Eyewitness to a failure in Iraq

By Peter W. Galbraith | October 27, 2004

IN 2003 I went to tell Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz what I had seen in Baghdad in the days following Saddam Hussein's overthrow. For nearly an hour, I described the catastrophic aftermath of the invasion -- the unchecked looting of every public institution in Baghdad, the devastation of Iraq's cultural heritage, the anger of ordinary Iraqis who couldn't understand why the world's only superpower was letting this happen.

I also described two particularly disturbing incidents -- one I had witnessed and the other I had heard about. On April 16, 2003, a mob attacked and looted the Iraqi equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control, taking live HIV and black fever virus among other potentially lethal materials. US troops were stationed across the street but did not intervene because they didn't know the building was important.

When he found out, the young American lieutenant was devastated. He shook his head and said, "I hope I am not responsible for Armageddon." About the same time, looters entered the warehouses at Iraq's sprawling nuclear facilities at Tuwaitha on Baghdad's outskirts. They took barrels of yellowcake (raw uranium), apparently dumping the uranium and using the barrels to hold water. US troops were at Tuwaitha but did not interfere.

There was nothing secret about the Disease Center or the Tuwaitha warehouses. Inspectors had repeatedly visited the center looking for evidence of a biological weapons program. The Tuwaitha warehouses included materials from Iraq's nuclear program, which had been dismantled after the 1991 Gulf War. The United Nations had sealed the materials, and they remained untouched until the US troops arrived.

The looting that I observed was spontaneous. Quite likely the looters had no idea they were stealing deadly biological agents or radioactive materials or that they were putting themselves in danger. As I pointed out to Wolfowitz, as long as these sites remained unprotected, their deadly materials could end up not with ill-educated slum dwellers but with those who knew exactly what they were doing.

This is apparently what happened. According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report issued earlier this month, there was "widespread and apparently systematic dismantlement that has taken place at sites previously relevant to Iraq's nuclear program." This includes nearly 380 tons of high explosives suitable for detonating nuclear weapons or killing American troops. Some of the looting continued for many months -- possibly into 2004. Using heavy machinery, organized gangs took apart, according to the IAEA, "entire buildings that housed high-precision equipment."

This equipment could be anywhere. But one good bet is Iran, which has had allies and agents in Iraq since shortly after the US-led forces arrived.

This was a preventable disaster. Iraq's nuclear weapons-related materials were stored in only a few locations, and these were known before the war began. As even L. Paul Bremer III, the US administrator in Iraq, now admits, the United States had far too few troops to secure the country following the fall of Saddam Hussein. But even with the troops we had, the United States could have protected the known nuclear sites. It appears that troops did not receive relevant intelligence about Iraq's WMD facilities, nor was there any plan to secure them. Even after my briefing, the Pentagon leaders did nothing to safeguard Iraq's nuclear sites.

I supported President Bush's decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein. At Wolfowitz's request, I helped advance the case for war, drawing on my work in previous years in documenting Saddam's atrocities, including the use of chemical weapons on the Kurds. In spite of the chaos that followed the war, I am sure that Iraq is better off without Saddam Hussein.

It is my own country that is worse off -- 1,100 dead soldiers, billions added to the deficit, and the enmity of much of the world. Someone out there has nuclear bomb-making equipment, and they may not be well disposed toward the United States. Much of this could have been avoided with a competent postwar strategy. But without having planned or provided enough troops, we would be a lot safer if we hadn't gone to war.

Peter W. Galbraith, a former US ambassador to Croatia, is a fellow at the Center For Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. In the 1980s, he documented Iraqi atrocities against the Kurds for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Š Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

George Voinovich's grandparents immigrated from Croatia
State Lawmaker Challenges Voinovich For US Senate Seat

Voinovich's grandparents immigrated from Croatia

Voinovich (R) | Fingerhut (D)
(WCPO/WCPO.com)

Reported by: A.P.
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
10/24/04 11:09:51 PM
A senator with millions of dollars and a well-known name is being challenged November 2 by a state lawmaker whose campaign included a walk across Ohio.

Democrat Eric Fingerhut acknowledges that he's at a disadvantage against Republican George Voinovich, a former two-term governor and mayor of Cleveland who raised $9.5 million for the race. "I understand what we're up against," he said.

Fingerhut, a state senator from the Cleveland area who has accrued just $1.1 million, says the election is about whether voters want the status quo or a change.

"In some respects, Senator Voinovich and I agree about what this election is about. It's about jobs. What we disagree about is that Senator Voinovich thinks that things are heading in the right direction, and I don't," Fingerhut said in an interview with The Associated Press.

To Voinovich, the race is about the economy and protecting America from terrorism. He says the national economy is improving, as recent data indicate, and Ohio needs his experience to get back on track.

"What I am doing is bringing new thoughts to these areas. I understand what needs to be done," Voinovich told the AP. "I'm the change agent."

America's payrolls continued to increase in September, with the economy adding 96,000 jobs, but the nation is still down 821,000 jobs since President Bush took office in 2001.

Ohio's unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in August, compared to a national rate of 5.4 percent the last two months.

In the Senate, Voinovich has supported a clean air bill that won't put power companies out of business, a highways bill he says would create jobs in Ohio and a new federal office focusing on manufacturing.

He was among four senators to oppose Bush's plan to enact a tax cut larger than $350 billion over 10 years, unless spending could be reduced to pay for it.

Voinovich says the lower tax cut has helped to foster some economic recovery and is an example of his fiscal discipline. Critics said the final package relied on budget gimmickry and really was larger than Voinovich had pledged to allow.

Fingerhut has criticized Voinovich for supporting any size of tax cut, saying it has added to the country's deficit. He says Ohio's economy isn't on solid ground yet.

Voinovich acknowledged the lagging state economy but said it would be worse without the tax cut.

"We've seen some really significant growth in our economy," he said. "A lot of Ohioans still don't feel too good about things, but in terms of most of Americans, we have come a long way."

