CvetinChillimanov

Arrests are back on the menu in Macedonia, as the Govenrment is running out of time and needs to force opposition members of Parliament to vote for their little deal with Bulgaria. Jason and Cvetin discuss the details of the new charges against opposition officials, and how they undermine Macedonian national identity - even after we witnessed what the similar concessions made to Greece in 2019 did to the country. We have an amusing example of how identity politics backfired - as the left was trying to redefine gender, it immediately has consequences for the national identity. We also talk about the extremely rare example of American scrutiny for the Albanians, and even rarer that it's directed at the DUI party. Is it the real deal, or is the Embassy just trying to provide some cover for itself, as it orders more arrests of VMRO people? We're about to find out. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Jason and Cvetin are forced to do an emergency podcast, as suddenly all the political rules in Macedonia got thrown out the window, and the three key parties, VMRO, SDSM and DUI are putting out all sorts of crazy ideas - a grand coalition, a Macedonia first grand coalition without DUI, voting on the Bulgarian amendments but with a long time delay fuse... In short, VMRO is trying to get the all-powerful DUI out of the Government and divide this party into factions that would scrabble with each other and the other Albanian parties. SDSM and DUI are trying to get VMRO inside the Government, and get it to vote on the Bulgarian amendments, hoping it will poison the support this party has among ethnic Macedonians. Zaev is supporting the first option, but is he secretly trying to orchestrate the second option? Is Gruevski somehow involved? Will this end with a pyre of bribery, intimidation and arrests of members of Parliament, like the one that followed the Prespa Treaty? Will there be a Red Wedding? All this, and more, in the latest episode of the Macedonian Content Farmers podcast. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Even experienced Balkan watchers are confused at the recent dramatic change in tone from the United States (and the EU, but who cares about them) toward Kosovo. After decades of taking the Albanian side even when they were obviously in the wrong (hint: attacking Macedonia), the US is now praising Serbia for its attitude toward the recent Ohrid agreement and is condeming Kosovo as the uncooperative side. In light of this tectonic change, Cvetin and Jason sit down to discuss what could be behind it, and what it will turn in to. Could it mean that Kosovo is now also on the menu and how will it affect Macedonia (which is most defintiely on the menu). Tune in for this latest episode of the Macedonian Content Farmers podcast. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Even experienced Balkan watchers are confused at the recent dramatic change in tone from the United States (and the EU, but who cares about them) toward Kosovo. After decades of taking the Albanian side even when they were obviously in the wrong (hint: attacking Macedonia), the US is now praising Serbia for its attitude toward the recent Ohrid agreement and is condeming Kosovo as the uncooperative side. In light of this tectonic change, Cvetin and Jason sit down to discuss what could be behind it, and what it will turn in to. Could it mean that Kosovo is now also on the menu and how will it affect Macedonia (which is most defintiely on the menu). Tune in for this latest episode of the Macedonian Content Farmers podcast. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

It's on! The US Embassy is now openly endorsing the DUI - SDSM Government, and wants Macedonians to accept the Bulgarian demands for constitutional amendments, and to just shut the bleep up about the travesty of the Bechtel highway deal. Cvetin and Jason had to jump back in the podcasting saddle (after a long - too long break due to pressing matters of international importance) to shed light on the Embassy arm twisting - the likes of which we haven't seen since 2016. If VMRO was trying to make a deal with the Embassy (asking for early elections in exchange for secretly promising that the next Parliament will vote in the Bulgarian amendments) now it seems that the US will stick to its favored coalition of DUI and SDSM, and pressure tactics are back in play. And with Parliament expected to have a proposal in the summer, things are going to move fast. Some push-back is coming from the EU, on the issue of Bechtel, but on the other hand, EU is even more intent on having Macedonia accept the Bulgarian demands - a German diplomat came to Skopje to darkly warn about uncertain future for the country is we don't vote on the matter ASAP (and Serbian and Bulgarian politicians are openly talking about war and partition). Meanwhile, actually Kovacevski seems eager to turn up the heat in the fight with Bulgaria, accusing them of acting as bad as Russia does toward Ukraine. Now you know why we had to do a podcast, and will probably have to keep a more regular schedule in the weeks to come. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

