Dvije Hrvatske

Hrvatsko-americka udruga (CAA) koja ne lobira u ime trenutne hrvatske vlade, vec za ocuvanje hrvatske bastine i za interese Hrvata diljem svijeta u Washingtonu nastavlja svoje lobisticko djelovanje. U petak,10. lipnja 2005. godine CAA, ogranak Illinois organizirao je javni skup u Hrvatskom kulturnom centru u Chicagu. Glavni i jedni govornik bio je Jeffrey Kuhner, kolumnista Washington Times. Jeffrey Kuhner poznat je po svome nemirnom stilu govora, a govorio je o danasnjem stanju u Hrvatskoj, problematici citave regije, o Bosni i Hercegovni, o "Grupi 100", o Hrvatsko-americkoj udruzi (CAA), i o ignoriranoj i do sada javnosti, nepoznatoj temi: "Dvije Hrvatske!"
Devet dana kasnije, 19. lipnja 2005, godine katolicki tjednik Glas Koncila objavio je izvaredno informativan komentar Ivana Miklenica pod naslovom: "Dvije Hrvatske!"Govor Jeffrey Kuhnera i komentar Ivana Miklenica nepobitno su
upozoravajuca ali i spasonosna Bozja zrcala istine za domovinske i iseljene Hrvate! Zasto je to tako? Odgovori leze u njihovim stajalistima, koji zasluzuju ogromnu javnu pozornost i reakciju domovinskih i iseljenih Hrvata, i na razumijevanju istih gledano kroz Biblijsku perspektivu
.
Govor Jeffrey Kuhnera
(Izvadeno iz konteksta govora)

Nakon sto je zavrsio svoj podulji govor u Hrvatskom kulturnom centru u Chicagu u petak, navecer 10. lipnja,
2005. godine (U dogovoru s Hrvatsko-americkom udrugom (CAA) ogranak Illinois dokumentirao sam svojom TV kamerom i ovaj jedinstven informativan dogadaj), gospodin Jeffrey Kuhner odgovarao je na pitanja nazocnih. U jednom trenutku udaljio sam se od moje TV kamere koja je i dalje snimala (sto ne cinim cesto) i iskoristio prigodu te se obratio Jeffrey Kuhneru: "Prije nekoliko dana u jednom intervju za Croatian Chronicle novine iz New Yorka izjavili ste slijedece:
"Mi Hrvati, misleci da postoji samo jedna Hrvatska, u velikoj smo zabludi.U stvarnosti postoje dvije Hrvatske, ona domovinska i ona iseljena! Molim vas objasnite nam sto mislite kada kazete da postoje dvije Hrvatske?"
"To sam izjavio prigodom ovogodisnjih CAA Hrvatskih dana na Capitol Hillu. Prvo, da kazem nekoliko rijeci o
Hrvatsko - americkoj udruzi (CAA). CAA-a je izvredno utjecajna lobisticka Hrvatska udruga u Washingtonu. Ja mogu slobodno kazati vama da se CAA-a sada pojavljuje, ne samo kao najefikasnija lobisticka Hrvatska- americka udruga, vec je CAA-a sada i daleko najefikasnija Hrvatska udruga u zastupanju Hrvatskih interesa u Washingtonu, a njezino efikasno djelovanje prepoznaje se danas i u domovini Hrvatskoj. Jednom rijecu, Hrvatsko-americka udruga (CAA) je veoma, veoma djelotvorna udruga!
Da objasnim sto sam mislio kazati kada sam rekao da postoje dvije Hrvatske! Ustvari, to sam rekao zahvaljujuci mome dobrom prijatelju Charlsu, novinaru koji pise za Washington Post. Nas dvoje cesto igramo sah, i ujedno razgovaramo o mnogim stvarima, kao i o politici. Znajuci da je ponosan Zidov, u jednom trenutku znatizeljno sam ga upitao; "Sto je ustvari tajna izvarednog uspjeha Zidovsko-americke zajednice lobirajuci za Izrael?" Bez razmisljanja odgovorio je: "Jeff, jedno morate razumijeti, mi Zidovi svijesni smo da ne postoji samo jedan Izrael, vec dva Izraela. Domovinski i iseljeni i rastrkani Izrael. Mi, Zidovi u dijaspori savjetujemo nase politicare u domovini o problemima Izraela. Ukoliko nas ignoriraju, mi u dijaspori ne dajemo im potporu. Zidovi su rastrkani po cijelome svijetu, to je cinjenica. U biti, mi Zidovi u dijaspori smo bez svoje drzave, ali uvijek nademo nacina da smo zajedno i da se organiziramo u velike zajednice, kao sto su ovdje u Americi i Kanadi. Osnovna razlika u lobiranju sastoji se u cinjenici, da kada mi Zidovi u Americi idemo u Izrael, otvoreno kazemo vodecim Izraelskim politicarima kako se radi ovdje u Americi i sto je javna i slobodna medija. Poznata je stvar da u posljednjih 15. godina Izraelska dijaspora odgovorna je za relativno uspjesnu ekonomiju Izraela. Izrael nije u ekonomskoj krizi! Izrael ima danas veoma zivu slobodnu trzisnu ekonomiju. Cinjenice su da postoje drugi Izrael i druga Irska. Isto tako postoji i druga Hrvatska, a to smo mi iseljeni Hrvati! Mi jesmo rastrkani po svijetu, u neku ruku predstavljamo narod bez drzave, ali mi imamo svoju domovinu Hrvatsku! I na kraju da odgovorim na postavljeno pitanje. Istina je, postoje dvije Hrvatske. Mi iseljeni Hrvati predstavljamo drugu Hrvatsku, Hrvatska koja odrzava san domovinske Hrvatske drzave na zivotu. Tijekom Domovinskog rata iseljena Hrvatska nije dala samo ogroman novac domovini, iseljena Hrvatska bila je lider i svajetovala je Domovinu i bila je kulturna i moralna potpora kada je najvise trebalo! Nasa uloga kao druge Hrvatska jest, podsjetiti prvu Hrvatsku, domovinu nasih predaka, sto je njena uloga, sto smo postigli i sto se moze postici u buducnosti!"