Fingerhut's economic plan includes giving tax relief to recent college graduates and people who invest in startup businesses, continuing a tax credit for research and development and increasing government funding for higher education.

Though he has less campaign money, Fingerhut says he has widespread support because of several grass-roots tactics, such as walking 335 miles across the state and working for a couple of hours at the Original Sub Shop & Deli in Toledo.

His campaign also got a lift when trash talk show host Jerry Springer decided last year against running, guaranteeing an easy primary and drawing early attention to the contest.

Both candidates know what it's like for working-class families to make ends meet.

Fingerhut, 45, is the grandson of immigrants from Hungary and Eastern Russia and son of an insurance agent and a secretary. After his father died, he used his Social Security survivor benefits to become the first in his family to attend college.

As a lawyer he worked with Cleveland's welfare program and legal aid clinic. Fingerhut won his first election to the state Senate in 1991 and a seat in the U.S. House the following year, at age 33. He lost re-election two years later to Republican Rep. Steven LaTourette.

Fingerhut attributes the loss to several controversial votes, including one on an assault weapons ban that expired this year. He also cast a pivotal vote to help pass President Clinton's 1993 deficit-reduction bill, which included some unpopular tax increases.

"There's no shame in losing an election when you did the right thing," Fingerhut said.

Voinovich's grandparents immigrated from Croatia, and he grew up in a big family. He was elected to the Ohio House in 1966, at age 30, and to the U.S. Senate in 1998.

A win would make Voinovich the second Republican senator re-elected in Ohio since the 1950s. Sen. Mike DeWine was the first, in 2000. Voinovich, 68, wouldn't say whether this will be his last race for public office.

Meanwhile, Fingerhut has brushed off questions about whether the race is about building name recognition and an organization to run for governor or attorney general in 2006.

"I'm flattered, but I'll be busy in 2006 because I'll be Ohio's newest U.S. senator," he said.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2004/local/10/24/fingerhut.html

Canadian Ambassador James Bissett: Bush a better choice

Septembar 29, 2004
Former Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia in 1992, James Bissett. Ambassador says charges against Milosevic 'pure Fantasy'

Canadian Ambassador James Bissett: Bush a better choice

An Interview with the former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, Mr. James Bissett

Ottawa - Oct. 22, 2004
“…From a Serb point of view a Kerry’s victory is the worst that might happen for them, their interests and the Balkans.”

Glasajte za Busha: Preporucuje udruzenje Srpsko-Americkih biraca u Americi
Oktobar 14, 2004

With American Serbs comprising a little over million votes in what appears to be another closely-contested US presidential election, Serbian American Voters’ League has launched a number of initiatives as part of its public education campaign -- Serbs for Bush -- to empower American Serbs to become part of the democratic process and vote for Bush.

To understand why a Republican or Bush’s foreign policy would be better for the Serbs then that of Democrat candidate John Kerry, we are joined by Mr. James Bissett, former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia and one of the leading experts on the Balkans affairs.

What has been the American foreign policy like in the Balkans since 1992?

Bissett: You can sum it up in a few words. American foreign policy in the Balkans has been disastrous, particularly for the Serbian people. The initial signs of the early break-up of Yugoslavia were ignored by the USA. That country was preoccupied with other things, such as the collapse of the USSR and the first Iraq war. At the last moment- the eleventh hour- they tried to keep Yugoslavia together. It was a halfhearted attempt. Secretary of States, James Baker was dispatched to Belgrade to try and convince the leaders of the various Republics to stay together, but his mission failed. The Americans then pretty well gave up on the idea of the united Yugoslavia and later yielded to Germany’s insistence that early recognition be given to the independence of Croatia and Slovenia.

1) Holbrooke flatly asserts that the Serbs were not "rational people with whom one could argue, negotiate, compromise, and agree... they respected only force or an unambiguous and credible threat to use it"
http://news.suc.org/bydate/2001/Aug_02/4.html

Cleveland Plain Dealer endorsement
by kos
Sat Oct 23rd, 2004 at 21:43:02 GMT

- letters@plaind.com  - Send your comments

Here's the scoop.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is published by Alex Machaskee, a Serb who considers Richard Holbrook an architect of the bombing of Belgrade (during the Kosovo War).

Word leaked that the Kerry campaign planned on sending Richard Holbrook to meet with the Plain Dealer's editorial board and try to win Kerry's endorsement. Word was sent to the Kerry campaign through several channels to keep Holbrook the heck away from Machaskee. The Kerry campaign knew. And they still sent Holbrook to meet with the Plain Dealer.

Word has it that after Holbrook met with the editorial board and left the room, Machaskee looked around the room, crinckled up his nose, and said, "Now we're gonna have to fumigate this place."

No big surprise, then, that the rumor is Malchov has overruled his own editorial board and ordered the paper to endorse Bush.

Update: to be clear, no endorsement has been made yet. The rumor is that Machaskee has ordered the editorial board to make the endorsement. I assume there will be negotiations of some sort to resolve the impasse.

http://www.dailykos.com/main/2

Op-ed:

These are the people who support Bush !  Besides presidents of Iran and North Korea.

