Risto Stefov - Articles, Translations & Collaborations

[Stojacanec]

An old friend of my father said to me that in his school they didn't even mentioned Alexander the Great and ancient Macedonians.

Since ancient times the greeks didn't want to mention Alexander either.

[momce]

You are right the greeks have no real historical presence in Macedonia.

[George S.]

What greek history there ain't any it's all stolen from us but with a twist of propaganda.We arae not macedonis they the greeks are.They deliberately concentrate on falsifying history
that their claim is 4000 years of greek history is absurd to say the least.The greeks were colonisers & the greek peninsula was inhabited by them for less than 3000.The existence of other people besides greeks on the greek peninsula is only too obvious in greek or other non greek writings.The span of a macedonian tribe pelasgian is all over the place.The fact that Macedonians were allready in macedonia for many milenia prior to the greeks coming.THe fact that there were distinct differences is a big point.Fact prior to 1913 the greeks never occupied the aegean part before(why did they call it after 1913 the occupied territories)?

[momce]

Greekoids never taught Macedonian history in their schools either until it became a political issue, and then they only teaching selective parts of it namely superficial Hellenistic periods and the "greek macedonian" pseudo-culture their propaganda organs created after the Balkan Wars or what suits their agenda. Donski is great for clarifying alot of errors.

[Makedonska_Kafana]

Where did he go to school?

Exactly, what planet was that school on?

[Risto the Great]

In Yugo times? Who would have thought!

[Soldier of Macedon]

An old friend of my father said to me that in his school they didn't even mentioned Alexander the Great and ancient Macedonians.

Does that mean they didn't teach ancient history at all? Or they did but deliberately omitted Alexander? Where did he go to school?

[Nexus]

An old friend of my father said to me that in his school they didn't even mentioned Alexander the Great and ancient Macedonians.

[Gocka]

Pretty decent interview. I think he was trying to be friendly toward the Bulgarians and not insult them but I did like how he brought up the issue of what the Bulgarians are (not bulgars). What is sad is that many many people in Macedonia (Macedonians) would not agree with Donski. Many in ROM think of themselves as pure "slavs" most of the communist crap left over from yugo. Many in Macedonia have very poor and fragmented knowledge about our ancestry and history.

[Soldier of Macedon]

A few things I would've said differently, but overall not a bad interview by Donski.

[George S.]

Greek Priest Calls for Attack on Macedonian Radio Station

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/18925/46/

Greek Priest Anthimos as a "true Christian" has asked for 40-50 Greeks to board buses, go to Lerin and break and burn the Macedonian radio station because, according to him the Macedonians would air propaganda.



Anthimos' statement was issued after the announcement of Pande Ashlakov, the head of Ovcarani (Lerin) who said that "Vinozito" had received a license for a Macedonian language radio station that would be broadcasting programs from Lerin to Solun.



Ashlakov at the Ilinden celebration said the radio will start working at the end of the year and as part of its program will have live shows and news.



Anthimos was seething, claiming the damned people will probably name their radio "Macedonian radio".



- How is this possible? Are we the Greeks allowed to have a radio station anywhere in the Balkans? asked Anthimos.



The Greek priest shouldn't be worried, for example the Macedonian State Radio (paid for by taxpayers money) has broadcasted programs in every Balkan language, including Greek for more than a decade.



Greek media reported the Solun priest was asking for 40-50 volunteers to board buses head to Lerin and attack the radio station.



With losing his "What Would Jesus Do" bracelet, priest Anthimos seems to have lost his way.





Europe would unravel if Britain were to repatriate powers, says Herman van Rompuy

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/9767877/Europe-would-unravel-if-

Britain-were-to-repatriate-powers-says-Herman-van-Rompuy.html



The whole European Union could unravel under David Cameron's plans to claw back powers from Brussels, Herman van Rompuy has warned.



Herman van Rompuy, one of Europe's most senior figures, said countries like Britain cannot simply "cherry pick" which laws from Brussels they wish to follow.



Mr Cameron has promised a "fresh settlement" with Brussels amid pressure from his backbenchers to give the British public a say on whether to leave the EU.



He is widely expected to make a speech in the new year outlining plans for a referendum in 2015, which would voters a choice between a new relationship with Europe and leaving altogether.



Mr Cameron will fight for Britain to stay in the EU on new terms but European leaders are worried that allowing Britain to "repatriate" powers could pave the way for an exit and encourage other countries to seek similar deals.



In an interview with the Guardian, Mr van Rompuy last night issued a warning that countries must not "seek to undermine" the EU by seeking special privileges.



He said the whole European project could fall apart if all member states only looked out for their own interests.