Komentar Ivana Mikulica: " Dvije Hrvatske"
(Izvadeno iz konteksta komentara)

19. lipnja 2005. godine "Glas Koncila" katolicki tjednik objavio je izvaredan komentar, vrijedan pozornosti svih Hrvata, Ivana Mikulica pod naslovom: "Dvije Hrvatske"! "Analizirajuci stvarnost hrvatskoga drustva, pomni promatrac lako dolazi do spoznaje o bezbrojnim protuslovljima, razlikama i paradoksima, kako u svakodenvnom ukupnom drustvenom zivotu tako i prakticnom ponasanju i razmisljanju hrvatskih gradana. Posve je razumljivo da je svako ljudsko drustvo osobito na nacionalnoj razini, vec po sebi dinamicno, bogato razlicitostima i, zahvaljujuci tome, i zanimljivo i puno izazova, zbog cega je pozeljan zivot u ljudskoj zajednici. No suvremeno hrvatsko drustvo ne odlikuje se samo uobicajenom dinamicnoscu i razlicitoscu, vec mu je svojstvena specificna visestruka podijelenost koja bi se mozda mogla svesti s jedne strane na one koji se snalaze pa zive relativno lagodno ne zaziruci od prodaje svega samo da bi njima sada bilo dobro, ne mareci da taj put vodi u propast hrvatske nacije, i s druge strane na one koji zive prizemljeni cesto veoma teski, tvrdi zivot koji jamci opstanak i donosi buducnost hrvatske nacije. Prva skupina mogla bi se oznaciti kao povlasteni borci za svoje osobne i grupne interese, a druga kao borci za opstanak, kako svoj tako i hrvatske nacije. Slicne podjele vjerojatno su poznate i u drugim nacionalnim drustvima, no u drugim drustvima te podjele nisu ni priblizno tako duboke ni tako jasno ocitovane kao u hrvatskom drustvu. Zbog tih drasticnih podjela u suveremenom hrvatskom drustvu moze se danas govoriti cak o dvije gotovo razlicite Hrvatske; povlastenoj Hrvatskoj i stvarnoj Hrvatskoj...
Razdjelnica izmedu te dvije Hrvatske ne ide ni po hrvatstvu, ni po politickoj opciji, ni po ekonomskom stanju, ni po vjerskoj pripadnosti, ni po stupnju obrazovanja, nego po (ne) opredijeljenosti za opce dobro. Samo stvarno opredijeljeni
za opce dobro promici covjecnost, boljitak hrvatskoga drustva, izgraduju buducnost hrvatske nacije i ucvrscuju hrvatski nacionalni identitet, otvoreni su za pravednu medunarodnu suradnju i jamac su bolje buducnosti drzave Hrvatske. Europske unije i citavoga covjecanstva. Vjernici su prvi pozvani sluziti opcemu dobru."