www.serbsforbush.com

Hrvatska i HrvatiuBiH

Neki kritičari, politici vlade premijera Sanadera zamjeraju kako u ispunjavanju obveza prema EU ne poklanja dovoljno pozornosti pitanjima koja se odnose na porast životnog standarda. Također, prema njima i briga o Hrvatima u BiH je u drugom planu. Ja ne mislim tako. Sanader slijedi svoj put. Na tom se putu susreće sa brojnim (već postojećim) poteškoćama. Njegov pristup problemu je aktivan: ne dopušta da mu problemi zasjene cilj kojem se približava. Poznato mu je kako su gospodarski zaostale zemlje, ulaskom u EU ostvarile znatan porast životnog standarda i unaprijedile socijalnu sigurnost. Ustavna je obveza Hrvatske praćenje stanja i pomoć Hrvatima ma gdje se u svijetu nalazi. To podrazumijeva i pomoć Hrvatima u BiH kako bi ostvarili punu jednakopravnost s druga dva naroda. Hrvatska na svom putu u Europu lobira za to - kao i za dobrobit BiH u cijelosti. Nemoguće je odjeliti prostor koji se kao lego kocka uklapa u Europu. Istovremeno, svjedoci smo žive diplomatske i svake druge aktivnosti hrvatskih predstavnika vlasti prema BiH. U proteklih mjesec dana posjetili su nas: Hebrang, Primorac i Šeks. Potpredsjednik vlade Andrija Hebrang otvorio je radove na KB Mostar, obišao sveučilište, dao potporu Aluminiju - najuspješnijem poduzeću u BiH koje može biti dobar primjer gospodarske suradnje Hrvatske i BiH. Ministar znanosti obrazovanja i športa Dragan Primorac se u Sarajevu susreo sa Federalnim ministrom obrazovanja Halilovićem kako bi podupro ostvarenje jednakopravnosti Hrvata na svoj jezik; obišao je Mostarsko sveučilište te dao potporu jedinom sveučilištu na službenom hrvatskom jeziku. Prošlotjedna posjeta predsjednika Sabora Vladimira Šeksa je od osobite važnosti. Sa Šeksom su u delegaciji osim saborskih zastupnika (Ćosić i Bagarić) bili nazočni i potpredsjednici Sabora Luka Bebić i Mato Arlović. Delegacija Hrvatskog Sabora je u dva dana posjetila Parlament, Vladu i Predsjedništvo BiH, kardinala Puljića, provincijala Miju Džolana, hrvatske kulturne institucije Maticu Hrvatsku i Napredak, gradsku upravu Mostara, Aluminij, Mostarsko sveučilište, Kliničku bolnicu i biskupski ordinarijat.
Šeks je vodio razgovore o svim pitanjima važnim za obje zemlje. Ostvarenje jednakopravnosti Hrvatskog naroda je pitanje svih pitanja. Nitko ne može kršiti ustavna prava Hrvata u BiH a sa druge strane očekivati ustupke Hrvatske. Kako se ponekad odnosimo (vlast BiH) prema Hrvatskoj najbolje govore neka iskustva na polju privatizacije javnih poduzeća u BiH. Ostaje dilema radi li se samo o tržišnoj utakmici ili netko priječi ulaz hrvatskog kapitla u BiH? Mi u BiH kažemo kako luka Ploče ne bi imala smisla da nije na usluzi gospodarstvu BiH, isto tako vrijedi: što bi bilo sa gospodarstvom BiH da nije luke Ploče? Zbog svih ovih i drugih pitanja potrebno je voditi dijalog. Hrvatska pokazuje otvorenost za svaku vrst razgovora a osobito za ostvarenje prava Hrvata u BiH - koja moraju biti Ťni manja ni većať od druga dva naroda.

Diplomatska aktivnost Hrvatske, novčana pomoć Hrvatske vlade Hrvatskim institucijama u BiH te skoro potpisivanja međudržavnog sporazuma o sudjelovanju Hrvatske u zbrinjavanju stradalnika HVO su sustavna i očita potpora opstanku Hrvata na prostoru BiH. Ova potpora sama po sebi nije dovoljna, ona mora biti u službi poticaja u usklađenom naporu kojeg mi u BiH svakodnevno ulažemo. Za vrijeme posjete provincijalu Miji Džolanu ostala mi je u ušima zvoniti njegova poruka: Ťradimo sve što možemo i radimo na najbolji načinť.
 

Dr Ivan Bagarić
 

A Croatian missing in Iraq

Developments concerning Iraq
By Associated Press, 10/26/2004 12:24

Developments concerning Iraq on Tuesday.

Iraqi kidnappers released Jordanian businessman Ziad
Jabr Abu Irfai, two weeks after his abduction,
following the payment of a ransom, his brother told
The Associated Press. Irfai's brother, Mahmoud, did
not say how much was paid. The abductors had demanded
$150,000.

A Croat truck driver is missing in Iraq after a
weekend attack on a convoy in which he was driving,
his colleagues and family said in Croatia.

Dalibor Burazovic, one of the seven Croat drivers in
the convoy, failed to turn up at Turkey's border after
gunmen opened fire on mostly Turkish trucks in the
center of Mosul, another driver identified only as
Mladen told the Vecernji List daily. Officials in Iraq
said two drivers one Turkish and one Yugoslav were
killed, while two others were wounded.

Burazovic's sister told state-run Croatian radio she
has not heard from him since last week.

In central Baqouba, a government official was gunned
down on his way to work while a roadside bomb attack
left one policeman dead and 10 others hurt, Iraqi
officials said.

Two sets of car bombs exploded in northern Mosul, with
one targeting a U.S. patrol, although no American
casualties were reported, the U.S. military said. Two
civilians were injured, hospital officials said.

Why will I, Nenad Bach, vote for John Kerry

Dear all,

These days I am getting thousands of letters and many of them are with the question about our election in the United States. My views are clear even from the previous election, which I do consider an interpretation of democracy and not justice. And why is that so, you may ask. Because Supreme Court Judges are not elected but appointed. They are not the will of the people. 5:4 decision is unacceptable for any outcome. And interference from federal government to that local state government. Voting should be repeated under the scrutiny of both parties. 

These are my reasons why will I vote for John Kerry to become US president. And he will.

1. His role in 1991 when Croatia needed a voice in the US Senate.John Kerry was not voting popular vote with previous Bush administration, but according to principals of justice. Not a narrow interest of the few, but broad interest of majority of the people who suffered an enormous injustice, genocide and I do not need to go further. George Bush senior and his administration literary helped genocide that has been happening to my people. James Baker. Lawrence Eagleburger. I am still waiting for some competent authority to open that book of corruption, political fraud and plain lying to the American citizens. Embargo on victims? And you are talking about family values. Where are the 200.000 families that lost loved ones? Where are they? Who will take responsibility for Vukovar, Skabrnja, Srebrenica, Sarajevo?

