Feeling nervous lecturing our man, huh?
Hope it was nothing special. Not that special.
If they do a remake of “See No Evil, Hear No Evil,” Bill Clinton should be in it!
In 1995, Clinton told Ukrainians that “The toil is bitter, but the harvest is sweet.”
“In the pursuit of peace and prosperity, you have been well-served by President Kuchma and his government's bold and farsighted leadership,” he added.
At that point, Kuchma made a bold and farsighted decision. He traded the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal for what would become a billion-dollar fortune in one of Europe’s poorest countries.
Clinton? He keeps coming back to what’s now the land of opportunity for the oligarchs and their friends.
Let’s hear what he has to say, shall we?
Bill Clinton: After the election, nobody was put in jail, nobody was poisoned...
Ever seen a comedy starring presidents and oligarchs? Try YES.
The 7th annual oligarchfest has attracted the greatest number of VIPs so far.
Javier Solana and Aleksander Kwaśniewski (permanent fixtures, to name just a few).
Moving on: Bill Clinton... 
How much this time, Bill?
That much?
Bruce Jackson reportedly showed up too. (Mr. McCain, as you support Ukraine, who do your associates support?)
And, YES, there was no shortage of comedy: premoderated questions, canned answers, misspelled names and communication gaps.
Solana: Would you go to Brussels again if you were elected president today?
Yanukovych [in Ukrainian]: Yes, there’s...there’s this really old proverb, a Ukrainian one, I guess [switches from Ukrainian to Russian]: “Sapogi dorogu znayut.” [“The boots know the road.”] That’s why...
Moderator: Let’s hope, then, you have good sapogi!
It turns out to be a Soviet Army joke, thanks to the interpretation supplied by Ukrayinska Pravda’s Serhiy Leshchenko.
Q: How do you get home drunk like that?
A: How? The boots know the road!
I wonder if Yanukovych actually went off the script with that one. What if he didn’t?
That sapogi thing sounds so true-to-life!
Sources:
http://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2010/10/3/5440739/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Aouv7r_VcI
http://durdom.in.ua/uk/main/photo/photo_id/19265.phtml
http://durdom.in.ua/uk/main/photo/photo_id/19322.phtml
All work and no play makes Pinchuk a dull boy. Why not hold a little carnival amid the big crisis?
YES is an international network established to promote the development of a just, free and prosperous Ukraine, to open the country to the rest of the world and to support Ukraine’s membership to the European Union.
Six annual YES meetings. Any results?
Has Ukraine improved its standing on world economic indexes? NO.
Has the EU eased its Schengen Curtain? NO.
Have the oligarchs invested a lot of money in energy-efficient technology? NO.
Have they started paying more and caring more about workplace safety? NO.
Have they separated business from government? NO.
Foreign participants:
Israeli President Shimon Peres (videoconferencing)
Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan (videoconferencing)
Former Russian ambassador Viktor Chernomyrdin
Former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer
Head of the IMF mission to Ukraine Ceyla Pazarbasioglu (“Ukraine does have a good social safety net.”)
Former Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski (permanent fixture)
Analyst Alexander Rahr (Yanukovych: Ukraine Remains Neutral, Ukraine Might Steal Gas Bound For Europe)
Analyst Anders Aslund (Leonid Kuchma Built a Prosperous Ukraine)
Ukrainian participants: Tymoshenko, Yanukovych, Yatsenyuk (presidential hopefuls).
Last year, they watched a movie called YES We Can. Unfortunately, that movie doesn't seem to be available on YouTube as advertised.
Instead, they have this:
So YES you can what? Keep Ukrainians down? Depopulate Ukraine further? Donate another $5M to the Clinton Foundation? Feed Ukraine to the Kremlin? Expand oligarch cartels overseas?
Sources:
http://yes-ukraine.org
Karl Rove, Bob Shrum, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Tony Blair, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Viktor Chernomyrdin. What brings these cosmocrats together?
Viktor Pinchuk’s pet project, Yalta European Strategy (YES), whose fifth annual summit kicked off Thursday. (Alas, no Bill Clinton this year.)