Zakljucak iz krscanske perspektive

Mi, Hrvati, mali smo narod. Ali nije tragedija biti brojcano malim narodom, nego je tragedija kada se taj mali narod medusobno dijeli i ne slaze. U Bozjoj rijeci, Bibilije pise: "Ako je u sebi neslozno, svako ce kraljestvo propasti. Nijedan
grad ili dom, ako je sam u sebi neslozan, nece opstati". (Matej 12,25) Ovo su za nas domovinske i iseljene Hrvate upozoravajuce, ali i spasonosne Bozje rijeci. Mi sami, pojedinacno moramo se mjenjati ili kako u Bibiliji pise:" Trebas se nanovo roditi" (Ivan 3,3) To je temelj! U protivnom mi cemo i dalje raditi kao smo radili i do sada, bez obzira na stupanj nase osobne inteligencije. Ja ovdje ne iznosim vlastito stajaliste, nego biblijsku perspektivu gledanja i razumijevanja. Mi mozemo ignorirati Sveto pismo i ne vjerovati Bozjoj rijeci, koja na nepokoljebljivom sigurnoscu stavlja istinu pred oci.
Mi mozemo ne vjerovati u Boga, nasega Gospodina Isusa Krista, ali to ne znaci da ON nepostoji!

Zvonimir B. Ranogajec
Krscanski TV producent
2537 Eastwood Avenue Evanston, Illinois USA
 

One of Tom Peric's favorite tools in running

his small business is a big wall calendar

Owners embrace calendars as essential business tools

By Joyce M. Rosenberg
Associated Press
Published June 27, 2005

NEW YORK -- One of Tom Peric's favorite tools in running his small business is a big wall calendar. It tells him at a glance what's coming up.

Other small-business owners swear by the more high-tech schedulers in their personal digital assistants. Either way, they're managing by the calendar--anticipating all the dates, deadlines and seasons critical to operating a successful business.

It might seem obvious that a business owner should pay close attention to the calendar, but many people have learned the hard way that a missed appointment or forgotten deadline can be painful and costly. Penalties for late tax returns and late payments are the most obvious, but customers and clients can be equally unforgiving.

"I have one client who actually charges me a stiff fee each day if I'm late when the deadline shows up," said Peric, president of Galileo Communications Inc., a Cherry Hill, N.J., publicity firm.

There's an even more important reason for managing by the calendar--doing so gives an owner a better handle on the business. Knowing what's on the calendar helps eliminate unpleasant surprises and provides a clearer picture of what's ahead.

Dominic Rubino, a small-business coach in Vancouver, said most of the owners he encounters don't use any sort of calendar.

"They can't manage themselves, and if you can't manage yourself, you can't manage others," he said, adding that owners who try to manage without a calendar "become reactive in their business."

