Ukraine Starting Over

    Once past all the superficial babel, if one experiences Ukraine for an extended time, the aspect of the Supernatural can arise, since it has a powerful spiritual history that stretches back into pre- Christian times : There is a footprint of powerful life histories that does not dim with time.  Strong spiritual practices have a forceful element. Of course in Politics, the opposition is always Darth Vader, and it's a struggle today for the hearts and minds of the regular people aligned with or against the Oligarchs ,  to adequately define, just who is Darth Vader, what is he? she  doing here, and who are these bad people lined up against us, with him ? Considering the fantastical cycle of Revolution, war in the Donbas, threats of using the ultimate consequence against the West if they don't agree  to accept Crimea's "annexation". The whole question of trade embargo processes relating to the EU/ USA/ Ukraine / Russia/ China , will this go on for 2 years or

   Honestly, I have never taken a look at the faces on the metro in Moscow or Saint Pete, but taking a glance  at the folks midweek on the Kiev Metro, they seemed to be decidedly deeply lost in their individual thoughts, I mean there's a difference between "pre-occupied" and lost in internal thoughts. A few weeks ago, just the sidewalk mood in Dnipro was "pre-occupied" I don't know what prompted me to choose this title for my blog, this silly movie from 33 years ago, but in a lot of ways these FSU cultures seem to constantly mirror those dated cultural milieu's of 30 years in our past. Not that they lack hip, contemporary, aware, smart people, it is more like the process of social upgrading through their media, meeting the uncontrolled , freedom scripted youth :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKov1lmq_OU really , I have to try watching it, don't think I ever saw it in the theaters or even on TV, cable. (I'm not recommending the movie)

  I see quite a lot of the street kiosks, those temporary buildings without foundations, summer terrace decks, not alone in Kiev, other big cities, being taken up, some lifted whole by crane, they made some order to remove all, or face fines, something : they are quickly gone. It is based on some set of factors : these kiosks compete with fixed stores, and in the past, I had seen that they harbored a lot of rats, swarming out from under them after dark. So it's a public health thing I guess. But then what do these Kiosk owners, workers do, once their deal is gone?     One finds a constant struggle for change every day,  on the street stalls, the small stores and shops to make change, and that's mostly about making change for a 200 UAH, or a 100 UAH, a lot of times it all hinges on a .50 kopek. A muted drama can quickly unfold over change. As one hears about how people actually interact with the new government, dealing with papers and the like, one hears that yes, the bribes ha

     Renew Sanctions or allow The Great Escape ? Yesterday on the Metro, I caught a glimpse of a Steve McQueen (70's movie actor) look alike, him getting off the car  as I was getting on, it felt weird. We looked each other in the eyes.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQGAaCSFlJI The movie Bullit, about the cop who just doesn't fit into the department,  maybe it's close to the feeling of today's Ukraine,  in their struggle to battle corruption and regain a handle on their refreshed engagement with autonomy, or that's how I feel it. Those scenes of 70's San Francisco, what a postcard from the past ! ( a backyard Ukraine Oil/gas  operation) Sanctions , it is such a clinical word,, a subset of light technical Visa and banking restrictions imposed due to egregious behaviors and actions. Many sanctioned individuals have laughed them off as nothing, sanctions on people doesn't affect their ability to delegate business through their family and close asso