Yes, I can see you how you might arguing that without publishing your stories we wouldn't have civilization on Earth. I agree, Mr. Pall, but I will continue to criticize your production. Instead of hearing from me first hand what I think about stories, you will read it.

So, Mr. Sir, your last week's production had at least two big daubs.

The first one is your perfunctory attempt to re-write Shakespeare. You think that nobody would recognize that "Something is rotten in the province Kosovo" as a crib of "Something is rotten in state of Denmark". Or maybe it is plan to produce a new tragedy with another answer for the "to be or not to be" question? I am afraid that everything leads to "not to be.

"Not to be" for the non-Albanians who are the ethnically cleansed now.

"Not to be" for the international community who has accepted the main role in Kosovo, but has a problem getting the results which could be expected of stars and are beginning to look simply like extras on the stage.

"Not to be" even for Albanians, who would like success at creating a jingoistic state, unacceptable for this millennium.

Your second daub, Mr. Buddy, is a fabulous scorn for your readers. Do you really think that their memories are so short that you can smuggle in absolute new behavior on the part of the same characters you used in previous stories?

I admit you succeeded with this ploy in the story of the Berlin wall. You actually had hundreds of thousands of ex-communists convert to democrats. Your method was back-handed even in 1989, but then we could pronounce it "refreshing.." "breaking up old-fashioned models." Either one liked it or one did not.

But today, you are trying to tell the same story with the parliamentary elections in Croatia. Let me quote one journalist from Croatia: "In the Parliament and in the leadership of state were seated people from whom a proper man wouldn't buy a second-hand car. People who know nothing and mean nothing".

Such a situation isn't actually only in Croatia, of course, the same story applies in Serbia (maybe we could recognize this as a rule in "transition" countries - the less democracy, the less impressive biographies of people on the top). As in Croatia, the elite in Serbia are now people who were in the best cases anonymous before 1990. There are exceptions. One exception of is Mr. Ljubisa Ristic, one of the best theater directors in the former Yugoslavia, who is now president of the party called JUL (one of three parties in Mr. Milosevic's opposition).

I think, Mr. Life, that I know why Mr. Ristic accepted the role you provide for him in JUL. His theater performances always were spectacles and I believe that Mr. Ristic - as director - couldn't resist the chance to direct on a stage bigger than in any theater and covering one whole country!

Dear Mr. Life, I do not believe that you will trash this letter without reading it. No creativity without vanity. Not even in your case. Otherwise, we wouldn't live in the best of all possible worlds.