To the Editor of The Washington Times

I was very happy to read Bolton's statements in Jeff Kuhner's commentary. However, I think Bolton is punting the issue by simply saying that there is no accountability. The question is why is there no accountability? It's because the US has failed to taken any actions to make it so. This is an argument we have made to the State Department for several years. They seem to finally be "getting it," but their not quite there yet. Below is a letter to the editor I sent in concerning the commentary.

John Kraljic

To the Editor of The Washington Times

One must applaud John Bolton's criticism of the lack of "democratic accountability" of the International Criminal Tribunal for War Crimes for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and its current prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte. One has to ask, though, why Mr. Bolton and the State Department have not taken any actions to reign in the ICTY.

Both the ICTY and the Prosecutor are ultimately responsible to the UN Security Council. The United States has failed to use its membership status in the Council to put in place any meaningful oversight of the activities of the ICTY and the Prosecutor.

The critical issue today is not whether prosecutions will be turned over the national courts in former Yugoslavia - that has been the stated policy goal for several years. The question is what the State Department will do concerning the continued work of the ICTY and the Prosecutor with respect to its current docket of cases, especially with respect to the politically motivated indictment brought against Croatian General Ante Gotovina.

Very truly yours,

John Peter Kraljic

http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20041023-105636-4172r.htm 
 

 Middle Ages cemetery discovered in Croatia
 

Zagreb - A 14th century cemetery was discovered in downtown Zagreb, Croatia, near the city's cathedral during roadworks, the daily Jutarnji list reported on Friday.

Workers were surprised to found human bones only 50 centimetres below ground. Archaeologist Zeljko Zemo confirmed the date of the find saying it was due to erosion of soil down through the centuries.

Zemo said the site was the location of an old church in the 14th century and a small cemetery. Roadworks have been suspended temporarily allowing archaeologists to examine the site, he said. - Sapa-dpa

http://iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=qw109844766111B263 

Croatia - US Naval Exercise Adriatic Phiblex 04

A Croatian gunboat and a navy helicopter take part in an exercise simulating the rescue of a passenger ship from terrorists in the Adriatic Sea near the Island of Zirje October 13, 2004. The rescue was staged as part of a ten-days joint naval excercise Adriatic Phiblex 04, involving Croatia, the United States, Macedonia and Albania. REUTERS/Matko Biljak  Reuters - Oct 13 9:18 AM

Members of the Croatian Naval marine expeditionary unit leave a military helicopter during a hostage rescue exercise of a passenger ship at the Adriatic near Island of Zirje, October 13, 2004. The rescue was staged as part of a ten-days joint naval exercise Adriatic Phiblex 04, involving Croatia, the United States, Macedonia and Albania. REUTERS/Matko Biljak
 

Fulbright u Hrvatskoj - rok 5 Studeni 2005

Dragi Nenade
Ako znas nekog tko se bavi informatikom na fakultetu kod vas u SAD, a rado bi dosao u Hrvatsku na Fulbright molim te da mu proslijedis ovo pismo i da nas spojis. Ja inace radim na Ekonomskom fakultetu u Rijeci i predajem informaticke kolegije za ekonomiste.

Puno pozdrava Marina

marinacs@efri.hr

Subject: Iskaz interesa za prihvat stipendista iz SAD-a (program FULBRIGHT)

Poštovani,

Pokrovitelji Fulbrightovog programa u Hrvatskoj, Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i športa i Veleposlanstvo Sjedinjenih Americkih Država pozivaju vas na iskaz interesa za prihvat americkih profesora/istraživaca koji ce u Hrvatskoj boraviti u akademskoj godini 2006-07.

Ukoliko je vaša ustanova zainteresirana za primitak americkog profesora ili istraživaca molimo Vas da ispunite obrazac "Zahtjev za dodjeljivanje stipendista Fulbrightovog programa" (http://www.cies.org/fulbrightagency.htm) - "U.S. Scholar Awards Catalog Forms
2006-07” i onda "New Award Form").