"If every member state were able to cherry-pick those parts of existing policies that they most like, and opt out of those that they least like, the union in general, and the single market in particular, would soon unravel," he said.



"All member states can, and do, have particular requests and needs that are always taken into consideration as part of our deliberations. I do not expect any member state to seek to undermine the fundamentals of our co-operative system in Europe."



Mr van Rompuy's intervention comes after Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat deputy Prime Minister, warned that Britain must not back out of Europe.



This week, he dismissed plans for a referendum on the country’s membership of the EU as “putting the cart before the horse”.

He argued against offering a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU and says that Britain should instead be exercising its leadership role in Europe.



The deputy Prime Minister insists that he is “not frightened” of a public vote but says that such a suggestion is premature given the uncertainty surrounding plans to rewrite the Lisbon treaty to try to underpin the euro.



Mr Cameron has already promised Conservative MPs that the party will fight the election on a “clear Eurosceptic position”.



He wants Britain to take a step back from Europe as the countries in the eurozone country make plans to join together in a "super-state" with closer political and financial integration.



A poll yesterday showed that most Britons now want to leave Europe, with 51 per cent saying they would vote for an exit – in a marked hardening of eurosceptic attitudes.

[George S.]

NEW FIVE EURO NOTE

http://www.euractiv.com/euro-finance...ur-news-516974

The European Central Bank unveiled yesterday (10 January) a new 5-euro note, with warmed colours and better protection against counterfeiting. For the first time, it also carries the name ‘Euro’ written in the Cyrillic alphabet, and displays a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology.







Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), unveiled the ‘Europa series’ €5 banknote, with his signature featured under the EU flag. It will be issued, on 2 May 2013.



The presentation was the highlight of the opening of a “New Face of the Euro” exhibition, at the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt am Main from 11 January to 10 March 2013.



The new €5 banknote benefits from some new and enhanced security features. The watermark and hologram display a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology – and hence the name of this series of banknotes.



An eye-catching “emerald number” changes colour from emerald green to deep blue, and displays a vertically moving light effect. Short raised lines on the left and right edges of the banknote make it easier to identify the banknote, especially for visually impaired people.



Cyrillic: A political signal



Most importantly, the new note features for the first time the word 'Euro' in Cyrillic: Евро, along with the Greek Ευρώ. Since Bulgaria, the only EU country using the Cyrillic alphabet, is not yet a member of the eurozone, this could be seen as a political signal of the ECB’s trust in the future enlargement of the European single currency area.



Two candidate countries, Macedonia and Serbia, also use the Cyrillic alphabet.



The name ‘Cyrillic alphabet’ honours the younger of the Cyril and Methodius brothers, born in Thessaloniki at the beginning of the 9th Century, who created the Glagolitic and then the Cyrillic alphabets with the aim to have the Bible and other texts translated into Slavic languages [more].



The new banknotes of the ‘Europa’ series with denominations of €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500, will be introduced over the next few years, in ascending order. Their “ages and styles” design and dominant colours will be the same as the first series.



Gradually, the first series will be withdrawn and eventually cease to be legal tender - with advance warning. But first series' banknotes will retain their value indefinitely and be exchangeable at euro-area national central banks at any time.

[George S.]

UK Europe Minister wants 'no pause in enlargement after Croatia'

By David Lidington

07 January 2013

http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/2910/uk-europe-minister-wants-no-pause-in-enlargement-after-croatia

Renewing the UK's commitment to EU enlargement, Britain's Minister for Europe writes exclusively for PublicServiceEurope.com about why more countries like Turkey should be let into the club



I returned from the general affairs council in Brussels last month feeling encouraged by a long and lively discussion on European Union enlargement. The United Kingdom has taken the lead in pushing for continued enlargement. Alongside the single market, this has been the real success story of the EU. We have supported the emergence of freedom, democracy and justice for people in countries that were deprived of those rights for more than 50 years. As I reiterated at the council, this mission must and will continue. This is why I have welcomed the continued progress on enlargement throughout 2012, including the opening of accession negotiations with Montenegro.



The pace of progress in the region is varied. EU ministers and I agreed steps forward for several countries, recognising their achievements to date. We set out our commitment to Macedonia's EU path, with the council agreeing to take a decision on opening accession negotiations after a monitoring report in the spring. This is a good opportunity for Macedonia to move further forward next year. Likewise, I am pleased the European Commission will propose negotiating directives to take forward Kosovo's EU path with a stabilisation and association agreement once Kosovo meets the agreed conditions. This will be a significant step forward for Kosovo.