It's on! The US Embassy is now openly endorsing the DUI - SDSM Government, and wants Macedonians to accept the Bulgarian demands for constitutional amendments, and to just shut the bleep up about the travesty of the Bechtel highway deal. Cvetin and Jason had to jump back in the podcasting saddle (after a long - too long break due to pressing matters of international importance) to shed light on the Embassy arm twisting - the likes of which we haven't seen since 2016. If VMRO was trying to make a deal with the Embassy (asking for early elections in exchange for secretly promising that the next Parliament will vote in the Bulgarian amendments) now it seems that the US will stick to its favored coalition of DUI and SDSM, and pressure tactics are back in play. And with Parliament expected to have a proposal in the summer, things are going to move fast. Some push-back is coming from the EU, on the issue of Bechtel, but on the other hand, EU is even more intent on having Macedonia accept the Bulgarian demands - a German diplomat came to Skopje to darkly warn about uncertain future for the country is we don't vote on the matter ASAP (and Serbian and Bulgarian politicians are openly talking about war and partition). Meanwhile, actually Kovacevski seems eager to turn up the heat in the fight with Bulgaria, accusing them of acting as bad as Russia does toward Ukraine. Now you know why we had to do a podcast, and will probably have to keep a more regular schedule in the weeks to come. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Who says that societal decline can't be a laughing matter? Jason and Cvetin find the humorous side in the on-going gang war in Skopje, DUI's newfound appetite for majority rule and the planned bulldozing of archeological sites. We discuss how VMRO found a way to turn the debate about the Constitution on its head and actually score some points against SDSM and the Albanians by - gasp - demanding that Macedonians rolls back some of the endless national concessions they made over the decades. But also how their move prompted calls for federalization of the country from the Government's most recently added Albanian party. As we are contract bound, we also discuss how the Bulgarian elections may affect Macedonia and the harsh language with which Pendarovski refused their request to have a formal seat at the committee drafting the constitutional amendments. And we can't resist but talk about the Balkan Twitter sensation - Gunther the Austrian who is very good (too good?) at pushing buttons, and his antics in the Holocaust Museum in Skopje. All this, and more, in the latest Macedonian Content Farmers podcast. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

After investing millions in a Colored Revolution to bring its favored crew in power in Macedonia, the US Government now comes to collect. The Bechtel corporation, widely known as an arm of the State Department, signed a huge deal worth 1.3 billion with the Government to build us a couple of highways. Jason and Cvetin explain all the problems with the deal - including the fact that it was a no-bid arrangement - no competitive offers were even entertained; it will likely grow to at least 2 billion when all the bells and whistles are involved; the country gets no EU funding because it was, well, a secretive, corrupt no-bid deal that didn't go to an EU company; and any political clout Macedonia may buy in Washington by forking over a fifth of its GDP are worse than lost - they are counterproductive, because the deal was negotiated by the Albanian element in the Governmetn and will benefit the Albanian cause more than the Macedonian cause. Bechtel and the State Department didn't bother to play ball even in small things, such as calling the natives living in the country you're plundering by their chosen name. Meanwhile the Government is in full gansterism mode, extorting companies as it tries to rig prices of staple products, and the original gangsters are out-gangstering the politicians by killing each other in the streets. And Zaev is now openly working to bring down the Government. All this, and more, in the latest Macedonian Content Farmers podcast. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

We kinda knew that we are getting close to the point where Macedonians will have to make a US style land acknowledgement to Albanians - as our ancient predecessors to this land - but now it comes with a new twist - Albanians are renaming themselves into Dardanians. This new development comes after an ancient engraved piece of marble was found near Skopje with the words Dardanus - which the Albanians take to mean that the city always was and always will be - Illirian, or Albanian. The drama over Dardanization comes together with another Albanian nationalist push - to create a statelet within Macedonia, with its executive instutions, an assembly, a President, and local powers, inspired by the similar demands from Kosovo with regard to its Serbian minority. As the (nominally) Macedonian element in the Government continues to make concessions, the Albanians are naturally becoming emboldened to press their demands ever further. Meanwhile, Government officials are busy enriching themselves, with real-estate corruption and contract rigging, but also by trying to take-over entire industries - big ones at that. The Government decided to help out its friends in the industrial bakeries, by giving them energy subsidies, only to use this gift as an excuse to turn on them and try to run their companies - fixing prices and even ordering them to resume production at a loss. The predictable result (at least for the old folks who were here during the 1980ies, and 1990ies) is - you guessed it - bread shortages in the supermarkets. We cover these news, but also touch on the Bulgarian elections, where Cvetin has a dire prediction from the possible first election victory of a post national, modern style "liberal" party. Tune in for the latest round of messiness from Macedonia. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

