Ultra I have not read the replies yet but I can imagine they are scratching their heads and saying "who is that guy". LOL

Ultra you set the record on your first day with all those replies.I think the highest aaaaaI have seen is 54

one more Troian horth from Igor and I will support Jake Barnsteik, I mean it. The number of pages in Commitee of 300 exceed my expectation in 100 times, and i realized it when printed out that article at work. Blin, horosho chto v obed!!!

Dima, shut up with your: "Pilite Shura..."

Audio on Srebrenica

ARF Karaoke More Than Just Song-and-Dance
0046 GMT, 000804
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – specifically designed to avoid entanglements in its members’ internal affairs – has long been criticized. However, one of its more valuable adjuncts, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), has risen to prominence as the premier security talk-shop of Asia, encompassing almost all of the region’s powers. The most recent ARF meetings concluded in Bangkok on July 28. Ironically, the least serious aspect of the ARF – its closing karaoke session – now provides the best gauge to the status of international relationships.

In the past this series of song-and-dance routines was intended to inject some levity – sans journalists – into otherwise droning and contentious talks. For example, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s 1996 ARF debut “Don’t Cry for Me ASEAN” brought down the house. Her follow up in 1998 included a combined performance with the Russian delegation entitled “East-West story” modeled off of the famous Broadway musical “West Side Story” which replaced the song “Maria” with “Madeleine” as performed by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

But recently the performances have adopted a political tone – without losing their entertainment value. The ARF show allows its participants to be politically incorrect and allows them to disassociate themselves from their own comments; what diplomats must obfuscate in official press releases, they can reveal in the form of political satire. In the 1998 ARF meeting, the Indian delegation performed the number “Why Such a Fuss over a Few Crackers in the Thar?” to mock the international community’s condemnation of India’s then-recent nuclear tests.

In the 2000 ARF Albright took a page from the Indian playbook with a her rendition of “Thanks for the Memories” in grand Bob Hope style, replete with tuxedo, top hat and a golf club-turned-cane. During her performance, graced with U.S. State Department human rights guru Richard Boucher and North Korea expert Wendy Sherman as back up singers, Albright used some rousing political satire to drive home a number of points.

Much of what Albright sang were lyrics that showed the true thrust of current and future American foreign policy – stances that could not be taken publicly in normal forums. Moving from foreign minister to foreign minister, Albright delivered a combination of admonishments, apologies, and outright challenges to a wide array of countries.

With a comic twist, Albright delivered a frank warning to the China: “[Chinese Foreign Minister] Tang Jiaxuan, one of my favorite men, but when you’re not so sweet, I call the Seventh Fleet. That’s the American way!” Beijing certainly took note of the new U.S. military budget that includes funds for a new aircraft carrier

Albright combined an apology to Japan for her failure to attend last month’s Group of Eight summit with sharp displeasure with the Israeli government: “At G-8 I was a no-show, but skipping Camp David’s a no-no, those Israelis have the go-slows. That’s the Middle East way!” Israeli’s demand for billions more in economic and military aid has worn Washington’s patience thin.

In a significant – if tongue-in-cheek – line, Albright admitted directly to the Russian delegation that American dominance is actually an American foreign policy goal: “I can never get enough, Kosovo … NMD … the hallmarks of hegemony. That’s the American way!” With Albright gazing directly at Ivanov when delivering this line, it was likely taken as intended – a direct challenge from a superior power.

Albright also reminded to ASEAN that the United States will continue to interfere where it pleases: “[Malaysian President] Dr. Mahathir, said ‘don’t you interfere.’ But I’ve learned that I can’t go wrong if I do it in a song. That’s the ASEAN way!”

On the same theme, Albright also worked to widen an existing rift within ASEAN itself by offering a measure of encouragement to Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon. In 1998 they tried to change ASEAN’s driving principle from “noninterference” to “constructive engagement”: “Don’t worry boys, you can mess around in my internal affairs anytime.”

