Thankfully technology has made the media somewhat more accountable, and hopefully there will never be another Walter Duranty, who contributed to the lies and coverup of Soviet atrocities. Why has he not been stripped of his Pulitzer?
Posted by Ukie Femme at April 7, 2005 04:02 PM
Dear Mr. Margolis,
I see that you are very good at putting labels on other people.
Your column is really interesting, because now I get the chance to see how a journalist for TVOntario, CBC TV, CNN, CNN International and so on, sees other nations in a world, that is going toward globalization and transcending boundaries.
I didn’t know, until I came across your column, that I am a world-class criminal. I didn’t know that my Russian colleagues in my (Canadian) company are mass murderers either! My God!
I am not in position to give you any advices, but please make sure next time you write your next column you address the right problems and the right people. Many of us were not aware of anything that KGB or other secret services were doing. There was NO way to get even close to such kind information. The ones that did get close, never found the way to share it. If you do not know what I am talking about, refer to ‘public enemy’ in your Canadian (or US) dictionary. Yes, all governments and secret services are very much alike…
Are you aware of all secret operations that the Canadian or US government is involved in? So, do not tell me that if I wanted I could be aware of these “special tasks” or “wet operations” and I could do something to prevent them!
Next time, before you insult your readers, please remember that they are not only ‘native’ Americans or Canadians, but immigrants too.
How should I label the Americans then? All of the 300 million of them? Let me mention only 2 things - the Atomic bomb and Iraq. I am pretty sure this will be enough for you to pot a label on all Americans. I’ll live it to you though, because you are obviously very good at that!
One more thing. I do not care that Markus Wolf is a Jewish. Why do you? Shouldn’t you only care that he killed people?
By the way it is called Bulgarians, not Bulgars. Next time, when you are using your editor, turn the spell checker on. It helps a lot.
Bulgars is not only incorrect, but also sounds insulting!
Now you Mr. Margolis owe me, and all the Bulgarians, an apology. I will look forward to see it on your weblog and I am going to be very compelling about this and will continue to write you, until I get one.
Thank you,
Copyright Nick Kolev, 2005
Posted by Nick at April 18, 2005 11:06 AM
Oh my.
My original impetus to write a diatribe exposing the myopic and undiscerning approach that E.Margolis has assumed, inevitably subsided after spotting a few rather ob(li)vious blunders, which suggested the futility of the exercise.
One of them being (line 15), ‘The Bulgars, anxious to get into NATO..’ is a factual error, considering that the article was posted on April 5, 2005, long after Bulgaria has been offered an oficial NATO membership. That fact by itself questions the validity of all other points, as well as the integrity of the author and his/her knowledge re that part of the world.
And another friendly remark, you might wish to substitute the ‘an’ in ‘An special Italian investigative..’ (line 5) for an ‘a’. I reckon those fundamental grammar principles were touched upon back in K?
Did you claim to be a journalist by any chance?
Squeamishly yours,
Mariana Fukleva
Posted by Mariana Fukleva at April 18, 2005 03:28 PM
This article is full of inaccuracies. The facts: the Turkish citizen acknowledged a number of times that he had lied about a “Bulgarian connection”. Following a verdict in Italian court no Bulgarian citizen ever went to jail, while the Turk just completed his long sentence for conspiracy to murder. Even the late Pope explained in a statement that he had never believed the Turkish terrorist story. The world’s scrutiny during the trial in the early 80s, the findings of the Italian judicial system, the felon’s conviction and the Pope’s words all fail to resolve the mystery until we finally had the benefit of the reading the “hard facts” this sorry writer just unveiled to the world.
Unbeknownst to the fact-sloppy author—who himself looks like a communist era spy—there is no nationality called “the Bulgars”. The correct way to call the citizens of Republic of Bulgaria is Bulgarians. To know that however, one needs a high school diploma or ten seconds of time during which to reference an encyclopedia. The author, seemingly, had neither schooling, nor time. After all, this is a non-professional site with amateur writing. And he keeps it that way. Reading his blog is a waste of time and reasoning with poor products is futile.
Posted by Kyr Huev at April 18, 2005 11:09 PM
Dear Mr. Margolis,
EM wrote: “A special Italian investigative parliamentary commission announced it had obtained compelling evidence the Soviet KGB was indeed behind the `special task’ in Rome, the attempted 1981 assassination of Pope John Paul II.”
Comment: Can you please quote your source? As far as I know, your statement is totally unfounded. The evidence is the disclosed files prove that Stasi were contacted, in 1982, during Agca’s trial in Italy, by Bulgarian Secret Service, as they needed advice from more experienced Stasi on how to defend themselves from accusations, and also to inquire discreetly if Stasi knew anything of KGB involvement.
