Ukraine: The natural decomposition of the orange revolution.
February 10, 2010 by politicalsnapshots.wordpress.com
Ukraine: The natural decomposition of the orange revolution.
I am witnessing the worst snow storm I have ever seen in my life. I remember, years ago, driving back from Boston after a seminar, I was caught in a snow storm that stranded me for three days. But the blizzard of 2010 has no match in its severity. So, I am at home, reading, watching a lot of news, listening to music, (“if you go away” Julio Iglesias; and most of all Sade’s “Soldier of Love”) and trying to avoid phone calls from area code 310. Calls that would mention warm weather news. Alas, my brother A. just called and reminded me of my dire situation, weather wise, of course.
Meanwhile final results of the run off elections in Ukraine are coming in, 100 percent of the votes counted, Yanukovych has a 3.48 % lead over Tymoshenko.
Candidate Vote Percentage
Victor Yanukovych 12,481,268 48.96%
Yulia Tymoshenko 11,593,340 45.48%
Against All 1,113,51 4.37%
Informal 305,844 1.20%
Total vote 25,493,503
I have been keenly interested in Ukrainian presidential election because, Ukraine has experienced one of those color revolutions that had become the darling of the west, and a model to be followed by others. Five years since the so-called “orange revolution” of Ukraine, Ukrainians have said, enough. Even those, who were caught up in the euphoria of the “uprising” have seen enough of the social and economic devastation it has wrought on their country. According to the BBC, even some are saying,” This Orange nightmare has finally come to an end”.
The leaders of the Orange Revolution and their NGO supporters were successful in seizing power, but became unable to govern and produce any progress. Those who were presented as the icon of democracy actually turned out to be dictatorial. The leader of the Orange Revolution President Yushchenko received only 5.45% of the vote in the first round of the presidential elections.
All the promises for reform were for naught. ”What the orange revolution has to show for the euphoria of 2004 and massive western support is, factory closings, massive job cuts, the reduction of GDP by thirty percent”. Emotional politics: The Orange and the anti-Obama type. Sept.2009 politicalsnapshots.wordpress.com
By the way, GDP shrank by 15% in 2009.
Majority of Ukrainians are angered and embarrassed by the situation their country is in. Ukrainians have become largely disillusioned with the euphoria of 2004.
“Politics ruled by emotions is biased, as it lacks an open mind that can objectively evaluate more than one side on any issue. People who are unable to control their emotions are an easy prey to be exploited by any political force. Be it national or foreign. Not excluding those foreign forces represented by political NGOs. Politics without reason creates people who are hateful, panicky and vicious.” Emotional politics: The Orange and the anti-Obama type. Sept.2009 politicalsnapshots.wordpress.com
It seems intrinsic and extrinsic political forces had joined hands to come to power by force in Ukraine (2004). The intrinsic political forces were only doing the bidding of the extrinsic forces. But, just like the Orange fruit, spoilage was influenced by acid, temperature, anti-microbial compounds, etc. That is how an orange rots.
I am emboldened with the present election result because, it was found to “be free and fair” by international observers. Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the vote had been an “impressive display” of democracy at work. That is good for the democratic process in Ukraine. What is needed is to abide by the election results. Any delay in accepting the outcome by Mrs.
Yulia Tymoshenko will only prolong the misery in Ukraine.
In the United States of America, we are witnessing a new phenomenon in politics. The Tea Party movement. People that support this party claim President Obama to be a “committed socialist ideologue”, a person who has come to “destroy” America, etc.etc. In spite of the lack of logic, millions of Americans support this group.
Stuart Whately, writing on the subject:
“One must concede that the most well known, highly publicized American social/political movement today — the Tea Party movement — is a national embarrassment. At its core, the Tea Party movement is rife with contradiction, incoherence and a willful contempt for facts or reason. It is but a parody of the legitimate movements for which American democracy has historically been held in such high regard. It is, in fact, the latest installment in quite another American tradition: the exploitation of frustrated, desperate, and susceptible people by monied-interests and profiteers”. The Huffington Post
According to Sarah Palin speaking at the first National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tennessee,
“This is the future of our country. The tea party movement is the future of politics,”
May be Sarah Palin is America’s Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko. As the new leader of the tea party movement and future presidential candidate, a tea party revolution could be in America’s future. It might not be an orange revolution; nonetheless, it is a tea party revolution.