So far non of the Bush administration did. We are still waiting, till we cannot wait anymore. The same administration DID NOT recognize Croatia, while we were bleeding to death. They just waited, till we die and then they would proclaim the winner and the "real politics" of - there where no strategic reasons to go into the war. Reality was and is exactly opposite. That administration failed miserably. Miserably. It makes me sick in my stomach when I think of all the fatherless and motherless children of Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina. And the brutal, inhuman way of innocent victims death. Where was George Bush at that time? I know where John Kerry was at that time. Him, Joseph Biden and few others where our friends. I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT.

2. John Kerry is a competent man with a manners and intelligence of a world leader. Someone who can and will lead us into a more secure and better future. Man with class, with wife who can do a lot of good for all of us because of their world vision and competence. It's must not be easy to run for president. Only few could. Kerry can handle it.

I'll spear you my comment about Bush's manners and the rest.

3. Instead of dodging draft for Vietnam. John Kerry enrolled himself voluntarily. Bush and Cheney did exactly opposite. And they dare to coordinate Swift Boat fantasies.

4. Now on Bush record in the last 4 years. Disaster is the only quick response. Longer one - Environment and the laws that have been in progress from Kyoto to better engine-pollution law to Alaska to anything around us - everything went backwards. On his account 9-11 happened. Yes, you can argue that the previous administration didn't do enough, but the fact is. They had an information about the possibility of the attack and they IGNORED IT. No if or buts. They didn't do enough to protect us. When it happened, the whole world embraced us in a sympathy that humans have for the "underdog" - victim...call it whatever you want, but people around the world stood in silence and send so much love to our country, that we have never seen it before. So, now from the moment that people of the world supported us and our policies - to the moment that the world is voting on ousting our president... you got to be a monkey to do that. You got to be so bad politician, so incompetent communicator, so uneducated man, so arrogant that the world have never seen anything like this before. UN,  that is not my favorite place of competence but still an institution that exist and should exist, sat in silence when our president addressed General Assembly. That never happened in the history of this organization. Fiscally, from surplus budget to history high deficit, by sending few hundreds dollars to an average American family and the rest of the wealth to the most rich ones. And that is the plan for economic recovery? Outsourcing jobs and letting out middle class shrink? You must be kidding. Thousands of young man and woman died already for the oil? And oil prices are higher then ever? Yes, you and I are paying for it.

5. Now, why would Iran, North Korea and Serbia be for Bush.www.serbsforbush.com ?

It is a simple answer to that. While we went to wrong country for wrong reasons, Iran got nuclear arms as well as North Korea did. They need such president in our White House. They love it. Why do Serbs vote for Bush? That IS their ally.

Not Croatian ally for sure. Not mine either.

Vote,

Nenad Bach

                                                                                New York, USA October 28, 2004

PRINCE OF HAWAII was CROATIAN
 

The Honourable Mr. John 'Aimoku Dominis with HM Queen Lili'uokalani
 

By Adam S. Eterovich

John Dominis-Gospodnetich

John Dominis was a sea captain sailing out of Boston in the 1820's-40’s, who later settled in the Hawaiian Kingdom. He was the captain of the ship Bolivar and the John Peabody. His son, John O. Dominis, married a young Hawaiian princess of good family. She became the Queen Liliuokalani, last queen of Hawaii. He was also the governor of Oahu. This Dominis-Gospodnetich clan originated in Pucisce, Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia and at the collapse of the Venetian Republic moved to Venice. Since the death of Prince John Dominis there has been speculation as to his ethnic origin. The following facts and documentation will prove him to be of Croatian origin from the island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia.

Gospodnetich-Dominis Heraldry

The Gospodnetich-Dominis Coat of Arms comes from the old nobility on the island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia. The Arms are related to the house of Simrakovich and Krstich-Krstulovich from Bosnia. The Arms are carved into the doorway of the palace of Gospodnetich-Dominis in the town of Dol, island of Brac, Dalmatia. Arms were formally registered since 1657 until the fall of Venice in 1797. Gospodnetich and Dominis mean the same thing in Croatian and Latin, a person of high rank. Dominis could also be taken as a Clan name of Gospodnetich. The name is found in a number of towns on the island of Brac. (Duisin 1938)

Gospodnetich-Dominis on the Island of Brac

Dominis is remembered in the town of Pucisce, island of Brac since 1647. The priest Ciccarelli notes that this noble family resettled in Venice in the year 1795. In the town of Dol on the island of Brac, many references are made to Gospodnetich-Dominis. One was a judge; another a ship captain. Most came from this town. (Jutronic 1950)

Gospodnetich-Dominis Church Records

Church records of Saint Jeronim from Pucisce, island of Brac were searched by priests Don Tonci Kusanovic and Don Ivan Eterovic and reveal that four brothers went to Venice in the 1790’s: Simon, a priest; Jeronim, Ivan (John), and Ante, mariners. Records further indicate this was a noble family with a long tradition as sea captains.

Croatia and Croatians

In order to understand the history, culture and people of Croatia, one must first be aware that Croatia was ruled, administered, conquered, and federated with Yugoslavia, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungary and the Protectorate of Hungary, Italy, Turkey, the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) for up to 900 years. Croatia was partitioned at the same time for up to 400 years between Austria, Hungary, Venice and Turkey. An individual with a desire to study the history, culture and people of Croatia would out of necessity have to read portions of Austrian, Hungarian, Turkish and Italian history.

About Croatian Immigration

Croatian immigration would have the same considerations as above. Croatians have migrated for over 300 years. Prior to the discovery of America, Croatians migrated to (and were taken into slavery) Turkey, Austria, Italy, Venice, Spain and to other parts of Western Europe. Croatian Galleons were in regular trade with Spain, Portugal, France, England, Italy and the Ottoman Turks prior to the discovery of America. Croatian immigration to the New World started with their participation in Spanish, Portuguese, and Venetian fleet and mercantile operations. When Croatians migrated they left as nationals or citizens of Austria, Venice, Hungary or Turkey. Ethnically they were always Croatians, but in immigration Croatians were identified by America, Canada, South America, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia as above or in recent times as Yugoslavs and were recorded as such.