The Goce Delcev gathering in Skopje did not turn into a violent incident but it still managed to deteriorate relations between Macedonia and Bulgaria even further. It became a show of force, with smaller incidents on the border and in Blagoevgrad, and the veto all but assured - even as diplomats continue to advise Macedonia to "hold its nose and swallow" the Bulgarian demands. Concurrently, a political crisis is developing in Skopje. The Government is reshuffling its Albanian partners just to get to the exact same slim number of seats its "majority" held before. Running to stand still. The whole operation could still collapse and drag Kovacevski's Government down, but it could also turn into a permanent, Albanian dominated ruling majority that will be held in place by the diplomats on Mt. Kale and Mt. Vodno. It would also formally put an end to Macedonia as a Macedonian nation state. But we try to keep the show cheerful. Promise! Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

With a nod and slight paraphrase of the famous book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Cvetin and Jason meet up virtually to talk about near future events and possibly incidents – in this case the 151st birthday of Macedonian patriot and hero Goce Delcev – and all of the rhetoric and actions swirling around and between Macedonia and Bulgaria these days. They also touch on the machinations of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian parties and what they are demanding (or will demand), the plans and plots of SDSM and VMRO, the involvement of the US Ambassador (Jess Baily 2.0) and Embassy in this hot mess, and more. And they celebrate, as much as one can do over the interwebs, the 150th episode of this very niche podcast on all things Macedonia. Have a listen! Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Cvetin and Jason get together live and in Macedonia for this first podcast of 2023 to discuss what’s new in this New Year. On the heels of the US Embassy’s big push with Teams Sanctions! in December, a new State Department pooh-bah comes into Skopje with his list of who’s been naughty and nice. Derek Chollet, who worked on Hillary Clinton’s campaign and in the administrations of both Clinton and Obama, came to Macedonia to discuss “fighting corruption.” What does this mean? How does the Tirana meeting of Edi Rama with Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian leaders fit into this? Will there (finally) be early elections in Macedonia? And what about all the intrigue within SDS? Have a listen! Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute)

Sike, it's Hunter Biden

And you thought it was quiet in Macedonia! Cvetin and Jason get together to discuss US Ambassador to Macedonia Angela Aggeler’s recent announcement – via Elon Musk’s Twitter – that, not Santa, but Team Sanctions (or is it Sanctions Team?) is coming to town! According to the Tweet, they are going to “take a more aggressive look at past and current corrupt actors” (and we think they’ll probably be looking for some Minority Report pre-crime actors as well). What does all this mean? Will the Team known as Sanctions go after VMRO to force a constitution change to placate the Bulgarians and EU? Will they go after SDS, for actual corruption? Will they tackle DUI and their (literally) murderous members? Inquiring minds want to know! And of course, the elephant in the room – since the US Department of State contributed to the erosion of trust in the rule of law and judicial institutions in Macedonia through State’s actions, especially in 2001 and 2015/2016, isn’t this really like the arsonist offering to put out the fire? And will the arsonist focus on the whole fire, or just one part? Comedian takes on an Albanian dude https://www.tiktok.com/@bushilondon007/video/7173750904103898374?_r=1&_t=8Y1AiMDpKkQ&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7173750904103898374 Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute)

It is Sunday, November 13, and as Nancy Pelosi, current (though not for long) speaker of the US House of Representatives once said during a senior moment on national TV, “Good morning. Sunday morning.” (see our Farmers’ Pick below). Cvetin and Jason get together this day to talk about the US elections where, in some states (cough, cough, Arizona), they are still counting votes. What does this mean? Why was there no Republican “red wave?” What is the future of US politics and how does this relate – if at all – to Macedonia? Have a listen! Our Farmers’ Picks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRX4sZtAOzI Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute)

Getting back into a more regular pattern of podcasts every two weeks or so, Cvetin and Jason take stock of current events in Macedonia including the recent visit by EU Supremo Von der Leyen where she managed to insult Macedonians by calling them “North Macedonians,” events in Bulgaria and the recent opening of a Macedonian cultural club and the Bulgarian reaction to it, and continuing fissures and fractions in the DUI party of terrorist-turned-politician Ali Ahmeti and what this could mean for Macedonia. And a wee bit of talk about the new US Ambassador and upcoming American elections. Have a listen! Our Farmers’ Pick: Note: this has nothing to do with Macedonia, but it is a wonderful lament. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX5_eiZtDhg