Peric said his wall calendar helps him think in advance.

"I don't tend to think strategically when it comes to dates," he said, calling the calendar "a quick, visual way" to keep track of business.

Many owners focus on a calendar as a means of keeping on top of appointments and meetings. There are many other practical, seasonal and time-sensitive demands of running a business that deserve to put on a calendar.

There are two parts to managing by calendar. First you need to develop an awareness of your company's needs as you go through the year. The second part has to do with your choice of calendar.

Many owners have migrated from paper calendars to high-tech versions.

Microsoft's Outlook software includes a calendar that can be programmed with reminders of coming appointments, events and deadlines months ahead of time. For example, you could ask the calendar to remind you on Aug. 15 that your next estimated tax payment is due Sept. 15--which means you have a month to get the money together.

Other softwaremakers have calendars that can work alongside Outlook.

But high-tech calendars can be a necessity for companies with far-flung employees. At SchoolNet Inc., a New York-based company that provides technology solutions to schools, CEO Jonathan Harber said PDAs allow his sales force to check the company calendar.

"One of the biggest roles and responsibilities of my executive assistant is calendaring for the company," he said.

But even some owners who make a living in high-tech do it the old-fashioned way. Joe Kennedy, owner of ANT Computer Services in Los Angeles, relies on a paper Day-Timer.

"I have not been able to find any hand-held device or laptop to be as simple as an old book," he said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0506270118jun27,1,1111517.story?coll=chi-business-hed

(E) Tomislav S. Peric - Media Relations Expert
http://www.croatia.org/crown/oldphotos/5369.htm
 

Helen Jurisic: "I'm the proudest grandmother in the world today."

Bogut's in the big Bucks as No.1 pick
By Martin Blake
June 30, 2005

Cap that … Bogut after he was drafted as No.1
Photo: Reuters

He was always going to the NBA. It was just a matter of a number for Andrew Bogut, Australian basketball's latest and most famous export.

NBA commissioner David Stern stood before a lectern at Madison Square Garden in New York and read from a card: "With their first pick, the Milwaukee Bucks select Andrew Bogut."

With a hug for his father Michael and mother Ann, Bogut stepped into the sporting stratosphere. In the land of opportunity, someone jammed a Bucks cap on his head just before he shook hands with Stern, towering over the man who has presided over the game for some years. Welcome to the Big Time.

At the Lexus Centre in Melbourne, Collingwood's home territory, a crowd had gathered at the NBA's behest for breakfast and to watch the draft telecast on ESPN and see if the speculation about Bogut's being the No.1 selection would be correct. When it turned out to be so, his grandmother Helen Jurisic, who emigrated to Melbourne from Zagreb in Croatia 30 years ago, was handed the microphone.

"I think you deserve it," she told the 20-year-old, who was listening on a satellite hook-up from New York. "I'm the proudest grandmother in the world today."

AdvertisementBogut, 213 centimetres, is not the first Australian to reach the NBA. The likes of Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Chris Anstey and Luc Longley have done it before him, the latter winning three championships with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.

But Bogut is the first Australian to be the No.1 draft pick and as such becomes the hottest property in US basketball.

The sport in this country quickly claimed this as its little piece of history.

He will earn $US14.2 million ($19m) in his first three years with the Bucks, who missed the NBA play-offs this year. A new endorsement deal with Nike is likely to earn him another $US5m over five years, and his new agent said this week that Bogut would probably earn $US100m during his career.

Bogut intends buying "a house and a car" with his new-found wealth, and will fulfil another dream when he buys a Monaro back at home. He could afford something better, an interviewer suggested. "That's just for Australia," Bogut retorted.

His start has not been without a hitch or two. Earlier this week, finding himself the centre of pre- draft attention in New York, Bogut said he did not want to be compared with the likes of Longley, Gaze, Anstey or Heal, implying that he was better.

Yesterday Longley said he would advise Bogut to "pull his head in and get on with the job for a while before he starts mouthing off".

