So, there are massive demonstrations because of possible vote fraud in the Ukraine. Are we better or worse because we don’t take to the streets when we distrust our masters? Who can say. It seems clear that the U.S. and Russia are using the Ukraine as a pull-toy, but I have no idea what is best for the people there.
I was watching the PBS News Hour last night and they had an interesting piece which included an interview with Michael McFaul, who has a lot of credentials and seemed to know a lot about the situation, and who stated very clearly that international observers felt sure the vote would be fraudulent, and that this was well known. The transcript is at the link.
Today I was doing errands and heard a radio interview with a U.S. woman who happens to be a Ukranian native (I think; she used to live there and runs a U.S. paper for Ukranian exiles), and she gave a lot of interesting information about the Ukranian history with Russia. She seemed to believe that this revolution was inevitable. To hear her at that link, look for the “Ukranian-American Interview”. I didn’t hear the other segments, because I had to run into Home Depot to get tarps to cover my firewood from the snow. I feel very lucky to have both a furnace and firewood under the circumstances. I do wish I also had faith in our voting systems.
Fistful of Euros is blogging about the Ukraine these days, and they know much more than I do. And here’s a blogger who is in the Ukraine now; that’s a link I snagged from Andrew Sullivan.