European Commission officials told negotiators from the EU candidate country in Brussels yesterday that the 'Buy Croatian' campaign discriminated against products from other countries, particularly as it was financed from state funds.

Croatia alters home-made goods drive for European Union
ZAGREB: Croatia modified a widespread advertising campaign promoting home-made goods today after the European Union said it was against its rules, giving Zagreb a taste of what compliance with the bloc is all about.

European Commission officials told negotiators from the EU candidate country in Brussels yesterday that the ''Buy Croatian'' campaign discriminated against products from other countries, particularly as it was financed from state funds.

Officials from Zagreb and Brussels were reviewing the chapter on free movement of goods, one of the 35 chapters Croatia has to complete to achieve compliance with EU legislation before joining the wealthy bloc.

Less than twenty-four hours later, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce said in a statement the campaign had been renamed to ''Produce and Buy Quality Products''.

''We have launched a second part of the campaign, to make consumers realise that only quality products are competitive. This part of the campaign will not be disputable for the EU,'' the Chamber's head Nadan Vidosevic said in the statement.

Vidosevic said earlier he was aware of acting contrary to EU norms. ''We know that, but before joining the EU we need to raise our consumers' awareness of the need to protect our products,'' he told the Jutarnji List daily today.

Croatia, which gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, started EU membership talks in October. It hopes to complete them in time to join in 2009, although observers believe 2010 or 2011 is more realistic.

http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=88671

Op-ed

European countries had 200 years of developing 'buy German, Italian..etc' slogans and products. We didn't. So, what is the real problem? Are they afraid of word Croatian or is it buyout concept?

NB

Small Is Big in Men's Tennis, Where Swiss, Croatians Top U.S. Listen

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Switzerland's Roger Federer, the No. 1 player in men's tennis, comes from a country with fewer people than New York City. The sport's top team title, the Davis Cup, belongs to Croatia, a nation four years younger than second- ranked Rafael Nadal of Spain.

Small countries rule and traditional men's tennis powers such as the U.S. are struggling as the sport plays its first Grand Slam tournament of the year at the Australian Open.

Federer began the Open in Melbourne having won five of the eight majors over the past two years. Ivan Ljubicic may be playing the best tennis in the world after leading 15-year-old Croatia to the Davis Cup in December. Andy Roddick is the top American at No. 3 and hasn't won a Grand Slam tournament in three years.

``These smaller countries are concentrating on what they have, rather than having so much to select from,'' said Nick Bollettieri, who helped develop former top-ranked U.S. players such as Andre Agassi and Jim Courier. ``They can see what they have and give it enough financial support.''

Promising players can train at one place and are treated as an elite group with a strong support system, said Bollettieri, 74, who also worked with Grand Slam title record-holder Pete Sampras and 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova.

The U.S. Tennis Association spent $64 million on developing players in 2004, according to the group's most recent figures. Switzerland's governing body for tennis spent about 3 million Swiss francs ($2.34 million) on development last year, while Croatia's federation spent about $500,000.

"We're magicians,'' Marina Mihelic, executive director of the Croatian Tennis Association, said in a telephone interview.

New Champions

Federer, 24, became the first man from Switzerland, population 7.3 million, to win a Grand Slam title when he beat Mark Philippoussis of Australia at Wimbledon three years ago. Ljubicic's 11-match winning streak in the Davis Cup helped Croatia defeat 13-year-old Slovakia for the title.

Ljubicic ended last year ranked ninth after reaching finals in four of his last six events, winning two. He won the Chennai Open in India last month as the 2006 season began.

Nadal, Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain have won the French Open over the last eight years after another Spaniard, Sergi Bruguera, ended an 18-year winless Grand Slam spell among men for their country at the same tournament in 1993. Argentina has three players in the top 10.

``The writing's been on the wall,'' said Courier, 35, formerly No. 1 in the world with four Grand Slam titles. ``Tennis takes us all over the world. People aspire to be the players they see on TV, and that's where dreams come from.''

Croatian Boom

Croatia's interest in tennis boomed when Goran Ivanisevic beat Australia's Patrick Rafter in a five-set final at Wimbledon five years ago, said Micho Dushanovic, a former Croatian junior player who works as a tennis broadcaster for state-run HRTV.

