I'm a firm believer in freedom of speech. But there's freedom of speech, and then there is calumny. A debate, however heated, is one thing - an anonymous, ad hominem screed, quite another.
Back in April I wrote a couple pieces about a surprise spike in propaganda appearing on an otherwise innocuous-looking website named Palluxo. For all its claims to be a news portal, it turned out that every single article in Palluxo's "International" and "Special Reports" sections was unrestrained Serbophobic propaganda. From pronouncements by Bosnia's top Islamic cleric about the "joint experience" of genocide with the Jews (even though it was Muslims who helped the Croat Ustasha exterminate the Bosnian Jewry in WW2) to the latest article titled "Albanian Kosovo Marks Another Victory Over Serbia". Well, at least they are straightforward, right?
Having eventually tracked down these uncredited pieces to the "Srebrenica Genocide Blog," the "Congress of North American Bosniaks" and professional Serbophobe Marko Attilla Hoare, I dismissed Palluxo as an attempt to smuggle crass propaganda as news, and paid them no mind since. That is, until someone sent me a link today to an article calling me a "disgraced Srebrenica genocide denier."
The entire piece is an ad hominem attack on yours truly. But it gets better. Apparently, I'm not to be trusted not only because I'm a Serb, but because I do "not have any PhD qualification in history, [have] never held an academic post, published his work in an academic journal, or even visited an archive."
This here leads me to believe the author of the invective in question is Hoare, since he routinely boasts about his academic background and links to respectable government institutions.
So I don't have a PhD. Many people who do have embraced the worst kind of lies about the Balkans, and some - like Hoare, for example - are peddling them enthusiastically. I happen to have a Bachelor's in history, an analytical mind, and a lot of experience in the region (and the Empire) that various hacks championing Official Truth could only dream of. I have even visited archives - but they must not count, because Hoare wasn't there to check?
The mystery author claims his "sources in Sarajevo" could not confirm my diplomatic and media connections. He should find better sources. Should I list the ambassadors, charges d'affaires, political officers and other officials I've met during the Bosnian War? Or the journalists who hired me to translate for them? I could, but I won't. Because unlike certain people, who draw their legitimacy and credibility from their names and people they know, I let my arguments speak for themselves. It's much easier to ignore the arguments and focus on the person making them, dismissing him or her because they don't belong to the ranks of those allowed to have an opinion.
The Palluxo piece doesn't attack just me. It goes after John Laughland, Germinal Civikov, and pretty much anyone who dares challenge the Official Truth as handed down by the Hague Inquisition and its willing executioners. Anonymous appeals to the authority of ICTY verdicts, and dismisses those who challenge them on purely ad hominem grounds. Oh, this guy is a Milosevic supporter. This one's "obscure." That one's a Marxist, did you know? And this Nebojsa character, why he's a Serb!
Ultimately, the worst Anonymous could come up with was that a "long time Jewish friend of ours described Nebojsa Malic as 'insensitive pig'."
Oh wow. Anonymous has a Jewish friend. And he called me insensitive! I am crushed! My life is over!
Or not. Honestly, I couldn't care less. Whoever wrote this garbage - and given the source of Palluxo's features, I've got a couple of decent guesses - deserves pity and contempt. Maybe not in that order. After all, they don't even dare sign their words with a fake name. By contrast, everything I've written over the past decade has my actual name on it. I don't even hide it on this blog, though I don't throw it into my readers' faces either.
In today's world, information is cheap. It's credibility that's expensive. And it takes a lot more to impugn my credibility than the anonymous rant of a character assassin.
Nice try, dirtbag.