Temeljem iskaza interesa bit ce izraden natjecaj programa Fulbright za državljane SAD-a. Predlažemo da potaknete nekog od vaših
kolega u Sjedinjenim Americkim Državama koji ima profil strucnjaka kakvoga tražite da se javi na natjecaj za Fulbrightov program koji ce biti raspisan u SAD-u u razdoblju od 1. ožujka do 1. kolovoza 2005.

Zahtjevi ce predstavljati formalno prihvacanje obveze da vaša ustanova primi i pruži akademsku podršku americkim stipendistima. Prihvatna ustanova nema financijskih obveza prema stipendistima.

Rok za slanje ispunjenih obrazaca (elektronski i jedan primjerak poštom) je 5. studenoga 2004. na jednu od sljedecih adresa:

Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i športa Americko veleposlanstvo

Marija Crnic                             Aleksandra Brlek
Strossmayerov trg 4, Zagreb     Thomasa Jeffersona 2, 10010 Zagreb
Tel: 459-4353 Faks: 481-9331 Tel: 661-2243 Faks: 665-8904
marija.crnic@mzos.hr               brleks@state.gov

S poštovanjem,

Loredana Maravic
nacelnica Odjela za europske integracije
Head of Department for European Integrations
Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i športa/
Ministry of Science, Education and Sports
Trg hrvatskih velikana 6, 10000 Zagreb, Hrvatska/Croatia
Tel. +385 1 459 44 55 Fax: +385 1 481 93 31
loredana.maravic@mzos.hr 

Hong Kong, Croatia bolster cultural ties

www.chinaview.cn 2004-10-19 00:18:25

HONG KONG, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Croatia's Minister of Culture Bozo Biskupic and Hong Kong Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho signed a memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation Monday. Both sides agreed to promote and strengthen cooperation in culture, arts and education, which they believe will further mutual awareness, respect, understanding, harmony and friendship between their people. To start, there will be exchange of exhibition catalogues on contemporary art between major museums and exchange of informationon major performers.

Other proposed exchange activities include music exchange programs in Hong Kong for visiting youth music groups from Croatia.Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-10/19/content_2107569.htm

Kerry-Edwards Will Lead an Economic Revival

for

Croatian American Businesses
 

By
Shawn M. O’Donnell

As a true conservative businessman, whose wife is a Croatian American businesswoman, I’ve made it a point to discuss the upcoming presidential election with other small and mid-sized business owners and leaders, some of whom are Croatian Americans.

Overall, their current support for the probable Bush-Cheney Republican ticket flows from a mistaken belief that they actually benefit from this administration’s tax cuts.

Individually and collectively, they fail to see that the increases in their real cost of doing business, which includes spiraling cost in energy, health care, and unemployment insurance have been caused by the Bush-Cheney administration’s policies.

This administration continues to pursue economic policies that will result in increased interest rates, millions of jobs lost, and stagnant or lower wages for American labor.

Consider some clear indicators that prove that this administration and its ruinous economic policies have failed small and mid-sized businesses (which provide this country with most of its jobs):

--The Dow Jones Industrial Average on January 20, 2001, was 10,578, and the NASDAQ was at 2,578. Today the Dow Jones
hovers at 9,900 and the NASDAQ around 1,900.

--The final 2003 deficit number for the U.S. government under Bush-Cheney was $374.25 billion (an all-time record).

--A projected budget surplus for 2003 (from 1999 figures) resulted in a $700 billion deficit as result of Bush-Cheney policies.

--Accounting for the current Social Security surplus, the Bush-Cheney deficit is running almost 5 percent of the GDP.

--Gasoline prices in the United States are at record levels, and price of oil is through the roof. An $18 per barrel to $20 per barrel (approx $1.75 per gallon) is now over $50 per barrel (eventually resulting in over $3.00 per gallon pricing).

--The U.S. trade deficit has widened to an all time high of $46 billion.

--We’ve hit the US legislative debt ceiling of $7.4 TRILLION and the Bush administration refuses to take any legislative action to allow more borrowing until after the election.

--More than 1.6 million net jobs have been lost.