Interest in the Davis Cup victory among Croatia's 4.4 million citizens might have surpassed that for the national soccer team's third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup, he added. The country's success in tennis may continue with players such as 17-year-old Marin Cilic, the world's top-ranked junior.

``After soccer, tennis is for sure No. 2 in popularity,'' Dushanovic, 54, said in a telephone interview. ``It wasn't like that in the past.''

Tennis officials say the shift from big to small hasn't affected marketing. The Association of Tennis Professionals spends $5 million on marketing every year, said Richard Davies, chief executive of the commercial wing of the men's tour.

``As a global sport, we can afford to have pockets of strength and relative evenness, without really affecting the total pie,'' Davies said in a telephone interview. ``Growth is never a bad thing.''

Sponsors

In November, the ATP signed a three-year contract extension with Daimler-Chrysler's Mercedes Benz, the German-based No. 2 luxury automaker and a chief partner.

``Most of the revenue for the tour has always come out of Europe,'' Davies said. ``America has never really dominated.''

The U.S. still needs to produce successful men's players to maintain American interest in the game, said Michael Stirling, founder of London-based Global Sponsors, which provides advice to companies on sponsorship strategies.

``It's important because it attracts youth and the investment required to maintain standards,'' Stirling said in a telephone interview. ``If you have a long period where you don't have a star, it'll be even harder to find one.''

Roddick, 23, ended 2003 ranked first and has failed to reach the semifinals at five of eight Grand Slams since. The 35- year-old Agassi, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, is the only other American in the top 15. He skipped the Australian Open with an ankle injury after losing to Federer in the U.S. Open final last September.

The bright spots for the U.S. include James Blake, who rebounded from a broken neck to make the top 25, and Robby Ginepri, who reached the U.S. Open semifinals in New York. He lost in the second-round of the Australian Open to 177th-ranked Denis Gremelmayr. Donald Young, 16, is second to Cilic in the junior rankings.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Ravi Ubha in London at rubha@bloomberg.net .

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=acmojJHJI6cY&refer=europe

Croatian refugees sent from Croatia to El Shat

I have a dear friend who was one of the many Croatian refugees sent from Croatia to El Shat, Egypt during WWII. She has photos and memorabilia from her time there, along with vivid recollections. She is deeply grateful for the care and comfort they were afforded in their years there.

She remembers that a Croatian-American, from Chicago, had visited the camp and filmed a documentary, and wondered if anyone out there might know what became of it. He was a radio broadcaster in Chicago and his surname was Marcan (Marchan) or something close to it.

Does anyone know whether a book was ever published on the subject of these years Croatians spent in El Shat. I find it fascinating and historically significant. I do know that a large memorial was erected in El Shat to mark this camp, but would like to find out more about any recorded history of it.

Thanks,
Nancy (Andjelich) Margraff
NancyM3292@aol.com

Mark Milovats

'Croatian King of Christmas'

www.markmilovats.com
 

Mark Milovats began his career as a pop standards crooner and has been expanding his musical variety with each passing year. He has a rich and powerful voice that has been compared to many of music greats. Mark has taken standards like "Mack the Knife' , "Fly me to the Moon', "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year' and "My Way' and given them a powerful new lift without straying too far from the originals. Mark has been compared by industry insiders to, Sinatra, Bennett, Connick and Andy Williams. He is versatile. He engages his live show audiences with song, dance, and laughter. Mark is a true showman. He can go from "Oh Holy Night" to "Luck be a Lady' and then to "Zorba the Greek' as one of the featured dancers. His shows are a delight to see.

Mark has appeared on television, radio and in print campaigns. He alsohas been the MC for beauty pageants like Miss Indiana, corporate awards shows and many more. Mark has performed with country music legends like Boots Randolph, ('Yakity Sax' ... 'Benny Hill') Rascal Flatts and has opened for Frank Sinatra, Engelbert Humperdink, Barry Manilow, Perry Como, as well as having numerous leading roles in Musicals.

Mark has been a repeat performer for Arnold Palmer and many other celebrities. He was the creator and producer of 7 Sold Out holiday shows to raise monies for the Children's Miracle Network and other Children's Hospitals.