"My advice to Andrew Bogut would probably be that there's a good time for blowing your own horn, and that's when you've got the runs on the board, and that being drafted doesn't prove anything," Longley said.

"Now's when he proves himself. I'm sure he will."

Bogut yesterday backed down from his earlier comments: "I'm very disappointed in the way things were written," he said. "I definitely would not be up here without him [Andrew Gaze], Shane Heal, Luc Longley. It was certainly taken out of context and I want to apologise … it was not what I meant."

Two of his junior coaches at Dandenong, Daniel and Joe Ramanauskas, came along with a photo of one of his Rangers teams, Bogut in the middle wearing the No.10 on his jersey. Bogut has said that his omission from an under-16s team drove him to his success, a fact that the Ramanauskases (the brother and father of Essendon footballer Adam) wanted to clarify.

"I don't think he was ever cut," Daniel Ramanauskas said. "There was an abundance of tall kids and he got put into the second side. It was more for him to develop and play more minutes. At the time he might have thought it a kick in the guts, but look at him today. We're just so proud of the kid and to say we've had some minute part of the kid getting there, it's incredible."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/basketball/boguts-in-the-big-bucks-as-no1-pick/2005/06/29/1119724697051.html?oneclick=true
 

Edis Elkasevic

won the gold

Croatia's Edis Elkasevic competes in the men's shot put final at the XV Mediterranean Games in Almeria, southern Spain, July 2, 2005. Elkasevic won the gold medal with Spain's Manuel Martinez taking the silver and Bosnia Herzegovina's Hamza Alic bronze. REUTERS/Victor Fraile
Reuters - Jul 02 1:28 PM
 

I MISS COMMUNISM

July 12th - 16th @ 59E59 Theatre, New York City

BY INES WURTH AND MARK SOPER

LAST PERFORMANCES
before the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

July 12th, 13th, 14th @ 7 PM
July 15th, 16th @ 9:30 PM

59E59 Theatre
59th Street between Park and Madison Avenues
http://www.59e59.org/frameset.htm 
THIS IS A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE!

PLEASE COME AND MAKE A RESERVATION FIRST:

http://www.59e59.org/frameset.htm

We were completely sold out at our Los Angeles shows. Even at one of the shows we had 30 people over capacity, and had to send 20 people home, so please make a reservation.

SPREAD THE WORD OUT TO FRIENDS, IT'S THE LAST WEEK TO SEE THE SHOW IN THE US BEFORE IT HITS EDINBURGH! Thank you everyone for all your support. Ines

Andrew Bogut 4 Foundation to help underprivileged

Bucks sign Bogut to multiyear contract
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-02 16:33


MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks signed the NBA's No. 1 draft pick Andrew Bogut to a multiyear contract Friday. The 20-year-old Australian, who was college player of the year at Utah last season, will take part in the Bucks' summer camp workouts and play in the Minnesota Summer League July 15-19, general manager Larry Harris said.

"This is a dream come true for me," Bogut said. "I've worked extremely hard to get to this point and I'm honored to be a member of the Milwaukee Bucks organization."

The Bucks did not reveal the details of the contract for the 7-foot-1 center.

Although the exact figures won't be known until after the NBA's new collecting bargaining agreement is finalized, Bogut's agent David Bauman said he expects Bogut to get around $4.2 million in his first year, $4.55 million the second year and $4.85 million the third year.

The figure should go to about $6 million in the fourth year, the team's option year, he said, while a fifth-year qualifying offer would be 30 percent higher than the fourth, or $7.8 million.

Bogut has formed the Andrew Bogut 4 Foundation to help underprivileged youths in Australia, Croatia, Utah and Milwaukee. He is of Croatian descent and played college basketball at Utah.

Harris said the team expects "a long and promising career" for Bogut with the Bucks.  Bogut has said he's not afraid of the expectations he faces as he joins a team coming off its worst record (30-52) in nearly a decade.