--Unemployment in January, 2001 was 4.2 percent; now it’s 5.6 percent.

Every Croatian American business person should join us in voting to change administrations on November 2nd. We have an opportunity to elect the team of John Kerry and John Edwards to lead an economic revival for small and mid-sized businesses.


Note on Shawn O’Donnell:
Shawn O’Donnell is a businessman and a real conservative Democrat. He was the CFO of a Virginia software company until 60 days ago when he left his position and his wife, Drucilla Badurina, took a hiatus from her business so that they could devote themselves to getting John Kerry and John Edwards elected.

Shawn’s business and management background and experience (including CEO and CFO positions) span more than three decades and include manufacturing companies, business development and consulting. His articles about business and economics have
appeared in various publications nationally and internationally.

During the early 1990’s, Shawn served on the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Pastoral Council as Chair of the Stewardship Committee and advisor to the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.

Shawn is a real activist who has managed and worked Democratic campaigns in Illinois.

He is now busy with Volunteers for Kerry-Edwards Media Corps and talking with business people, especially small and mid-sized business owners, about the countless reasons why Bush is bad for business, the economy and labor.

Contact: Badurina@aol.com

International Leaders Summit, Zagreb, Croatia:

Tax Policy for a

Prosperous Croatia

Tax Policy for a Prosperous Croatia
 

By Daniel J. Mitchell
Senior Fellow and Chief Tax Policy Expert at the Heritage Foundation

Croatia faces an immense challenge. It must devise a tax system that will help boost growth so the nation can overcome the crippling legacy of socialist mismanagement. This tax system also must be attractive to foreign investors, something that is particularly important because of globalization. Yet this tax system also must raise enough revenue to finance the needs – hopefully limited – of government.

While this is a daunting task, the flat tax is a good solution to help Croatia become prosperous and successful. Economic theorists and public finance experts like the flat tax because it is an ideal system. It has a low tax rate so that people have an incentive to work and little reason to hide their income from the government. It gets rid of various forms of double-taxation such as death taxes and dividend taxes so that there is not a bias against saving and investment. It also eliminates all forms of special preferences and penalties so that peoples’ decisions are based on economic merit rather than tax consideration.

And if policy makers are unwilling to implement a low-rate flat tax, they can achieve many of the benefits by taking steps in that direction. They can lower tax rates. They can eliminate extra layers of tax on saving and investment. They can simplify the tax system by removing loopholes.

But whether they want fundamental reform or incremental reform, Croatia’s leaders are going to face a number of major obstacles. Unfortunately, international bureaucracies will very likely be part of the problem. The European Union (EU) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), for instance, mostly represent the interests of high-tax nation like France and Germany. These countries already are very upset the some Eastern European nations are lowering tax rates and implementing flat taxes, and they are using the EU and OECD to threaten nations that engage in too much “tax competition.â€?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also tends to offer bad advice. It is notorious for its opposition to free-market tax policy. In case after case, IMF bureaucrats will enter a country and urge big tax increases. They assert that the tax increases are needed to balance the budget, but the IMF should be focusing on ways to control government spending. The bureaucrats apparently don’t understand that higher tax rates simultaneously discourage work, saving, and investment and encourage tax evasion and tax avoidance. The IMF may be even more dangerous than the OECD and EU since it uses its large budget to bribe nations to follow its advice.

Croatia’s leaders should reject the bad advice of international bureaucracies. There is not other choice. If tax rates remain too high, people will continue to hide income from the government. Even more important, international investors will choose other nations when deciding where to build factories and create jobs.

Indeed, this is why it is so important to reject EU and OECD arguments against tax competition. If Croatia does not lower tax rates and reform its tax system, it will have very little chance of successfully competing with other nations in the region that have made these changes. Why should an entrepreneur create jobs in Croatia when he can go to Slovakia or Serbia and enjoy a low-rate flat tax? Why should a company build a factory in Croatia, when it can benefit from Hungary’s 16 percent corporate tax rate? Simply stated, Croatia must compete or perish.