WISH-FM's Chris Shovlin has called Mark the 'King of Christmas.'
US AIRWAYS / America West Airlines have used Mark's newest song 'You Got Me Thinkin' in one of their recent radio campaigns. USA3000 airlines has been featuring two of Mark's songs on their in flight music stations. He has been featured for the past 7 years on the NBC Thanksgiving Day Parade and is a producers dream.
Mark is the WHOLE PACKAGE! A class act who woos audiences of all ages.
Interested in booking Mark Milovats to entertain at your next event,
corporate function, or concert theatre please call MARKM Enterprises
Phone 412 372-2609

www.markmilovats.com

Croatia: Prospective Buyers Start Due Diligence Process on HVB Splitska

Italians selling Croatian bank HVB Splitska

14:26 - 18 January 2006 - Prospective buyers plan to start due diligence in Croatia's fifth largest bank HVB Splitska Banka next month. Italy's UniCredit, the owner of Splitska, contemplates of selling the bank in order to comply with the requirements imposed by the Croatian central bank thus avoiding a dominant position on the Croatian market. UniCredit, which owns Croatia's largest bank Zagrebacka as well, became Splitska's owner after a takeover of Germany's HVB. Unicredit is in the process of gathering names of potential buyers.
Some potential bidders could be Belgian banking group KBC, French Societe Generale, Polish PKO Bank, National Bank of Greece, Hungary's MKB and Austrian BAWAG.

http://www.reporter.gr/fulltext_eng.cfm?id=60118142633
 

Ivan Ljubicic represented Croatian tennis in superlative fashion and should be exceptionally proud of his achievement

IVAN LJUBICIC'S TRIUMPH DESPITE LOSS

By Jeff Lesser
 

For the second straight year, Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia’s #1 player and the 7th ranked player in the world, fell in the Australian Open to unseeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. While this would normally sound like a severe upset and a certain Grand Slam choke-job by the 6’4’’ Croat, this was anything but the case. Instead of losing in the second round, as he did last year, Ljubicic was defeated this time three rounds later— in the quarterfinals. It was an extremely impressive showing for the Croatian that will only bolster his confidence and success in the coming year.
Ljubicic broke through in the rankings during the latter portion of last year to become one of the top ten players in the world. This recent rise in rank left Ivan the highest-ranked player to have advanced past the third round in a Grand Slam in his entire career. In this year’s Australian Open, Ljubicic posted an extremely valiant effort, as he finally performed well in a major to reach the quarterfinals. In doing so, Ljubicic dispatched a formidable first round foe, hard-serving Australian Chris Guccione, in straight sets. In his first ever match in Rod Laver Arena, the main court at the Australian Open, he easily sent home Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. The third round pitted Ivan against 31st-ranked Feliciano Lopez, and Ivan played another great match, again winning impressively in straight sets. At this point, he had already had the best Grand Slam showing of his career, reaching the fourth round.

In the fourth round, Ljubicic played one of the greatest matches of his life, with a surprisingly-easy dismissal of the 10th-seeded 2002 champion, Sweden’s Thomas Johansson. Ivan had entered the quarterfinals of a major for the first time in his life and, in doing so, had not dropped a set. In the quarters, Ivan was set to face Marcos Baghdatis, who shockingly defeated second-seeded Andy Roddick in the fourth round. Baghdatis carried with him a versatile game, a large and vocal fan base, and enormous confidence.

The quarterfinal match began well for Baghdatis, as he took the first two sets with little resistance from Ljubicic. However, Ivan fought tremendously, and took the next two sets on the strength of solid play and more aggressive groundstrokes. The dedicated Croatian fans had much to cheer about, as the atmosphere was more like a Davis Cup rubber than a Grand Slam match. It appeared that Ljubicic had the momentum, the experience, and the crowd support to pull out the fifth-set victory and reach the semifinals. However, Baghdatis’ relentless play wore on Ljubicic and youth prevailed over age, as the 20-year-old Cypriot defeated a man six years his senior and 47 ranking spots his superior. Baghdatis ultimately won the match, 6-4 6-2 4-6 3-6 6-3. Ivan Ljubicic battled and put forth a more-than-respectable effort in not only pushing Baghdatis to the fifth set, but in reaching the quarterfinals in the first place.