Going back to enjoying listening to Sade’s “Soldier of Love”,
If Frank and Democrats really wanted to crackdown on disinformation, they would use their majority in Congress to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, reform the pro-corporate Broadcasting Act from the 90s and crackdown on licensing any cable system or network that participates in spreading disinformation.
Freedom of Speech is not free in this country. It's available to those who have enough to run their own channel.
Congress can do something about it, but won't because the NAB in particular is a powerful lobbying force.
Anyone who listens to Democrats or Republicans is missing the big picture. The parties--both of them--are infected with corruption and need to go. If you can't recognize that then you are incapable of critical thinking. It's all scripted theater whether Republican or Democrat. When Obama uses a bloody teleprompter to read to 2nd graders you know it's just a sound bite opportunity. Theater my friends.
Barney Frank is a particularly repugnant politician. Here you have a guy that is neck deep in architecting the housing bubble yet continues to chair a powerful House committee and is given a microphone and air time. It's really sad that we tolerate this.
If you really think there is a distinction between the parties then you need to step out of the left or right echo chamber and clear your head. They are two sides of the same grubby coin.
Finally, there's someone who can put together what I and millions of Americans have been suspicious of all along. I'm undoubtedly sure that any intelligent person can go find every single lie that the Bush Administration spewed for eight entire years. One of my favorite quotes from that administration to despise goes like this:
"[Journalists] are in what we call the reality-based community ... That's not the way the world really works anymore ... When we act, we create our own reality. While you are studying that reality ... we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study, too..." (http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100292)
The fact that these lies can so easily be spread makes me disgusted. Are we as citizens going to passively allow these bastards to control us through lies? After plenty of research, analysis, and verification, all I can get out of my mouth is, "MOTHER F---ERRRRRRRRRS," (Robin Williams in "Death to Smoochy"). I'm sure that plenty of my fellow Americans can relate.
The time has come for a change in politics and journalism. Our children need to learn the arts of fact-checking and exposure of truth. These are the foundations of democracy - a system founded on a free press - a beautiful idea that was founded on a free press. We depend on the truth! Without that freedom and truth, a democracy ends up looking like the present-day United States: a bunch of lazy, passive, non-voting citizens who don't have any idea about what's going on around them. My worry is whether or not these passive bags of fat are going to even attempt a change.
Even if there is a miraculous change, more must follow in the coming years. A well-run society mustn't EVER try to conserve, but must assess (and attempt to predict) new information and events as they come, and then come up with rational ways to adapt. If the core principals: truth and freedom, are able to remain, the rest will fall in line.
With worry, disgust, and joy,
-Gregory Gonzales
Philosophy and Journalism freshman at the University of Arizona
It's too bad that Barney Frank missed a teachable moment: what's wrong with welfare recipients and ex-felons voting? He seems to acquiesce by default in the disenfranchisement of those Americans.
I propose: if you're a citizen, you vote, whether in jail or out.
And if I wanted to take a punitive attitude toward welfare recipients, à la the right, I'd say they should have to present proof of having voted to collect their benefits. (Okay, just kidding about that one.)
Ukraine: The natural decomposition of the orange revolution.
February 10, 2010 by politicalsnapshots.wordpress.com
Ukraine: The natural decomposition of the orange revolution.
I am witnessing the worst snow storm I have ever seen in my life. I remember, years ago, driving back from Boston after a seminar, I was caught in a snow storm that stranded me for three days. But the blizzard of 2010 has no match in its severity. So, I am at home, reading, watching a lot of news, listening to music, (“if you go away” Julio Iglesias; and most of all Sade’s “Soldier of Love”) and trying to avoid phone calls from area code 310. Calls that would mention warm weather news. Alas, my brother A. just called and reminded me of my dire situation, weather wise, of course.
