PERRY C. RIDDLE / Los Angeles Times 

Sign Language

Retiree John Pollard reads the inscription on the new "Sister Cities" monument on the lawn of Los Angeles City Hall. The monument, which symbolizes the city's ties to other cities worldwide and seeks to raise their profile here, was created by the L.A. Public Works and Transportation departments

The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; the motions of his spirit are as dull as night, and affections dark as Erebus: let no such man be trusted. 


                                                               --William Shakespeare 

THE CROATIAN ACADEMY OF AMERICA

Last Saturday, October 26,2002 THE CROATIAN ACADEMY OF AMERICA held its Annual General Assembly in New York.It was well attended meeting with members coming from as far as South Carolina,Ohio,Massachusetts and Canada in addition to many from greater New York and New Jersey area.During a lively working meeting reports by the Executive Officers on the work during the previous year were given to members and were accepted.At its Executive Council Meeting earlier in the day the Board of the Academy approved $ 50,000 Fund Raising Drive.
Two pledges totaling $ 2,000 were already received.

THE CROATIAN ACADEMY OF AMERICA was founded on April 19,1953 in New York City.The first meeting took place on West 50th Street in New York, the old location of Croatian Catholic Church Sts. Cyril and Methodius which incidentally is celebrating its ninetieth anniversary next year (2003).

During the last twelve months the most important achievement was publishing Journal of Croatian Studies Volume 41.The 220-page thematic issue deals with the language identity of the Croats and includes several contributions from scholars in Croatia.Please see Academy's web site: www.croatianacademy.org 
(Press Releases)

(Preamble to the Constitution of the Croatian Academy of America adopted April 19,1953 in New York City).

Inspired by the persistent desire of the Croatian Nation for its proper dignity before all men, realizing that no People can make a responsible contribution towards a peaceful and democratic world without being freely self-determined i.e. endowed with the right to choose its own sovereign state, recollecting that Croatian liberty has been frustrated for centuries because of tyranny from without and within, conscious that the denial of freedom at home often requires the conservation of the national genius abroad, mindful that the friendly guardianship of the just aspirations of men has always been the keynote of American hospitality, we herewith establish and constitute The Croatian Academy of America. 

The Annual Reception/Dinner was an extraordinary evening. Among a festive crowd that spanned three generations and Croats from three continents there were many new friendships formed.President Vedran Joseph Nazor welcomed guests and Academy members.Among distinguished guests were General Consul of the Republic of Croatia in New York Mr.Domagoj Kero,Academy's Honorary President For Life Mr.Karlo Mirth, Academy's President Emeritus Dr. Maria Krocker Tuskan and founding member of the AcademyMs.Vlasta-Cvitanovic Jantzi. Many congratulatory letters were received including one from the Croatian Fraternal Union in Pittsburhg,Pa. President Nazor thanked Croatian Radio Club-New York 
"Voice of Free Croatia" founded in 1969 and Radio Club's President Mr.Vinko Kuzina for its many years of support.He also recognized Academy's long serving (1994)Executive Secretary Mr.Mladen Lolic for his tireless work who also doubles as Circulation Manager.Academy is in excellent position with many young members taking on torch and carrying on the goals of the Academy.

The purpose for which the Academy is formed is: 

To educate the members and public generally concerning Croatian literature, culture and history by sponsoring lectures on these subjects and by procuring and causing to have published articles on these subjects in the organization's Journal of the Croatian Studies. 
To receive voluntary contributions from members and donors and gifts from benefactors to be used and applied of, the aforesaid educational purpose. 

In his speech Nazor touched on the close cooperation Academy has with Academic institutions in Croatia.Last issues of the Journal of Croatian Studies have seen many contributions from scholars in Croatia.He also thanked Tuskan Endowment Fund for its contributions in publishing Journal of Croatian Studies. The audience was spellbound during Karlo Mirth's speech that touched upon early days of the Academy.Mr.Mirth who is the managing editor of the Journal of Croatian Studies invited all to get involved in the work of the Academy.Since 1960 Academy has published 41 Volumes with Journal of the Croatian studies Volume 42 to be published by the end of the year.

In his concluding remarks President Nazor reminded all of the Academy's Fiftieth Year Gala Anniversary Celebration on April 26,2003 in New York City.

Submitted by Vedran Joseph Nazor-N.Y. N.Y. 
vnazor@yahoo.com 

Digital Library

Dear Nenad,
Here are some links that you might want to check out. They'll give you an overview of some of the projects going on right now in digital libraries. One of the really interesting things about the library community is that it is both very conservative and very radical at the same time. Conservative, because it is organized around very traditional values: preserving intellectual and cultural knowledge. Radical, because the community is committed to the open access of information. The library community shares everything it learns and develops among its members. It operates for the most part in a non-profit, non-competitive framework, even though there are a lot of problems in libraries, mainly having to do with funding.

