister with the secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon. The public still awaits the detailed explanation how was such "a mistake" possible, who executed it and what or who and when with what motivation enticed the UN official to act illegally.

This affair illustrates how imperfect may be the official documents of the United Nations and how easy it is to amend a far reaching texts disturbing or endangering not groups but whole nations. Such an affair may not remain veiled and every single detail of it must be exposed to the full General Assembly of nations.

The proposed line of action is badly needed.
It will, in my opinion, point to the head of the Hellenic state as a culprit in a joint act of defrauding the international institution, the Security Council of the UN, with intention for group or personal profit in the form of influence, power, position, moneys or all of those simultaneously. Mr. Karolos Papoulias, the president of Greece, signed the Interim Accord, an obligatory document that binds Greece NOT to block the other party of that accord (the Republic of Macedonia) from accession to international organizations, But the man said today that Greece will effectively block the admission of RM in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization tomorrow in Lisbon. This is the case for the International Court in the Hague.

Greece, therefore, opposes the will of all the other NATO member-states, 129 UN member-states not out of spite but because of its interests in the future of the Balkans. Those interests are secret and obviously transformed into plans and plots. The first ally in such a scheme are obviously influential circles in the Republic of Serbia. Those circles act ever more aggressively against the stability of Macedonia, their southern neighbor. While one (the northern) part of Macedonia badly suffered more than 80 years under brutal Serbian yoke, the other (southern or Aegean) was ethnically cleansed by savage, atrocious Greek occupation. Until 1941 Greece and the Serbian (Yugoslav) kingdoms shared borders on somebody else's homestead. Both occupiers brought into Macedonia of the Macedonians their settlers, in numerous cases brigands, murderers and gendarmes ruled by a thin layer of tradesmen, bureaucrats and "educators" with nationalistic and expansionist agendas.

The remnants of those settlers are now rabidly active in and against the Macedonian definitive integration within the family of nations under the centuries old name of its population. There is no point evading the fact that a significant majority of Macedonians considered themselves (until the 19-twenties or thirties) as brethren with the Bulgarian folk. There are abundant documents that point out to the definitive formation of the national cognition as separate, distinctive ethnicity after the 19-thirties. Personally, I myself do not mind if the definitive, firm and lasting comprehension of my compatriots as Macedonians begins with the first ASNOM and I do not care of Alexander the Great, the king of Macedon or Samoil, the unfortunate Emperor with his court in Ohrid.

DRAGAN PAVLOVIC or latas, APPEARS AS A CLASSICAL
"AGENT-PROVOCATEUR" WHO ENJOYS INSULTING
THE COMMON SENSE OF THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM
ACTUALLY INCITING ETHNIC INTOLERANCE


But I do care when people today threaten the freedom of speech, intimidate editors and journalists with criminal proceedings when they publish a title pointing to the "Serbian kitsch". So, an editor of daily newspaper, "Vecer" (Evening), scared the with of the Macedonian nation by announcing he rises as a gallant saviour in defense of the Serbian nation, name and honor. The guy is a brazen type who does not mince his words. He is of course a Serb who has been living in Macedonia for years, a capable journalists who dominated the Macedonian tv-programes (he is fluent in the local language) and now edits a popular daily. So, this man, widely known by the nickname Latas, alias Dragan Pavlovic, has written and signed a threat that he will take to court a bunch of people because (according to him) they enticed ethnic hatred and racism.

Well, naives might think that Latas is fighting for larger circulation of "Vecer" or for influence through notoriety. He might. But he is actually the opening the attack from all guns against the rights of his colleagues on a freedom of speech implying that the Macedonian population of this small country is actually a crowd of ethnically intolerant racists who hate the Serbs. This stupidity will be taken up and drummed by the Serbian press. The Greeks will jump on the platform too with "it is not only us, the Serbs are endangered by the Macedonians" and so on and so forth. There are about 1,3 million Macedonians squeezed between something like 16 million Greeks and Serbs, notorious for their ancestors' role in subjugating Macedonia.

All this is synchronized and explodes a night before the NATO summit in Lisbon. Now, I will profess that NATO will disintegrate if Macedonia is not invited to join it. It will disintegrate because Macedonia cannot financially survive as an independent state without some formalized external help. Macedonia has endured 20 years of chicanery but I doubt it can hold on another 20. Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia cannot single-handedly manage Macedonia. This becomes a bundle, a Gordian knot but composed of human emotions and blood, not threads of wool to be cut without profuse bleeding all around.

If Latas files a case against enticing racial hatred, no court in Macedonia will dare dismiss it. But the alert against the Serbian kitsch in Macedonia does not have anything racial, Serbs and Macedonians are same white race. Or are they? There is kitsch all right, but Serbian kitsch is something different, recognizable. There is sure Bulgarian, Dutch, Greek and German kitsch, but Serbian kitsch is, eh, the king of kitsch. So why did he make all this up?

My educated guess is that he was asked to do so.
Maybe, if you comment enthusiastically, I will agree to disclose who do I think instructed this smart guy Latas, the journalists who so many people love to hate.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Is there a Dutch way to blatant corruption?

This summer I have allowed a perfect stranger dig into my precious eyes, one after another. With a pair of pincers he took out first the left lens (the black of my eye, my window to the beautiful world and faces around) and after few weeks the right one. He implanted artificial ones. So that I can see better than the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood and have my driving license extended (I am just over 70) these two STAAR surgeries were a necessity.

Dr Floris Hageman, a very able and highly recommendable eye-surgeon with the OPSIS center in Amstelveen worked miracles and we parted with him stating that he warrants I will have no problem getting an extension of the driving license because I could now drive without glasses at all. But then came the surprise.

The medicaLadvisor of the Dutch CBR (an acronym for Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen) sent me letter demanding that I provide a document from an ophtalmologist that my eye-sight is OK. Tthis is what I wrote back:


Geachte d-r Nguyen,

You have decided to send me a “verwijzing naar een oogarts” because, it appears, you did not trust the report from my huisarts d-r H.L. Kieviet.
That decision of yours is symptomatic. Doctor Kieviet told me that he was reporting that I had two STAAR operations on both eyes this ummer in OPSIS oogartsenpraktijk.
For your information I was operated by Drs. Floris Hageman who specialized as oogarts in the VU Medisch Centrum. Zijn bijzondere aandachtsgebieden zijn hoornvliesproblematiek en de chirurgische behandeling van staar. Drs. Hageman is lid van het Nederlands Oogheelkundig Gezelschap, lid van de European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, lid van de Nederlandse Intraoculaire Implant Club en Fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmology.
If you are an ophthalmologist and an eye-surgeon you might well know d-r Floris Hageman.

I am puzzled why do you want me to pay other €80 (you needn't care that I am a so called "minima" on uitkering by the Rijk) for a new check of my eyes when I received one document on 8 September from the OPSIS of which you have a photocopy included. In my opinion you have not read well the documents sent to you 30 days ago. I have asked the director of the CBR for a speedy processing and explained why.

I think you have done your job poorly or with caprice because you have refused to trust d-r Kiewiet's recommendation last year and after a simple check up in OPSIS which was WITHOUT any surgery, you extended the license for a year incurring only costs but not doing a thing for the safety on the Dutch roads and highways. I doubt that you understand what I am telling you. I demand a five year extension of my driving license right now.

Since I feel myself mistreated by your whimsical decisions do rest assured that I will press for a full investigation in this matter but you cannot withhold the extension of my driving license.

Sincerely
Grozdan Popov