Thursday, 20 May 2010

CACF raises over $150,000 at 8th Annual Golf Outing/Awards Dinner

PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT – John Peros (917) 974-2271 orjperos@croatiancharities.com

May 17^th 2010

CACF raises over $150,000 at 8^th Annual Golf Outing/Awards Dinner

On May 17^th, 2010 the Croatian American Charitable Foundation held its 8^thAnnual Charity Golf Outing and Awards Dinner at North Hills Country and Cherry Valley Club in Long Island, New York. Over 230 golfers and 60 companies help raise money to help the American Cancer Society, Doctors Without Borders, The Cam Neely Foundation and Croatian Mine Action Centre.

“It was our most success fundraising event ever”, said Tomislav Nogalo, President of the CACF. “We are so grateful to have such a loyal group of people, sponsors and companies that participate in this event every year.”

Considered to be one of the most successful Croatian based charities in North America, The CACF has, since 2003, donated over $750,000 to various charities throughout the world but has paid particular attention to the demining of Croatia. “Our golf outing has become an international event, with Croatians around the world joining in the festivities”, said David Rosini, board member of the CACF

Some of the special guests this year included soccer legend Davor Suker, President of the Istria Region of Croatia Mr. Ivan Jakovcic and Croatian Consul General of New York Mr. Marijan Grubic. Two days prior to the outing Mr. Suker held a “Mini Clinic” for charity, with all proceeds benefitting the CACF. The event, held at the NYIT school in Westbury, was a tremendous success.

AUCTION AND RAFFLE A ROUSING SUCCESS

With donated items from New York Giants All-Pro Offensive Tackle David Diehl, IDC/Johns Manville and Davor Suker, the CACF was able to raise an additional $10,000 through a lively and entertaining auction that evening. Some of the items auctioned off were an all expense paid trip to see the New York Jets/Denver Broncos NFL game on October 17^th, signed football and jersey from David Diehl and two signed National team jersey’s from Davor Suker. Over 50 items were raffled that evening, including items donated by the New Jersey Nets of the NBA, New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer and the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse. New York City restaurants Arno, Murano and Triomphe also donated all inclusive dinner packages as well.

EMOTIONS RUN HIGH

The event hit an emotional peak during the presentation of checks to each of the charities when Matthew Sikeric came up to accept the donation to the Cam Neely Foundation. Matthew’s brother, Joey, passed away due to brain cancer the previous year. This tragic event inspired the CACF to start donating to the Cam Neely Foundation on behalf of Joey Sikeric. “It was a difficult and emotional moment for us all when Matthew came up to accept our donation”, said Tom Nogalo. “The time and effort put in by our volunteers and committee to make this happen really hits home when moments like this occur. It makes all of realize why we make the effort.”

Wednesday, 19 May 2010

Croatian train excellent product by Koncar - CROWN

Croatian train excellent product by KONCAR - Electric Vehicles Inc

Croatia is one among only six countries in Europe producing their own trains. The new Croatian train produced by KONCAR - Electric Vehicles Inc offers the state of the art concept, excellent design, air-condition, ergonomic seats and panoramic glazing enabling a comfortable drive.

Tuesday, 18 May 2010

To Long Beach Press-Telegram - by Jerry Blaskovich

George Bush's Foreign Policy Was Nothing to Write Home About
Long Beach Press-Telegram
Long Beach, California
March 28, 1993

Although some political pundits praised George Bush's foreign policy, it was no better than his domestic policies that cost him the election.

President Bush inherited the final chapter of the fall of communism that Ronald Reagan had set in motion. But Bush did not know what to do with it. Foreign policy lies in preventing war and Bush failed in Iraq and former Yugoslavia.

The parallels between Iraq and former Yugoslavia are remarkable. A week before Iraq invaded Kuwait, U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie assured Saddam Hussein that the United States had no opinion on Iraq's border dispute with Kuwait, and implied the United States would not interfere. Secretary of State James A. Baker told Belgrade the United States had "no position" on Yugoslavia's border disputes and Yugoslavia should use "all means possible to preserve the stability of the country". The Serb military took his statements as tacit approval that a Serb-controlled Yugoslavia was a key to stability. Interestingly, Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic have survived Bush.

Since the end of World War II, the linchpin in U.S. policy was to contain communism, encourage self-determination and champion human rights. Bush abandoned these tenets in Russia, the very country for which these policies were specifically formulated, and in Yugoslavia. But in Yugoslavia, Bush, seemingly unable to comprehend "realpolitik", continued his policy of status quo, snubbed Boris Yeltsin, supported Mikhael Gorbachev, and most importantly, the survival of the communist Soviet Union.

The unexpected fall of the Berlin Wall was the seminal event that reversed fear of the Russian monolith into euphoria and bravado. Believing what the United States verbalized, all of the former captive nations, without exception, looked to Washington for approval and guidance in their self-determination efforts. However, they were rudely awakened with U.S. realpolitik.

What transpired in Yugoslavia's is a microcosm of a rude awakening. Bush ignored highly credible CIA warnings in 1990 that Yugoslavia would break up spontaneously within 18 months into a violent civil war. The Bush administration threw its diplomatic weight against the idea of independence of any of the Yugoslav republics in the mistaken concerns that succession and nationalism would become contagious and destabilize the Soviet Union. Yet Bush's proponents claims he deserves praise for seizing the opportunity to promote democracy in the void created by the collapse of Soviet communism.

Bush reverted to Henry Kissinger's theses that status quo is the key to stability, which was in sharp contrast to Reagan's approach of a clear priority to self-determination and human rights. In December 1991 Bush reiterated that states should neither be created nor destroyed. Condemning "suicidal nationalism," he begged Ukrainians to remain in the Soviet Union and stick with reliable Gorbachev.