One of the organizers of the Libraries in the Digital Age Conference, Tatjana Aparac. is going to be in the U.S in mid-November for a few weeks at a conference and giving presentations. 

All my best,
Marta 

http://pirate.shu.edu/~deyrupma       

Projects
National Digital Library Project
http://www.dli2.nsf.gov/ 
An ambitious project, funded by the U.S. government to digitize major library collections in the United States and to create new kinds of tools for organizing, retrieving, displaying Web materials. In its second phase.

American Council of Learned Societies E-book project
http://www.historyebook.org/intro.html 
Collaboration among scholars, publishers and librarians to put online important books of historical scholarship. Funded by the Mellon Foundation

European Union Library Projects
http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/nov00/raitt.htm 
Description of digital library projects that have or will be completed in Europe

Journals
Two online magazines focused on digital libraries. You can get a sense of what kind of issues IT researchers/librarians are involved in

Ariadne from the UK
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/ 

Dlib from the US
http://www.dlib.org 

Organizations
American Library Association 
http://www.ala.org/work/alaction2005.html 
The organization's goals for the next 3 years

Knjiznicarstvo I informacijske znanosti 
http://knjiznica.irb.hr/hrv/znanost/knjiznicarstvo/index.html 
Information about Croatian LIS activities

Op-ed

Digital library is one of the main future goals ofCROWN. 

"Knjiski moljac"  is term that disappeared.Librarians are on the cutting edge of today's technology and progress. Veryimpressive.

NB

Hrvatski Dom u Washingtonu

PRVI OD NIZA KONCERATA HRVATSKE GLAZBENE BAŠTINE U WASHINGTONU
HNA
HR-US-SAD-HRVATSKA-Umjetnost/kultura/zabava

WASHINGTON, 27. listopada (Hina) - U crkvi Naše Gospe od pobjede u
Washingtonu u subotu navečer održan je prvi u nizu koncerata klasične
glazbe iz ciklusa Hrvatska glazbena baština, a nastupio je mladi osječki
gitarist Branimir Krstič.

Uz tri svoje skladbe od kojih je jedna, "Sova koja sjedi", prvi put
javno izvedena, Krstič je svirao neka od poznatijih gitarističkih djela
starih majstora. Mladi Osječan sada živi i glazbeno se usavršava u Baltimoreu u saveznojdržavi Maryland. Sav prihod od koncerta namijenjen je fondu za izgradnju Hrvatske kuče uglavnom gradu SAD. Zamisao je pokrenuta prije pola godine a cilj je stvoriti centar kojiče kulturnim, obrazovnim i poslovnim sadržajima okupiti i predstaviti hrvatsku zajednicu u Washingtonu i SAD, a ujedno biti i poveznica izmečuSAD i Hrvatske. Organizatori subotnjeg koncerta, Inicijativa za Hrvatsku kuču, Udrugabivših studenata zagrebačkog Sveučilišta i Hrvatska katolička župa sv.Blaža namjeravaju ove zime organizirati desetak koncerata na kojima če
predstaviti djela hrvatskih skladatelja i mlade hrvatske glazbenike koji
su na školovanju u SAD.

(Hina) fp sl


29.04.2002
HRVATSKA-SAD - US

POTICAJ ZA OTVARANJE "HRVATSKE KUĆE" U WASHINGTONU
WASHINGTON, 29. travnja (Hina) - Dvjestotinjak američkih Hrvata došlo je u nedjelju u prostorije crkve Gospe od pobjede, koju koristi Hrvatska katolička župa Sv. Blaža u Washingtonu, na prvo okupljanje s kojeg je ukupni dobrovoljni prilog namijenjen otvaranju "Hrvatske kuće" u glavnom gradu SAD.
Ed Damich, predsjednik Odbora tog projekta, inače sudac američkog Suda za federalna potraživanja, objasnio je da se u Washingtonu želi otvoriti dom koji bi bio kulturno i poslovno središte američkih Hrvata. U njemu bi svoje radne prostore imale iseljeničke udruge, župa i kulturna društva. Zamišljeno je da u Hrvatskoj kući bude i smještajni prostor za posjetitelje iz Hrvatske ali i one iz raznih krajeva SAD koji dolaze u američku prijestolnicu. 
Dvadesetak članova Odbora odlučni su svoju zamisao što prije pretvoriti u zbilju. 
Projekt je dobro primljen i među Hrvatima u drugim dijelovima SAD pa su nedjeljnoj svečanosti nazočili i posjetitelji iz Kansas Cityja i Pennsylvanije. 
Za dobar zalogaj, koji je goste sjetio na zemlju podrijetla pobrinuo se uvaženi majstor-kuhar Ivo Svirčić. 
U prigodnom programu nastupili su i članovi jednog od najstarijih kulturnih društava Hrvata u SAD, Kolo-kluba "Marjan" iz Steeltona u Pennsylvaniji. 
Među gostima su bili učenici i nastavnici osnovne škole Vladimir Nazor iz Virovitice koji će u ponedjeljak u Washingtonu primiti nagradu kao pobjednici obrazovnog natjecanja Svjetskog tjedna svemira. 
(Hina) fp am 