Next, Albright admitted that Indonesia is too important for the United States to sever relations despite its less than stellar performance on financial reforms and human rights issues: “[Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab is] both scholar and heart throb, devalue the rupiah, but I’ll always stop and see ya.”

But signaling perhaps the most significant break with past American policy was Albright’s open embrace of North Korea’s recent opening to the international community. “Just had my first handshake with [North Korean] Foreign Minister Paek. Used to think he was a rogue, but here at ARF, he’s so in vogue!” Now that China has tipped its hand with regard to the future of U.S. forces in Korea, Washington feels it is safe to support a rehabilitated North Korea and the Korean unification process.

ARF members may now find the forum much more useful. Using political satire as public diplomacy allows its members to both congratulate and condemn each other’s policies without raising a public diplomatic fuss. Countries whose diplomats excel in forming strong personal relationships with their foreign counterparts and have a good deal of dramatic flair will find this new development particularly useful. However, countries with a more institutionally driven foreign policy – like China, whose delegation substituted a traditional percussion performance for karaoke – are missing the chance to engage in a frank exchange of views.

But there is a much wider – and more serious – implication as well. Albright unambiguously stated the U.S. positions on a number of contentious issues. Such revealing lyrics will not be ignored. With a single, albeit creative, song and dance routine, Albright managed to either challenge or offend China, Russia, ASEAN and Israel. In geopolitical terms, that’s a high price to pay for a standing ovation.

A gang of Arab mercenaries has run into an ambush set by Russian federal troops in Chechnya's Shatoisky district, southern Chechnya: 21 bodies of "soldiers of fortune" have been discovered on the field of battle. Leader of the gang Abdusalam Zurka has been taken captive and today was sent to Khankala, the seat of a federal group.


As military sources reported to RIA Novosti, the documents of the mercenaries killed in the battle state they came to Chechnya from Yemen, Morocco and other Arab countries. The gang was attempting to leave the Chechen Republic through the Russo-Georgian border but was attacked from ambush by federal troops.

OHAYA, KISAKO! 0942
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last night,the history channel cable tv show '20TH CENTURY' was all about yugoslavia....oy, the same slant... -_-
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i may be back on a machine of my own in less than a week. it would once more be okay to mail straight to me now should you desire, my liege.
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URN:
check mail
re: your name

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greetings to several
and phooey to a select few
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[+1SK4TQ] [!!]

Fred,
I didn't say nato is "freeing Serbs of Milo".
* You didn't say that in exact words as I put it, right. What You typed is
They want as many serbs and non-serbs out of Milo's rule.
"Big" difference.

Alehandro,
when You are through with "300", try printing all the material referenced too:o)))))))))))))))))))))))))

BIG HELLO IGOR, DIMI, KIMMY, L'MENEXE, FREDL and the rest of you guys. Been on the road this past week and got back in today. Have much catching up to do personally as well as socially, not to mention on this board. Seems the more things change the more things stay the same around here. The last week was spent in Brussels, Munich and Zurich all great cities to visit on holiday but business, well that's another story. Any rate, just wanted to pop in to say hello and to let you know that #1 I'm alive, #2 I'm thinking of you. Have a great weekend all.

Well hello ULTRA the vanishing one.

Welcome back to our humble board. Trust all is well with you.

Quick clarification, that Marie person at the Serbian Cafe is not me. I am the one and only HAIREE MARY and should not be confused with other less civil females. With that being said...

WHERE IS THAT NON-JEW BARNSCHWEIN?

"""Dima, shut up with your: "Pilite Shura...""""
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Sash, are you OK? Where did this paranoya come from? Have nothing better to do than reading posts from a month ago? Chill.

Hi, Mary!
..and a bigger hello to you, mam..
Have a nice weekend.

Hello Lmenexe, & Hair Mary. Glad to be back. I am about to check my email and i trust that its not some virus. LOL. Otherwise my boss would be pissed if i screwed up this laptop. Glad to hear that ive set the record for replies at the Serbian Cafe. I think they love me. Alot of excitement has sprung up since i made my appearence.