Misidentified Croatians

Because of a lack of a Nation-State, Croatians were in most cases identified by the country that ruled them and were not accorded a place in history. Almost all Croatians that made a contribution to any endeavor were misidentified. A few examples:

John Dominis-Gospodnetich--Italian, Venetian--Prince Consort to last Queen of Hawaii, Queen Lilioukalani. Origins were from Island of Brac, Croatia. Joseph Haydn-Hajdin--famous Austrian composer. Origins were Croatian. Marco Polo-Pilich--Venetian explorer to China. Origins were Sibenik, Croatia, born on Island of Korcula, Croatia. Peter Tomich--Austrian. Medal of Honor winner, Pearl Harbor. Born Croatian in Hercegovina. Ferdinand Konscak-Gonzaga--Austrian. A Priest, proved California was not an island. Origin was Varazdin, Croatia. Bozo de Raguza..Hungarian. Voyage of exploration in South America, 1520’s. Origin Croatia.

Croatian Names in Dalmatia

The merchant and the noble class in Dalmatia did use two names, one Latin-Italian as citizens of Venice and their own Croatian name in their own circles. Bogdanich became Bogdaneo, Mladinich-Mladineo, Arnerich-Arneri and Glavinich-Capogrosso. Some simply used the Latin-Italian meaning of their name, such as Cvietkovich-Florio, Lupis-Vukasinovich, Dominis-Gospodnetich or Polo-Pilich.

Captain John Dominis-Gospodnetich

One of the most interesting Croatian sailors in America was John Dominis, who became master of an American ship plying between Boston and the Pacific and who brought to Massachusetts the first cargo of salmon from the Columbia River in the Oregon Territory. According to Professor Samuel Eliot Morison, Dominis worked his way up from the forecastle of Josiah Marshall's ships to a master's commission.
Captain Dominis' adventurous life had really begun after his settlement in Boston, Massachusetts. It is there that he started his maritime career on the brig "Owyhyee" (this is the old spelling of the word Hawaii), owned by the firm of Josiah Marshall.
He married Mary Jones, a "'pretty girl" from Boston, on October 9, 1824, with the blessing of Josiah Marshall. According to the information supplied by an article published in Schenectady Gazette on August 27, 1932, the couple first moved to Schenectady, New York, Where John Owen Dominis was born on March 10, 1831 at 26 Front Street. His middle name Owen was for his maternal granddfather, Owen Jones, a distinguished Boston citizen. The fact that the bark on which the captain and his family arrived in Honolulu on April 23, 1837 was named "Jones" could further indicate his close ties with his father-in-law, who probably financed the long, costly journey to Hawaii from the Eastern United States.
John Dominis decided to move his trade operations to Honolulu, already well-known to him from numerous previous visits. As a definite sign of his intentions to stay in the dynamic mid-Pacific kingdom, he came with his wife, Mary Jones, and their six-year old son, John Owen - the future husband of the tragic and colorful Queen Liliuokalani.
During the period of 1842 to 1846 the captain built in the heart of Honolulu a beautiful, stately-looking mansion, later called Washington Place in honor of George Washington, which subsequently became the residence of Hawaii's governors.
His wife resided in Honolulu with his son, John 0. Dominis, who later became governor of one of the islands and married Princess Lydia, who in 1891 became Queen Liliuokalani.
One of the early records we have of Dominis is that he was second mate and sail mate on the "Paragon" which sailed from Boston to Honolulu in 1823. On January 21, 1827, Dominis was again at Honolulu, as captain of the brig "Owhyhee" and ready to sail for the Northwest Coast by way of Alaska where he was to collect all the skins he could find. Those skins Dominis later sold in China where he bought goods for the Boston market. On February 10, 1827, Dominis was at Hanegas Harbor, not very far from the present Juneau, Alaska and on June 4, 1827, he entered the mouth of the Columbia River. Sixteen days later he was at San Francisco in Mexican California and in November at the port of Canton, China. On May 12, 1828, he was back at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. In July, 1828, Dominis was off again for the Northwest Coast where he arrived seven months later and where he spent about a year, with the exception of a brief visit to the Straits of Juan de Fuca for the purpose of obtaining 300 beavers. It was in the spring of 1830 that Dominis hit upon an idea which was to bring fortunes to Massachusetts merchants. Why not cure fresh Columbia salmon, after the Boston style, and sell it in the New England market? Dominis asked himself. The fish cost practically nothing, transportation was no additional expense, and the experiment was worth trying. And try he did. After a side trip to Honolulu to visit his wife and chiland after trading in other Pacific islands, Captain Dominis returned to Boston with a cargo of sixty-three barrels of Columbia River salmon on April 15,1831. The experiment at first did not seem successful, for the United States Government taxed it as a foreign importation, the fish was not of the best quality and the sale at retail was not easy to work out. Yet, as Prof. Morison points out, "that very autumn the brig Sultana left Boston for the Columbia with 1000 empty salmon barrels and in 1834 Nathaniel J. Wyeth made salmon fishing one of the principal objects of his Oregon expedition. "We may then conclude," adds Prof. Morison, "that the Owhyhee's cargo was not an isolated and insignificant venture, but the beginning of a trade in salted salmon between the Columbia River and the Eastern United States; and we may safely name Captain John Dominis the pioneer in a business that under changing methods and means of transportation has grown steady in volume and in value." Dominis we learn from Bancroft, was the first man to plant peach trees in the Oregon Territory which he brought from the Island of Juan Fernandez. From California he brought to the Northwest a fine lot of sheep for breeding purposes. Dominis in later years was master of other ships, like the "Joseph Peabody" which traded in Alaska in 1836 and the "Bolivar Liberator" which in 1834 was engaged in hunting sea-otters along the coast of southern Oregon and Northern California. In 1835, Bancroft tells us, Dominis "placing at defiance both English and Russians opened up the trade along the coast, exchanging rum for furs." Captain Dominis thus was one of the pioneers who by drawing other American traders and settlers to the Northwest coast helped to create the "Oregon Question."
Captain Dominis had left Honolulu on August 15, 1846, aboard the brig "William Neilson" for China to assist the new United States Commissioner in Honolulu, George Brown, to establish closer relations between the United States and China; both men perished in the sea withour any trace. Captain Dominis unexpected death provoked some speculation about his allegedly violent death; and Queen Liliuokalani, many decades after his death, maintained that he had been strangled in his bed and thrown overboard." (Morrison 1927)

