Ukraine Starting Over

Well you can't say yes and you can't say No !'   There is no doubt of Political and Environmental climate change in Ukraine : they are trying to lead the resolution of their conflict with the neighbor, rather than be driven by events, utilizing nuance and the typical off handed neutrality, not giving credit where it isn't due. from the proposal to build a new LEONI plant in Western Ukraine https://www.leoni.com/en/ Ukraine continues to hold an edge, a sweet spot for foreign investment. The conflict areas will have to wait for a game plan from Moscow to take shape for their economy to return to anything close to it's pre-war levels. It's mostly older retired people there now, and mercenary style gangsters. For sure, it will be an endless game with Moscow and Kyiv, the blame shifting, it's a natural human and societal trait. Very few governments and societies can openly talk about their mistakes and accept blame, move on. Maybe the Scandinavian countr

That's got to suck : On the Eve of the start of the Euromaidan movement, a calculated targeting  of the power lines feeding Crimea  . Ukraine's Army and security services now have to assist in the repair and guarding of  the power lines that feed the occupying Russian forces and residents of this land of Limbo.  I still have a few friends there, I don't want them getting trapped in the elevator, regardless if they are Pro Russian or anti- occupation. The blockade, I don't know what it is achieving, results ,  aggravation, or both. Of course,  the power lines feed the Kherson region too, they have to be fixed, but it's a decision point for the leadership,  one more small decision that affects long term outcomes. For sure, the blockade will be another bargaining chip in the dialogue about when, if ever Ukraine will get control back of it's border with Russia in the conflict zones in the East. It's impossible to visualize what a moveable security barrier

It's been a difficult Revolution in Ukraine, coming up on 2 years now since it's inception, a lot of people hurt, killed, a battered economy, a  lot of WTF...... ? Petro Poroshenko seems to have grabbed the Bull by the Horns and ridden out the worst of it : he has got the Presidential thing down, a lot of earnest and sober conferencing is happening, the game plan for next year is being shaped up. Ukraine's economy isn't maybe what I'd call a hybrid, an enigma, more that it's like a unique niche economic mechanism pushing itself along, for all the sorrows and troubles at the bottom, the middle class enjoys what they have, they have a lot most Americans can't really appreciate. Soon enough in the Spring, the doors of tourism will perhaps burst open, harnessing the energy of lots of talented intelligent young people. "welcome to Ukraine" it's an often painful rather than joyful reference, it's the variability of service and friendlines

last Saturday Morning on the Kyiv Metro, it felt like a Bastion of normalcy, I don't think a lot of the 11 AM riders had checked their Twitter feeds : it's a nice feeling, safe and comfortable in there. Monday evening people seemed talkative and thoughtful .... Mid week I was in the midst of some young guys in the Metro car, all of them engaged in a boisterous sign language exchange and I even felt vaguely uneasy after having watched The Tribe movie :   https://vimeo.com/99616606 Friday, after work everybody rushed through the Metro with a great intensity and varied sense of purpose : I never saw so many purpose filled faces on a public transit. Aftermath, Ukraine elections 2015 : There is no point in adding glamour or false intrigue to the horrid sequence of events imposed on Ukraine as punishment for choosing to reject a corrupt government and begin to join the EU,  I feel fortunate to be a guest in such a storied place where fiction can freely intersect some reality

Володимир Сосюра МАЗЕПА Поем : Volodymyr Sosiura  ( Ukrainian :  Володимир Сосюра ; born January 6, 1898 in  Debaltseve ,  Yekaterinoslav Governorate (today  Donbas  region) of the  Russian Empire  - died January 8, 1965 in  Kyiv ,  Ukrainian SSR  of the  Soviet Union ) was a  Ukrainian   lyric poet , writer, veteran of the  Russian Civil War  (1918–20 Був довго Йван у сні неначе,  І серце стомлене козаче  То відпускав, то тиснув жах,  Що жить йому лишилось мало…  Він бачив: смерть в його ногах  З косою грізною стояла,  Щоб голову одтять йому  І повести у вічну тьму.  Він чув: над ним музика грала,  І десь лунав погребний дзвін… *************** Yvan was a long dream like, And my heart is tired Cossack So let go, then shook horror, What is left to him live a little ... He saw death in his legs With a menacing scythe standing, To head it odtyat And take into eternal darkness. He heard music played on it, And somewhere Pogrebna bell rang