Fans who see only the score will get an incorrect picture. They will see that the seventh seed lost to an unseeded player in the quarterfinals, getting outclassed in the fifth set. They will think that a player who has played fantastic tennis in the past half year simply choked in the quarterfinals of a major tournament. However, those familiar to Ivan Ljubicic and his past trials and tribulations know what a success story this is. Ivan Ljubicic finally broke through in a major. He put up such a valiant struggle in the quarterfinals that he almost pulled off a comeback from being down two-sets-to-none.

Ivan Ljubicic built off of his Davis Cup recent ATP tournament success to put together the greatest Grand Slam showing of his career. This performance will only add to his confidence and game. Fans should expect only bigger and better things from Ivan, as he will use this quarterfinal appearance to achieve greater feats. With a successful Grand Slam under his belt, Ivan Ljubicic has solidified his position at the top of the tennis game. In reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Ivan Ljubicic represented Croatian tennis in superlative fashion and should be exceptionally proud of his achievement.

US Men's Figure Skating Champ Johnny Weir Skates to Croatian Music

Johnny Weir won the 2006 US Men's Figure Skating Championship in St. Louis, MO., this past Saturday, January 14, 2006. For his long-form, free skating program, Weir skated to the music of Croatian painist Maksim Mrvica (the songs used are "Amazonic", Hana's Eyes" and "Wonderland").
Weir was the US 2004 and 2005 champion and is a top contender to win a medal at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

Blanka Vlasic of Croatia celebrates her victory

Blanka Vlasic of Croatia celebrates her victory in the High Jump event at the Russian Winter Indoor Athletics meeting in Moscow January 25, 2006. Vlasic won with 2.00 metres. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor


Blanka Vlasic of Croatia competes in the High Jump event at the Russian Winter Indoor Athletics meeting in Moscow January 25, 2006. Vlasic won with 2.00 metres. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
 

Pen comes from Croatia

Antiques dealer Miroslav Tischler holds an original mechanical pencil and a bust of its inventor Slavoljub Penkala in Zagreb, Croatia, Wednesday Jan. 25, 2006. A Croatian museum on Wednesday displayed the world's first mechanical pencil, marking the 100th anniversary since a Croat invented the item that later became essential in everyday life around the world. (AP Photo/Filip Horvat)


Antiques dealer Miroslav Tischler holds a book on the original mechanical pencil and a bust of its inventor Slavoljub Penkala in Zagreb, Croatia, Wednesday Jan. 25, 2006. A Croatian museum on Wednesday displayed the world's first mechanical pencil, marking the 100th anniversary since a Croat invented the item that later became essential in everyday life around the world. (AP Photo/Filip Horvat)
 

U Hrvatskoj ne postoji mogucnost skolovanja u fotografiji
Struktura podrske talentiranima?

Postovani,

Moje je ime Danko Malek, i trenutno sam zaposlen kao ugovorni djelatnik za DoD.

Molio bih vas za pomoc, da me ako mozete uputite na pravu adresu ili link ili osobu koja bi mi mogla odgovoriti na pitanje - postoji li zaklada koja pomaze studiranje hrvatskih studenanta u inozemstvu?

Molim vas za trenutak da pojasnim situaciju:

Pisem Vam u zelji da pomognem jednom mojemu prijatelju, izvrsnom fotografu. Prije dosta vremena vodio sam mali foto klub gdje se Dario Andjal upisao kao ucenik 8 razreda osnovne skole. Zaljubivsi se u fotografiju, jos je tada, na nevjericu svih nas, govorio kako ce se upisati na fakultet fotografije u Pragu. Izvanredna motivacija pratila ga je tijekom daljeg skolovanja kao fotografa gdje je bio najbolji u klasi. Po
zavrsetku srednje skole, poceli su problemi, a to je da ga niti jedna institucija u Hrvatskoj nije htjela prepoznati kao buduceg fotografa, podsmjeh ga je pratio od ministarstva do lokalnih zajednica i nikakvu pomoc nije dobio, koliko je meni poznato, dosad, uprkos svim pismima preporuke njegovih dotadasnjih ucitelja.