14.05.2002
HRVATSKA-SAD - US
,HR

EDWARD DAMICH PREDSJEDNIK AMERIčKOG FEDERALNOG SUDA
WASHINGTON, 14. svibnja (Hina) - Edward Damich, sudac američkog Suda za federalna potraživanja imenovan je odlukom predsjednika Georgea W. Busha predsjednikom (Chief Justice) tog suda.Damichev izbor prethodno su glasovanjem podržali svi suci Suda za federalna potraživanja.Sudac Damich hrvatskog je podrijetla, rođen prije 53 godine u Pittsburghu. Njegovi roditelji, otac John i majka Josephine rođena Lovrenčić, omogućili su mu školovanje na tamošnjem Katoličkom sveučilištu a pravo je doktorirao na Sveučilištu Columbija u New Yorku. 
Za suca Suda za federalna potraživanja imenovan je u siječnju 1999. godine na mandat od 15 godina kao prvi i jedini pripadnik hrvatske zajednice u SAD na tako visokoj sudbenoj dužnosti. Sud za federalna potraživanja jedan je od četiri savezna američka suda neposredno podređen Vrhovnom sudu SAD. 
Damich je bio savjetnik u senatskom Odboru za pravosuđe, član američkog izaslanstva pri Svjetskoj organizaciji za intelektualno vlasništvo (WIPO), sveučilišni profesor i prvi predsjednik Nacionalne federacije američkih Hrvata (NFCA). Odnedavno je predsjednik Odbora projekta "Hrvatska kuća" čiji je cilj da se u Washingtonu otvori dom koji bi bio kulturno i poslovno središte američkih Hrvata. 
(Hina) fp maš 


23.05.2002
SAD-HRVATSKA - US

MARUNA: HRVATSKA KULTURA SE MORA PREDSTAVITI U WASHINGTONU
WASHINGTON, 23. svibnja (Hina) - Zbog značenja koje SAD ima u suvremenom svijetu, važno je da Hrvatska bude predstavljena u Washingtonu, kazao je u srijedu navečer u susretu s hrvatskim iseljenicima u američkoj prijestolnici predsjednik Hrvatske matice iseljenika Boris Maruna. 
"Nesumnjivo je da su Sjedinjene države velevlast pa u Washingtonu kao sjedištu te velevlasti treba biti predstavljena hrvatska kultura i tradicija", rekao je Maruna. 
Govorio je o želji Matice da se stvori prostor u kojem bi se mogli predstaviti različiti sadržaji, od škole jezika i knjižnice do likovnog i glazbenog stvaralaštva. Smatra da tu instituciju valja voditi profesionalno, što je jamstvo njezina uspješna rada, iako i ograničavajući čimbenik jer znači nemale troškove. 
Zamisao skupine ovdašnjih Hrvata o otvaranju Hrvatske kuće u Washingtonu i planova Hrvatska matica iseljenika ponešto se razlikuju, jer hrvatska zajednica želi prostor za komercijalne, poslovne i kulturne sadržaje, u kojem će moći raditi i katolička župa.HMI je, kaže Maruna, spreman darovati knjižnicu i pomoći opremanje Hrvatske kuće, a predlaže da se na ostvarenju zamisli angažiraju iseljenici iz svih dijelova SAD i drugih zemalja jer drži da je malobrojna zajednica u Washingtonu neće moći ostvariti samostalno.Maruna je prije dolaska u Washington boravio u Kanadi gdje je bio gost na folklornom festivalu kanadskih Hrvata u Torontu, te nazočio otvaranju likovne izložbe u hrvatskom veleposlanstvu u Ottawi. S vodstvom Kanadsko-hrvatskog folklornog saveza dogovorio je da se njihov folklorni festival 2004. godine održi u Hrvatskoj. 
(Hina) fp dl 

Danica Ramljak ramljakd@georgetown.edu 

Doplatne marke Republike Hrvatske 
Charity stamps of the Republic of Croatia 

http://www.inet.hr/~bepervan/index.html 

Matijevic ready to help build tennis success

Matijevic reached the singles' semifinals

By Gary Livingston
October 23, 2002 


When Texas A&M sophomore men's tennis player Ante Matijevic first stepped foot on American soil in January 2002, he wasn't sure what to expect. The sophomore had lived his entire life in Croatia, and to continue his dream of playing tennis, he came to the United States. 

