Buildup Continues, Not Critical
Pravda reports an estimated ten thousand PRU-SPU-CPU supporters at Maidan. Traffic has been blocked.
If we take into account the empty nest in Maryinsky Park, that number will give us Yanukovych’s “net working capital.” OK, let them blow off some steam, but let’s not fall asleep at the switch. We should be ready to get our own show on the road.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
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18 comments:
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/04/cea373b5-79d2-44af-9a9c-e229df485fd1.html
The Czechs seem mainly to be interviewing protestors in Kyev and apathetics...
I believe Victor Yusch is going to have admit that he failed the OR to surmount the apathy and rally more supporters for the NSNU, under better leadership...
dlw
But this time Yushchenko didn't fail the Orange Revolution. On the contrary, he had the guts to do what he had to do.
Apathy is the sister of "stability," Yanukovych's most trusted ally. Too bad those Blue folks haven't discovered the facts of life yet.
Yes, this time, but I think he still has past sins to atone for so as to help convince more people that their actions will be more fruitful this time...
dlw
It sounds like the SupCourt ruling matters a good deal, I'm hoping that some strategic rallying can help that...
I like Andrew Wilson's paper on contra-political technology impact of Ukraine's OR.
It's the sort of thing that makes me believe that a critical part of the answer is 'house church models for political activism".
dlw
It's toooo funny listening to PoR deputies talking about "compromise", "talks", "Round Table" ---- like they take those things seriously :)
Remember the Universal???
And of course Yanu is not afraid of elections - they have Kivalov and soon the CEC.
Radkovsky was too funny - could not get the demonstrators to chant "Nas Bahato..." (which they later did get) while at the same time arranging for special trains from Crimea for PoR supporters.
http://5.ua/newsline/266/20/39279/
If Yushchenko back downs, he’s dead — politically. Likewise, if the Orange ones do not confess their sins and do not hold regular lessons-learned workshops, they’re dead even if they win the election.
Compared to the mainstream Western media, Andrew Wilson offers a better analysis, perhaps one of the best I’ve ever seen. I am deeply shocked at the oft-shallow quality of today’s reports on Ukraine.
The Church played a major role in pre-WW II western Ukrainian society. Unfortunately, millions of Ukrainians would rather take their business elsewhere — to North America, Latin America, and Australia — than engage in political activities. Today, it’s Spain, Portugal, and Italy they go to. Still, one may find the Christian tradition to be stronger in the less Sovietized western Ukraine. By the way, Ukraine celebrates Easter this Sunday.
With the Universal of National Unity, Yushchenko bought himself a very expensive primer on political naïveté.
That “razom nas bahato” copycat thing really pissed a lot of Yanukovych people off. Rudkovsky certainly has a twisted sense of humor;)! Hopefully, one of those unidentified trains will take him to Russia, where he will be reunited with the 3B Club (Bakai, Bilokon, Bodelan).
I guess the joke is that Rudkovsky will be sued by GreenJolly for copyright infringement.
While the head of the CC is in the hospital (or not?) or has resigned (or not?) - it all comes down to the CC.
The Security Council meeting today was Yushchenko ratcheting it up and unfortunately in Western press - they are carrying the story as if he is doing so under pressure.
Kinda like the Tombstone poster on vilhelmkonnander.blogspot.com
So far the only lesson learned that I have seen the Orange side do is that they have taken into account the Western press (Yushchenko's piece publ. Ukraine’s crisis needs a firm response which was in Financial times, etc.) BUT the translation is hideous
"Відповідь на кризу в Україні має бути жорсткоюЄ
http://sprotiv.info/?id=04.04.2007%2016:35&tablename2=articles
"Compared to the mainstream Western media, ...I am deeply shocked at the oft-shallow quality of today’s reports on Ukraine."
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some very good reasons for this
a) central news agencies are the pits for their eng. lang. translations
unian.net, ukrinform.com/eng
b) ALL CIS news is controlled by Moscow and goes through Itar-tass, Interfax, etc. and what is released by AP,AFP and Reuters is usu. eeringly similiar.
c) obtaining alt. sources for eng. lang. news is hard - hotline.ua which was run by PORA during OR has been shut down, 5.tv no longer provides eng. lang. translations of it headlines, UA Pravda relies on volunteer translators and visiting d)ANY UA govt site shows the lack of translating into English (see UA CC
http://www.ccu.gov.ua/pls/wccu/indx)
After Yushchenko got into office there was a bit more on the UA Pres. site but it still lacks.
e) diff. reality if u read UA or RU but sites like maidan.org.ua have tons of info. in UA but little in eng
f) and pop. sites that do have eng. lang. translations for-ua.com are owned by SCM/Akmetov (one guess how their news is slanted?)
We celebrate Easter as well this Sunday...