Harris now will focus on re-signing top scorer Michael Redd and other free agents, and hiring a replacement for Terry Porter, the second-year coach who was fired last week.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-07/02/content_456564.htm

Croatia: Immorent to open EUR 45 M office building in Zagreb

16:55 - 01 July 2005 - Austrian leasing company Immorent, a unit of Erste Bank, will open a EUR 45 M (USD 54.5 M) office building in Zagreb next year. The centre, named Eurotower, is the first of its kind in Croatia and aims to meet the latest international office standards.

The 26-storey building will spread on 18,000 square metres. Immorent is currently in talks with potential clients. US firm IBM, Austrian life insurer Sparkassen Versicherung and the Finish Embassy in Croatia have already expressed interest in renting offices in the new building, head of Immorent Project Development Division Christian Farnleitner said. Immorent is building the Eurotower jointly with Croatian company Hidrocommerce. Immorent was set up in 1970 and is active in the fields of leasing, construction management consultancy and hotel business. The company entered the markets of Central and Eastern Europe in the mid-1990s.

http://www.reporter.gr/fulltext_eng.cfm?id=50701165516

Tomislav S. Peric’

Tomislav S. Peric’ is president of Galileo Communications Inc., a communications consulting firm that specializes in creating editorial products and initiating aggressive public relations campaigns on behalf of its clients.

Tom’s client list includes the largest developer of embedded software in the world, the 25th largest privately held company in the United States, the 12th largest investor-owned utility in the United States, the third largest business-to-business publisher in the United States, the Republic of Croatia, the largest architectural firm in Ohio, the most influential trade expert in Ohio and one of the nation’s top supply chain experts.

A Cleveland, Ohio native, Tom forged his editorial expertise with a decade-long stint as a senior reporter with American News Features Syndicate in Washington, D.C. Tom spent an additional seven years as a journalist in Northeast Ohio, serving as a business editor of a daily newspaper and holding various senior editorial positions on a variety of magazines, including senior editor at Cleveland Magazine. He helped launch editorial products in his areas of expertise for two Penton Media publications, one focusing on small business (Managing Small Business magazine) and the other on the HVACR industry (HVACR Distribution Business magazine). He has worked with the Greater Cleveland Growth Association and the Convention and Visitors Bureau on a variety of editorial and public relations projects.

He is the editor of the award-winning (in its first year) B2B Marketing Trends.
His 1994 article, The House of Martin, won an award as the best reported magazine feature in Ohio.
In the public relations field, he is known for obtaining remarkable results with his media relations campaigns. One client with a national practice had approximately $5,000 to $10,000 worth of media coverage annually before enlisting Tom’s assistance. In less than two years, his publicity program garnered the client more than $1.4 million in media coverage. In the process, he turned one of the company’s principals into the most published writer in his industry (excluding professional writers or columnists). He has also written advertising copy and speeches for various CEOs.

Tom was born of Croatian parents in a refugee camp in Europe and immigrated to the United States as a child. He opened his first business at 19. He sold it several years later and attended The American University in Washington, D.C., on several academic scholarships, including a Scripps-Howard National Journalism Scholarship. He studied communications and history as an undergraduate and international affairs as a graduate student.

Tom has extensive teaching experience as an instructor of writing and as a speaker on how the media works. He has taught at the University of Maryland, the University of Akron, Lakeland (Ohio) Community College and Camden County (New Jersey) College. Tom earned his Certified Toastmaster with Toastmasters and served as vice president of public relations for the oldest Toastmasters club in New Jersey.

He is the author of Wacky Days: How to Get Millions of $$$ in Free Publicity by Creating Your Own “Realâ€? Holiday & Other Tactics Used by Media Experts (Gregson & Lestrade).