We remain firm supporters of Serbia's European future so I am also glad Serbia will be seeking to make progress on the conditions the council has agreed. We want to see Serbia moving to the next stage as soon as they have met the conditions to do so. The recent steps taken in the EU-led dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo has shown the ability of both countries to deal with difficult issues, enabling them to continue on their paths towards membership. A great example of this was the implementation of new border arrangements between Serbia and Kosovo on December 10, previously unimaginable. I commend prime ministers Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaci for the statesman-like and courageous manner in which they have approached their recent discussions, and look forward to supporting the same constructive spirit in the new year.



However, ministers at the council were worried about the slow progress being made in Bosnia and Herzegovina - and stalled reforms there. As the British Foreign Secretary William Hague said when he visited Sarajevo in October, Bosnia and Herzegovina risks lagging further behind her neighbours unless political leaders deliver the actions they have agreed in the interests of their citizens. The reform process we hope Bosnia and Herzegovina will pursue has the scope to produce multiple benefits to people on the ground, including greater prosperity. Prosperity is a two-way process which, in turn, boosts UK businesses. For example, British exports to the 'emerging' countries of Central and Eastern Europe have almost trebled over the last 10 years; reaching a staggering £14bn in 2011 - compared to £5bn of exports in 2001, before Central and Eastern Europe had joined the union.



Turkey is a particularly compelling example of the economic argument for enlargement. In 2011, Turkey was Europe's 7th largest economy and the world's 18th largest economy. Turkish membership would boost the European single market and would play a major part in Europe's long term prosperity by adding significant clout to its common external trade policy. This is part of the reason why the UK remains committed to Turkey's EU membership. We also believe Turkish membership would contribute to European security and would motivate reform in Turkey. We are focused on making real progress on Turkish accession in 2013 and we fully support the Irish EU presidency in its desire to open a new acquis chapter.



Lastly, I was pleased to attend a discussion recently here at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the 100th anniversary of independence in Albania. This was a reminder of how far Albania has come and I am delighted the council meeting reflected some of that recent progress. I remain keen to see the political leaders in Albania make even bigger steps forward in the months to come. But the anniversary is a salient reminder of the difficulties the region has faced over the last century and the significance of the progress, which has been made. There should be no pause in enlargement after Croatia; the EU remains the future of South East Europe.



David Lidington is the Minister for Europe, in the United Kingdom



Read more: http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/a...#ixzz2HKT6JQn1

[George S.]

Hey, come build a plant in sunny Macedonia

JESSE SNYDER - Jesse Snyder is senior writer for Automotive News

January 17, 2013

http://www.autonews.com:80/article/20130117/BLOG06/130119823/hey-come-build-a-plant-in-sunny-macedonia

DETROIT -- Viktor Mizo is all smiles and speaks fluent English as he explains why the Republic of Macedonia would be an excellent spot to build an auto parts plant.



Mizo can rattle off his country's virtues -- low wages averaging about $500 a month, 97 percent literacy, universal English-language instruction and business incentives that European Union members "just can't give anymore" -- faster than you can take his business card.



As CEO of the Directorate for Technological Industrial Development Zones, Mizo and three staffers were at the Automotive News World Congress this week to drum up investment.



Macedonia is serious about the automotive industry. At Automotive News Europe in Munich, I started getting calls from the country's minister of investment in 2006 urging me to visit him in Skopje. Then he would admit no auto plants had come yet.



Seven years later, Macedonia has 50 parts plants, including Johnson Controls, and 2,500 auto jobs -- and Mizo has a directorate, staff and a travel budget.



It wasn't Mizo's considerable charm that held my attention, but a sense of déjà vu. The laundry list of Macedonia's advantages and one-sentence dismissals of specific rival countries — if I closed my eyes and swapped place names, I might as well be back in Ladislav Glogar's office in the Czech Republic in 2004.



Glogar, then chairman of supplier Autopal, was a week into the European Union's 10-country expansion and in overdrive mode wooing German automakers. Glogar simultaneously touted Czech wages as a fifth of Germans' while discounting even lower Indian and Chinese wages. He had a lovely "cost of distance" argument about the fragility and recovery time of long supply lines.



Almost a decade later, Czech auto parts making is booming. And Mizo and his counterparts from Morocco and Tunisia to Moldova want some of it.



Mizo keeps it punchy.



"Now Czech wages are too high to be a low-cost country.



"Wages are low in Moldova, but it has no middle managers so for a 1,500-worker plant you must hire 25 ex-pats.



"Tunisia's too politically unstable.



"Morocco can supply Spain and Portugal, but for Central Europe it's too far west."