I believe that brokenness of our leaders over their past failures can surmount the sinful drive to get and keep as much power as possible thru whatever means they can get away with...
As Elmer has written, Democracy requires eternal vigilance to work, and that eternal vigilance is itself a "miracle" or one of the disciplines that we are called to instill in disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19).
dlw
I absolutely agree with your observations. They still view Ukraine through the eyes of Moscow:( And part of the blame goes to Ukraine.
With rare exceptions, Ukrainian politicians have no English on their resumes.
Public relations people responsible for English content, if any, mistakenly believe that English has become a commodity skill. They pay poorly, and, as a result, quality suffers. Well, fair enough — what you pay is what you get.
The value of English as a tool for cross-cultural and political communication needs strong revaluation in this country.
David, I just wanted to say that it’s not every year that we celebrate Easter on the same day:)
Paraphrasing Elmer and Matt. 28:19, I’d say democracy is a full-time job in a world characterized by high levels of its underemployment.
Well, as I've been commenting over at OU, whom you shd link to along with other bloggers about Ukraine, I think that people shd be leaving comments on articles in the MSM about the severe shortcomings of english articles about Ukraine.
I left a comment on the Scotsman with a link to Foreign Notes...
Honestly, it may be the best way to get the word out...apart from posting comments on bigger blogs that have a history of having mentioned Ukraine and the Orange Revolution...
dlw
Neeka has a great post that points out how the NU supporters will have no rallies till Jesus rises, on Monday(not Sunday morning as recorded in Bible...).
I posted some quotes from Abe Lincoln on her blog...
"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, "Letter To Henry L. Pierce and Others" (April 6, 1859), p. 376.
"The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party - and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume V, "Meditation on the Divine Will" (September 2, 1862?), pp. 403-404.
"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: 'And this, too, shall pass away.' How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!" The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, "Address Before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin" (September 30, 1859), pp. 481-482.
"If all do not join now to save the good old ship of the Union this voyage nobody will have a chance to pilot her on another voyage." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume IV, "Speech at Cleveland, Ohio" (February 15, 1861), p. 216.
dlw
That’s one funny poster (vilhelmkonnander.blogspot.com;)!
I don’t agree with the analysis, though. In fact, what we see in Ukraine is a lame duck becoming a wild one. After all, isn’t that what we hired him for?
We need neither chaos nor stability. We Ukrainians need reform. But unless we roll up our sleeves and shake the status quo a little, we deserve none. Haven’t we had enough of that shy shit?:)
Hey, Neeka referred to PRU supporters:)!
Good point, anyway. While faith has been a factor in freedom movements around the world, I’m wary of the idea of employing God as a celebrity endorser in the political power struggle.
If we indulge in the practice of putting Jesus in the mix, we may end up poisoning our hearts with fundamentalism. That would position us in the same business as Gazprom and its subsidiary, the Russian Orthodox Church.
Providing public relations services for Yanukovych has been a major line of business for the ROC, whose moral claim on righteousness could only be compared to the blessings of privatization throughout the former Soviet Union. Ironically, the religious platform has become so appealing that even the Communists started peddling Jesus, casting aside their sacred mantra, “Religion is the opium of the people.”
I often wonder how long slavery would have existed in America if Lincoln had not made his bold decision.
Ukraine has actively engaged in the modern-day slave trade and has certain forms of slavery encoded in its social contract. The good news is, we’re not a country on the verge of civil war.
Granted, the situation is complicated — the oligarchs hate to lose. Yet blood doesn’t solve their problems. In fact, blood would make the worst of fuels for their upcoming IPOs.
"I don’t agree with the analysis, though. In fact, what we see in Ukraine is a lame duck becoming a wild one. After all, isn’t that what we hired him for?"
Totally agree - literally he pushed the red button. (But to vilhelmkonnander's defence he does have the best collected links of UA blogs.)
BTW Happy Easter!
Vilhelm Konnander is cool:)! I didn't wage an all-out attack on his analysis. His blog offers sound insights and definitely the most comprehensive list of links.
Happy Easter to you too;)!
Well, Ukraine is getting some decent coverage in western media. Newsweek has an interview with Timo that is well done...
Likewise Time has a good interview.
Taras wrote:"even the Communists started peddling Jesus, casting aside their sacred mantra, “Religion is the opium of the people.”"
dlw:It's like sex, it sells...
Taras, You shd steal from Vilhelm his list of blog-links. That is a serious short-coming of your blog... It's all about connections...
Christ is Risen!
dlw
Happy Easter, David:)!
I’m glad Tymo is breaking those walls.
At Ukrainiana, we are committed to providing you with our own content. Stealing is against our policy.
However, in response to mounting public pressure, we’ve modified our links policy. Your wish is granted. You’ve got your links:)!
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