In 1997 he started Galileo Communications Inc., which has offices in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Cleveland Ohio. Tom lives in Haddonfield, N.J., with his wife, Cheryl Federline, an international trade expert, formerly with a Fortune 200 company and the Greater Cleveland Growth Association where she served as deputy director of the World Trade Center. They have a son, Andrew, 11, who recently was the highest scoring 5th-grader in the New Jersey State Geography championship.

www.wackydays.com
Order a book: orders@wackydays.com
Telephone orders: toll free 1-866-WACKYDAYS (922-5932)

Op-ed:
The book is worth every penny. Buy it.
Nenad
 

This is the future of tourism in Croatia - Some things cannot be sold

Tourism: Tension between two visions
By Eric Jansson
Published: June 7 2005 09:38 | Last updated: June 7 2005 09:38

Croatia The boat drifted by one morning and lingered just offshore. On board, a Russian businessman - a magnate of some stature if not quite an oligarch - gazed coolly toward the land. His eyes settled on a bright yellow villa ornamented in Venetian gothic floral patterns, built in 1905 for a wealthy Italian family.

Days later, there was a knock on the door. The Russian wanted the villa and would pay €1m. “Noâ€? came the answer from Vjeko Martinko, the owner, who now enjoys telling this story.

A few days passed, and again the Russian’s assistant arrived with an offer, higher into the millions. “Noâ€? again.

Once more the man visited, raising his offer. Mr Martinko says he turned him down flatly, with some advice. “I’m sorry, but some things in life are priceless. Some things cannot be sold. This place is one such thing.â€?

Mr Martinko’s view of his private property, Villa Astra in the seaside retreat of Lovren, which he runs as a boutique hotel and gourmet restaurant, bears little resemblance to the view Croatia’s rulers once took of assets along the country’s splendid coastline.

Under Yugoslav Communist rule, prize coastal properties became gifts to Party loyalists - including those who once inhabited Villa Astra - while most of the shore became a playground for the proletariat. Crowds jammed into countless campsites and cement-block hotels. The state clung jealously to the land, as private owners like Mr Martinko now do, but it also cheapened it by opening it to all comers.

In the new era, tension between these competing visions - one of total exclusivity and one of total accessibility - defines the struggle for the future of Croatian tourism.

The stakes are high. Croatia attracted 9.8m foreign visitors last year. Tourism accounted for more than 20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), with receipts worth €5.7m attributed directly to the industry, according to state statistics.

The London-based World Travel and Tourism Council calls Croatia’s tourism market the fifth fastest-growing market in the world and predicts that tourism will account for 30 per cent of the country’s GDP by the year 2015.

To stay on track, Croatia must continue its balancing act, accommodating both high-end and low-end holidaymakers. For years, the former have holed up in grand hotels around Dubrovnik, while the latter make do in campsites and rooms-for-rent.

But critics add that the country must also plug an important hole in its market - the very-high end.

With its vast shoreline and more than 1,000 islands, Croatia possess ample space to provide super-rich guests - stars of business, sport and Hollywood - the privacy they require. But the country’s existing high-end hotels, mostly massive resorts and self-catering villas, cannot always do the job.

Such shortcomings drive the country’s wealthiest visitors on to the water, where they spend catered holidays on private holiday yachts, landing only occasionally in secluded harbours to stretch legs. Some of these, like the aspiring Russian buyer, later seek ways to buy their own exclusive properties.

Spotting a business opportunity, a small but growing number of entrepreneurs aim to fill this gap.

Among those tipped for success are Mr Martinko, with his Villa Astra and other properties near Lovren, and the Turkish proprietors of the Pucic Palace, the first luxury boutique hotel to open within Dubrovnik’s old walled city.

Benefiting from exclusivity and privacy, both options offer delights found at none of Croatia’s luxury mega-hotels, including the newly refurbished 139-room Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik, the Hilton Group’s first step into the market.

At the Pucic Palace, guests sip cocktails on a exquisite stone porch overlooking Dubrovnik’s famous tiled rooftops. Rather than inducing claustrophobia, as the sometimes-crowded walled city can do, the location provides a soothing escape even in the heart of the city. Soundproofed walls block out the noise of the walking streets below.