Prince of Hawaii

On September 16, 1862, John 0. Dominis married Lydia K Paki who became a princess and later Queen Liliuokalani. Following the death of John 0. Dominis on August 27, 1891, the Daily Bulletin published a long obituary which ended with these remarks, dictated by Queen Liliuokalani about her husband:
The Prince was a contemporary of five reigning sovereigns, every one of whom he exercised a strong influence. His counsels were born of an excellent judgement and he had rare tact in impressing others with his views. Few people were aware of the beneficial services that Governor Dominis had time and again rendered to the country. His retiring disposition and manner prevented him from receiving a title of the praise that was due to him as a public man..
Queen who evidently took the loss of her husband very hard, made this comment, officially recorded in 1895:` ... in the month of July my husband was taken sick on the 27th of August, 1891, he breathed his last. I felt his loss very much, as his experience with Kamehameha IV and V, and also under Lunalilo and Kalakaua's reign, proved valuable to me. He was a kind and affectionate husband, a man of honor, and is esteemed by all who knew him. To those he gave in charity it was never spoken of. His death was a severe loss, for I needed him most at that time to advise with the affairs of state.
On September 3, 1891, the United States Minister Resident to Hawaii informed the Department of State of the death, on August 27, of John Owen Dominis, Prince Consort, husband of the Queen, and gave the following brief biographical sketch:
He was born in Schenectady, New York, in 1832. His father was of “Italianâ€? birth, and his mother a native of Boston, Massachusetts. He came to these Islands as a chiId with his parents, his father being a master mariner. He was educated at a Honolulu School, and for a while served as a mercantile clerk in San Francisco during the Gold Rush, and afterwards in one of the principal American commercial houses of Honolulu, until he was appointed private Secretary to Kamehameha Fourth, the reigning Sovereign. Subsequently he was appointed Governor of Oahu, which position he held for twenty years. In 1862 he was married to the lady who is now Queen, by whom on her accession to the throne, a few months since, he was proclaimed His Royal Highness Prince Consort. By his associates he has been regarded amiable in character and of strong American sympathies. His remains are now lying in state at the Royal Palace, and Sunday, September 6, will be buried with royal honors.

Search for Ancestors

Queen Liliuokalani's search for husband’s ancestors began on June 20, 1892, when she had instructed her Chamberlain, James W. Robertson, to send a letter to Mr. Victor von Schonenberger, Hawaii's Consul at the Austrian Habsburg Court in Vienna. Her search was related to the tragic loss of her husband and increasing worries about the possibility of losing her crown.
Letter from the Archives of Hawaii in Honolulu: This letter was sent to Mr. V. von Schonberger, Her Hawaiian Majesty Consul, at Vienna on June 20, 1892. Dear Sir, I take the liberty of writing to you, to ask if you could obtain any information regarding a gentleman who resided on these Islands many years ago and who was known here as Captain John Dominis. The gentleman referred to was born at Trieste in the year of 1803 of parents of high standing and birth. His mother was born in 1776 or 1778 and was a lady of rank. She was of middle height, and rather fat, and wore a star on her breast which showed she was of rank. She had a very stern expression. She may have been an Austrian lady. Her name, I think, was Leopolda or Leopoldina Dominisi del Galo, or nearly like it, perhaps it was the family. His father was an “Italianâ€?, of higher rank than his mother, and was born in 1771. The father of Captain Dominis wore a crown - in 1771 was above the crown. He was killed with a sword while fighting a duel. Three son's and daughter was born to them. One of the sons was also killed in a duel; this one had very light hair and a fair complexion. The two remaining sons quarreled, and one of them left home for foreign ports and landed in America. There he assumed the name Captain John Dominis. In the year 1830 or 1831 or thereabouts be married in Boston, Massachusetts a lady by the name of Miss Mary Jones, of that city who had a large circle of well-to-do relations. In 1832 a son was born, their first child. Two more children were born, both girls, who attained the ages of 12 and 13, when, they died. In 1836 Captain Dominis, brought his wife and family to the Islands. He made Honolulu their home, while he himself traded between these Islands and China, for some time, in several vessels as commander. He built a handsome house for his wife and son, but left the Islands just before it was completed.
During his lifetime he only once made a reference to who he was, or mentioned his family connections. It was to his wife and son (when the latter was very young) [that) he said that he was born in Trieste and that he came from a family of high standing and respectability. He also spoke causally of a Marquis, did not mention any names. I enclose a copy of his picture, taken perhaps 60 years ago, also one of his son John taken at the age of 14 years, and another taken later. They may be the means of giving a clue by which we might be able to trace Captain Dominis" relatives, for it is supposed that his sister still lives and if the search meets with satisfactory results it will place us under great obligation to you. His son John married in 1862 a Hawaiian lady who survives him. I also enclose a picture of him taken five years ago, hoping to hear soon from you. I remain, Yours very truly, J.W. Robertson KC. of the Royal Order of Kapiolani. (Robertson 1892)

