Vox,
Sorry to see you were „silenced“ for the next month. Although I do think you are quite mistaken in many of your beliefs, and the manner in which you express your vitriol is quite disturbing, I do believe you have every right to express your opinions. Perhaps a different forum, or one that is private, like this, is better suited to get your point across.
Let me get a few things straight with you. I have read your rants, tirades, accusations, and sometimes outright lies, which clearly approaches the definition of slander, for some time now. I do not usually spend any time responding to such insanity, but I will, in your case for a number of reasons. Listen carefully, and read this letter in the spirit in which it is written. Not adversarial, not confrontational, but purely as a sincere effort to appeal to your inner humanity, which in spite of all you profess to believe, I believe is present, but rarely shown by you on these forum posts.
I assume that you are a Rasterfarian, currently living in Serbia. You are a second generation educator, and you, or your father, is from Jamaica, and ended up where you are now, either by choice or by birth. These three facts, and please correct me if i am wrong, are the reasons I am even bothering to write you this letter. You are religious, and that implies to me a sense of respect, and an understanding of our place in the universe. You’re educated, and an educator, which to me, is one of the most important and respected professions there is. And lastly, you’re Serbian. I’m sure you are raising an eyebrow at that comment, and wondering what I mean by that.
I have spent much time in your country. As you may know, I owned a number of high tech companies in the satellite/space/tele-communications field, over a 20 year period. During the time from the late 1970’s through the late 1980’s, I visited, worked, vacationed, and lived in what was then Yugoslavia. I owned a villa in Sveti Stefan, and our company had contracts for many huge projects, both private and government supported throughout the country.
Do you remember the Libertas Hotel in Dubrovnik? I built and designed the entire telco and satellite television system for that gorgeous hotel, and spent many weeks there over a period of 10 years. The design of that building, and how it was built into a cliff on the water was amazing. You would drive into the main entrance, and you entered the ground floor lobby, and you were actually on the top floor. All the other floors descended down, until you reached beach level. The hotel is now decimated by the ravages of war, and I think there is now an effort to actually rebuild it to its former glory. What a shame…bombs…bullets…insanity! I remember all the trips I would make driving up and down the Dalmatian coast, starting in Trieste Italy, and ending up on the border of Albania. I remember the Soviet warships always docked offshore, and the ever present pictures of Tito, hanging in every restaurant and shop. I mostly remember the wonderful people I met, and the long lasting friendships that still endure today. I remember the rug seller in the walled city of Dubrovnik, who shared a glass of homemade plum wine with my wife and I as we haggled over the price of a carpet. I remember driving into Mostar, and then over the Bay of Kotar (is the bridge still standing?) and eating in the most incredible little family home/restaurants, and being taken into the kitchen, and shown the menu by looking into the pots cooking on the stove. We did not speak the language, and they spoke no English. But it did not matter. All was just fine. One on one…people to people. The problems always come up when its country to country, government to government…and ultimately, idiots and morons interacting on a level that is far beyond their ability to understand.
So….here we are. You see me as a greedy capitalist pig, raping the innocent, virginal spirit of a long lost technology, that you hold dear. I see you as a stoned out reggae rastamon, on the verge of a psychotic episode, ranting and wailing about something that has absolutely no basis in reality. The fact is, you don’t know me at all. And surely I do not know you. You are not the sum total of your forum posts. I am not the epitome of all you detest, based on assumptions that are either unfounded, incorrect, or exaggerated.
Rather than continue on now, I think it best for you to think about our preconceptions and misconceptions, and if you would like to continue this dialog….or not. I would be most welcome to hear your thoughts and comments. If not, I wish you well in life, and love and liberty.
Warmest regards,
Barry
Barry S. Altman/ CEO
Commodore USA, LLC
On the Edge: Spectacular rise and fall of C=USA 