EM wrote: “Let us hope Wolf, who is Jewish, was somehow not involved (sic!). The idea of a Jewish communist trying to kill the vicar of Christ would surely re-ignite a blaze of anti-Semitism, particularly in Catholic parts of Eastern Europe.
Comment: Is this genuine concern? Sounds more like digging up the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.
Today 27 April 2005 el diario/LA PRENSA online casts a DPA dispatch (mot double checked by me, of which I reproduce the 1st paragraph:
>>Berlin/EFE — The old leader of the espionage of the extinct German Democratic Republic (RDA), Markus Wolff, assured today that it is a lie that the Soviet espionage or Bulgarian was implied “in any way” in the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in 1981 in Rome. In an interview that the news agency DPA dispatched today, Wolff assures that the repeated affirmations in the last few weeks of a supposed implication of the KGB the Soviet espionage in the attack are not based on any real fact.<<
A totally alternative hypothesis
Here below my own, totally alternative hypothesis, which I have already put forward in 2001, and even recently to Italian Press (“la Repubblica”). As my hypothesis is base on the 3rd Secret of Fatima,
stop reading here, if you think it is all bull.
Emanuela Orlandi and the Third Secret of Fatima
The “third secret of Fatima”, was deliberately kept secret in 1959 by Pope John XXIII, who refused to look at it after it. Pope Paul VI looked at it in 1965 (during the Vatican II Council) and decided not to disclose it, although it was supposed to be made public after 1960. John Paul II wanted to look at it only the immediately after the Ali Agca’s attempt on his life on May 13, 1981. After the attempted assassination, it was speculated that the attack might be “perhaps of Soviet inspiration, perhaps of mixed Russian-American inspiration, perhaps even Vatican”.
Is there a thread connecting the attack to the Pope to the kidnapping, on June 22, 1982 of Emanuela Orlandi, the 15 years old daughter of a Vatican civil official? The Pope repeatedly and publicly pleaded for her liberation, along with that of another 15 year old, Mirella Gregori, kidnapped also in Rome on May 7, 1982. I will try here to give to give a plausible explanation, connecting the attack on the Pope and Emanuela’s abduction.
• Suppose that a “black party” within the Vatican, with members high up enough to know the “third secret”, schemed the attack, making it appear subsequently a “cocktail” (or a matrioska) of KGB, Bulgarian Secret Services, Turkish Grey Wolfs, with the purpose of giving a hand to the Providence for a concrete, rapid fulfilment of the third Secret of Fatima, which, as was disclosed in 2000, included the vision of a Bishop in white robe” dieing (even if not too accurate, but what matters is… the essential!).
• Suppose that the father of Emanuela Orlandi, a Vatican official, by chance or some other way, became informed of the plot, and that after the attack he gave clear signs that he wanted to speak, or that it did not escaped the “party” that he was informed, and anyway that thare was much concern as to his intentions. A secure manner of to ensure his silence certainly must have appeared that of kidnapping his the daughter. Obviously they could have killed him, but this choice may have been discarded for other reasons, that I omit to speculate on.
• Emanuela Orlandi’s abduction was then deftly associated to the attack on the Pope, though counterfeiting the true reason, and making it appear bound to the request of liberation of Ali Agca.
Perhaps both John Paul II and Ali Agca knew or intuited this explanation. Perhaps they spoke also of this in the well-known talk in prison. The declared scorn (and worse) of Ali Agca for the Vatican would find a full explanation. Also the role of Ali Agca’s appointed attorney Marina Magistrelli should be re-examined in this light. The visit of the Pope to Fatima on May 13, , 2000, the subsequent revelation of the 3rd secret on June 16, 2000, the hasty pardon [by the Italian President Ciampi] and immediate extradition of Ali Agca, could be interpreted as cleverly orchestrated conclusion of the whole affair.
An update
My “totally alternative hypothesis” was formulated back in 2001. Nobody seems to have taken it in any consideration. I even sent it to the Vatican itself, via their paper “L’Osservatore Romano”. No comment.
Emanuela Orlandi who, if still alive is now 38 year old, ha been reportedly seen in many places (Paris in particular). Her father, Ercole Orlandi died on March 5, 2004.
On March 31, 2005 Ali Agca, serving another sentence for murder in a Turkish prison, was interviewed by journalist Marco Ansaldo for “La Repubblica”. Among a lot of “holy smoke”, he made two interesting and mutually contradicting statements:
1. Without the help of some priests and cardinal I could have never arranged my attack
2. On May 13, 1981, nobody in the world knew of my attack
On the same occasion, Ali Agca announced a book authored by him should be published in May 2005, with “all the truth”. Well, it is not long, by now…
Posted by ilmagro at April 27, 2005 04:28 PM