Ted Kotcheff: Listen Up!

Robert Lantos, Ted Kotcheff, Laifun Chung (Kotcheff's wife) 1980

By David Edenden:

I think that you should make a movie of the Miss Stone Affair. It would be interesting in today's paranoid anti-Muslim culture since we have "terrorist Christians" battling a lawful Muslim government. Could put the "war on terror" on its head.

Jane Fonda (Dick and Jane remember?) could play Miss Stone. Jane is a "born again Christian" but also an anti-imperialist. Pitch: What right does she, as an American have to convert Orthodox Macedonian Christians to Protestant Christian. Get Antonio Banderas to play Yane Sandaski. He looks like my cousin, therefore, he looks Macedonian!

Christian History Corner: The Day the Ransoming Began
A gripping new book details the first American missionary hostage crisis,
over 100 years ago. By Chris Armstrong | posted 05/23/2003

On September 3, 1901, Macedonian guerillas captured an American missionary named Ellen Stone and her traveling companions and dragged them into the mountains of their Turkish-controlled Balkan province. From the moment during the abduction when the revolutionaries brutally killed a Muslim trader who wandered onto the scene, things looked bad for Miss Stone and her party.

This was the first time America found itself facing the capture and holding for ransom of an American missionary on foreign soil. It was the first time, but—as we are reminded by Martin and Gracia Burnham's tragic story—not the last, that American missionaries would pay the price of citizenship in a superpower. For it was not the gospel she brought but the perceived power and wealth of her nation that made Ellen a target.

We see this, and much else, with greater clarity in the account of the "Miss Stone Affair" recently published by Pulitzer prize-winning author Teresa Carpenter.

Carpenter's book, The Miss Stone Affair: America's First Modern Hostage Crisis (Simon & Schuster, 2003), tells how Stone, a Massachusetts-born descendent of Miles Standish who had dedicated her life to teaching the Bible to young women at schools in the Balkans, found herself caught up on that brisk fall day in 1901 in the region's political unrest.

Like the many other American missionaries who would experience a similar captivity, Stone was victimized by insurgents who believed the injustices they had faced justified using human lives as negotiating chits. And in becoming one of those chits, Stone found that what had before seemed a lonely pursuit of a divine calling had now brought her into the international spotlight.

Joana Popovska Your Going To Kiev!

Actress Joana Popovska wins prestigious award at Kiev festival
Makfax vesnik: "

Bitola /30/04/ 16:56

The actress of the Bitola Theatre, Joana Popovska, won the award for best female actress at the Kiev Theatre Festival 'Storm' for her role in the monodrama 'Chairs'.

Popovska won the prestigious award in competition of 13 top actresses from Moldova, Poland, Armenia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Russia.

Eugene Ionescu's 'Chairs' was staged in June 2006 in the Bitola Theatre by the Serbian director Ljuba Miloshevic.

This is the second international prize Popovska won for the role in Chairs, after winning the best actress award at the festival in Korca, Albania.

'I have provided the funds for the trip to Ukraine by myself with assistance of sponsors, because the Bitola Theatre failed to give me any support, despite the official invitation from Kiev Theatre', said Joana Popovska."

This Will Not Protect Greece From Macedonia!

US anti-missile shield might be deployed in Greece too
Makfax vesnik: "

Athens /30/04/ 17:26

The possibility of deployment of parts of the anti-missile defence shield proposed by Washington in Greece is not ruled out, the Greek daily Eleftherotypia cited Foreign Ministry's announcement as saying.

The press release says that 'the general threats and challenges impose the need of covering parts of Greece with the US's anti-missile defence shield'."

"Cat Ballou" And The Balkans!

My suggestion for US/EU politicians and journalists before they go the Balkans to promote peace, is to rent the movie "Cat Ballou" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059017/) starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin.

Cat Ballou (Jane Fonda):
Kid Shaleen, your eyes! They are red ... bloodshot ... disgusting!

Kid Shaleen (Lee Marvin)
You should see how they look from my side!

Book on the Jewish Community of "Monastir"

It Takes a Village - Forward.com
Alana Newhouse

I toyed with the idea of writing a book on Monastir myself, but the task seemed daunting: Given the political chaos that has defined the region for the last century, providing the reader with a clear historical context would be a formidable challenge for a journalist; government records were sure to be near-inscrutable, and what individual testimony one could garner would likely come from disparate, far-flung sources. I was deterred but, thankfully, Mark Cohen, a journalist from California with the same idea, was not. His newly-released “Last Century of a Sephardic Community: The Jews of Monastir, 1839-1943,” published by the Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture, is an important addition to the study of Sephardic Jews and an essential building block in what I hope is the burgeoning field of Balkan Jewish studies.

The book is focused on the period between 1839 and 1943, the last years of a Jewish community ensconced in the Ottoman village since the Spanish Inquisition. Cohen is at his most evocative in his depiction of Jewish life, and it is in these details that the frequent stiffness of his prose fades away. We learn how the 3,000 Monastirlis in the mid-1800s chose to live in a walled, self-contained residential district called a mahalle, which circled a great courtyard. Since virtually no one had indoor kitchens, the courtyard, which featured communal ovens in which the women would cook, served as “a house extension and host to domestic life.”

Yet this closeness came at a price. “With everyone exposed to the eyes and judgments of their neighbors, people were sure to conform to social norms,” including regular synagogue attendance and holiday observance. The Jewish quarter even had berurei averot, wardens who patrolled the area to suppress religious transgressions.

1943: Macedonians and Albanians Join to Save Jews!