By contrast, Villa Astra, in the northern region of Istria, capitalises on a quiet location directly on the shore and exploits synergies with Mr Martinko’s other retreats, including a nearby hilltop farm. By a serene pool, guests eat sumptuous meals made of locally harvested ingredients - scampi, mussels, wild asparagus, strawberries and nettles.

“This is the future of tourism in Croatia,â€? Mr Martinko says.

He blasts both old-style mass tourism in Croatia and the tendency of today’s top-end guests to hide themselves away on hired yachts. Such tourism is “an industry with no human element.â€?

“There is so much capital floating around in the world, targeting Croatia. We must focus it on what is sustainable.â€?

Some of the world’s most exclusive boutique hoteliers aim to enter the market, among them Singapore-based Amanresorts International, whose only other effort in Europe to date operates in Courchevel, France.

With new entrants like these, Croatia’s image could soon change for the better.

http://www.znanost.org/~hmestric/ft/ft6.html
 

Cro Cop Mirko KOs Magomedov!

Mirko ended his 20th MMA bout in a brilliant way, by a 1st round KO win over Ibragim Magomedov. From the start of the fight Mirko was the one in control and it was obvious that the fight won't be too long.

Mirko was superior in stand-up as expected, he landed some solid left straight punches, but the fight was decided by Mirko's middle-kicks. Two of them landed very hard and after the 2nd one Ibragim was unable to continue the fight.

A very impressive win for Mirko and now we can definitely say: "Fedor, you're next!"

http://www.mirko-crocop.com/

From Dream Stage Entertainment
June 9, 2005
TOKYO, Japan –
Two more non-tournament bouts have been announced for PRIDE FIGHTING’S next event, CRITICAL COUNTDOWN 2005. In the first bout, Mirko “Cro Copâ€? Filipovic will take on Russia’s Ibragim Magomedov and in the second Judo Olympic gold-medallist Makoto Takimoto will take on Japanese star Kiyoshi Tamura. Previously announced non-tournament bouts include Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira of the Brazilian Top Team versus Poland’s 1996 Judo Olympic gold-medallist, Pawel Nastula and Russia’s Sergei Kharitonov versus veteran heavyweight, Pedro “The Rockâ€? Rizzo of Brazil.

http://www.cagewarriors.com/page.asp?ID=1056

ULTIMATE FIGHT: MIRKO FILIPOVIĆ SREDIO I MAGOMEDOVA, POTVRĐENA BORBA ZA NASLOV S FEDOROM U KOLOVOZU
26.06.2005

Hrvatski majstor borilačkih vjeĹĄtina Mirko Filipović danas je u tokijskoj Saitama Areni u dvoboju ultimate fighta pobijedio Rusa Ibragima Magomedova.

Meč je odlučen u prvoj rundi, nakon ĹĄto je Filipović lijevom nogom pogodio Magomedova u rebra. Magomedov je posrnuo na tlo i meč je prekinut.

Filipoviću je to 16. pobjeda u karijeri u ultimate figthu.

Magomedov je u dosadaĹĄnjoj karijeri ostvario 12 pobjeda i dva poraza, a dolazi iz momčadi svjetskoga prvaka u teĹĄkoj kategoriji po Pride verziji, Fedora Emelianenka. Upravo bi Emelianenko trebao biti sljedeći Filipovićev protivnik. Meč za naslov svjetskoga prvaka trebao bi se odrĹžati 28. kolovoza ove godine.

Odmah nakon meča Filipović je u ring pozvao Emelianenka, koji je obećao da će se suprostaviti hrvatskom borcu 28. kolovoza u borbi za naslov svjetskog prvaka.

Hina/HRTweb sport (kd)

Source: http://sport.hrt.hr/htvsport/default.asp

Contact:
SLAVEN VUJIC, CroCop's PR
slaven@mirko-crocop.com