19 comments:
In a way it a compliment. If you weren't a threat to their tall tails then they wouldn't bother attacking you. And if anything you were saying was wrong they would have facts to back that up and not just slurs and half truths. Like LM losing their case to ITV, it wasn't because they didn't prove the images were fake but that they couldn't prove it that Penny Marshall had the intent to fake them. And the irony of saying all you serb ultra nationalists get your information from one another, ha go through any of the links anon posted and they all pretty much come from the same sources. And so what if 7 people testified about Srebrenica, 100's testified against Milosevic and not one of them came up with any actual evidence
Why do they even bother? Surely the MSM already does enough defamation and dehumanization. Why do these ragtag internet warriors believe they should fill in imaginary gaps?
Oh, I do take it as a compliment, Robstar; they wouldn't be attacking me if I weren't a threat.
Deucaon, the MSM is fickle; today it may be expedient to manufacture a myth of the poor innocent Muslim victims, and tomorrow it may no longer be required, or useful. Also, the MSM is dying, and these people are trying to carve out their own niche on the Web. Creating a false front news site to carry their propaganda is a stupid way to do it, but to each his own.
Srebrenica Genocide Blog," the "Congress of North American Bosniaks" and professional Serbophobe Marko Attilla Hoare are weasels.
"If you weren't a threat to their tall tales then they wouldn't bother attacking you."
That is the point. And of course it is a compliment, "Nobody kicks a dead dog", goes the saying. And an old Serbian one: "Dog barks - wind carries it away". Some noise of no significance, so who cares, pay no attention...
Since there is no space to leave a message on Palluxo website and there is no name of the author of the published anti-Malic text, I’ll leave my message for them here.
If the Palluxo’s hate mongers want to be credible they should blame Clintons, NATO leaders, the so-called international community and their leadership (Alija Izetbegovic and Franjo Tudjman) for the bloody war that caused thousands of dead Serbs as well as Muslim and Croats.
The author of the text sounds like Attila the Hoare, indeed, or one of his ilk. As one of my friends points out: “Nobody pays attention to them except, unfortunately, certain Bosnian Muslims who hope this sort of garbage can eventually help them get reparation money for the fictional "genocide". This is wicked because it serves only to fan hatred.”
Nebojsa, keep up the excellent work you are doing and do not pay attention to all these pitiful souls who would write any lie to promote their careers or earn a small amount of money.
Palluxo.com is a fraud and scam site.
They are baiting you for traffic.
There are many of these sites. I have written about an example here:
http://www.limbicnutrition.com/blog/the-unrepentant-megalomania-of-dr-megalommatis/
"Sites like that have a simple business model: post outrageous and controversial content to drive traffic to your adverts. Their modus operandus? You simply select a target community (often an embattled ethnic group), pay people to slander them, then wait for the outraged visitors come surging in as news of the slander travels through ethnic communities."
They also just rip off other people's content.
See this recent post complaining about Palluxo's theft:
http://blog.thisyoungeconomist.com/2009/05/companies-i-love-case-of-stolen-apple.html
Report the site to Google Adsense for gross violations of policy.
Google Adsense prohibits sites that have content that contains “racial intolerance, or advocacy against any individual, group, or organization”.
To anonymously submit your notification of a Google Adsense terms of use violation (e.g. racism against Serbs) simply click on the “Ads by Google” on any of the sites’ adverts, then click “Report a violation” and if the reason is hate speech, select “Website” and “Other”. Put a link to the article in the comment field and note that it constitutes hate speech. If the offending site’s Adsense account is suspended, they are out of business.
Hit back smartly by hitting the baiters where it hurts, in their pockets.
Thank you, Jonathan. I suspected as much when they first appeared online, and that is the reason I refrain from linking to them any more than I absolutely have to.
I think what they are trying to do is exploit the Google tracking algorithms to make their libelous article about me show up in search results more than anything I've written.
Hi Nebojsa,
A new article by Reuters claims that you are a production-line worker. http://tinyurl.com/l2nazk
Nebojsa, go to Google News and type "Nebojsa Malic"
http://news.google.com
It is clear they are trying to "googlebomb" me so that any mention of my name leads to their site. They know absolutely nothing about me, but that doesn't stop them from lying. Which is what they do: lie.
