Comments on: Ukraine

By: raj

raj — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 12:16:26 +0000

>Apparently there is a Europe-wide pork-fat drought. It’s not specifically Ukraine. They can always try chicken fat, instead. One wonders whether the pork fat drought is a result of the apparent world-wide obsession to have leaner pork. Which, of course, necessitates brining pork prior to cooking to avoid having the cooked pork have the consistency of cardboard.

By: raj

raj — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 12:15:15 +0000

By: des von bladet

des von bladet — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 09:42:35 +0000

abb1: Thanks! I am taking notes…

By: Phil Hunt

Phil Hunt — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 00:18:08 +0000

My blog Cabalamat Journal is also covering the Ukraine situation, particularly in its Ukraine section.

By: Maria

Maria — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 21:19:32 +0000

I’ve certainly been glued to the telly to follow the fate of Ukraine, like lots of others I imagine. I thought about blogging it but really had nothing to add other than: Putin – v. v. bad, and that the protesters seem an amazingly good-tempered bunch of people, so far. And, of course, I desperately hope it turns out well. But given my general ignorance about the place, it didn’t seem really bloggable… I know it can’t be very satisfying for commenters/readers, but sometimes there are events (like Beslan) where all you feel compelled to do is keep watching and hoping. I would be very shocked, though, if the Russian military were anywhere near. That seems a step too far, even for Putin.

By: Hektor Bim

Hektor Bim — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 19:50:44 +0000

I hear reports of troops heading to Kyiv – along with some rumors that there are Russian troops among them. This is supposed to tie in with Yanukyvich being sworn in, even though the requisite 15 days have not passed. Anyone have better information? Is the blood about to flow?

By: abb1

abb1 — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 19:19:19 +0000

Ukraine Guy, How about I take your little board and smash it?!? Sounds good, but didn’t you guys give all you nukes to the Russians? Why would you expect to get any respect now?

By: Matt McGrattan

Matt McGrattan — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:57:27 +0000

abb1: Apparently there is a Europe-wide pork-fat drought. It’s not specifically Ukraine. The BBC had a thing a few nights ago about the shortage of lard here which means people may have to use an alternative in making pastry for mince pies, etc. I have no idea how genuine the shortage actually is.

By: abb1

abb1 — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:51:48 +0000

des von bladet, my wife likes good salo. She says you can’t get decent salo either in Switzerland or France, but if you drive thru the Montblanc tunnel to Aosta, Italy – they sell excellent (according to my wife) salo there. We almost always stop there to buy some salo. They sell it in every alimentari. I’m pretty sure salo we buy in Aosta is Italian product, not Unkranian or Polish, but it’s exactly the same (or better). I hope this helps. But I can’t really imagine Ukraine without salo in every grocery; when I was there – oh, in the early 80s, I guess – salo was pretty much the only form of protein available. If they don’t even have salo anymore, it must be really-really bad.

By: Ukraine Guy

Ukraine Guy — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:36:19 +0000

Ukraine is game to you? How about I take your little board and smash it?!?

By: Zackary Sholem Berger

Zackary Sholem Berger — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:35:31 +0000

If anyone’s interested, I just posted to my blog on Jews, the Ukrainian elections, and whether Yuschenko is an anti-Semite. (Short answer: who knows?)

By: des von bladet

des von bladet — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:23:37 +0000

abb1: There really is a Europe-wide lard shortage, you know. And Hungary and Polandland, being EU members, get first dibs. We've had a velvet revolution and a rose revolution; is it now time for a lard (salo) revolution?

By: Hektor Bim

Hektor Bim — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:23:03 +0000

Chris, thanks for setting up this topic. I’m learning things in the comment section.

By: abb1

abb1 — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 18:08:55 +0000

The last decade and the recent reign of Kuchma have been total hell for Ukrainians. They are at wit’s end, and the level of desperation is great enough to force an extreme solution. We are past the point of compromises. No kidding – when salo has become elite product, that’s certainly the closest thing to hell for an Ukrainian. And I am being absolutely serious here. Well, hopefully, there is still enough gorilka there.

By: Robert Nagle

Robert Nagle — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 17:56:16 +0000

Although I don’t normally write a lot about Ukrainian politics, I’ve taught at Ukrainian universities and have recently written some commentaries on my idiotprogrammer weblog . Also, I’ve been working on some travel and cultural articles about Ukraine (unrelated to the current conflict). Of course, many weblogs have been providing excellent analysis and commentary. Here’s a great interview with Michael McFaul on PBS newshour (scroll down a bit). My contribution: The last decade and the recent reign of Kuchma have been total hell for Ukrainians. They are at wit’s end, and the level of desperation is great enough to force an extreme solution. We are past the point of compromises. My vice-rector of the business college where I taught wrote me recently about the crisis. For them the problem is much more complex than it appears to Western reports (no surprise). The problem is that European and US corporations have shown relatively little interest in investing in Ukraine. Probable reasons: corruption, lack of legal reform and an oppressive tax system. (Also a sinking currency hasn’t helped). On the other hand, Russian companies have shown a great amount of interest in Ukraine, as has (!) China. According to my vice-rector, Chinese firms seem more likely to stay in Ukraine than American firms. That’s just sad. The admission of Poland to the EU certainly aggravated this alienation from Europe. It made it difficult for Ukraine to do normal business with its Polish neighbor and made crossborder travel very difficult. It’s a mistake to believe that Yanukovych or his policies are necessarily evil (although the political machinations certainly are). He has advocated closer ties to Russia, pension increases and various work programs for the unemployed. His crucial mistake was in not recognizing that he was undermining his own political legitimacy by letting his party manipulate the media or do ballot-stuffing. US has a strong tradition of democratic processes but an indifferent or uninformed citizenry. Ukraine has lousy democratic processes, but a skeptical citizenry willing to challenge. This exercise should be instructive for Americans.