U Hrvatskoj ne postoji mogucnost skolovanja u fotografiji, dalje od srednje skole te je stoga njegov san bio studiranje u Pragu. Dvije godine je zivio u Pragu o svom trosku i trosku svojih roditelja, ucio jezik i isao na predavanja otvorena za javnost, obje godine se prijavio na prijemne ispite i nije upisao godinu samo stoga sto je bio premlad, ne zbog manjka znanja ili umijeca. Prosle je godine u jesen je napokon upisao
FAMU ( http://www.amu.cz/?r_id=111  - www.famu.cz ). Njegovi roditelji su ga podrzavali cijelo ovo vrijeme, kao i sada, ali u ovom trenutku mu je stipendija neophodno potrebna kako bi zaista mogao zavrsiti ovaj fakultet. Nakon svega sto je ucinio, nitko vise ne sumnja da ce on u tome i uspjeti.

Dario je prvi student iz Hrvatske nakon 9 godina koji je uspio upisati ovaj fakultet, jedan od rijetkih ikad. Te se je godine primalo svega 2 studenta iz zemalja koje nisu clanice EU. Konkurencija za upis je svake godine ogromna posto je FAMU u svjetskom vrhu takvih institucija.

Velika mi je zelja da pomognem mom prijatelju kojega sam gledao jos kao dijete koje se zaljubljuje u fotografiju, gledao kako njegov talent nadmasuje samo njegova upornost i zajedno sam s njim osjetio sramotu kada su ga sve institucije u Republici Hrvatskoj odbile, niti ne pokusavsi pomoci mu, pocesto i ismijavajuci njegov san.

Vasa zaklada pomaze mladim ljudima da studiraju u Hrvatskoj, molim Vas za pomoc, uputite me na zakladu slicne vrste ali koja pomaze mladim Hrvatima da studiraju u inozemstvu. U Hrvatskoj ne postoji mogucnost skolovanja u fotografiji iznad razine srednje skole, ali ako ne budemo imali strucnjaka na tom polju, nece nikada ni biti. Hvala sto ste uzeli vremena da procitate ovo pismo i unaprijed zahvaljujem na svakoj informaciji koju mi mozete pruziti.

Danko Malek
DankoMalek@netscape.net
 

----
Sir / THIMC

My name is Danko Malek and I am an DoD contractor

I write you with an appeal for help concerning information about right address, web link or a person who can give me answer is there a scholarship fund that helps young Croatians in their studying abroad?

Please let me explain:

I am writing this e mail driven by wish to help one my friend, an excellent photographer. Quite a while ago, I was conducting a small photography club where a young boy named Dario Andjal joined when he was still in Junior school. He fell in love with photography and even then, his dream become studying photography in Prague, though none of us there believed that in that time. His determination was enormous,
and he finished all Photography High School grades as best in class. Problems started when he finished high school. Not a single institution in the Republic of Croatia did not find will to help him, or recognize a potential he had. On some occasions he was almost ridiculed and never taken seriously. Up to now, as I can tell, he received none help at all, despite all letters of recommendation from his previous teachers.

There is no institution in Croatia that can give education about photography above high school. Therefore, Dario's dream was to study photography in Prague. After high school, he lived in Prague for two years, learning language and attending classes open to public, all on his own and his parents' expense. Both years he tried to enter this faculty, FAMU, but both times he was declined because he was under age stated by faculty rules, not that he had lack of knowledge and performance. Last falls, he finally passed exams and became full time student of FAMU ( http://www.amu.cz/?r_id=111   - www.famu.cz ). All this time, as well as now, his parents were his only support and now he is in great need for a scholarship that can help him finish this college. After all he has done and shown, no one doubts he will finish it with high grades.

Dario is firs student that came from Croatia in FAMU in last 9 years, one of few ever. Year he entered as full time student, only two vacancies from countries outside of EU were open, and competitition was hard, as always is because FAMU is one of finest and most prestigious such institutions in the world.

My great wish is to help my friend, whom I watched as a child falling in love in photography, was there watching his talent being overcome only by his determination, and with him I felt ashamed when all institutions, from the Department of Culture and Education all the way down to City council turned him down, not even tried to help him and sometimes even ridiculing his dream.

Your scholarship fund helps young people to study in Croatia, but I ask you for help to point me in the right direction, a scholarship fund that helps young Croatians to study abroad. There is no possibility of education in photography above high school in The Republic of Croatia, and there never will be, unless we don't help our young people to gather education elsewhere.

Thank your for your time, and any information will be greatly appreciated.

Danko Malek
DankoMalek@netscape.net