Austrian Warship Fasana

It came about, that one year after the death of Dominis, the Austrian Warship "Fasana� arrived at the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and the widowed Queen Lydia Liluiokalani requested the commander to ascertain on his return to Austria whether there existed any relatives of her deceased husband for the distribution, it appears, of a presumed inheritance. The commander, immediately on his arrival at Pula, Croatia made a detailed report to the Ministry of War. The report of the Commander of the corvette Fasana to the War Ministry in Vienna: The Kriegsarchiv answered that they did not have the inquiry by Queen Lilluokalani nor the report of the commander of the Fasana. However, there was a 1ist of several enlisted men named Dominis, among them Girolamo Dominis, born in Jelsa, island of Hvar, Dalmatia. He was enrolled in 1860 for eight years, but deserted on November 1, 1861; was arrested on December 8, 1861 and on December 10. 1863 he again deserted from Venice (which was now under Austrian sovereignty). The Staatsarchiv did have information of several documents in a special fascicle labeled "Researches regarding the alleged relatives of John Dominis, Queen Liliuokalani's husband." There was also the report of the commander of the Fasana to the War Ministry in Vienna, dated August 5, 1892, from Yokohama. The report looks quite different from that described by the newspapers. The commander wrote that on the occasion of the dinner offered on June 22, 1892 in honor of the officers of the Fasana, the Queen requested him to ask the authorities of the imperial navy to help her in her search for the relatives of her late Prince Consort who might still live in Austria. The commander also repeated the information contained in Robertson's letter and added that the Queen purposely omitted to mention the high position of her husband in order to avoid sensational comments in the daily press. The War Ministry passed the entire question on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This office learned that there were some people named Dominis in Dalmatia and wrote to the Governor of Dalmatia in Zadar. It wasn't until February 8, 1893 that the office of the Governor answered that there was a Dominis family in Rab and another in Zadar. The letter continued:
A member of this family by name Jerolim (Girolamo) Dominis many years ago emigrated to San Francisco and on his voyage allegedly often touched the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), as emerges from the enclosed note of the imperial-royal office of the District of Zadar, dated January 27, 1893. The letter further stated that according to the known data it was impossible to conclude whether Girolamo was identical with Sir John Owen Dominis or with his father Captain John Dominis, but it recommended further research in Galveston, Texas where peopled lived who might give further information about him. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on February 2, 1893 advised the consul in Honolulu, Mr. Glade, about the results of the investigation and added that it was quite possible that Girolamo changed his first name to John or Hermann. It ordered the consul to notify the Queen about the results of the inquiry and to return her husband's photo which she had handed over to the commander of the Fasana. Emilia de Dominis, married name Soavi, now widow, born at Venice of Dalmatian origin from Castel Puciochie, 1sle of Brazza (this is Pucisce, island of Brac) claimed to be a relative of the defunct sovereign. It goes on that the Italian and Austrian government's were not interested in Queen Liluiokalani's case about her husband's relatives. (Badovinac, R 1976) (War Ministry, Vienna, 1892)

Bibliography

Anon. “John Dominis.â€? Journal Adriatico, Venice, September 26, 1891. States Dominis came from Castel Puciochie, Isle Brazza. This is Pucisce, Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia.
Anon. “John Dominis.â€? II Secolo of Milan, February 12, 1893. States Dominis came from Castel Puciochie, Isle Brazza. This is Pucisce, Island of Brac, Dalmatia, Croatia.
Anon. “Death of H.R.H. JohnO. Dominis, Prince Consort.â€? Friend, September 1891.
Badovinac, John. “Hawaiian Islands Once Ruled Over by Prince Consort of Croatian Descent.â€? Zajednicar, Sept 8, 1971.
Badovinac, Robert J. “John Dominis and the Queen of Hawaii.â€? Zajednicar, Oct 27, 1976. Dominis was from Croatia.
Bancroft, H.H. History of Oregon. San Francisco, 1886. Dominis in Oregon.
Duisin, V.A. Zbornik Plemstva u Hrvatskoj, Slavoniji, Dalmaciji. Zagreb, 1938. Croatian Arms in Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. Gospodnetich-Dominis Arms carved on doorway of his palace in the town of Dol on the island of Brac, Croatia.
Eterovich, Adam S. Dominis-Gospodnetich, Prince consort of Last Hawaiian Queen-Liliuokalani., Scrap Book. San Carlos, Calif.: Ragusan Press, 1981.
Gasinski, Thaddeus Z. “Captain John Dominis and His Son Governor John Owen Dominis-Hawaii's Croatian Connection.â€? Croatian Studies (1976): 32pp.
Howay, F.W. “Brig Owhyhee in the Columbia 1830.â€? Oregon Historical Quarterly (1923). Captain John Dominis a Croatian.
Jutronic, Andre. Naselja i Porijeklo Stanovnistva na Otoku Bracu # 34. Zagreb: Jugoslavenska Akademija, 1950. Settlement and genealogy of people on the island of Brac, Croatia. Dominis moves to Venice.#
Knaus, Vincent. “His Royal Highness- The Prince Consort John Owen Dominis.â€? American Croatian Historical Review Vol I (1946).Dominis is Croatian.
Kusanovic, Tonci Don. “Birth Certificate and Genealogy of Ivan Dominis from Pucisce, Island of Brac , Croatia.â€? In Library of Adam S. Eterovich, 1985. Adam S. Eterovich requested a search of church records on the island of Brac, Croatia. Captain Dominis of Hawaii is a Croatian from the Island of Brac.
Mercantile Trust Co. “Beginnings and Developement of Trade on the Pacific Coast of North America.â€? Monthly Review, March-April 1923. About John Dominis.
Morrison, Samuel E. “New England and the Opening of the Columbia River Salmon Trade, 1830.â€? Oregon Historical Quarterly, June 1927. Dominis shipped the first salmon to the Atlantic Coast
Rosenfeld, Heyer von, Carl. Der Adel des Konigreichs Dalmatien. Nurnberg: Bauer and Raspe, 1873. Coats of Arms of the Kingdom of Dalmatia. Part of Siebmacher's Wappenbuch. Dominis is registered as Dominis-Gospodnetich.
Schiavo, Giovanni. The Italians in America Before the Civil War. New York: Arno Press, 1975. Captain John Dominis planted first peach trees in Oregon.
Taylor, Albert. “Dalmatian Lady heir to Hawaiian Prince.â€? Paradise of the Pacific, 1927 Vol 40, No 6.