We got into this unprepared but by design. There are news coming from Macedonia, but nothing too dramatic or fully formed, so in this episode Jason and Cvetin try to do a review of where the country stands and where it's going. Especially with the return of the old canard, that one side, the left, is pro-European, and the other, the right, is anti-European, especially since it refuses to accept every single diktat coming our way. Also, how this translates into a large chunk of Macedonians feeling betrayed by the West and turning toward Russia almost by default. In the news part of the podcast, we talk about what is behind the rare outburst of division in the DUI party. Near the end, Jason reveals a shocking lack of knowledge in the lore of the best recent TV show to come from his part of the world, and Cvetin keeps bursting every single bubble of optimism from the show :) Our Farmers’ Picks: https://twitter.com/lwyr_up https://twitter.com/ristespiroski Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Political turmoil in Macedonia as the Government rejects the request of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party to convene a referendum on the Bulgarian demands. The request was rejected under a strange explanation - that the citizens can't vote on an international treaty. VMRO was hoping to leverage its opposition to the Bulgarian and to use the referendum, where it proposed a seemingly self-defeating question, to secure early elections. But the Government (and the internationals to whom this proposal was apparently made) did not bite. SDSM instead takes the initiative as it uses the tools at its disposal - bribes and threats of criminal prosecution - to wrest important mayors away from VMRO. After the Mayor of Skopje's Karpos district, now the main prize of the 2021 local elections - the Mayor of the city of Skopje Danela Arsovska, abruptly broke its relations with VMRO and turned on VMRO leader Mickoski. We discuss what is behind this. We also prepare to welcome the new governor of the country - as US Ambassador Kate Byrnes leaves and is to be replaced with an all too familiar face. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

With Jason in Skopje, we have a rare in-person episode of the Macedonian Content Farmers podcast. We have the continued collapse of the rule of law in Macedonia, with the very public fight between several groups of SDSM aligned prosecutors. We identify the key Government figure over whom the fight is being waged - Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski faced serious charges from a prosecutor who is either escaping party control or works for a rival SDSM wing, but at the moment he is having the upper hand - while the country loses any pretense at having an independent judiciary in the process. The obligatory Bulgarian segment touches on the coming census in Albania and Bulgarian attempts to increase their minority in Albania, which will obviously reduce the number of those who register as Macedonians. And the economy keeps getting worse as Macedonia faces a very uncertain energy situation during the winter. But Jason tries to find a silver lining in it all. Have a listen. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

It’s been a while since they last podcasted about Macedonia but events in Macedonia do not take a break, so Cvetin and Jason gather again to talk about what has transpired in the past month. That includes watching the remnants of the colorful revolution continue to devour itself, this time at the level of the public prosecutor and the financial police. Lots of finger pointing going around! Macedonia’s kowtowing to Bulgaria in order to join a dubious EU continues with Macedonian historians continuing to disabuse themselves as well as Macedonian history and heroes, and the government finally scores a win with some foreign direct investment – but is it really a win, what will it really cost Macedonian taxpayers, and just how corrupt is it? Have a listen. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Cvetin and Jason spend the entire episode discussing the French-Bulgarian diktat that Macedonians are being “asked” to accept. What demands does it make? What does Macedonia get in return? Why are the internationals in the West so hot to trot in demanding that Macedonians accept this? What does this mean for the EU longer-term? Why is the US State Department ruining US credibility among Macedonians? Why are some from the left denouncing the proposal? And is there any good news in this hot mess? Have a listen to find out the answers! Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Cvetin and Jason start off the first of July with a podcast dedicated to the most recent events of the past week, namely, the introduction of bilateral issues into the EU negotiating framework for potential new members, which is precedent-setting and not in a good way. Essentially, Bulgaria’s demands that Macedonia deny its identity are now demanded by the EU if Macedonia wants to be an EU member. The Macedonian government has, more or less, already agreed to erase Macedonian identity off the face of the earth by accepting these even though it says it wants to have a broad discussion with all of Macedonia. What does all this mean for Macedonia, for the EU, for the future? Have a listen. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

Come on, man! This is a conservative podcast so we can title it just that – which is the way this podcast ends with that call. But before that Cvetin and Jason get into a lot of news about what is going on, politically and otherwise, in Macedonia in this, their first podcast of 2022. They chat about the “new” government about to take over in Macedonia, outgoing minister Nikola Dimitrov who seems to have seen the proverbial light with his warnings about Bulgaria and now is making enemies of everyone (and don’t forget: he is the architect of the name and identity giveaway to Greece), Bulgaria, Haaaaaarvard, Macedonia’s Albanian leadership and their lack of regard for anything Macedonian, and more. Have a listen! Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name

The second round of local elections in Macedonia took place on Sunday, October 31 and produced a tsunami of good news for the opposition VMRO-DPMNE and a massive defeat for the ruling parties and current government of SDSM and DUI. Cvetin and Jason suss out the results and details as they analyze what this means. And Zoran Zaev announces his resignation as both prime minister of Macedonia and leader of his party, SDSM (before 1991, the League of Communists of Macedonia). But will he actually resign? Will he accept his own resignation? Macedonians want to know! Have a listen as they discuss all of this and more. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name