And if the IMF (or even the World Bank) argue that tax reform and tax rate reductions will deprive the government of too much revenue, Croatia’s leaders should point to what has happened in other nations. In Russia, for instance, income tax revenues have nearly doubled since President Putin shifted from a 30 percent “progressiveâ€? tax to a 13 percent flat tax. Other Eastern European nations have seen similar results because of faster growth and less evasion.

More than forty years ago, President John F. Kennedy of the United States proposed a big reduction in tax rates. His opponents made the same arguments that are being heard from the IMF and other bureaucracies in Croatia today. But President Kennedy persevered. He told critics that:

Our true choice is not between tax reduction, on the one hand, and the avoidance of large Federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits… In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.

Croatia should follow this sensible advice. America’s economy boomed following the Kennedy tax cuts in the 1960s, and it boomed again when Reagan cut tax rates in the 1980s. Croatia should do the same thing. Cut taxes and reform the tax system! Do not listen to the bureaucrats who represent the backward thinking of high-tax welfare states.

Dr. Daniel Mitchell is Senior Fellow and Chief Expert on Tax Policy and Economy at The Heritage Foundation. Served as Economist for US Senator Bob Packwood and the US Finance Committee. Dr. Mitchell is one of the Founding Advisory Board members of the International Leaders Summit and the Adriatic Institute for Public Policy, Croatia’s first independent free market think tank.

Dr. Mitchell will be speaking at the International Leaders Summit – Focus on Economic Growth in Zagreb, Croatia on November 5 and 6, 2004 at the Sheraton Zagreb Hotel.

For further information regarding the International Leaders Summit, please contact:
Natasha Srdoc-Samy, MBA
Co-Director, International Leaders Summit
President, Adriatic Institute for Public Policy
Phone: +385-98-351-080
Phone/Fax: +385-51-626-582
www.ils-wde.org
Email: Natasha.Srdoc-Samy@zg.htnet.hr
Email: wdempower@aol.com
Joel Anand Samy
Co-Director, International Leaders Summit
President, World Development and Empowerment
Phone: +385-91-516-9129
Email: JoelAnandSamy@aol.com
 

International Leaders Summit: Why the Flat Tax isGood for Croatia

Very important article on the Flat Tax written by Dr. Alvin Rabushka and custom designed for Croatia:

Why the Flat Tax is Good for Croatia

By Dr. Alvin Rabushka, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, California and Former Tax Policy Advisor to President Ronald Reagan


During the past ten years, six former Soviet-bloc countries in Central and Eastern Europe have replaced their personal income tax systems with a simple flat tax. The first was Estonia in 1994. It has since extended its reform to abolish the corporate tax on retained earnings and programmed further reductions in the personal tax rate. Next was Latvia. The largest and most important country to follow was Russia. Beginning January 1, 2001, it replaced a three-bracket system topping out at 30 percent with a flat 13 percent rate. Russia also reduced its corporate tax rate from 35 to 24 percent, and lowered the tax on small business. In 2003 Serbia introduced a 13 percent flat tax, Ukraine 13 percent and Slovakia 19 percent in 2004. The new government of Georgia has pledged to adopt a 12 percent flat tax later this year.

The results have been uniformly successful. After adjusting for inflation, real personal income tax revenue in Russia doubled between January 2001 and July 2004. Slovakia is now a magnet for international investment. Several political parties in Poland and the Czech Republic have embraced the flat tax. China is currently considering the flat tax to replace its nine-bracket personal income tax with its top rate of 45 percent. Why have these countries adopted or considering adoption of the flat tax?

So-called progressive income taxes impose graduated rates on progressively higher levels of income, which distorts investment, and discourages work and saving. In contrast, after allowing for a personal exemption, the flat tax levies a single rate on all taxable income. A low flat-rate tax is simple, fosters efficiency, and encourages compliance. Simplicity means that the taxpayers are able to understand the law and their obligations. Efficiency means that individuals invest on the basis of economic decisions, not tax preferences. Compliance means that the government can collect income tax in an accurate, responsible, fair manner, with a minimum of corruption.