A Night Full Of Maazel -
Forward.com, Masha Leon | Fri. Feb 23, 2007

"Few among the hundreds of guests in the room knew the saga of the Albanian peoples’ rescue not only of their own Jewish neighbors and citizens but also of all the Jews who managed to make it to their country. As Michael Salberg, the ADL’s director of international affairs, reported: “In September 1943, the Orthodox priests of Struga in Macedonia came to Mefail Biçaku asking for his help in saving Jews from the Germans. Seventeen-year-old Njazi was given the family’s old Italian carbine and told not to lose sight of his charges who stayed in the village during the winter.” Salberg described how the Biçakus shared their food with 26 people, and how his wife had washed their clothes…. The whole region knew that Mefail was hiding Jews, but “because of the complex rules of behavior in the mountains,” and the family’s reputation, no one betrayed him nor his charges. By the end of 1944, the Jews returned to Struga, with some making their way to Argentina and most landing in Israel."

Does Macedonia Have A Plan "B" Re: Nato

By David Edenden:

I am a Nato skeptic. What happens if Greece uses its veto and Macedonia is not, and Croatia and Albania, are included in the Nato expansion in April 2008. I will tell you what will happen! It will embolden Albanian separatists to go for partition of Macedonia since Nato will have shown it's contempt for the Macedonian people and their identity. Does the Macedonian government have a plan "B".

My suggestion: Hire Putin as an adviser. He will be out of a job after the March 2008 Russian Presidential elections and could use the extra cash! It could give Macedonia room to maneuver!

Macedonia likely to get invitation for NATO membership in April 2008
Makfax vesnik:


Berlin/Skopje /27/03/ 15:26

Macedonia, along with Albania and Croatia, is most likely to receive invitation for membership in NATO in April 2008 at the Alliance's Summit in Bucharest.

Radio Deutsche Welle reported this from the informal summit of the NATO Ministers in Oslo.

NATO urged all candidate-countries to push ahead with the internal reforms and pledged for making the decision at the next year's Summit.

Russia's resistance on further enlargement of NATO cannot halt this process, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said after the meeting.

We see the enlargement not only as a process but as a principle, the spokesman said, explaining that all sovereign countries have a right to make decision on their defense."

Pass the Piperka

By David Edenden: This is a great idea. Macedonians supporting Macedonian owned businesses. someone should post this to their Macedonian Facebook sites. Pass it on.

There's more to Pass the Piperka than just the game.
Contact Support-Macedonian Connection

Pass the Piperka is about Macedonians helping Macedonians, any way they can. Whether it's by supporting a florist or a mechanic, donating to a Macedonian charity, or helping coach a Macedonian soccer team, it's about passing it on.

Day after day, year after year, if we continue to Pass the Piperka, our Macedonian traditions and our Macedonian culture will carry on forever. If you feel strongly about your Macedonian roots and heritage, do your part to keep it going!

The next time you're buying flowers, going for a nice dinner, or renovating your home, think of a Macedonian business or service. And if you have some extra money that you can spare, there's always a Macedonian church or group that could put a donation to good use. If you happen to have extra time in your day or on your weekends, try and volunteer some of your time to a Macedonian sports team or dancing group in your area. The churches always need folks to sell coffee on Sundays as well!

Today you're helping out a Macedonian that asks for your support, tomorrow it may be you that needs a hand. Let's all help each other grow and prosper, continue the Macedonian heritage, and always remember to stay CONNECTED!

Pass the Piperka

Check Out the UMD Site For Project funding!

Macedonians can receive funds to promote Macedonia
United Macedonian Diaspora -
Wednesday, 25 April 2007

The United Macedonian Diaspora informs our members and other Macedonians that Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia and its Diaspora department have invited all Macedonians worldwide to apply for grants from the Macedonian government in realization for any Macedonian related projects. The ministry intends to fund several projects that will promote the Macedonian identity, culture and tradition, in efforts to promote the Republic of Macedonia. At the same time, these projects should help strengthen the tie between the Macedonians outside the Republic of Macedonia and Macedonia.

Eligible for these grants are Macedonians that have immigrated in foreign countries, the Macedonian minorities in the neighboring countries, the Macedonians that are temporary in a foreign country, and any other ethnic Macedonians that may or may not have a Macedonian citizenship. All applications must be received by May 31st 2007, and funds will not be distributed until March 2008. The Ministry intends to use this method for long term collaboration and realize projects in the 2008-2010 timeframe. The list of selected projects will be available in the ministry of foreign affairs at www.mnr.gov.mk.



Several p"

Rainbow, Omo-Ilinden "Nagosti" in the US

The Voice of America saw fit to report on the visit to the US of the Macedonian political leaders in Greece and Bulgaria. If it is good enough for the VOA why not the RFE, IWPR, ICG, BIRN, SEE Times, and all the other pseudo human rights groups trawling the Balkans. they should be ashamed!

Macedonian parties from Greece and Bulgaria visit US
Makfax vesnik

Washington /26/04/ 11:16

Representatives of political parties of Macedonians in Greece and Bulgaria kicked off a visit to the United States, Voice of America's Macedonian news said.

The visit was organized by the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD). Pavle Vaskopulos, the leader of Rainbow - political party of ethnic Macedonians in Greece, and Stojko Stojkov, the co-president of OMO Ilinden-Pirin from Bulgaria, will discuss with the American interlocutors about the treatment of Macedonians minority in Greece and Bulgaria.

Vaskopulos and Stojkov say they want to update the representatives of the international organizations and governments about the real situation of Macedonian minority in Greece and Bulgaria. They stressed that the US government pledged solidarity with the grievances of the Macedonian minority in these two countries - both members of the European Union.

'As regards the human rights of minority groups, I am ready to say that there is a deficit of democracy in Greece although it is European country. In some way, there is a competition between Macedonians in Greece and in Bulgaria - which of them is in worse situation when it comes to human rights of minorities,' Vaskopulos said.

Stojko Stojkov, the co-president of OMO Ilinden- PIRIN,"