Tolerance and pragmatism

 Finding a pragmatic approach to fixing things in Ukraine and it's not like it's that broken, yet it's nearly a broken economic equation, one that needs a fast, decisive answer, be it that they give up on NATO membership or whatever it is. I have heard that the US $ trades for as much as 18 UAH privatelyMy instinct tells me that the voices of business carry a lot of weight, be it groups or individuals, I have heard it said that the big dogs will sort it out and decide how the pack will work together. Who  they are,  and how it did work in the past, will work in the future, I can't exactly say. Nearly every person I get to know will boast that they know some successful business man, how great he is, it's their culture, the culture of the big man. If they can forget about all this madness and return to normalcy, escape the patterns of the past and enter a streamlined modern, Pro European configuration that leaves good economic benefits for the Russian people, that would be ideal.
On the back side of the Christmas Holiday, and amid a period of relative calm in the war, despite the few incidents outside the ATO that heightened tensions, I sense people want things to get normal, repair the harm and return to a peaceful state.

I left Kiev yesterday, and made the long journey up the country, past Victor Yuschenko's home town where worked as an accountant for some collective or whatever. THe road in the afternoon light, I could read it as a living thing, the expert driver of the mashrutka was navigating a horrible surface deftly, only occasionally slowing for the really bad places (I found myself thinking how all that stolen money form the previous government could have fixed all these roads, helped modernize the schools and do so much more, instead of getting hidden away in Russia's banks and in Switzerland).
   I am frequently surprised, that few if any people I talk to have a positive opinion of Yuschenko, they say he was indecisive, that he gave Ukraine away to the CLan Yanukovych. He gets no super hero cape in the cartoon collectives, although I am not very well educated about what is out there : it's like he is nearly forgotten, yet I admire him for in effect ceding power, when there were questionable situations and unknowns. I won't allow the thoughts of others to influence me about a person I never met. I like the occasional statements he issues, he seems to have wisdom, clarity.

And speaking of political cartoons, On the recent events in Paris, what motivated this act of terror, the conflicting claims of terror and lawlessness it's really crazy stuff. One thing I have totally noticed is the religious tolerance and openness in Ukraine. There are Mosques in Southern Ukraine, including Sevastopol of course and I always felt like , wow, how cool is that?, they can blare the call to prayer
and nobody even blinks an eyelash. I see them about, and they appear very comfortable in their identity as Muslim in this society : for the moment, I don't see Ukraine as the sight of such incidents as in Paris today. There are  also a lot of hidden investments in Ukraine from Arab countries and business people, and it seems often they are here as they feel it is similar to their culture in how business gets done. Us Westerners who want to live by the official rule books, would be hard pressed to get much done, short of major investments. Some of the time the foreign Arab people, maybe in the start , they were welcomed generously with good feelings, but somehow, they might offend people for something and then word of mouth, people vote with their wallets.
I may well have a blond haired, blue eyed Croatian Muslim somewhere in my family history, in general, I am into many religions Taoism, Buddhist thinking, Orthodox Christianity, Catholic also strong in my family history  and  I  like some Parts of the Muslim and the Hindu vibe, I sure hope I don't become a target for not being able to make up my mind about it..
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/march-web-only/ukraine-crimean-war-history.html?start=3
was an interesting read, helps line things out a bit. The traditions of the Tatar, they go way back, this is their land, the footprints of their families follow many pathways here. I know some Tatars and they are cool people, I like their broad thinking style, they aren't like other peoples I know of.

People ask, what does the USA, America care about this big , pivotal country (Ukraine ) ? we don't feel guilty about talking them into non- nuclear status and leaving them easy to be take by their neighbor ? Well the answer might be complex, it helped us be more secure, and now talk about how we can take a step back, such as this article : few people take the time to think about this old cold war stuff anymore, but it never went away, and the Russian have a reasonable reason to worry our technology systems could be compromised or have a hiccup, or some third country could manipulate a situation. I think at least Ukraine is safe enough the Russians wouldn't nuke their own neighbor's  back yard, but given RU actions, what really may happen is anyone's guess . They are certainly romancing the far right in Europe to some degree
http://allthingsnuclear.org/ending-prompt-launch/
Has Obama gotten some back door deal with the Saudis to tank the Russian economy , despite appearances of him not being tight with them ? I can't decide my feelings on that
http://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabia-911-george-w-bush-barack-obama-prince-bandar-bin-sultan-bob-297170

And of course it's inevitable the FSB and the CIA get thrown out in the media about the Paris Terror
oh, the onset  of  a  cartoon Art War : it's everyone's worst night mare, Like a remake of the Pink Panther, when the first one was really impossible to improve on.