Why is the flat tax good for Croatia? Under current tax law, four rates, 15 percent up to annual taxable income of HRK 36,000, 25 percent on the next HRK 45,000, 35 percent on the next HRK 171,000, and 45 percent on income exceeding HRK 252,000. Given these high rates, it is easy to see why individuals would prefer to earn their income in any of the six countries listed above. Croatia recognizes the need to be competitive with neighboring countries to attract foreign investment by setting the corporate tax rate at 20 percent. This creates undue complexity as individuals, when possible, will seek to incorporate to take advantage of lower rates. It also sends signal to foreign investors that Croatia continues to believe in the confiscatory regime of high tax rates on successful individuals, painting a discouraging picture of the country.

To maximize its economic growth, create jobs, raise incomes, and provide the government with sufficient revenue to finance the essential limited tasks of government, Croatia will have to compete for investment with other Central and Eastern Europe countries. Given the success of the flat tax in countries which have adopted it, and the prospect that others of Croatia’s neighbors are likely to follow suit in the next few years, Croatia risks being the odd man out, denying its citizens the opportunities for good paying jobs and a higher standard of living. The flat tax has been a positive force in Central and Eastern Europe, and thus deserves serious consideration by the people and government of Croatia.

Dr. Alvin Rabushka is on of the distinguished speakers at the International Leaders Summit scheduled for November 5 and 6 in Sheraton Zagreb Hotel, Zagreb, Croatia. Alvin Rabushka is the David and Joan Traitel Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and co-author, with Robert E. Hall, of The Flat Tax, 2nd Edition, Stanford: Hoover Press, 1995. The Flat Tax can be downloaded and printed on line athttp://www-hoover.stanford.edu/PRESSWEBSITE/FlatTax/contents.html

Dr. Rabushka serves on the Founding Advisory Boards of the Adriatic Institute for Public Policy - Croatia's first independent free market think tank and the International Leaders Summit.
 

ALJOSA ASANOVIC IN CHICAGO -THIS WEEKEND!

Due to conflict with Croatian School this Saturday - the Youth Camp and
Clinic with Aljosa Asanovic has been pushed back to approximately 1pm.
Please try and have your children their as soon as possible immediately
after Croatian school this Saturday. Also, due to demand we will have 2
groups of kids, those between the ages of 7-9 yrs old and 10-13 yrs old.
The friendly match featuring Aljosa Asanovic as well as all your favorite
Chicago All-stars featuring players from Jadran, Hrvat and HNK Zrinski will
be held shortly after the Youth Camp and Clinic.

Please contact Phil Lisnich at 773-818-4479 orphillisnich@comcast.net

HNK Zrinski Chicago and the Croatian Cultural Center of Chicago welcome
Aljosa Asanovic to Chicago this weekend! Please come out and support
Chicago Croatian soccer while cheering on one of Croatia's finest players
ever to put on the Hajduk Split jersey and one of the stars of the famous
World Cup France 1998 3rd Place World Cup team for Croatia. Fans will have
an opportunity to meet with Aljosa for autographs and purchase Aljosa's book
written by author Andrija Kacic Karlin - "Vatreni Lakat" as well as the DVD
based on the best selling book "Nase Vatrene Godine".

Aljosa and author Andrija Kacic Karlin will be in attendance at the
following locations this weekend as well as many other locations around the
Chicago Croatian Community.

Saturday, October 23rd - Hawthorne Park

1:00pm - 3:30pm - Croatian Youth Soccer Camp hosted by HNK Zrinski and
Aljosa Asanovic, boys between the ages of 10-13 are welcome. Bring you
children out to meet Aljosa in person and have him help improve your child's
soccer skills. You do not need to be registered with the HNK Zrinski's
youth team to participate in the clinic. All kids are invited and welcome -
Parents, please have kids there as close to 1:00pm as possible..

3:30pm - 5:00p - come see Aljosa play with some of the finest Chicago land
players from all 3 of our Croatian Clubs here in Chicago as well as some
special guests from around the country....all your favorite players from HNK
Zrinski, Hrvat and Jadran will be in attendance for this special match!