In the absence of clear and measurable achievements in brining Ukraine closer to Europe, YES continues to operate largely as a personal PR program of Ukraine’s second-richest man (net worth: $8.8B).
This self-promotional philosophy manifests itself in Pinchuk’s other initiatives, e.g. importing world-class performers Elton John and Paul McCartney to Kyiv for free concerts.
The fifth annual YES talkathon will feature discussions of food, energy, trade, and Ukraine’s European aspirations.
So when will Ukraine become an EU member? Is it 2020? Or has the target date been revised to 2030 or 2040 or 2050? If you press the flesh, drink champaign and share your vacation plans, will it add any value to Ukrainian society?
If you talk the talk as Ukraine’s population continues to dwindle — with a life expectancy of 67.7 years and a net loss of almost 7 million people in 17 years — it will be ordinary Ukrainians who will walk the walk.
They will vote with their feet.
Pinchuk’s Eurotalk
"Я не впевнений, що в кінці дороги євроінтеграції ми повинні вступити до ЄС, але ми повинні пройти цей шлях".
“I’m not sure that having come to the end of the EU integration road, we should join the EU, yet go to the distance we should.”
"Без цієї моркви - вступу до ЄС – неможливо примусити провести реформи в Україні", - додав Пінчук”.
“Without this carrot — that is, EU accession — it would be impossible to pass reform in Ukraine.”
“Ми будемо такі круті, що самі вибиратимемо, з ким об’єднуватися".
“[Once we’re there] we’ll be so cool that it will be up to us to choose who to associate with.”
"Його роль у євроінтеграції України дуже важлива. Він позитивно ставиться до України і за вчорашній день воно покращилося"
“His [Schröder’s] role in Ukraine’s EU integration is very important. He is positive on Ukraine, and since yesterday his stance has improved.”
"Я вважаю Партію регіонів прихильником європейської інтеграції. Вони це багаторазово декларували, але я особисто це відчуваю і в цьому переконаний".
“I consider the Party of Regions a supporter of [Ukraine’s] EU integration. They have repeatedly stated that, but I personally feel it and am convinced of it.”
Source: http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2007/6/30/60955.htm
Talking Eurotalk: Pinchuk Brings Prominent Leaders to Yalta to Discuss Ukraine's Accession Prospects
The Yalta European Strategy (YES), a loose alliance of “friends of Ukraine” among Western political elites is holding its fourth annual meeting in Yalta.
This Black Sea resort, known as the cradle of the Cold War, has become something of an ego spa for billionaire Viktor Pinchuk to bask in favorable publicity. It is there that former president Kuchma’s son-in-law surrounds himself with the glitterati and cognoscenti to celebrate his chronic graduation from localcrat to cosmocrat, using YES as a public relations conduit.
Founded in 2003 under the aegis of the Pinchuk Foundation, YES sprang to life on the eve of Kryvorizhstal’s heavily discounted privatization and Ukraine’s rigged presidential election. So, yes, the timing tells it all. And so does the branding choice, if you apply an ounce of Freudian analysis to it. Considering Kuchma’s role in shaping Ukrainians’ travel opportunities and treatment abroad, the YES brand projects a tremendous sense of black humor.
No wonder Pinchuk’s pet project has been a "Eurotalkathon:" an organization with no quantifiable objectives and no progress reports.
What’s in the pipeline for Ukraine? This year we hear Kwaśniewski talk of 2020 as the most realistic EU accession date for Ukraine; we marvel at Schröder’s undying passion for GasPutin; we meditate on Clinton’s pep talk.
Clinton seems to have thoroughly repressed the memory of the cheerleader act he pulled for Kuchma during his May 1995 visit to Kyiv. Here’s a quote from a speech he delivered at Taras Shevchenko University:
Sounds prophetic, doesn’t it? Well, this time he joked about importing Ukrainian budgeting talent to solve America’s deficit problem. Be careful what you wish for, Mr. President.
In the pursuit of peace and prosperity, you have been well-served by President Kuchma and his government's bold and farsighted leadership. You should know this: As you build your future, the United States will stand with you.
Sources: http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2007/6/28/60934.htm