Even if it was true, it doesn't make your point any less valid. It seems to be their fundamental failing that they assume only those who have status are entitled to an opinion. They are so consumed by this principle that they don't even have an argument, only labels. But considering the horrible mess which was caused by the propaganda from the 1990s, I'm not surprised. It's almost scary to think that there is an army of pseudo-intellectuals, constantly shouting slogans and advocating witch hunts. Perhaps they should read a book about a totalitarian dystopia. Or perhaps not, as they would probably just use it to make fictitious comparisons between said dystopia and Serbs.
Only those who share their opinion are entitled to an opinion, in their eyes. But then it's not really an opinion, is it?
I don't mind being called a factory worker; there's nothing wrong with being one. But it's still a lie, and shows how reliable their "sources" are.
Again, normally I wouldn't give a damn about this gang of obvious nutjobs, but they aren't just slinging mud, they are shoveling it onto the Internet and hoping to drown everything in it. I sure as hell hope Google blacklists them soon enough.
I think you ought to sue them for defamation. Simply hire a "no win, no fee lawyer". Set them loose. Sit back and let the law take its course.
Character assassination is what these guys do. I've had Attila Hoare compare me to Hitler and Milan Nedic, and that was just irritating. But it's a bit different when you're talking about organised campaigns to shut down people who have different views, using these methods.
On the other hand, the more they do this, the more they expose themselves. And I always say that if you're annoying the right people, you must be doing something right.
compare and contrast:
Malic does not have any PhD qualification in history, He has never held an academic post, published his work in an academic journal, or even visited an archive.
by 'anonymous'.
Clark has no qualifications in journalism or in Balkan or Middle Eastern studies, knows none of the Middle Eastern or Balkan languages, has never reported from either region, has little first-hand knowledge of either, and has never conducted original research or published a book or scholarly article on either
http://www.helsinki.org.rs/tjsrebrenica_t06.html
by Marko Attila-Hoare.
This doesn't prove of course that anonymous is Attila-Hoare, only that he clearly admires- and copies A-H's writing style.
Hoare is an neocon ally of Oliver Kamm who has boasted about his efforts in 'destroying' my career after my critical review of a pro-war book he had written was published in the Daily Telegraph.
details of the campaign against me here:
http://neilclark66.blogspot.com/2007/05/poisonous-vendatta-of-oliver-kamm.html and elsewhere on my blog.
As you will see 'anonymous' has been active here too. The favoured strategy has been for Kamm's blogposts about me to be emailed anonymously, or pseudonymously to editors of newspapers I write for me 'drawing' their attention to what Kamm has written about me.
This comment is late but I hope you will post it.
To me the proof that MAH is a slime artist is that he posted a photo of Cheke Kula next to you without even bothering to discuss the history and importance of the tower. Wouldn't it be ironic if the imbecile has inadvertently stimulated interest in atrocities against the Serbs! As you say -better to keep your mouth shut....
MAH is not only a professional anti-Serb but a poor writer. He is his own worst enemy. His columns are humourless and repetitive. It is no surprise he forbids comments. MAH is striving for respectability and attention. However, as is usually the case with publicity-seekers, the more they shout, the more ridiculous they appear. His demand that we sign up to fight for Georgia last year is a classic. But my favourite was his demand for sanctions against Egypt for not recognising the independence of Kosovo. Spoken like a true failed ex-Trotskyist. MAH would gladly take the whole world down with Kosovo if he could.
His views as well as his journalistic skills are to be pitied. Hopefully he will one day find spiritual peace in some obscure separtist nirvana preaching the gospel according to Tony Blair.
You have emerged from this with far more dignity Njebosa. But let's admit it - it's not that difficult against this kind of opposition.
When I saw that old photo of mine posted next to a skull from the tower, I realized Hoare was actually stupid enough to call me a "romantic nationalist" and believe that to be an insult.
Oh, and if anyone's tried checking Palluxo these days, you get a blank page. I guess they folded once the lies became obvious.
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