** Hawthorne Park is located on 31st Street and Central Ave. From I-55 (The
Stevenson Expressway) Exit at Central Ave North, continue approx 1.5 miles
on Central Ave to Hawthorne Park and look for the stadium located on the
East Side of the street...ample parking is available.

Sunday, October 24th- Redmond Park - Bensenville, IL

5pm-7pm - Come out and see Aljosa Asanovic suit up and play with HNK Zrinski
in their final regular season match in one of Chicago's toughest leagues the
Metropolitan Soccer League. Come out and help cheer on HNK Zrinski against
one of our toughest rivals as Zrinski will battle the Ukranian Lions at 5pm.
The game is a road game for Zrinski and will be played in Bensenville, IL
under the lights at Redmond Stadium.

** Redmond Park is located in Bensenville, IL off of York Rd. Take I-290
West to York Rd and exit York Rd North. Take York Rd North about 1 mile,
you will pass Grand Ave and look for George St. Turn right or East on
George. Go 4 blocks to John St and turn left and you will see Redmond Park
up ahead...ample parking is available.

Monday, October 25th - Croatian Cultural Center of Chicago
7pm - Stop by and have a drink with Aljosa and Andrija - books and DVD's
will be for sale as well as a showing of the DVD "Nase Vatrene Godine"

Please call or email Phillip Lisnich at 773-818-4479 or
phillisnich@comcast.net with any questions.

CroNetwork: The Croatian-American Organization for Young Professionals.
 

OPHRYS OF CROATIA
OPHRYS DE CROATIE

Due to war action, it was for years impossible to travel in Croatia and other countries of the Balkan peninsula. Consequently orchids of these countries have been far less well studied than those of Italy or Greece for example. The last paper published about orchids of former Yugoslavia is GĂślz,P. & Reinhard,H.R. 1986.- Orchideen in Jugoslawien. Mitt. Bl. Arbeitskr. Heim. Orch. Baden-WĂźrtt.18 (4): 689-827.

But things happened to change. It is now perfectly possible to have some orchids hollidays on the wonderful Dalmatian coast, and our knowledge of Dalmatian orchids is quickly improving.
Just to make things more easy, I shall get all slides of Croatian Ophrys together on this special page, but you may find all those which already received a name in the group they belong to.

A cause des guerres dans les Balkans, il n'a plus ÊtÊ possible, pendant de nombreuses annÊes, de voyager dans ces rÊgions. La connaissance des orchidÊes qui y vivent est restÊe très infÊrieure à ce qu'elle est pour des pays comme l'Italie et la Grèce par exemple. Le dernier article consacrÊ aux orchidÊes de Yougoslavie est GÜlz,P. & Reinhard,H.R. 1986.- Orchideen in Jugoslawien. Mitt. Bl. Arbeitskr. Heim. Orch. Baden-Wßrtt.18 (4): 689-827.

Mais les choses ont changĂŠ. Il est maintenant tout Ă  fait possible de visiter la merveilleuse cĂ´te dalmate dans les meilleures conditions qui soient, et notre connaissance des orchidĂŠes de Dalmatie progresse rapidement. Pour de simples raisons de facilitĂŠ j'ai dĂŠcidĂŠ de rassembler sur cette page spĂŠciale toutes les diapositives d'Ophrys croates que je mettrai sur le site. Toutes les espĂŠces qui ont un nom se retrouvent aussi dans leur groupes respectifs, tandis que celles qui ne sont pas encore nommĂŠes ne seront momentanĂŠment prĂŠsentĂŠes qu'ici.

http://www.ibelgique.ifrance.com/ophrys/index.htm

Ophrys

The genus Ophrys is a group of about 142 species of terrestrial or ground orchids from central to south Europe, north Africa, Asia Minor, up to the Caucasus Mountains. They are referred to as the 'Bee orchids' because of their flowers supposed resemblance (some species) to the furry bodied Bumble Bee and other insects.

http://www.fact-index.com/o/op/ophrys.html