"It was really exciting the first three weeks," Matijevic said. "Everything was so big it was unbelievable. People are so nice, I didn't expect people to say 'hi' to strangers, that would never happen in Croatia." 

There is also an appealing aspect of college life which Matijevic hasn't mastered yet.

"I'm single because it's so tough to date," Matijevic said. "The girls here are very pretty and very nice."

While still learning U.S. culture, Matijevic has had no problems on the tennis court. He was named the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year last season, and has shown signs of improvement this season by advancing to two semifinals in consecutive tournaments. 

Two weeks ago at the ITA All-American Championships in Tennessee, Matijevic teamed up with sophomore Lester Cook and the duo had the best performance by an A&M doubles team ever by advancing to the semifinals. The duo is currently ranked No. 14 in the nation. 

This past weekend, Matijevic reached the singles' semifinals at the Midland Invitational, eventually losing to the tournament's No. 1 seed Toni Gordon.

"I have been really pleased with Ante's performance," said A&M men's tennis head coach Tim Cass. "He had the best record for us in the spring. He has a 4.0 GPA, he has really embraced A&M, and he has great maturity for an 18-year old."

Part of that maturity could be attributed to the environment in which Matijevic grew up in. He grew up in a life most Aggies could never imagine. For years his country was torn apart by the wars in Bosnia. Some of the fighting took place only 30 miles from his town, and the Serbs attacked his small town of Split on one occasion.

"I was young so I don't remember too much," Matijevic says. "The war was close to my town, so school was closed down on some days. I remember crying when my father left because he was a doctor and was involved in the war. But, things are getting better, and the economy is stable."

Since he picked up a tennis racket at the age of eight, Matijevic has grown to love the game of tennis. His parents didn't play, but he watched matches on TV and got interested in the sport. The only problem was that after high school there wasn't much opportunity in his country. Matijevic said this is because people don't have a lot of money to support programs, and that conditions are bad.

Matijevic had to make a tough decision: should he stay with his family in Croatia, or pursue his dream of playing tennis? Matijevic chose the latter and began researching U.S. college programs. He wanted to play for a good team, and noticed A&M was ranked in the top five at the time, so he wrote a letter to Cass.

Cass first found out about Matijevic through the internet because Tres Davis, who played for A&M at that time, had competed against Matijevic. Through some talking and luck, Matijevic came to A&M. Even though he said he is having fun here, Matijevic still misses his family.

"We talk everyday by e-mail, and at least once a week by phone," Matijevic said. "I got to see them this past summer, and I'm going home for Christmas."

Matijevic has learned to embrace the U.S. way of life. He goes out with the team every once and a while, he likes to drink coffee, and says he has attempted to dance but is not that good. He has become good friends with A&M basketball player Tomas Ress who also hails from Europe. His teammates joke around with him by calling him Arnold because he sounds like the action movie star. 

Matijevic has some big goals for himself and the A&M program this season. He wants to be one of the top ranked players and wants to win a team championship while he is at A&M. 

Cass said Matijevic has already shown a great work ethic and his confidence is going to lead him to be great player.

http://www.thebatt.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/10/23/3db6654d346f2 

5 Arguments against the British Foreign Office

www.antegotovina.com 

23.10.2002

Mr. Gallagher`s Commentary : 5 Arguments against
British Foreign Office

Britain has suspended ratification of the Croatia - EU
SAA agreement and postponed a trip by Prince Andrew to
Croatia, demanding that Croatia hand over General
Bobetko. This is all utterly hypocritical and I am
surprised that Croatia has been so lenient on the
matter. A couple of British news reports have followed
the British Foreign Office (FO) line, talking up the
possibility of international sanctions. Fortunately
both the EU and the United States appear not to be
taking action, leaving Britain isolated on the matter.