COMPUTERS IN EDUCATION

CALL FOR PAPERS

28th INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION MIPRO
May 30 - June 3, 2005

CONFERENCE ON

COMPUTERS IN EDUCATION (CE)

Grand Hotel Adriatic Convention Centre, Opatija,  Adriatic Coast, Croatia

MIPRO Croatian Association, IEEE Croatia Section, University of Zagreb and Univesity of Rijeka will organize the conference. The conference is supported by Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and Ministry of Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development of the Republic of Croatia. The conference is a traditional forum for scientists and practitioners in the merging area of telecommunications and informatics. Official languages are English and Croatian.

Opatija, often called the Nice of the Adriatic, is one of the most popular tourist resorts in Croatia and a place with the longest tourist tradition on the eastern part of Adriatic coast. Opatija is so attractive that at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries it was visited by the most prominent personalities: Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni, A. P. Čehov, James Joyce, Isidora Duncan, Beniamino Gigli, Primo Carnera, Emperor Franz Joseph, German Emperor Wilhelm II, Swedish Royal Couple Oscar and Sophia, King Georg of Greece.

The offer includes 20-odd hotels, a large number of catering establishments, sports and recreational facilities.
For more details please look at http://www.opatija.hr/ andwww.opatija-tourism.hr/.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF PAPERS
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF PAPERS

More information on http://www.mipro.hr/ece.html

Croatian leaders check out Lima
By JIM SABIN
419-993-2091
jsabin@limanews.com

LIMA — A group of small-government leaders from Croatia spent about 24 hours in Lima, learning how the city involves members of the public in the governmental process.
The group was here through a program arranged by the Agency for International Develop-ment, and was studying with Dr. Mark Chupp, of the Unger Croatia Center at Cleveland State University.
The group spent two weeks in the United States, including Monday night and Tuesday morning in Lima.
“We chose Lima initially because of the Consolidated Plan,” Chupp said, referring to the city’s method of getting public input into the spending of Community Development Block Grant money. “It seemed a very good way to include citizens in the process.”
The group also learned about study circles conducted here, as well as Lima-Allen County Neighborhoods In Partnership and Common Threads activities.
Two of the visitors were mayors of their respective municipalities, or collections of townships that don’t quite form a city as we know it.
“What I like to hear, and what amazed me, was the level of volunteerism in Lima,” said Marija Mackovic, mayor of Jasenovac, through an interpreter.
Ana Savic, mayor of Majur, agreed.
“What I am really fascinated with, in a good way, is how the initiative comes from the citi-zens to participate in the betterment of the community,” Savic said through an interpreter. Many in Croatia don’t get involved, she said.
The women said their municipalities have groups similar to our neighborhood associations, though with different things to focus on, like sports or the elderly. Savic said she hopes to use information gained in Lima, particularly the dialogue methods employed by Common Threads, to help neighborhood groups get started.
“I will give that proposal to the citizens so that when they form associations, they know how to talk to each other,” Savic said. “It will hopefully motivate them to organize into associa-tions.”
The group attended a Lima City Council meeting Monday, and met with Lima Mayor David Berger and Common Threads leaders. Tuesday, the group met with LACNIP leaders at the Allen County Museum before leaving the city.
The group also included a newspaper reporter, Marina Protic of the Slobodna Dalmacija, in Split, Croatia.
“The local government here works more on motivating citizens to work for the common good,” Protic said through an interpreter. That could happen in Croatia, but doesn’t as often because the government, which has far more political parties, doesn’t usually want outside interference, she said.
“The framework is there. However, it seems that in Croatia, the local government is not having people involved,” she said. “It’s easier for the local government to do its work without citizens meddling around in it.”
Chupp said participants will draft an action plan for implementation when they return to Croatia later this week.

http://www.limanews.com/story.php?IDnum=9028

Denver Film Fest Honors "WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception"
Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Zrinko Ogresta's "Here."

by Brian Brooks
 

Op-ed: Music credit for WMD: Nenad Bach

"WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception" director Danny Schechter with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a scene from his movie, which took The Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary at the 27th Starz Denver International Film Festival. Image courtesy of the festival.

Debut feature "Brooklyn Bound" by Rich Devaney received the first annual juried Best Emerging Filmmaker award at the 27th Starz Denver International Film Festival, which showcased 189 films from around the world in the Mile High City from October 14-24. Set in inner-city Brooklyn, the film, co-written with lead actor Thomas Guiffre, follows "two brothers who attempt to navigate the drug and violence infused streets." Honorable mention in the category was given to Ferenc Toth's feature focusing on a man's journey through despair, "Unknown Soldier."

Writer/director Danny Schechter's film "WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception" won the Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary. The film, investigates the onset of the American invasion of Iraq and how it received an "uncritical" view by the American commercial media. The film also delves into what it views as the "Bush Administration's premeditated and controlled shaping of public opinion." Acclaimed documentarian Albert Maysles presented the award to Schechter at the festival.

Two films won Denver's Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for best film. Latvian filmmaker, Laila Pakalnina's feature about a group of pranksters antagonizing a school's headmistress in, "Python," shared the prize with Zrinko Ogresta's "Here." The film is described by the event as "a series of mini-stories depicting contemporary life in morally adrift Croatia."

In audience prizes, actor/director Jerry Stuhr's "Tomorrow's Weather," the story of a monk who emerges from a monastery after a 17-year self-exile to find himself confronted with his former self, won the prize in the best feature category, while Leslie Sullivan's "A Touch of Greatness" received the nod in the documentary category. "Greatness" centers on educator Albert Cullum, considered a pioneer in his field, who utilizes unorthodox educational practices to teach his elementary school classes about literary notables including Shakespeare, Sophocles and George Bernard Shaw.

In other honors, SDIFF presented actor Morgan Freeman with its Mayor's Lifetime Achievement Award, while actor Kevin Bacon received the John Cassavetes Award. Next year, the Starz Denver International Film Festival will move its dates to November 10-20, 2005.

http://www.indiewire.com/onthescene/onthescene_041028dff.html