Meanwhile final results of the run off elections in Ukraine are coming in, 100 percent of the votes counted, Yanukovych has a 3.48 % lead over Tymoshenko.
Candidate Vote Percentage
Victor Yanukovych 12,481,268 48.96%
Yulia Tymoshenko 11,593,340 45.48%
Against All 1,113,51 4.37%
Informal 305,844 1.20%
Total vote 25,493,503
I have been keenly interested in Ukrainian presidential election because, Ukraine has experienced one of those color revolutions that had become the darling of the west, and a model to be followed by others. Five years since the so-called “orange revolution” of Ukraine, Ukrainians have said, enough. Even those, who were caught up in the euphoria of the “uprising” have seen enough of the social and economic devastation it has wrought on their country. According to the BBC, even some are saying,” This Orange nightmare has finally come to an end”.
The leaders of the Orange Revolution and their NGO supporters were successful in seizing power, but became unable to govern and produce any progress. Those who were presented as the icon of democracy actually turned out to be dictatorial. The leader of the Orange Revolution President Yushchenko received only 5.45% of the vote in the first round of the presidential elections.
All the promises for reform were for naught. ”What the orange revolution has to show for the euphoria of 2004 and massive western support is, factory closings, massive job cuts, the reduction of GDP by thirty percent”. Emotional politics: The Orange and the anti-Obama type. Sept.2009 politicalsnapshots.wordpress.com
By the way, GDP shrank by 15% in 2009.
Majority of Ukrainians are angered and embarrassed by the situation their country is in. Ukrainians have become largely disillusioned with the euphoria of 2004.
“Politics ruled by emotions is biased, as it lacks an open mind that can objectively evaluate more than one side on any issue. People who are unable to control their emotions are an easy prey to be exploited by any political force. Be it national or foreign. Not excluding those foreign forces represented by political NGOs. Politics without reason creates people who are hateful, panicky and vicious.” Emotional politics: The Orange and the anti-Obama type. Sept.2009 politicalsnapshots.wordpress.com
It seems intrinsic and extrinsic political forces had joined hands to come to power by force in Ukraine (2004). The intrinsic political forces were only doing the bidding of the extrinsic forces. But, just like the Orange fruit, spoilage was influenced by acid, temperature, anti-microbial compounds, etc. That is how an orange rots.
I am emboldened with the present election result because, it was found to “be free and fair” by international observers. Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the vote had been an “impressive display” of democracy at work. That is good for the democratic process in Ukraine. What is needed is to abide by the election results. Any delay in accepting the outcome by Mrs.
Yulia Tymoshenko will only prolong the misery in Ukraine.
In the United States of America, we are witnessing a new phenomenon in politics. The Tea Party movement. People that support this party claim President Obama to be a “committed socialist ideologue”, a person who has come to “destroy” America, etc.etc. In spite of the lack of logic, millions of Americans support this group.
Stuart Whately, writing on the subject:
“One must concede that the most well known, highly publicized American social/political movement today — the Tea Party movement — is a national embarrassment. At its core, the Tea Party movement is rife with contradiction, incoherence and a willful contempt for facts or reason. It is but a parody of the legitimate movements for which American democracy has historically been held in such high regard. It is, in fact, the latest installment in quite another American tradition: the exploitation of frustrated, desperate, and susceptible people by monied-interests and profiteers”. The Huffington Post
According to Sarah Palin speaking at the first National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tennessee,
“This is the future of our country. The tea party movement is the future of politics,”
May be Sarah Palin is America’s Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko. As the new leader of the tea party movement and future presidential candidate, a tea party revolution could be in America’s future. It might not be an orange revolution; nonetheless, it is a tea party revolution.
Going back to enjoying listening to Sade’s “Soldier of Love”,
Professor Mekonen Haddis
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