Being British, perhaps I can give some advice on how
to ensure Britain`s position remains uninfluential. I
have assembled 5 arguments Croatian politicians,
media, institutions and its people should use:

1. Britain is being hypocritical because it is not
proposing any sanctions against Serbia, a country that
does not, unlike Croatia, bother co-operating at all
with The Hague. Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte
has demanded Serbia hand over Ratko Mladic, whom she
claims is being protected by the Yugoslavia military. 
Eleven indictees roam freely in Serbia. The Hague
Tribunal President has just reported Yugoslavia for
non-co-operation to the United Nations Security
Council. Britain is effectively protecting people
such as Ratko Mladic by drawing attention away from
Serbia and onto Croatia. 

The question must be asked again and again: Why no
British sanctions against Serbia?

2. If Britain is demanding that Croatia hands people
over to The Hague, why do no t British military forces
in Bosnia-Herzegovina immediately arrest all indictees
still at large such as Radovan Karadzic? Why is
Croatia expected to arrest indictees but not Britain?

3. Britain is not impartial. The British FO supported
the Serbs throughout the war, maintaining the arms
embargo that allowed atrocities such as Vukovar and
Srebrenica to occur. It is in the FO`s interest that
the Croatia Chief of Staff ends up in The Hague so
that they can claim they were right all along. They
claimed that "all sides were equally guilty". What
better way of `proving` this than the indictment of
the former Croatian chief of staff? Britain is not
impartial and its sanctions should cease.

4. The Hague Tribunal has assembled a Council of
Appeals to hear Croatia`s case. Britain is in fact
interfering with a legal process.

5. Croatia should demand an apology from Britain for
its behaviors during the war. Croatia won`t get it,
but it should help put Britain on the back foot.

The British FO is not popular in Britain; just
recently a foreign minister has had to apologise for
British diplomat`s "lack of co-ordination" in support
to families of British victims of the terrorist
bombing in Bali. Furthermore, the British people
despise hypocrisy. If the above arguments are used
strongly and repeatedly, Britain`s position may look
untenable, and the FO may face criticism from British
voices.

All Croatian officials dealing with Britain should
immediately read the recent British book by Brendan
Simms, "Unfinest Hour: Britain and the destruction of
Bosni a". This book sold very well in Britain and had
many favourable reviews. It describes Britains
appalling pro-Serb role in the war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. In particular, Simms describes the
shocking role of the FO in the whole business. The
book`s favourable reception attests to the decency of
many British people. 


The indictments against Bobetko and Gotovina are very
much in the FO` s interest - they can use them to say
critics like Simms and others such as Margaret
Thatcher were wrong. The FO will say that the Croat
chief of staff was a war criminal and Operation Storm
was nothing more than an `ethnic cleansing` exercise.

The whole business has served a useful purpose
however; it demonstrates that British policy is
precisely the same as in 1991 - pro-Serb. Brendan
Simms points out that many in the higher echelons of
the FO are still pro-Serb. Only the naďve and
politically motivated believe past British criticism
of Croatia has had anything to do with the quality of
Croatian democracy.

The British FO is not sparing Croatia criticism;
Croatia should respond in the same way.

Brian Gallagher

Convicted by a Croatiancourt and arrested in the USA

Refugee to fight return to Croatia
By The Associated Press


SIOUX FALLS  A Croatian Serb refugee arrested in Sioux Falls on a warrant accusing him of war crimes will fight deportation, his lawyer says.

"He is completely innocent," Dusan Vucicevic, a lawyer for Mitar Arambasic, said. "He was tried in absentia. Courts of the United States should not give it any credence."

Arambasic was convicted by a Croatian court that relied on testimony from another Serbian prisoner who had been beaten and tortured, Vucicevic said.

He said he will argue Arambasic's case in Immigration Court in Bloomington, Minn., later this month.

U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service officials arrested Arambasic Sept. 5, when he tried to renew a work permit.

He had worked at Sioux Falls Transit for 11 months.

The renewal of the work permit triggered an extra check put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the INS said. Reports surfaced that Arambasic had been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The charges involved "being in the area when two police officers were killed" and looting, Vucicevic said. Arambasic was out of the region before his trial was held in 1997, the Illinois lawyer said.

Arambasic, his wife and two children entered the United States as refugees in 2000. His wife and children remain in Sioux Falls.

The Minneapolis branch of the INS has accused Arambasic of violating U.S. immigration law by failing to report his war-crime conviction when he entered the United States.

Vucicevic said Arambasic was convicted by a biased Croatian court. He said he will ask the immigration judge to release Arambasic and require the INS to investigate the objectivity of those proceedings before acting on deportation.

Mayor Dave Munson said he didn't know about the Arambasic case until he read about it in Sunday's Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

The INS "should have notified somebody," he said. "That's unfortunate. We should all be working together and informing each other. There's got to be a two-way communication on these things."