Following Secretary of State James Baker's Belgrade's speech, Serbs forces unleashed their attack on the republics that opted for self-determination. Heeding his advisers, the Bush administration consistently blamed the war on Croatia.

It is noteworthy that before being named advisers, Lawrence Eagleburger and General Brent Scowcroft were principles and served on the board of Kissinger and Associates, whose major clients included Yugoslav government-owned industries and banks. When Eagleburger went back to the State Department as deputy secretary he received $1.14 million in severance pay from his former employer.

Bush remained aloof about the Balkan crisis until presidential candidate Bill Clinton called for armed protection of relief operations. Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater labeled Clinton's idea "reckless," but a few days later the administration came out with basically the same statement

Bush dismissed the Bosnian horror as a "hiccup" one month after the United Nations Commission for Refugees said the conflict resulted in 2.2 million refugees. Not until Bush lost the election did the administration start to make statesmanship like noises. It was a little too late for millions of refugees, the wounded and the countless dead.

President Clinton certainly did not inherit a silver spoon. Facing a multitude of problems - domestic and foreign - in his first real test he did not implicitly bow to Lord Owen's pressure. Rather, he appears to have stepped outside of U.N. guidelines and is in the process of implementing strong economic sanctions against Yugoslavia. Clinton wants the United States to take a more active role in the peace negotiations and would back a plan with U.S. troops.

The cantonization of Bosnia is nebulous. Ultimately, what has been advocated by Clinton in the presidential campaign - lift the arms embargo that prevents Bosnians from effectively defending themselves, use American air power to counter Serbian aggression and not to use American ground troops in any capacity may prove to be the only feasible solution. It would take no Solomon to know what the Bosnians choose if there had a choice - to have no "peacemakers" and the means to defend themselves than be denied the means and be mired with peace-keepers who cannot keep the peace.

From the book: Croatia Uncensored by Jerry Blaskovich M.D.
(c) Jerry Blaskovich. Published here by permission from the author.
No further re-publication is authorised.
Publicado aquí por permiso especial del autor. No se autoriza su ulterior re-publicación

Studia Croatica - números 3-4 - 1961 (Spanish Edition) (Kindle Edition)

by Instituto de Cultura Croata (Editor)

No customer reviews yet. Be the first.

Pricing information not available.

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Kindle Books

Kindle Books include wireless delivery - read your book on your Kindle within a minute of placing your order.
Don't have a Kindle? Get yours here.

Haga sus compras en nuestra tienda de Libros en Españolpara obtener las últimas ediciones en lenguaje Español.

Monday, 17 May 2010

To Los Angeles Times - by Jerry Blaskovich

The Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor
Thomas Plate, editor

February 15, 1993

Dear Mr. Plate;

Alexander Cockburn's "The U.S. Can't Blame Serbia for Everything" (2/14/93), echoes, chapter and verse, the Serbian position. Blaming both sides, labeling the Croatian government fascist, disingenuously omitting mention of the Serb concentration camps and organized rapes is typical of the Serbian propagandists. The L.A. Times, not editing Cockburn's unsubstantiated allegations is surprising journalistic practice.

When Slobodan Milosevic's star was rising, with the help of the American embassy in Belgrade, Franjo Tudjman was a pariah after he had been imprisoned by Communist Yugoslavia. His political isolation made it impossible for him to "sponsor" anyone in the Yugoslav army as Cockburn alleges. Croatia had no army or militia to sponsor-all military power was in Serb hands.

Tudjman arrived on the political scene only after the fall of the Berlin Wall. No longer fearing the Russian monolith, Croatia, as well as all the former captive nations, opted for self-determination and Croatians were no longer fearful to express national feelings.

Rather than pandering to exiles, as Cockburn alleges, it was the communist government U.S. politicians and intelligence agencies "pandered" to after Tito's split with Russia.

Cockburn's attempt to equate a democratically elected government in internationally monitored elections with the fascist Ustashe is demeaning. Despite its faults, Croatia has as much ties with the Ustashe as Moshe Dayan had with the PLO.

In the 1980's the flurry of Western Bank credits and loans to Belgrade resulted from Ambassador Lawrence Eagleburger pressuring Western-banking institutions, despite it being contrary to American policy at the time.

In the interim and after Eagleburger left the State Department and until being named Deputy Secretary of State, Eagleburger worked for Yugoslav government owned companies and banks. He became director of a Yugoslav bank in New York, which benefited from the loans he previously arranged. His protégé, Milosevic directed a sister bank in Belgrade.

In it is noteworthy that, Eagleburger, General Brett Scowcroft and Lord Carrington were principals in Kissinger Associates, whose clients included the Yugoslav arms industry. When Eagleburger went back to the State Department he received $1.1 4 million as severance pay from Kissinger Associates.

The recent call for intervention did not come for altruistic motives, such as aiding self-determination or protecting the sovereignty of a legitimate state. Rather it was the atrocities and ethnic cleansings that stirred the world's conscience to call for intervention. Cockburn's theses for nonintervention are in keeping with the Serbian line.

Quoting General Lewis Mackenzie, whose credibility is now in question after being accused by the Bosnian government of sexually exploiting Muslim women prisoners brought to his quarters by Serbian guards, was incredible. Mackenzie disparagingly berated Moslems for defending and wanting to take back their own homes.

From the book: Croatia Uncensored by Jerry Blaskovich M.D.
(c) Jerry Blaskovich. Published here by permission from the author.
No further re-publication is authorised.
Publicado aquí por permiso especial del autor. No se autoriza su ulterior re-publicación