Macedonia is a Vermont-sized nation of 2 million on Greece's northern border. To Mizo, that's just down the shiny multilane highway from Germany. To Glogar, of course, Macedonia is 1,000 miles away while the Czech Republic borders Germany.



Forget the arguments. Here's my take.



Just nine years after the EU expanded eastward, the new EU is developing a strong middle class, and the low-wage auto-parts frontier has shifted to eastern Europe and north Africa.



The same powerful economic forces of auto manufacturing that helped create the developed world keep spreading further afield. If you look closely, you can watch the nation-building influence of the auto industry at work, even as far afield as Macedonia.



You can reach Jesse Snyder at [email protected].

[George S.]

Noose – Chapter 8



By Stoian Kochov

Translated and edited by Risto Stefov

[email protected]

January 30, 2013



Twelfth Day (January 4th, 1948) in the struggle for General Markos’s throne.


1.


During the morning of the twelfth day, we were awakened by strong explosions that took place in another part of town. It was dawn, January 4th, 1948 and I was sitting on some wood beams that smelled like freshly cut pine. Our red flag, which we had hung in the main square since the first days of our arrival, was now gone and in its place hung a great big, scary looking NOOSE. The noose was made of thick rope and, being blown by the strong wind, it swung from side to side.



Over on the hills I could see government army soldiers moving. They had occupied the heights around Konitsa and were preparing to attack the city. They had us surrounded and through the fog they flew “Spitfire” fighter planes which poured bursts of gunfire on our positions. The airplanes slowly shrank as they flew away, seeming as though they were disappearing into the sun – leaving behind only their thunderous sound which slowly fell silent, and, as quick as lightning, they would again return and descend over our heads to spill more bursts of gunfire and drop more deadly bombs.



There was long silence. At that moment Colonel Sofianos Iliadis arrived at the front line with his security people. He was concerned about the situation and was not sure what was happening so he wanted to investigate everything himself. He had no confidence in the others and was looking nervous. His goal was to remove even the smallest risk of acquiring the last strongholds of the government army. After many inspections, and with no room for the slightest of error, he came to his conclusion.


He said: “I am a soldier and it is not easy for me to share my insecurities with you but I need to tell you that we have lost the battle. It was natural because it never is easy to capture and defend a city with only a single regiment composed of newly mobilized villagers.


Today will be a day of life or death. Protect yourselves. Today it will not be easy to escape our enemy’s retaliatory attacks. If we were realistic about our planned strategy, we would not have allowed such big promises to be made.”





Глава 8.

Дванаесеттиот ден (4. 01. 1948), во борба за тронот на генерал Маркос



1.

Утрината на дванаесеттиот ден, разбуден од силните експлозии што се случуваа во другиот дел на градот, токму во зората на 4 јануари седев врз греди, што мирисаа на штотуку пресечен бор. Го немаше нашето црвено знаме, што го имавме истакнато на главниот плоштад уште во првите денови, сега беше истакната голема ЈАМКА, ама навистина голема беше и застрашувачки изгледаше. Беше направена од дебела ортома и се нишаше од силниот ветар, а гледам по ридиштата се појавија илје и милје војници од владината војска и ги зазедоа височините околу градот Коница. Се распоредуваа да го нападнат градот. Не имаа обпколено, а низ сињакот летаат борбени авиони од типот “спитфаер”, чиниш корнат се и истураат рафали врз нашите позиции. Млазниот авион полека се смалуваше – се додека не изгледаше како да исчезнува во сончевиот круг – и оставаше само татнеж што стивнуваше и пак секавично се спушташе над нашите глави да истури рафали и смртоносни бомби.

Настана подолга тишина.

Во тој миг со своето обезбедување тукушто пристигна на првите позиции полковник Софијанос Илијадис. Загрижен, бидејќи не беше сигурен, тој побара се да провери лично сам, немаше доверба во другите и беше нервозен. Целта му беше да го отстрани најмалиот ризик во совладувањето на последните упоришта на владината војска. По толку проверки, речиси беше невозможно да му се провлече и најмала грешка. Тој небаре по ова ја пренесе својата загриженост и ги олабави нашите иницијативи и дури не доведе во очај.

Тој рече:

-Јас сум војник и не ми е лесно да дозволам да ја пренесам својата несигурност на вас. Но морам да ви кажам дека ја изгубивме битката. Тоа беше природно. Не беше лесно да се совлада и брани овој град само со еден полк составен од новомобилизирани селанчиња.

Денешниот ден ќе ни биде живот или смрт. Чувајте се. Денес нема лесно да ги избегнеме нивните одмазднички напади. Ако бевме реални во планираната стратегија, немаше да дозволиме да не понесат нечии големи ветувања.